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CNN This Morning

Ex-Partner of Hunter Biden Testifies on Capitol Hill; Julie Foudy is Interviewed about the World Cup; Drone Strike on Moscow Building; Angus Cloud Dies at 25; Paul Reubens Dies at 70. Aired 6:30- 7a ET

Aired August 01, 2023 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:30:10]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Three House Republican chairman have announced an investigation into Hunter Biden's plea deal with the Justice Department. Congressman Jim Jordan, James Comer and Jason Smith sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland yesterday. They are demanding documents, they're demanding information after a judge rejected a plea deal over Hunter Biden's failure to pay millions of dollars in tax.

The probe comes after one of his former business partners testified behind closed doors on Capitol Hill yesterday as part of the Republican inquiry into Biden's family businesses. Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman says Devon Archer told lawmakers then vice -- the then vice president's son would occasionally put his father on the speakerphone during business meetings.

Here he is.

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REP. DAN GOLDMAN (D-NY): Approximately 20 times, over the course of ten year relationship, Hunter may have put his father on the phone with any number of different people, and they never once spoke about any business dealings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: He says, Dan Goldman that is, that the conversations were casual and included chatting about the weather, or just saying hello. But a source tells CNN that Archer testified - again, this is all behind closed doors -- that Hunter Biden did sell the illusion of access to his father, to Washington really, during these meetings, and he provided no evidence connecting President Biden to his son's former business dealings.

Ron Brownstein is back. Also with us, Jessica Washington.

So, the issue with behind closed doors -

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

HARLOW: Is he said and mainly he said in this situation -

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, right.

HARLOW: Because James Comer, a Republican, chair of the Oversight Committee, said, when Biden was -- this is a quote, vice president of the United States, he joined Hunter Biden's dinners with his foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone 20 times.

Devon Archer is under a federal probe for something totally different than this -

BROWNSTEIN: Right.

HARLOW: But the House wants to know from him, this committee, what was Hunter Biden doing and how did it tie to his father, if it did.

BROWNSTEIN: You know, Hunter Biden seems to be, from all the evidence, very much in this long lineage of people who try to trade on their association with powerful people in Washington. But what they - the - what the committees have not yet produced is any indication that Joe Biden, in any way, was involved in his business activities. I mean even the -- even the -- kind of the star witness said that he provided the illusion of access.

There's risk here for both. I mean, obviously, none of this looks good for the Biden family. But if you go back to 2022, in an election where a majority of Americans disapproved of Biden's performance and almost 80 percent said the economy was in bad shape, Democrats overperformed precisely because too many voters thought Republicans - that Republican choices were extremists. And going forward with an impeachment on the illusion of access is not, I think, you know, kind of a formula for those 18 Republicans in Biden districts or even the further circle of Republicans in districts that Trump won only narrowly.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, and, Jessica, I mean White House officials will give you reams of polling making clear that investigations into Hunter Biden, or these issues specifically, are not top of mind for the general American public. And yet - I mean the fact he was on the phone -- to Ron's point, this is something that if you work in Washington you are very familiar with this type of thing. Lobbyists do it all the time with their former bosses. Family members trade off this on a pretty regular basis.

But it looks - it looks bad. And it seems to be contrary to what the president said in terms of, he had no conversations with the son about his business whatsoever. My question - my biggest question right now is, does this resonate with anybody outside of the sphere that we kind of all operate in?

JESSICA WASHINGTON, SENOR REPORTER, "THE ROOT": I think to a certain extent it will resonate with some voters. But I do think this kind of -- we have no direct connection to Biden in anything unethical at this point. And so right now we're talking about Hunter Biden, who isn't in the administration. It's not like the Trump kids where they had these close business ties, where he brought them into the administration. So, I don't think it resonates in the same way that what happened with Jared or Ivanka or the Trump kids does.

BROWNSTEIN: You know, it's more - it may be more generic than personal.

HARLOW: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: I mean this is the kind of - this is the kind of reason why people are so -- so many voters feel that they - that Washington is not looking out for their interests is -

HARLOW: Because -

BROWNSTEIN: Is self-dealing. And, so, Jared Kushner getting $2 billion from the Saudis. Hunter Biden trading on his father's name.

HARLOW: But that -

BROWNSTEIN: This is what they see as kind of happening, I think, broadly over time in both parties.

HARLOW: That's sort of why I sighed there because I'm thinking, if I'm waking up and I'm reading this this morning, I'm thinking, why would you, as vice president, if this is true what Comer is saying, if indeed there were 20 phone calls or in-person presence of Biden as vice president, with his son who's doing business in China and Ukraine, with these business associates, I would want to understand that better. I would think that that seems odd. And I wonder if voters will say, Trump did it.

[06:35:03]

Biden did it. Apples to apples. I'm not saying they are. What I'm saying is the perception.

BROWNSTEIN: As I said in the earlier segment, the divisions in American politics are about much bigger things at this point. I can't see this moving many voters one way or the other.

HARLOW: Final thought?

WASHINGTON: I would have to agree. And I know we hate to just continuously agree with each other. But, yes, I think it doesn't. I think it doesn't move that many people because I do think it is different. I think you're right the divisions are too stark.

MATTINGLY: It's tough with Ron. He says some smart stuff. It's really annoying.

WASHINGTON: He's right all the time. What can I say.

MATTINGLY: Yes.

HARLOW: (INAUDIBLE) Jessica.

MATTINGLY: No, I know. That's what I'm saying.

HARLOW: She's right all the time.

BROWNSTEIN: (INAUDIBLE). We don't - we don't want to go through the list of all the mistakes over the years (ph).

HARLOW: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Thanks, guys.

HARLOW: And everyone should read your column.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

HARLOW: It's just up on cnn.com and it really gets into this broader issue in the country.

Guys, thank you very much.

MATTINGLY: Appreciate it, guys.

All right, this morning, the U.S. women's national team settling for a tie in their game against Portugal, but that's good enough to move on to the knockout round. You probably saw her throughout the broadcast. We're going to talk to her and get the highlights. The two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion -- she looked very nervous during the game -- Julie Foudy will join us next.

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[06:40:13]

MATTINGLY: The U.S. soccer - U.S. Women's soccer team will be advancing to the next round of the World Cup after a hard-fought, scoreless draw with Portugal. The reigning world champs looking frustrated as they struggled to maintain possession and repeatedly failed to break through Portugal's rather staunch defense.

This is only the second time in World Cup history the U.S. women's team has failed to win their group, finishing this year behind the Netherlands.

Joining us now to discuss is TNT soccer analyst, two-time World Cup champion Julie Foudy.

Julie, I'm going to be honest, when I started getting really nervous is when they kept showing you on screen and your foot was bobbing up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down. And I thought, OK, this is not good. Is that an accurate assessment of things?

JULIE FOUDY, TWO-TIME FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP CHAMPION: (INAUDIBLE). Yes, I was sitting next to Mia Hamm on one shoulder and Joy Fawcett on the other, two '99ers teammates, and we kept like going like, oh God, especially when it hit the post. Portugal almost scored at the very end of that match. And that would have been it for the United States.

So, the good news is, they went through to the next round. That's a relief (INAUDIBLE).

HARLOW: Well, now I believe Phil, who said he was watching the match instead of preparing for this show all morning because he saw your foot bobbing.

MATTINGLY: Ouch.

HARLOW: But besides that, what is happening here with this team? I mean, when we had you on, what was it last week, there were concerns about how they appeared on the field in terms of performance. You have more concerns now?

FOUDY: I do. I do. I -- it just hasn't clicked. And the thing is, I mean, this happens in a tournament. And so the first thing you say as a team is, it's great that they got through. They advanced. They clearly wanted to win that group because it meant an easier path. But they got through.

But the more concerning thing is for this team -- and you can see the frustration with them is, there's no cohesion, there's no - there's -- there's no fluidity. They just haven't been clicking. And, I mean, you -- we could - we could - we could get a white board out and really break it down for a long time, but the thing that I keep coming back to is it doesn't feel like there's a lot of chemistry. There's not a lot of confidence and swagger that we normally see with this U.S. team.

And so I -- I honestly think they need to stop thinking about the x's and o's and just focus on, let's just go enjoy this and play and have fun and actually bring some joy back to it, because right now it's a lot of choppiness and clunkiness is the word I keep coming back to, but it hasn't been looking great.

HARLOW: Joy.

MATTINGLY: White boarding with Julie Foudy is like my actual dream.

HARLOW: Of course it is.

MATTINGLY: To that point, you know, I think there's an assumption, because of what you guys have built, what you and your teammates and the alums of the program have built, that you can flip a switch, right? Like, at some point they're just going to flip the switch and it's all going to turn on. And that didn't happen today. I - kind of a second - assumed it would happen in the second half.

But what I was - what was most striking is Carli Lloyd, obviously a world renown former World Cup champion also of the U.S. team, after the game said, today was just simply uninspiring, disappointing. They don't look fit. They're playing as individuals. It's OK to be confident, but you never want to cross that line of being arrogant. And this is exactly what can come and bite you. Look, Carli Lloyd's not a shrinking violet. She has - she's never been

subtle about her opinions, but that was harsh. Do you think that there's something to that?

FOUDY: Yes. Yes, I do. I do think there's something to it.

I don't agree with the arrogant part. I don't agree that they're arrogant. But they haven't looked inspiring. They haven't looked like they've had any connections or chemistry, which I was saying from the top. But the arrogant part I disagree with.

I think it's more of a situation where you have 14 players on this team of 23 who are in their first World Cup. So, I see a lot of deer in headlights type of play, where typically these creative, fluid players that you see playing professionally and see playing with the national team are bringing more of that creative, fluid style. But you're not seeing any of that.

And that happens. And you can see the nerves on this team. And so I think you have that veteran group and you do have, obviously I just said you have 14 newbies. But you have, you know, nine who have - and some who have played in four World Cups, Megan Rapinoe, Kelley O'Hara, Alex Morgan, who are saying to the team, look, it hasn't been the prettiest, but we are through as a nation. That's the first job we had to get done. And now, yes, we have Sweden, which is a very good team, but at least we're alive and we're playing. And that's what they're thinking going into this next game. And you start fresh. And then you spin it that way because otherwise you'd be like pulling your hair out going, what's happening here?

And I do think they can change things around, but it is concerning how poor they've looked this tournament.

HARLOW: Yes. Let's see if they can do it. I believe. Do you believe?

MATTINGLY: Of course I do. They're going to flip the switch. They're going to flip the switch.

HARLOW: We believe, Julie.

[06:45:01]

We believe.

FOUDY: We believe.

HARLOW: We believe.

FOUDY: Let's go! Keep believing.

HARLOW: Thank you - thank you so much.

MATTINGLY: Thanks, Julie.

Well, ahead, what our crews saw as they traveled alongside the Ukrainian counteroffensive. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: One of the hard things for the Ukrainians to understand is quite why the Russians are fighting so hard for here, Neskuchne, and more recent victory of Staromaiorske down the road. Is it that these are their last lines of defense? Well, no. They think there's far more fighting to be done.

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HARLOW: This morning, Russia is calling a second drone strike by Ukraine on a Moscow skyscraper a terrorist attack. Russia's defense ministry says that it shot down three drones. They say one lost control before crashing into a high-rise tower. The very same building that we showed you that was hit on Sunday. The ministry also says it repelled a Ukrainian drone attack on two patrol ships in the Black Sea.

Meantime, at least six people have died in a Russian missile attack on the hometown of Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Nick Paton Walsh joins us from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, with much more.

Nick, good morning to you.

Three days, multiple attacks on Moscow. Is this a sign of what is to come? Is this sort of the next phase of this counteroffensive?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, it's what Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said is a sign that the war is gradually returning to Russia's land. Being no mistake at all, hitting the same building in the upscale Moscow city district of the capital, a building which houses some government ministries, possibly connected to defense. That is a signal certainly, a signal of Ukraine's capabilities, even though publicly they have not claimed this particular attack.

[06:50:01]

But it is just a fragment, frankly, of the damage inflicted every night upon Ukraine. Sumy, two dead, Kharkiv, seven dead, and also four dead in Kherson. In just the last 48 hours, the counteroffensive begins to ramp up. Here is what we saw, though, as that counteroffensive pushes forward near the front lines.

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WALSH (voice over): The fight so fierce and victory so bitter there is little left of Staromaiorske to defend it from. No cover for troops. No structures. Just the dust of a tiny four road village. The first gains of Ukraine's renewed full throttle counteroffensive. So small but symbolic. Russia even claimed Monday with constant shelling it had pushed Ukraine out of it again. Something these men, fresh back from that fight, would scoff at.

Cripas (ph), his call sign, fought all the ten days of the assault until the Russians finally fled. Here he is as shells rain around in the initial advance.

When you assault on the enemy shelling, he says, you have nowhere to hide. That's the hardest part.

They've since tried to assault again twice with small groups.

And he fought for here, too, Neskuchne, the town before it, where the Russians hid 200 troops in the basements, not even leaving for the toilet, so Ukraine attacked with a smaller force.

He takes us to where the Russians made their final stand, the school hall and its corridors. There is no love, says the wall. They seem to relish the nothing they brought and left no clues as to why they fought.

WALSH (on camera): One of the hard things for the Ukrainians to understand is quite why the Russians are fighting so hard for here, Neskuchne, and more recent victory of Staromaiorske, down the road. Is it that these are their last lines of defense? Well, no, they think there's far more fighting to be done.

WALSH (voice over): I hope that when we get through their last line of defense, he says, then they start to run. For now, they still feel there is something behind them. Yes, we feel support, but we are very, very tired.

There is so much more ahead to come. Ukraine may have put in this reserves now to the fight, but they face the same Russian brutality.

The tactics haven't changed, he says. They put the storms (INAUDIBLE) convicts in front with no communications or information. They stand till the death. I don't understand their motivation or what they're fighting for.

Reva (ph) carries a new Russian AK-12 as a trophy as he describes the gas they used on him.

There was chaotic shooting, he says, to find out where we were. Then, the gas. You don't feel it. It moves slow along the ground. I was packing my rucksack when I felt burning on my throat and nose.

One mine sapper (ph), call sign Volt, is busy telling me how the Russians have started booby trapping mines, putting a grenade under an anti-tank mine, when he's interrupted.

Almost endless, the noise of outgoing fire. They are moving, but just not sure how much longer for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: Now, the chief of the Russian staff, Garasimov, visited the front lines of Zaporizhzhia, we're learning from state media today, a sign of how vital this is to Moscow as they increasing, in the capital, feel under attack.

Poppy. Phil.

HARLOW: Nick Paton Walsh, extraordinary reporting. Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Well, coming up ahead, what we're learning about a shooting outside a Jewish school in Memphis.

HARLOW: Also, tributes pouring in for the actor, Angus Cloud, who has died at the age of 25. We're hearing from his family.

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[06:57:49]

MATTINGLY: Now, this morning, Hollywood is mourning the loss of two actors. Twenty-five-year-old Angus Cloud, a rising star on the HBO drama "Euphoria." His family saying, quote, last week he buried his father and struggled with the loss. Also comedian Paul Reubens, best known as Pee-Wee Herman, earning 22 Emmy awards for "Pee-Wee's Playhouse." Reubens lost his battle with cancer this year at the age -- at 70 years of age.

CNN's Chloe Melas joins us now.

Angus Cloud was just an absolute star. No question about it. Despite his youth, despite his kind of narrow resume because he was so young.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Yes, I mean, actually, the cool story about Angus is that he was walking down the streets of Brooklyn when a casting agent saw him, discovered him. Kind of like, you know, those old school stories where you'd hear about a star that was like discovered. And he said he thought it was a joke. And they took him back and had him read for the show. And he was this massive breakout star.

Like you said, his father recently passed away. And in the statement from the family they say that they were best friends and they had to go to Ireland last week, bury his father. Now we don't know the cause of death, but we do know that when 911 was called he was unresponsive when they arrived at the scene. So, more details, I'm sure, to come there. But, obviously, an outpouring of tributes from his co-stars and all of his fans.

HARLOW: Of course. So young.

Paul Reubens, such a sort of part of my childhood and so many people.

MELAS: Me, too.

HARLOW: And he had this resurgence. So, we grew up with him in the '80s, the early '90s. He had, you know, some issues that caused him to shelve the character in about 1991, 1992. But he brings it back in 2007. And this entire younger fan base gets to know him, specially through social media. And something that I really found touching was that on Instagram he had prepared a statement for fans to be posted in the wake of his death. And what he wrote was that, I'm sorry. I apologize for not telling you that I was privately battling cancer for the last six years. And some of his friends have now come out and said that he was making his -- so sad, he was making his rounds of good-byes and calling people on the phone last week to tell them that he had been sick.

[07:00:01]

And people are now coming out who were close and sharing those last conversations now.

HARLOW: Wow.