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CNN This Morning

President Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan Visits with Palestinian Leaders; Adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Interviewed on Biden Administration's Urging of Israel to Provide More Protections to Civilians in Gaza as Its War against Hamas Continues; Binder Containing Classified Intelligence Went Missing During Last Days of Trump Administration. The Mystery of the Missing Binder; Ascendant Haley Faces Big Challenge Catching Donald Trump; Haley Calls for Compassion in Texas Abortion Case. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired December 15, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Wave that Mattel is just trying to keep riding even into the holiday shopping season, and into 2024.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: We may or may not have purchased a holiday Barbie in our household. But have they been able to ride this wave? They were so onboard with this movie, which I thought was really interesting, and they have ridden it, the retail part of it?

SOLOMON: Yes, they have. It's been a significant success for them. So I went to their last earnings report and you see both in their North American segment and their international segment a really strong growth between nine and 10 percent depending on what you're talking about. They mention Barbie, they mention the strength of the dolls. And I should say that even yesterday their stock popped about two-and- a-half percent because they announced that they are developing an American Girl Doll movie.

HARLOW: I forgot they own America Girl Doll.

SOLOMON: They're hoping to -- they're trying to recapture the Barbie success.

HARLOW: Samantha for life according to our executive producer in my ear.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: I was too old for that. But I would love a Stevie Nicks Barbie. If Santa is listening, I would like a Stevie Nicks Barbie.

HARLOW: No one is too old for Barbie, so you can take advantage of that.

HILL: Thanks, Rahel.

CNN THIS MORNING continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Ultimately the president will discuss ongoing efforts to promote stability in the West Bank, including their efforts to confront terrorism, to support the Palestinian Authority security forces through the U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority through ongoing efforts to revamp and revitalize the Palestinian Authority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: We are glad you are with us. The White House right there making it clear that Israel must be more careful with civilians in its war against Hamas. A U.S. official tells CNN the Biden administration wants to transition to a lower intensity war within weeks, a stark difference from what Israeli officials are saying. They say the fighting will last, quote, more than several months.

HILL: Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley continues to gain steam in her 2024 presidential run. Can she, though, take over Trump's spot at the top of the party. One of her biggest supporters, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, will be joining us here to discuss Haley's chances.

HARLOW: We also have brand new, exclusive CNN reporting on highly classified intelligence that went missing at the end of the Trump administration. That intelligence related to Russian election interference in the United States. The case of that missing binder ahead.

This hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

Here is where we begin this hour. Right now, President Biden's national security advisor is in the West Bank to meet with the head of the Palestinian Authority. Earlier today Jake Sullivan met with Israeli leaders and told reporters the U.S. wants to see results in reducing civilian casualties in Gaza. He did, though, downplay any rift between the White House and Israel over how this war should proceed.

HILL: A senior U.S. official telling CNN the White House wants Israel to transition to a more targeted within weeks, possibly even by the end of the year. Israel's defense minister, though, says the fighting will last, his words, more than several months. Our own Alex Marquardt asked Jake Sullivan about that timeline this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: We are now in the middle of a high intensity phase with ongoing ground operations, military operations in both the northern half and the southern half of Gaza. But there will be a transition to another phase of this war, one that is focused in more precise ways on targeting the leadership. We are not here to tell anybody you must do x, you must do y. We're here to say this is our perspective as your partner, as your friend. This is what we believe is the best way to achieve both your tactical and strategic goals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining us now is Mark Regev. He's senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of course, former Israeli ambassador to the U.K. Good to have you with us, as always. There is a lot of back and forth on this timeline here. As we look at this, U.S. officials, as we have been talking about throughout the morning, hoping to see this transition in a matter of weeks, perhaps by the end of the year. I know you can't give me a gate I date. Can you give me a better sense, though, of that timeline from Israel's point of view?

MARK REGEV, SENIOR ADVISER TO ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Yes, we will need more time. But the signs are positive. We are seeing the Hamas military machine in the northern Gaza Strip being destroyed as we speak. We're maybe close to the end of that. We are seeing increasing numbers of Hamas terrorists coming up with their hands up, holding their AK-47s above their head. They are surrendering to our forces. So I think there we are seeing the collapse of Hamas's military machine.

In the south where we started more recently, that will take a bit longer. But it's clear we are moving ahead. To paraphrase Churchill, we are at the beginning of the end. And I think that will allow us when we finish this first -- this stage that we are in at the moment to move to the next stage of the conflict. But we have to finish the stage we are currently in. If we are seeing Hamas collapse in the north, we have to see them collapse in the south, too.

HILL: Talking about the collapsing of Hamas, a U.S. official also noting that they weren't entirely clear when Israel says the goal is to eradicate Hamas what that translates to.

[08:05:07]

Is it seeing the collapse as you are seeing now? Is it doing away with leadership? Is it literally going after every single Hamas supporter in Gaza? What do those words mean in terms of eradicating Hamas in this moment?

REGEV: It means that we dismantle their military machine as a fighting force. We deny them the capability of attacking us ever again the way they did on October 7th. That's clear. In other words, as I say, dismantle their military terrorist capabilities. And, of course, on the political side, reduce them. They will no longer be able to govern the Gaza Strip. Gaza will have, when this is over, a government that is not Hamas. The Israelis simply refuse to live next to this enclave, this terrorist-controlled enclave on our southern border in constant fear of people, terrorists crossing the southern frontier and butchering our children. No. So we will destroy their capability to inflict pain and murder upon us, and we will end their rule of the Gaza Strip.

HILL: As you know, President Biden has been more public and perhaps more forceful in his language lately, just yesterday saying, urging Israel to in his words, and I'm quoting here, be more careful, specifically talking about civilian casualties. You know about the push in Washington when it comes to conditions on aid for Israel. Are you concerned about dwindling support from Israel's strongest ally because of the humanitarian crisis and the civilian deaths?

REGEV: So we had very good conversations on these very issues yesterday with your national security advisor. And I think it's understood, Israel understands this, of course. Why we pursue this campaign against Hamas, and we will pursue the campaign and Hamas will be defeated and destroyed. But as we do that in parallel, we will do everything we can to safeguard the civilian population. We don't want to see it caught up in the crossfire between the Israeli forces and Hamas. And to facilitate humanitarian aid for that civilian population to enter the Gaza Strip to make sure there is food and water and medicine and shelter and medical support field hospitals for the civilian population, who have suffered so much who have suffered so much because of Hamas. Hamas that started this war. Hamas that uses them as a human shield for its war machine. Hamas that deliberately endangers them to try to keep itself alive.

HILL: I know you saw the reporting because I know you spoke with my colleague Kaitlan Collins about it last night, reporting from our colleague Clarissa Ward in southern Gaza at that field hospital. There was a young woman in that piece who said to Clarissa the world isn't listening to us. Nobody cares about us. We have been dying for over 60 days. You talk about getting more aid into field hospitals, food, water. The World Food Programme declared a catastrophic hunger crisis 10 days ago. How concerned are you about this growing humanitarian crisis? And in terms of getting that aid in, what can you promise this morning?

REGEV: So I can promise that we will beef up our efforts together with the international community to make sure that food, water, medicine, all the elementary school humanitarian supplies reach the people of Gaza. That is our commitment. In the first week of this war, we are going back now close to 70 days, we said the IDF places no limitations on food, water, and medicine going into the Gaza Strip. And we want to work very closely with our American partners, the United Nations, and other humanitarian groups to make sure that that food, water, medicine enters the Gaza Strip and reaches the people.

Now, here we have a problem because Hamas is in many ways want to artificially manufacture a humanitarian crisis. They don't want food to reach the people. They want a crisis because that way they can have more pressure on us to cease our campaign. That's Hamas's lifeline. So it's crucial we succeed in making sure the aid reaches the people.

HILL: So what are those efforts this morning? For people who are just tuning in, they hear a lot about the need for fuel, they hear about the numbers of trucks. That doesn't always translate, though, in terms of what that means for relief on the ground. And 85 percent, I believe, is the current number of people in Gaza have now been displaced by the fighting. Getting them to a place where they can get that food, where they can even access and go out safely, as we know from our reporting and from others on the ground, is incredibly difficult. Can you just put that in numbers for folks this morning, what that could look like and when?

REGEV: So I can tell you at the moment, as we speak, Israel has authorized and inspected trucks that are still waiting to go in. And there are logistic issues in southern Gaza. This is why we think maybe Hamas is playing a negative role here. Once again, we have authorized and inspected -- we have to inspect all trucks going into Gaza, for obvious reasons.

[08:10:00]

We don't want Hamas receiving new munitions, new explosives, and so forth. But trucks that have already been inspected and authorized are still being held up not because of Israel. There might be objective logistic issues, but there is also the fact that Hamas here, we believe, is deliberately causing problems. They know that their lifeline is a ceasefire that stops Israel destroying their military machine. And they want that international pressure. We have to make sure the civilian aid reaches the civilians.

HILL: Before we let you go, President Biden, as you know, has been adamant that a two-state solution is still necessary after this war. In terms of Benjamin Netanyahu and the current Israeli government, are they open to a two-state solution?

REGEV: So the formula that my prime minister uses, I think, is clear. He says the Palestinians should have all the powers to rule themselves and none of the powers to threaten Israel. And considering what happened on October 7th, I am sure you can be very understanding of the second part of the formula, none of the powers to threaten Israel. On the basis of that formula, we are happy to move forward in discussions. The idea that Palestinians should be able to rule themselves, that is open. That's possible.

HILL: Mark Regev, appreciate the time this morning. Thank you.

REGEV: My pleasure.

HARLOW: Really important conversation this morning, especially after Clarissa's reporting.

New exclusive CNN reporting about highly classified intelligence that went missing at the end of the Trump administration. The intelligence was related to Russian election interference in the United States. It was so secret, it was kept inside a safe within another safe at CIA headquarters. But in the final weeks of the Trump administration, a copy of that intelligence put inside a binder, brought to the White House as part of an effort to declassify documents related to the FBI's Russia probe. And from there the trail goes cold. Our Katie Bo Lillis helped report out all of this, and she joins us this morning. Why is this significant to the American people?

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: So this binder brought to the White House contained raw intelligence that the U.S. and its NATO allies collected on Russia's efforts to meddle in the 2016 election, including sources and methods, which are some of those sensitive information in the intelligence world. So what we're talking about here is the underlying intelligence that forms the basis of the U.S. government's assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to help Trump win the 2016 election. And the disappearance of this binder was so alarming to intelligence

officials that, according to our sources, they briefed Senate Intelligence Committee leadership about the situation last year. Now, we are told by one U.S. official familiar with the matter that this was not among the classified items that were found in last year's search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, and it wasn't why the FBI searched Trump's residence. But what is true is that more than two years after it went missing, this intelligence still does not appear to have been found.

HILL: I am so fascinated by this story, and also how the intelligence ended up at the White House.

LILLIS: Yes, so Trump had spent years trying to declassify material that he said would prove his claims that the Russia investigation was a hoax. And this intelligence was part of a massive selection of documents that he ordered brought to the White House, and there was this sort of frantic scramble in the final days of the administration to redact the documents so that they could be declassified and released publicly.

On his last full day as president, Trump did issue a declassification order for these materials, but they didn't get released before he left office. And there is actually a Trump ally who has filed suit over this hoping to force the federal government's hand. And we in reporting this story, CNN spoke to more than a dozen sources, my colleagues and I, who all who of them described sort of how this intelligence was brought to the White House in the final weeks of Trump's presidency and then went missing.

HARLOW: Any clues about what happened to it?

LILLIS: We don't know exactly what happened to the binder that went missing. There is one theory that has emerged from testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, the former top aide to former chief of staff Mark Meadows. She told the January 6th committee that she was, quote, almost positive it went home with Mr. Meadows. She said that the binder had been kept in a safe in Meadows's office when it wasn't being worked on.

Hutchinson wrote about this classified intelligence in her book. She claimed that on January 19th, the final night of the Trump presidency, that she saw Meadows leave the White House with an unredacted binder, quote, tucked under his arm. Now, Mark Meadows's attorney strongly denies this, and he said in a statement to us, quote, "Mr. Meadows was keenly aware of and adhered to requirements for the properly handling of classified material.

[08:15:00]

Any such material that he handled or was in his possession has been treated accordingly, and any suggestion that he is responsible for any missing binder or other classified information is flat wrong."

We also reached out to officials with the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Justice Department, all of whom declined to comment. The Trump campaign also didn't respond to our request to comments for the binder, which all of which to say is that the mystery of this missing binder remains just that, a mystery.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All of which is to say you're going to keep digging.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

HARLOW: Katie Bo Lillis, thank you.

LILLIS: Thank you.

HILL: Overnight, a decision that could cripple Ukraine on the battlefield. One European country blocking billions of dollars, tens of billions of dollars in military aid.

HARLOW: Momentum picking up for Nikki Haley. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu just endorsed her and he's here to talk about it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: So we are exactly one month from the Iowa caucuses. The remaining Republican candidates including Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis facing a key question: Can they break Donald Trump's grip on this early momentum in the early nominating states?

The former president has overwhelming leads in New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina despite never appearing on the debate stage, that is something Haley wants to change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The person I want to debate is Donald Trump. If you can get him on your show, that's who I want to debate, that's who we're looking at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Haley has the momentum right now, big financial backers and a coveted endorsement this week from New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. We will speak to him in just a moment, despite his skepticism that we'd invite him back on this program if he endorsed her a couple of weeks ago. Watch.

[08:20:06]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Governor, you had said a lot of nice things about Ambassador Nikki Haley, about Governor DeSantis. And I'm so glad you came on the show this morning to endorse one of them. Where is your endorsement going?

Come on.

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R-NH): Well, look, I don't know who I'm endorsing yet. I can tell you, I think it's -- not yet, not yet. If I endorse today, you'll never ask me back on the show, right? So I've got to play the long game.

HARLOW: This is not -- that is unequivocally not the case, Governor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Indeed not the case, he joins us now, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. It is so nice to have you in person.

SUNUNU: It is so nice to having me back, I love being here.

HARLOW: I loved your sit-down with Ambassador Haley and Dana earlier this week up in New Hampshire.

Let me talk about some of the criticism though, that Nikki Haley continues to draw from rivals and see if you think it's merited. Chris Christie saying: "You can't keep threading the needle on Trump."

Do you want to see her now take on Trump much more directly ala Christie?

SUNUNU: Well, no, look, Chris has his own style. He tells his truth on Trump. He knows Trump very well. It's kind of going nuclear on Trump, and there's a value to that without a doubt.

You know, Nikki Haley is focused on what Nikki Haley is about, her resume, what she brings to the table, and when you look at that, it is far and away the most qualified individual, the best option to be president of the United States and that's why I've endorsed her so strongly.

So no, she doesn't have to -- she take him on. In all of our town halls, she talks about the Trump issue, the chaos that follows him, the problems that he has, and how he affects the Republican ballot.

You want to win governorships and congressional seats? You can't have Donald Trump on top of the ticket. We tried that in '22. Where was the red wave?

HARLOW: Do you think that's enough?

SUNUNU: We tried it and --

HARLOW: But do you think that approach, not going nuclear, that approach that she is taking us enough to beat him in these states?

SUNUNU: I think -- yes, because it doesn't just have to be from her. There are surrogates, there's other folks.

I think that the memo is out on Donald Trump and all of the issues and chaos that follow him.

HARLOW: But she did tell Dana in that interview, you know, when Diana pushed, the he is -- Trump is fit to be president. She doesn't want him to be president, but he is fit. SUNUNU: Yes, and I think most people would agree with that, but look,

we don't want him to be president. That's kind of a 50/50 within the Republican Party right now.

I mean, he beats Biden by a couple of points. Nikki Haley beats Biden by 17 in the latest poll.

HARLOW: Yes, that was in the Wall Street Journal poll a couple of days ago.

SUNUNU: Yes.

HARLOW: Tell me why you didn't endorse Chris Christie.

SUNUNU: Oh, Chris is a great guy and a friend, as is Ron, great governor, great friend.

You know, at the end of the day, you know, New Hampshire can't be a launching pad kind of nothing. I think Chris has put a lot of effort in New Hampshire and I respect that, not as much in Iowa and South Carolina. What Nikki Haley is doing is making a case in every single state everywhere she goes.

HARLOW: So, Christie's strategy is wrong.

SUNUNU: It's different. It's different.

HARLOW: It sounds to me like that's what you're saying.

SUNUNU: Yes, he -- look, he's done a great job connecting with folks, but at the end of the day, I think Nikki -- I just know it. I've spent more time with Ron and Nikki and Chris than probably anybody else in the country. Dozens of all of their events, gotten to know them very well, personally.

And at the end of the day, I keep coming back to, who has that connection? Who has the trust? Who is listening to people as individuals and not just saying, here is my big government solution?

HARLOW: Help me understand, you said back in August that you thought that Trump's lead would "fall" as we get to around Christmas. As my children reminded me last night, we were 10 days now or nine days away from Christmas. Why hasn't that happened?

SUNUNU: Well, the gap is closing, right? So you see Nikki surging even before my endorsement, and AFP coming on board, and all of these fundraisers coming on board. None of them have led a ground game very strong at any state yet, a little bit in Iowa, but not --

HARLOW: Nikki Haley hasn't?

SUNUNU: Not quite yet, but with AFP coming on board, you're going to have hundreds of volunteers.

See folks in New Hampshire won't make the decision till about now, as we've always talked about, and this is where the momentum is. We were at these town halls, where you know, typically you can get a couple hundred people in the room. That's pretty good.

They turned a thousand people away at the door the other night for Nikki Haley. And when she says, you know, raise your hand if you've never heard me speak. Everyone is raising their hand. They're all new voters. They're all new individuals coming.

There's DeSantis people, there's Trump people, there's Christie people, there's new people just coming to engage in the conversation. So the fact that it's all new, there's all of this momentum, this is where the energy is, this is where you're going to see the gap start to really close.

HARLOW: You are friends with Chris Christie, and I assume you'll be friends after this.

SUNUNU: Of course. Chris is a great guy.

HARLOW: Have you had or are you planning to have any difficult conversation with him about dropping out?

SUNUNU: No, look, Chris is smart. You know, if there's a time to drop out, and that's really a choice for him to make.

HARLOW: If you want to support for Nikki Haley, folks have to drop out.

SUNUNU: Well, without -- and they have, right, so we've had this consolidation happen. I think it'll continue to happen whether it's before or after Iowa, I'm not a hundred percent sure. But the fact that as Republicans, we've got this down to two or three candidates, and the psychology of choice is very different.

HARLOW: Ramaswamy?

SUNUNU: But four candidates -- we don't count Vivek.

HARLOW: Come on.

SUNUNU: Okay. Yes, he is a conspiracy theory nut. Nobody cares about Vivek Ramaswamy. He is a surrogate for Trump, right? That's all that's happening there.

So the fact that you have kind of those four candidates there being Trump, DeSantis, Chris, and Nikki. Nikki is really surging. She's the one that has the momentum. She's the one that again with her background as a governor that turned around a state, the international experience, I think people are really appreciating, she has more international experience than anyone given this myriad of those issues.

HARLOW: In the midst of two wars and you know, she was very vocal on the issue of Israel while at the UN.

[08:25:05]

Let's talk though about that huge issue for voters including suburban women that can often be the deciding vote, abortion.

Chris Christie keeps saying he just doesn't think she is clear enough on abortion and even some of her supporters say this. Let's listen to his criticism of where she falls on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a continued disturbing pattern on Governor Haley's part. If the question is really hard, she wants to make everybody happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: He thinks she is that way on the issue.

SUNUNU: She is crystal clear.

HARLOW: Well, okay, how is she crystal clear by saying she would sign a six-week ban?

SUNUNU: It's a safe issue. Yes.

HARLOW: But then also talking about having compassion.

SUNUNU: So, she talked about a six-week ban if you're a governor, right? What she is saying is -- she was asked if she was governor of South Carolina, and again, she is pro-life and unapologetically. I am more pro-choice, but her answer is actually exactly the same as mine. This is a state's issue.

And what California is going to do is going to be different than Mississippi or South Carolina or New Hampshire and New York. And that's just where it is. And you let the voters have the say, and what you'll see is all the states will start kind of tweaking. I think what you saw in Texas this week was terrible and Nikki would be the first to tell you that.

HARLOW: The Supreme Court blocking Kate Cox's ability to have an abortion despite her doctor...

SUNUNU: Because the law was wrong.

HARLOW: ... saying medically she needed -- the state, the law was wrong in Texas.

SUNUNU: Well, yes, see, if the Supreme Court said, well, this is the law and according to the law, you know, that's it.

And so I think that the lawmakers are going to have to go back in Texas and say, well, I guess we've got to tweak this law, because this is a problem, and I think we all agree that that should happen.

HARLOW: And just said the reason people pay attention when Nikki Haley says, "As governor of South Carolina, I would sign a six-week ban." You're right, she said it in the context of as governor.

But if you're president and if it can get 60 votes in the Senate and come to your desk --

SUNUNU: But it would never 60 votes. Never.

HARLOW: But a lot of people said Roe would never be overturned.

SUNUNU: But look, we might have -- Republicans might have 45 pro-life senators today. They'll never have 60 pro-life senators ever, like it hasn't happened in a hundred years.

So that's a beyond a hypothetical. So that's not going to happen. So what she talks about at the federal level is, where do we find that consensus, right?

Late term, not demonizing and putting women and folks in jail, you know, because they had an abortion -- she finds all those areas of consensus that the vast majority of Americans agree on and that's probably what can pass and you don't worry about everything else, because that's going to be handled at the state level.

That's the exact right answer because that's the way the Founding Fathers designed it. Every state is going to be different. Every state is going to keep tweaking it.

You saw what happened in Ohio on the abortion issue. People are saying whoa, whoa, whoa --

HARLOW: Every ballot in red states.

SUNUNU: Every ballot and it affects every ballot. So no, I think her answer on that given that she's pro-life, I'm pro-choice, she is actually spot on. You let the voters, you let the people have the say.

HARLOW: Governor Sununu, it's great to have you.

SUNUNU: You bet.

HARLOW: Have a good holiday.

SUNUNU: You, too.

HARLOW: If I don't see you before.

SUNUNU: Merry Christmas.

HARLOW: Erica.

HILL: Great conversation.

Well, there is growing -- a growing number of indicators to show the economy is getting stronger. So why then do most Americans believe it's actually getting worse? Harry Enten is going to break those numbers down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]