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CNN This Morning
Texas Deputies Mistake Woman For Intruder, Shoot Her; Nepali Men Describe Horrors Of Fighting For Russia; Musk Ordered To Testify In SEC's Twitter Takeover Probe. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired February 13, 2024 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): A perfect operation, a perfect execution, and I want to tell you how proud I am of you. I'm proud of you, of the Shin Bet, the IDF. You worked together like an oiled machine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: That was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praising Israeli special forces who rescued two hostages on Monday in Gaza.
CNN has also obtained this video and it shows those forces meeting with the hostages inside a vehicle. This is moments before they boarded a helicopter and they were flown to a hospital inside of Israel. After being held captive for 128 days, the two men, Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Har, were finally reunited with their loved ones -- an emotional -- look at that -- and very heartfelt moment.
Nic Robertson spoke with one of the family members about how they're doing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Physically, how are they both? How would you describe them?
IDAN BEGERANO, RESCUED HOSTAGE'S SON-IN-LAW: I can say very thin. Walking, at least -- so I can say that they are walking. And -- but I believe that they're still on high adrenaline and we will see how physically good or bad they are or how mentally good or bad they are only when that days will come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Joining us now is Dr. Hagai Levine. He is the head of the medical team for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. He has been monitoring the hostages' condition, really, since the beginning, and helping the families. Dr. Levine, it's really good to have you back on the program this morning. Could you update us on how they are doing?
DR. HAGAI LEVINE, MEDICAL TEAM CHIEF, HOSTAGES AND MISSING FAMILIES FORUM (via Webex by Cisco): Sure. Good morning there, Poppy.
So they are now examined in the Sheba Medical Center in Israel. Obviously, we are very happy that they survived but they do have a mental and physical implications, especially for Louis who needed several medications. Unfortunately, it seems like he did not receive his needed medications, including the shipment that we, through the French and Qatari, were supposed to receive as the Qatari promised. Their families and France -- that they would receive the medications but we don't have indication for that. They will have a very long recovery process.
And obviously, we are very concerned about the other 134 hostages that are still in captivity and their lives are in danger every moment, every day.
HARLOW: And that question about medication is such a crucial one because if that's the case for him, who else is that the case for -- other captives?
CNN -- we, as a team, did reach out to Qatar -- the Qatari government and the International Red Cross with a lot of questions about this. We haven't heard back yet.
How about mentally? I mean, we saw the reunion, thank goodness, with their loved ones. But after being held for 128 days can you speak to what that journey is like that they're facing ahead?
LEVINE: It's complex, as you know -- things in life. On the one hand, we see this outstanding resilience of some of the people. And I'm in close contact with released hostages and with their families and we see people that are able to recover to some extent and then -- but we do see also the trouble sleeping at night. The fear -- the fear of things -- something can trigger the fear that we don't know. The lack of trust in other humans after the conditions they were in captivity.
And, you know, today there are the talks in Cairo and we really hope that they will be successful. We need the help of the United States and of France to make sure that there is an agreement and all of the hostages return.
And tomorrow, the families -- one of the family members will go to Hague to the International Criminal Court to submit the file against the crimes of the Hamas. And we need to understand the fact that they received no food and we now see how thin they came back. And the fact that they were tortured, at least mentally.
HARLOW: Yeah. And Doctor, just to that point, can I ask you because people -- just to remind people, you -- your organization treated and has been working with more than 100 hostages that were released back in that deal in November.
What does their condition, both physically and mentally, tell you -- if anything -- about how conditions may have changed in Gaza? What Hamas is doing with them now since the other hostages that you've helped.
LEVINE: So I'm not sure I got your question. We know that for those who were released -- and I can tell you I went to Paris last week with some of the families and we slept in the same apartment. And I could see that also from the outside they function well but at night, as they have their deep and very complicated and mental situation because of the captivity.
[07:35:05]
For the -- Louis and Fernando, for now, being released, we will have to follow over the next days to see.
Obviously, 128 days is worse than 50 days. But I must say, at least for them, because it seems like they were together the whole time, that's very stressing. We know that some of those just -- including formerly released children -- they were kept alone for many days and this is very traumatizing.
So again, I'm very worried about the remaining hostages. Some of them are injured, some of them are sick, and some of them were sexually tortured and physically tortured as we know from previous testimonies that I received directly from the released hostages.
So I really hope that the talks in Cairo will be now successful and we will be able to release these innocent people into this crisis.
HARLOW: Yeah, and crucial talks today in Cairo, including the head of the CIA here in the U.S. Hoping for the best.
Dr. Levine, thank you.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the polls are open in New York to replace the disgraced congressman, George Santos in the House. How this race could be a bellwether for the election in November.
HARLOW: Also, very disturbing body camera footage from Houston of two deputies shooting into an apartment window. We'll tell you what happened ahead.
(COMMERCIAL)
MATTINGLY: Well, this morning, new police camera video shows Harris County deputies in Houston shooting a woman inside her friend's apartment after mistaking her for an intruder. Deputies knocked on the door and announced themselves after a neighbor flagged that the screen had been removed and a window was broken.
[07:40:00]
Here's what happened next.
HARLOW: As you can see, the deputies -- who it's important to note have edited the video that you -- playing for you -- say an individual approached the front door with what they say was a gun and fired. Attorney Benjamin Crump says this video is evidence of unnecessary and excessive force.
Jason Carroll has the reporting. He's with us this morning. What do you know?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, what exactly happened here and who ultimately is at fault, if anyone is at fault, is all in likelihood going to be decided by a grand jury.
But here's what happened here. It was early Saturday morning. The Harris County sheriffs got a call of a possible break-in at an apartment building in the Clover Leaf area of Houston. When they got there a tenant directed them to the apartment in question and they noticed it had a broken window.
The Harris County sheriff says that the two deputies announced themselves and knocked on the door. When they looked through the window they allegedly saw a woman holding a gun walking towards the door. The deputies opened fire striking Eboni Pouncy.
A second woman then came down the stairs with her hands up begging the deputies not to shoot. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(Gunshots)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Incredible footage there.
Investigators learned later that Eboni Pouncy was actually staying there with the other resident and that window was broken because the two had forgotten their keys. They broke through the window so they could let themselves in.
Famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has worked a number of cases involving police-involved shootings -- including the one involving Breonna Taylor, who I'm sure you guys both remember, who was mistakenly shot inside her apartment by police in Louisville back in 2020.
Crump said the following. "This newly released body cam footage is evidence of the unnecessary and excessive force used against her. The video shows the deputies that responded to Eboni's friend's house shot first and asked questions later. We demand that the deputies involved be immediately held accountable."
The investigation clearly now is being conducted by the sheriff's department and will eventually be turned over to the district attorney's office.
A really disturbing video when you see that there.
HARLOW: Yeah. MATTINGLY: But a lot of questions.
HARLOW: So many questions.
Jason, keep us posted.
CARROLL: OK.
HARLOW: Thank you.
MATTINGLY: Well, nearly 15,000 of Nepali's men fighting on the front lines for the Russians. Our Matthew Chance went to Katmandu to learn about the impact of Putin's war.
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[07:46:23]
MATTINGLY: Now to a CNN exclusive. Sources say Russia has recruited more than 15,000 men from Nepal to bolster its ranks in the fight against Ukraine. The recruits are first enticed with the promise of money and a passport and then deployed to the front lines with just a gun and some very basic training. Now, hundreds of Nepali families say their relatives are missing and they fear the worst and some haven't been in contact for weeks or even months.
CNN's Matthew Chance has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It should be a world apart from the battlefields of Ukraine but this Himalayan state has become an unlikely casualty of Russia's brutal war.
Nepalis, like Ramchandra, who escaped the Russian army with his life, have prayed for his comrades still fighting on the front lines. He took a bullet and shrapnel in Ukraine, he told me, and saw many Nepalis killed.
RAMCHANDRA KHADKA, FORMER FIGHTER (Speaking foreign language).
CHANCE (voice-over): "Some complained they were sent forward while Russian troops held back," he tells me. "But the main problem is the language barrier. Sometimes you couldn't even understand where you're supposed to be going," he says -- "which way to point your gun."
But that chaos hasn't stopped Nepalis signing up. Many posting upbeat videos on social media of their military training in Russia where they're meant to be prepared for the hardships of the Ukraine war.
In reality, several former Nepali recruits tell CNN they were sent into battle after barely two weeks to fight for the Kremlin armed with a rifle and a contract for a few thousand dollars a month -- a fortune in Nepal where unemployment is high. CHANCE: For the vast majority of Nepalis fighting for Russia in Ukraine, they're doing it for the money. And they come from these (INAUDIBLE) impoverished areas across the country.
We've actually come to one of them now on the outskirts of Katmandu to meet a woman who in the past few days has learned that her husband has been killed fighting in that distant war.
Hello. Hi. Namaste.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Namaste.
CHANCE: Namaste.
CHANCE (voice-over): He was with a unit of Nepalis battling Ukrainians, she tells me, when he was gunned down.
BUDDHI MAYO TAMANG, HUSBAND KILLED ON FRONT LINE: (Speaking foreign language).
CHANCE (voice-over): "It was my husband's friend -- his Nepali commander in Ukraine -- who called me in the middle of the night and told me he'd been killed," she tells me -- still shocked at the news. "There has been no notification from the Russians," she adds -- "nothing."
It's a growing frustration with Russia's treatment of Nepalis as cannon fodder in the Ukraine war, shared with these protesters near the Russian Embassy in Katmandu --
CHANCE: (INAUDIBLE), hi.
CHANCE (voice-over): -- and the Nepali foreign minister who told me he's pressed Moscow to curb recruitment to no avail.
NARAYAN PRAKASH SAUD, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, NEPAL: They told me that they would sort it out -- the concern of Nepal.
CHANCE: So they told you they will sort it out?
SAUD: Yeah.
CHANCE: But they haven't done anything yet?
SAUD: Yet, they didn't have -- we don't have any (INAUDIBLE) doing anything.
CHANCE (voice-over): There's not much information either on how many Nepalis are even fighting for Russia -- about 200, according to Nepali officials. But multiple sources, including campaigners, lawmakers, and returning fighters tell CNN as many as 15,000 Nepalis could be fighting in Ukraine.
[07:50:06]
CHANCE: Well, we've asked the Russians how many Nepalis they've recruited and how many have been killed in what the Kremlin calls its special military operation. So far, there's been no response. Now, there are concerns here in Nepal the casualty figures may be high. CNN has learned that hundreds of Nepalis who joined the Russian military are out of contact and it's uncertain if they're dead or alive.
CHANCE (voice-over): Januka, a young Nepali mother, is assuming the worst. Her husband hasn't called for more than two months now.
JANUKA SUNAR, WIFE OF MISSING NEPALI FIGHTER: (Speaking foreign language).
CHANCE (voice-over): "The children ask me when their daddy is coming home," she sulks. "Even if he doesn't love us anymore. We just want to see his face." But another Nepali recruit to Russia's war may never be seen again.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Katmandu in Nepal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: What a story. Our thanks to Matthew and his team for that.
Also ahead, Elon Musk facing calls to testify for a third time before federal regulators about his takeover of Twitter. We've got reporting on that ahead.
(COMMERCIAL)
[07:55:35]
HARLOW: Welcome back.
Right now, X owner Elon Musk is facing calls to testify before federal regulators about his $44 billion takeover of Twitter in 2022. A federal judge has ordered Musk to schedule a third interview with the Securities and Exchange Commission by next week. And this comes as part of an investigation into whether Musk broke securities law by failing to disclose his purchase of Twitter stock in a timely manner.
Musk has fought the SEC's efforts to interview him again. He has accused that regulator of harassment.
MATTINGLY: Now, investors have 10 days to tell the SEC any time they buy five percent or more of a company's stock. Musk quietly bought up near -- up to nearly 10 percent of Twitter's stock in early April of 2022 then waiting 21 days to make those legal disclosures. Experts say the delay saved him millions of dollars.
Our next guest just published a book today that sheds fresh light on the questions that Musk's purchase raised inside Twitter at the time, writing, quote, "The stake Elon Musk acquired suggested he might try to take over the company. But the paperwork he'd filed with the SEC suggested otherwise." Adding, "With Musk, it was hard to tell what was part of a strategy and what was simply sloppy paperwork."
Joining us now is Zoe Schiffer, the managing editor of the investigative tech newsletter Platformer. She's also the author of said brand-new book "Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk's Twitter." Thanks so much for joining us.
I want to start with kind of the news of the moment because your book does shed light on this. And it's kind of this split-screen of is there some really smart secret savvy strategy going on or is he just kind of flying by the seat of his pants? Twitter -- the owners at the time were trying to figure this out. The top executives were trying to figure it out.
What did you learn as you kind of look back at that moment?
ZOE SCHIFFER, MANAGING EDITOR, PLATFORMER, AUTHOR, "EXTREMELY HARDCORE: INSIDE ELON MUSK'S TWITTER (via Webex by Cisco): Look, the truth is with Elon Musk we still don't know the answer. Like you said, it's very hard to tell what is the strategy and what is simply an oversight because he is so busy. He's running so many companies.
But as you said, because he failed to disclose in the timeframe he was supposed to he was able to continue buying stock at a lower price. The situation wasn't fair for other investors and shareholders.
And Elon Musk has said blatantly that he doesn't respect the SEC -- likely because in 2018, it fined him about $20 million for a tweet where he claimed that he had funding secure to take Tesla private.
HARLOW: Phil and I agree best title of a book ever, for sure.
SCHIFFER: Yeah.
HARLOW: Talk about the genesis of it -- it's an email -- and just how it reflects company culture now at X.
SCHIFFER: Yeah, absolutely.
So this email came shortly after Elon Musk acquired the company. He was really giving employees an ultimatum. He had already fired half the company and now he was telling remaining employees sign up to be extremely hardcore, work really long hours, get fewer benefits, or get out.
MATTINGLY: And it was kind of the fork in the road. And what's interesting is we've heard so many stories of the employees that left or the employees that are suing for severance or trying to get money back.
You also have many profiles of people who took advantage of it and pitched their own ideas and Musk signed off on them, and they were able to move forward.
SCHIFFER: Yes.
MATTINGLY: And I think that's fascinating to have kind of the full picture of it.
But can I ask from a broader sense we -- I feel like we've heard for two years that X is about to collapse. X is falling apart. X has no money. X has huge problems. The infrastructure -- the brains behind kind of the day-to-day plumbing of the place all left.
What is the state of X right now?
SCHIFFER: Yeah. I want to say first, that no one who had worked on this technology thought that X was going to go down overnight, although the media did kind of predict that at the time. The company had spent so many years trying to make the platform as stable as possible in the event that there was a massive influx of users, or a data center went down, or a disaster struck. And disaster did kind of strike in the form of Elon Musk.
But the platform is robust and if it declines it will be kind of a steady and slow decline, which is largely what we've seen -- not a big bang where it goes offline overnight.
What we know right now is that X is still really hurting financially. Last year, the company was on track to make about $2.5 billion from advertising, which is a significant slump from prior years. And Elon Musk continues to scare away advertisers.
HARLOW: Can I ask -- you do, though, acknowledge that there are some positive things you think have come from Musk's takeover of Twitter, now X. What are those?
SCHIFFER: Yeah. So it's worth pointing out that prior to Elon Musk, Twitter did have enormous problems. From 2006 to 2016, the company failed to turn a profit. Jack Dorsey was largely an absentee landlord. And what employees.
