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World Leaders Sound Alarm After Alexei Navalny's Reported Death; Judge Orders Trump To Pay Nearly $355M In Civil Fraud Trial; Biden Visits East Palestine, Ohio One Year After Train Derailment; Some Residents Still In Limbo One Year After Ohio Train Derailment. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired February 17, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:01:05]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Saturday, February 17th. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thank you for joining us. Here's what we are watching for you. We've got live pictures here from the Munich Security Conference. World leaders, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy, reacting to Alexei Navalny's death. The message that they say Putin is sending the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK CITY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The scale and the scope of Donald Trump's fraud is staggering. And so, too, is his ego.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: A New York judge rules that Donald Trump and his companies must pay hundreds of millions of dollars for fraudulently inflating the value of his New York companies. The penalties his children will also face and Trump's reaction.

BLACKWELL: And President Biden visits East Palestine, the site of that toxic train derailment more than a year ago. His message to families, and we'll speak to one woman who says that she still cannot go back to her home.

WALKER: As world leaders converge in Munich, the spokeswoman for Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, confirms Navalny died in Russian prison custody, citing an official message to his mother. The spokeswoman says government officials are "conducting investigations" with his body. The 47-year-old Vladimir Putin critic died Friday, which sparked an international outpouring of both grief and alarm. Despite the risk, people in Moscow brought flowers to the wall of a Sarah memorial to honor him.

BLACKWELL: President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken are among many world leaders who are blaming Vladimir Putin. Harris is in Germany right now at the security conference and she's waiting to meet with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy spoke earlier at the conference after expressing his concerns over Navalny's death. Zelenskyy explained to CNN's Christiane Amanpour the dangers of a Russian expansion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We have to work in one joint team. That is the answer. If Ukraine will be alone, you have to understand what will be. Russia will destroy us, destroy Baltic, destroy Poland, and they can do it, if you will remind that. What was going on in Ukraine in 2014, our people were not ready for the war, for the quick occupation of Crimea, part of Donbass, and then during almost eight years, people began to be ready for such aggression, not only with a weapon, it's not a question of weapon, you're ready psychologically.

To my mind that in Europe there is no any nations for today who is ready for invasion, invasion. Because, not because we are stronger or better, not of course, we are the same, with the same values, but we had this all these years. And your nations didn't have, and psychologically, and informationally, and in media, you didn't prepare your nations. Understanding why, because nobody wants it. I mean, that, that's why that's why. Senators have to understand only in unity we can win Russia and they have to understand that we will win with them or not. We don't have any other way we have only one land, our Ukraine. CNN's Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Payton Walsh is in Munich right now.

WALKER: Hey there, Nick, what else are world leaders saying about Navalny's death and its overall impact?

NICK PAYTON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we've just been hearing from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the death of Navalny is a reminder of the extraordinary brutality of Putin. That's in a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, and the Ukrainians seizing upon this too as a, again, another reminder that Putin is not somebody you can necessarily enter into a political deal with. Trying to use the death of Navalny as a clear reminder of how Putin can't be trusted with the sort of background noise we're hearing leaning maybe towards the idea of some type of negotiation in the months ahead.

That's what some leaders have been hinting towards. Highly unlikely though because we've seen today a remarkable confluence of two awful events, frankly, allowing the speech you heard there from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to have a backdrop of a stark reminder both of the brutality of the Kremlin but also at the same time how his front lines are suffering enormously from the lack of USA.

[07:05:55]

We've just seen him walk past us here we think to go and meet the Vice President Kamala Harris on the other side of the street here away from the main venue behind us, and that meeting however it goes frankly will not change the basic fact that a dysfunctional Republican held Congress has not put through the $60 billion dollars' worth of aid Ukraine so urgently needs. Yet Zelenskyy's speech here, long planned, long anticipated, has had these two awful events behind him to solidify his message.

Yes, the death of Alexei Navalny. Unclear at this stage the exact details or what level of blame can be pointed towards the Kremlin. Certainly, at the most generous interpretation, they failed to keep him alive in the Arctic Circle prison, under harsh conditions, while he was there as Russia's most prominent political prisoner. While at the same time there are many European leaders pointing directly the finger at Putin calling this murder. But it's a stark reminder for many here of the immediacy of the threat in Russia towards its own people but to the outside world as well.

And secondarily, quite importantly this morning, Ukraine announced that it was withdrawing from a key town in the east, Avdiivka. It's been the site of intense fighting over the past weeks and months. Another town of minimal strategic importance, it's fair to say, that the Russians have thrown thousands of troops at to try and take it. Well, it appears that that yielded some success. The new commander of Ukraine's military saying that they'd fought as hard as they could, they weren't going to lose more lives to hold on to that particular town. But it enabled here, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to point out how the shortage of munitions and Western aid is having a real impact on the front lines. He did say, though, that Russia had endured significant losses in this fight. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: I can't share with you the number of victims, casualties, but for example, if you will -- when we speak that there are too much people, and you have to know, for example, in Avdiivka, just comparing the number one to seven. It's a bit -- that I'm, but for one death of Ukrainians, seven deaths of Russians -- one to seven. So, I'm not comparing this war, and I don't want, and it's tragedy even to lose one person but we didn't begin it. So, that's but you, you have to know, we have to understand what was going on in this small city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Staggering loss ratio there. Seven Russians dying per Ukrainian soldier. A reminder here that Zelenskyy using of what Russia's willing to callously throw into the fight here, but a meeting that many felt might have been dogged by former President Trump's comments about the integrity of NATO now simply fueled by the clarity of the threat Russia poses both on Ukraine's front lines and to its own dissidents after the death of Alexei Navalny. Back to you.

BLACKWELL: Nick Payton-Walsh for us there in Munich, thank you so much. Joining us now is General David Petraeus, former CIA Director and former Commander of U.S. Central Command. General, good morning to you. I want to come back to Avdiivka in just a moment, but I want to start with this meeting that I've been told is happening right now between President Zelenskyy and Vice President Harris, and all the uncertainty. Ukraine funding is uncertain. Funding for Israel and for Taiwan are uncertain. If former President Trump wins the election in November, U.S. commitment to these multilateral security organizations like NATO is uncertain. If the job of the U.S. delegation is to provide that certainty and reassurance, how much can she offer in this meeting?

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR AND FORMER COMMANDER OF U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Well, she'll say what she said yesterday when she addressed the audience here, which is that she and President Biden are determined to carry this forward. We heard reassurances from a Republican senator here today as well, saying this will happen. Of course, the uncertainty is what is very troubling, keeping in mind that the E.U. actually came through in this case.

They just committed $50 billion in additional euros to support of Ukraine. Individual European countries have been stepping up. The NATO Secretary General said 18 of 31 will meet that two percent of GDP on defense spending commitment. And even the German Chancellor committed to that here today as well. So, what is hanging over all of Munich is the uncertainty about the most important contributor to Ukraine at a time when Ukraine is battling against the Russian onslaught of drones and missiles and so forth and there's a limited number of interceptors for those who are the biggest contributor.

And one is apparently pretty clear that there is rationing of artillery ammunition going on, on the front lines of Ukraine, noting as you have that they have just had to pull out of this town of Avdiivka. This is not a strategically significant victory for Russia, it's an incredibly costly one as well, but it is a reverse nonetheless. So, that is the big question. When will this happen? Will it happen? And how soon then can you get back into the pipeline the air defense weapons systems and artillery ammunition that are so critical at this moment in Ukraine on the ground?

[07:11:27]

BLACKWELL: The commander of the Ukrainian 3rd Assault Brigade says as it relates to withdrawing from Avdiivka that it is just to come back even stronger. Is that just putting a bright picture or coloring this withdrawal? Or do you believe that that is even possible if the support stays at the level that we're seeing internationally?

PETRAEUS: Well, it depends very, very much on what the U.S. provides and how quickly it provides it. This is a pivotal moment in Ukraine, make no question about that. It also depends though on Ukraine's continued ability to generate forces and one of the debates that they have ongoing in Kyiv is whether to lower the, the age at which conscription kicks in. Because keep in mind that one of the real dynamics here is who can generate forces the fastest, the most capable, the most well-trained and well-armed.

Noting that, of course, Russia has a population that's more than three times the size of that of Ukraine and an economy that's probably ten times the size. So, there's that contextual factor here as well, and shortly at the Ukrainian lunch, a number of us are hoping to hear more details on that, because that's a critical component as well.

BLACKWELL: I wonder, sitting here in Atlanta, you're in Munich, and one might, from this perspective, this vantage point, expect that the death of Alexei Navalny had the potential to pull some people off sides and to be a moment of urgency for the world leaders who are there. Is that happening? Is this making this death, making any, I guess, greater investment or willing to support Ukraine more than you might have expected before going into this conference?

PETRAEUS: Yes, I think so, and certainly I hope so, and many here hope so, that out of this terrible event, this tragedy, which isn't coincidental, I don't think, noting that the day before he was videoed, cheerful, cracking jokes in a courtroom and so on. And then, this stunning news of his death, and of course his wife here on stage right after everyone learned that. There was literally a gasp in the audience as this news spread.

So, clearly, this is, again, further evidence of the kind of mafia state over which Vladimir Putin presides. Incredible, brutality, no room for opposition figures. Of course, you'll also know that they've just recently disqualified the leading candidate against Putin in the upcoming election. But the idea that he would carry this out in such a very, very blatant manner is, again, a bit stunning, although very much in keeping with how he has acted over the years.

But it is a reminder for those here, this is the kind of state and the kind of leader that Europe confronts, and he would not stop in Ukraine were he ever to achieve his objectives there. He'd go on to Moldova, Lithuania, of course a NATO member and so on, and the NATO Secretary General and a number of others all made that observation on stage today as well.

BLACKWELL: General, let me ask you about some CNN exclusive reporting on this national security threat that at the start of the week, Congress and Mike Turner talked about, and at the end of that at the start of the week, President Biden confirmed that there is this, and we've gotten more details, Russia attempting to develop this electromagnetic pulse weapon in space that could cripple commercial and governmental satellites. How real or far off do you expect the threat is and how strong do you expect the U.S. defenses are against this potential EMP?

PETRAEUS: Well, this is a serious concern, a serious threat. We don't know the details of how soon this might materialize, when it might be lofted into space, if indeed it is. What is clear, though, is that it would be incredibly destabilizing. This would be a seriously dumb move on the part of Russia because what it does is it creates enormous instability in a crisis. If there's the possibility that you could lose some or many of your positioning, navigation, and timing satellites in which so much of not just the military but our entire economy and lives run, then there's going to be a hair-trigger response on the other end.

[07:16:13]

So, this would be, again, a very, very destabilizing move. You can assure yourself that there's dialogue going on about this, despite the state of the relationship, to caution Russia against doing something like this. Certainly, there are efforts to harden the capabilities that we have without getting into details on that. But depending on the capability of this particular system, a very, very dangerous possibility.

BLACKWELL: General David Petraeus joining us from the Munich Security Conference. Thank you, sir. And tonight, watch a special encore of the Oscar-winning CNN film that follows Alexei Navalny's life as an outspoken opposition leader and assassination target. "NAVALNY" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. on CNN.

WALKER: All right. We are just getting started here on CNN THIS MORNING. Former President Trump hit with a $355 million fine plus interest in the civil fraud trial. But what's the likelihood he will actually pay up? Also, nearly a year after the devastating train derailment, some residents in East Palestine, Ohio are still out of their homes. We're going to talk to one of them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:21:37]

BLACKWELL: There are questions this morning about whether former President Trump will be able to pay a massive judgment in his civil fraud trial. Trump and his companies must pay nearly $355 million for inflating the value of his properties. And if interest accrues, New York officials say that multi-million-dollar judgment could swell to $450 million.

WALKER: Yesterday, Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump and his two adult sons and various company officials engaged in a years-long scheme tricking banks into thinking assets were worth more than they actually were. CNN's Kara Scannell reports on the financial and political fallout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A devastating blow to Trump's reputation as a successful businessman after a New York Supreme Court judge ordered him and his company to pay nearly $355 million dollars barring him from serving as a company director in the city where he made his billions, where his name is plastered on skyscrapers for three years.

JAMES: Donald Trump may have authored "The Art of the Deal", but he perfected the art of the steal. This long-running fraud was intentional, egregious, illegal.

SCANNELL: Friday's ruling follows a nearly three-month-long trial filled with dramatic moments. Trump himself often chose to attend court, though he was only required to be there when he testified.

DONALD TRUMP, 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This trial was railroaded and fast-tracked. This trial could have been brought years ago, but they waited until I was right in the middle of my campaign.

SCANNELL: He frequently attacked Judge Engoron as well as his clerk and the New York Attorney General in the hallways of the courthouse and on Truth Social.

TRUMP: This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who's very partisan sitting alongside him.

We're wasting our time of this trial with a Democrat judge from the clubhouses. It's a disgrace. We're going to be here for months with a judge that already made up his mind.

We have a rogue judge who rules that properties are worth a tiny fraction, 1-100, a tiny fraction of what they actually are.

A Trump-hater, the only one that hates Trump more as his associate up there.

SCANNELL: His attacks even resulted in judge issuing a gag order, restricting him from going after the court's staff which Trump then violated twice and was fined a total of $15,0000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought they were going to go somewhere, but I think they understand that they have nothing as it relates to a case other than, I guess, an overzealous attorney general who would destroy all of New York business by going after transactions where there are no victims, I guess other than herself.

SCANNELL: The former president and his adult sons all testified during the trial which began in October last year. During his testimony, Donald Trump frequently clashed with Judge Engoron in the courtroom. The judge warning, Trump's lawyer, Chris Kise to control your client and threatened to remove him.

TRUMP: Thank you very much.

SCANNELL: Outside Mar-a-Lago, Friday, after the ruling, Donald Trump continued those attacks.

TRUMP: These are radical left Democrats, they're lunatics and it's election interfering, so I just want to thank you for being here. We'll appeal, we'll be successful, I think, because frankly, if we're not successful, New York State is gone. People are moving out of New York state. And because of this, they're going to move out at a much faster rate.

SCANNELL (on camera): The judge ordering Donald Trump to pay nearly $355 million another $100 million in interest. With other legal judgments against him he is owing more than $540 million -- a big bill for the former president. Kara Scannell, CNN New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: It's a huge bill. Joining me now is former federal prosecutor, Shan Wu. Good morning to you, Shan. Just your reaction, first of all, because to the magnitude of the penalties not just financially which is obviously huge but also the fact that Trump will not be able to control any of his properties there in New York, correct?

SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Right. And I think actually there's a lot of speculation whether Judge Engoron would impose what's called a civil death penalty, meaning permanently bar him from doing business there. And the judge didn't, and he also came in a tad under what the A.G. was asking for. I think those are very smart judicious moves because it will protect that verdict better on appeal to make sure that the court of appeals doesn't feel like he's overreaching here. So, I think it's going to be a very safe verdict on appeal, and it certainly is significant. I mean, Trump claims he has like $400 million in cash sitting around. This is above that. So, I think it's going to be a significant strain on his business.

WALKER: So, if they do indeed move forward with the appeal, is it correct that Trump will have to come up with the $450 million? Obviously, that includes the accrued interest to move forward.

WU: Yes. Like he did in the E. Jean Carroll case to appeal it, he had to put money in a court-controlled escrow account. And he'll have to do the same thing here. So, even if he manages to get a bond for it, it's still going to be the entire amount, I believe. I forget the percentages, but it may be the full amount plus the interest. And of course, there's the question for that kind of money, who is going to be willing to advance him that sort of bond and what will he secure it with?

[07:26:56]

WALKER: Yes, exactly. That's the question. So, let's move on to the Georgia case, the case trying to disqualify the Fulton County D.A., Fani Willis, from the Georgia election subversion trial. I mean, it was really extraordinary to see the two top federal prosecutors, or excuse me, the state prosecutors in this case taking the stand.

Obviously, that was extraordinary. And then, of course, on Friday, you had what was supposed to be the defense's star witness not saying much on the stand. And you don't think the defense lawyers were effective at all, right? I mean, that they, they, they made quite a lot of errors and blunders?

WU: Yes, I think they were terribly ineffective. I mean, they over promised which you don't want to do in litigation that they were going to show how there was this financial conflict of interest which they completely failed to do. And then, they just had a lot of very elementary school sort of blunders for lawyers.

I mean, they had trouble getting the evidence in it was obvious from the beginning the star witness who used to represent, Nathan Wade, was going to have a big attorney client privilege problem, and that all kind of ground to a halt. And I think even though the judge had said his focus was going to be on the finances and ended up really meandering into nothing but a big personal attack with a lot of salacious testimony. So, in terms of accomplishing their goals, I think they really failed to do that.

WALKER: There were a lot of moments when Fani Willis was on the stand that got a lot of attention. I just want to play a quick sound bite of her not really being a traditional witness. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIS: You're confused. You think I'm on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: You don't think Fani Willis should have taken the stand. What do you think? How did she do?

WU: She actually did really well. Prosecutors, obviously, aren't used to being witnesses, but she's seen a lot of witness testimony. The reason I wouldn't put her in a stand is because it's dangerous for her to be on there in such a personal emotionally charged moment and it sounds like it was pretty impulsive for her to be on there. So, I would be very worried. However, she did really well as you rose to the moment. I think she was very persuasive, and she did a very good job for herself.

WALKER: All right. Well, we'll see how the judge rules in this case. Shan Wu, thank you very much. Good to see you.

BLACKWELL: Still to come, President Biden meets with families in East Palestine, Ohio, more than a year after that toxic train derailment devastated the community. His message to people there, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:33:17]

BLACKWELL President Biden was in East Palestine, Ohio on Friday, a little more than a year after the devastating Norfolk Southern train derailment that spilled hazardous chemicals.

And the president met with local officials and berated Norfolk Southern, calling the derailment an act of greed.

WALKER: Yes, this is a first time the president visited East Palestine and has been under pressure to visit since the derailment happened about a year ago.

CNN White House correspondent Camila DeChalus, joining us now with more.

Hi there, Camila, tell us more about President Biden's visit.

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Good morning, Amara, Victor. This was pretty significant the fact that Biden went to the town to visit, because the train derailment happened more than a year ago.

Now, during the visit, Biden made public remarks where he just really emphasized how the government is continued to support and really committed to providing the resources to members of that community that had been heavily impacted by the train derailment.

During his speech, he also emphasized how he really wants to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the role that they play during the train -- during the train derailment.

Take a quick listen to what he had to say yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, there are acts of God, this was an act of greed.

And Norfolk Southern failed.

Like I said, your compassion and resilience of the leadership of this community and the people in this community, the courage, they deserve the care and resources we owe them, because that's what we do.

DECHALUS: Now, the biggest thing to come out of these public remarks is in Biden's visit is that he announced that the government will be providing six federal grants for researchers to study the long term and short-term impact of the train derailment, and the chemical spill that happened in this community. Amara, Victor?

[07:35:10]

WALKER: Camila DeChalus, thank you so much.

Joining me now is one of the residents from East Palestine, Ohio. Krissy Ferguson. Krissy, good morning to you. And thank you so much for being with us this morning.

I know that you have been out of your home and relocated a couple of times since this train derailment. The president has since visited, it's been over a year now.

What are the thoughts on President Biden's visit to your native town and the timing of it?

KRISSY FERGUSON, RESIDENT, EAST PALESTINE, OHIO: I asked a year ago, yesterday, I made an emotional plea for President Biden to come to bring FEMA housing. I am going to have to go back in May if somebody does not step in and help with relocation from our government.

So, it's crucial but taking the year to come has left many suffering in their homes getting sicker by the day.

WALKER: Tell me about your situation and how difficult it has been for you. And my heart goes out to you, because I know you have ailing parents. Your stepfather with dementia, your mother has Parkinson's. You know, I know what it's like to have a parent with dementia and taking them out of their routine and relocating them to an unfamiliar place is probably the worst thing you can do for them.

What has it been like for you this past year in terms of where you've been living and moving? And where are you now?

FERGUSON: The 32 days in the hotel with six of us was heart wrenching. Then, Norfolk Southern had rented us a home due to my home is no longer safe. I get the contaminated creek water that comes into my basement. And they rented us a home, and they've -- it was until March, and they extended the lease until May. But after May, we're at a standstill, because they will not buy us a home. And they want us to go back to that one, and we can't because I've had independent testing from Scott Smith that shows alarming levels.

And we're stuck. They have a offer where you can sell your home. But my home is contaminated. If I sell that and somebody gets sick --

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: Yes.

FERGUSON: What -- you know, what liability and my, would I want someone to get sick?

WALKER: Sure. Sure. So, you're about a 20-minute drive from East Palestine right now. What would you like -- where would you like to live?

FERGUSON: The farthest away from train tracks as possible. But my mother and stepfather has had a year to adjust to this home now. It's going to be over a year. And I have to rip them out again? I would like to be, like I said, nowhere near train tracks. But it's not about me right now, it's about what's best for my parents.

And what's best for my parents is not to keep uprooting them and definitely not to send them back to a home that's contaminated.

WALKER: I'm so sorry that you're going through this, Krissy. So much stress on you and you have a pretty large family that you're taking care of.

FERGUSON: Yes, yes. I thank anyone for that helps. I -- it's truly appreciated. But we are fed up with their politics. As you can tell by my shirt.

WALKER: Yes.

FERGUSON: This man had went into the creeks, Dr. Rick Tsai. He would need. I've not seen ended testing. I've not seen people like Mike Rowley come unless it's for to do a rally the day President Biden was coming. To do a Trump rally, there is the time and place for everything. And we need help. But please, the help that's coming, they have to want to help, and not do it because an elections close by.

WALKER: Yes, yes, we hear you.

We know President Biden has promised that the EPA would remain in the area until the cleanup effort is complete. But obviously your life remains in limbo and you need help, and we hope that the people in charge will hear you and reach out, Krissy Ferguson.

[07:40:03]

We're going to have to leave it there. I'm so sorry to talk to you under these circumstances. Thank you and we wish you the best.

FERGUSON: Thank you. WALKER: Thank you. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: A former FBI informant is now being charged for lying about President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden's business dealings.

Now, the informant is accused of falsely telling the FBI that the Biden's were each given $5 million bribes by the Ukrainian company Burisma in 2015 and 2016.

WALKER: Meanwhile, House Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry are now downplaying the importance of the informant to their case after spending months highlighting it.

[07:45:07]

CNN's Marshall Cohen has more on the special counsel's findings.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Victor and Amara.

This factually destroys a big chunk of the Republicans impeachment case. Special Counsel David Weiss says that longtime FBI informant Alexander Smirnov lied to investigators when he accused Joe Biden and Hunter Biden of corruption. He made up a story about the Biden's taking millions of dollars in bribes from the Ukrainian energy Burisma -- energy company Burisma, where Hunter Biden was on the board.

Look, he passed that along to the FBI in summer 2020, which seems to corroborate Republicans claims that the Biden's were peddling their influence in Ukraine to get rich. But there's only one problem. It wasn't true, according to Special Counsel, David Weiss.

Now remember, Weiss is not a Biden crony. He was a Trump appointee. And he is literally prosecuting Hunter Biden right now during an election year.

But here is what the special counsel said in this new indictment. "The defendant's story to the FBI was a fabrication, an amalgam of otherwise unremarkable business meetings and contacts."

And now, this ex-informant is facing two felony charges. Now, Republicans champion this guy. They threatened to hold the FBI director in contempt, if he didn't turn over memos about this informant's allegations. Then, they publicly released those memos over the objections of the FBI.

They hocked this garbage for nearly a year and to no one's surprise, it found a home in right wing media including dozens of segments on Fox News. Here are just a few examples of that. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: How real of a bribery -- Joe Biden bribery scandal allegation is this?

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): Well, every day, this bribery scandal becomes more credible.

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): We already know the president took bribes from Burisma.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Even a trusted FBI informant has alleged the bribe to the Biden family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, after this indictment, President Biden and House Democrats have called on Republicans to drop the impeachment inquiry altogether. But guys, I am not holding my breath. Victor and Amara.

WALKER: Don't do that, Marshall. Thanks so much.

Well, "FIRST OF ALL" starts at the top of the hour. Victor, what's coming up?

BLACKWELL: You've got two kids.

WALKER: yes.

BLACKWELL: Once just went on a field trip, they had to sign a permission slip.

WALKER: Exactly, yes.

BLACKWELL: There is a permission slip for an event in Florida that is stunning You probably can't read it. So, I'll read it to you.

"Students will participate and listen to a book written by an African American."

That's it. The parents needed to approve hearing from an African American. Now, this is what Black History Month is in Florida under the new parental rights, education law.

We'll get into that with a man who went to talk to a group of students and needed to have permission slips just to read to children in school.

WALKER: Wow.

BLACKWELL: So, that's at the top of the show. Also, we're going to do D.A. Fani Willis's testimony this week. And a lot of professional black women saw this year as a double standard, right? And mistreatment.

So, we have the former president of the Georgia Association of Black women attorneys to talk about specifically what happened here.

Also, a country singer says that Beyonce compared her to a dog peeing on a tree, because she's now singing country. We will certainly get into that at the end of the show.

WALKER: That is a tease. Wow. OK, I'm tuning in. "FIRST OF ALL", starts in just a few minutes at the top of the hour.

And his new CNN original series, Jake Tapper. unpacks, the most outrageous political scandals. And here is a preview of "UNITED STATES OF SCANDAL".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROD BLAGOJEVICH, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS: Let me reassert to all of you once more, that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (voice over): Was Rod a corrupt politician? Or just a politician operating in a corrupt system. That still thrives to this day?

TAPPER: So, Governor, thanks for doing this.

BLAGOJEVICH: Thank you.

TAPPER: So, you've been out of prison now for almost two years.

BLAGOJEVICH: Little over two years.

TAPPER: And you're still very outspoken about how you feel like the case against you was unjust. There isn't really an argument about what you said.

BLAGOJEVICH: Right.

TAPPER: It's on tape.

BLAGOJEVICH: Right.

TAPPER: The question is, whether it was illegal, and whether it was morally wrong.

BLAGOJEVICH: Look, if you're saying, do we have a fundraising system in America that you could argue is legalized bribery? I think there is truth to that.

But did I do anything other than that standard that every other person in politics does? From President Biden on down? I did the same as them and nothing worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:50:01]

WALKER: "UNITED STATES OF SCANDAL" premieres tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: The world's best basketball players are gathering in Indianapolis for the NBA All-Star Weekend, and Andy Scholes is already there. Hi, Andy. ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, good morning, Amara. So, tonight, it's always one of the best nights for NBA, and basketball fans. You got the skills competition, the three point the slam dunk, and one guy really enjoying this weekend is the Knicks' Jalen Brunson.

He's going to be competing in the three-point contest, and playing in his very first All-Star game.

And I got the chance to catch up with Brunson yesterday, and I asked him how is he feeling going into this weekend?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JALEN BRUNSON, POINT GUARD, NEW YORK KNICKS: I'm really excited. I know, it's going to be a really fun weekend. And, I mean, this is honestly a dream come true. So, I'm just excited to be here.

SCHOLES: You can only have one. Is it a three-point title or a win Sunday, which one are you taking?

[07:55:04]

BRUNSON: Oh, that's a tough question. I feel like no one remembers who wins what game in --at All-Star. So, I'm going to say three-point.

SCHOLES: And that trophy is pretty cool to have.

BRUNSON: The trophy is pretty cool to have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right here in Indianapolis, we found some true difference makers this weekend. For the first time, the NBA held a 24-hour day of service, packaging 1 million meals for hundreds of 1000s of local Indiana families facing food insecurity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Mac McClung, 2023 NBA ALL-STAR DUNK CHAMPION: Lucky enough to be here last night as well. So, just to see everybody, like 11:00, working as hard as they were to make sure people get meal feels good.

Let's go big Oh, where you at?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MCCLUNG: You got a lot to choose --

PAOLO BANCHERO, PARTICIPANT, NBA RISING STARS: We're star players, you know, we got a lot of good things going for us. So --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

BANCHERO: It's only right that we pay it forward and give it back. So, I'm glad that we're able to do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes. The All-Star day of service is an annual event, giving fans and volunteers in each host city a chance. That's to make lasting change in their communities.

And Amara, that event is going to keep going here today. That all the All-Star is going to be practicing on the court behind me a little later this morning.

WALKER: So much fun. Andy, good to see you. Thank you.

And thank you for being with us this morning. Victor picks things up with "FIRST OF ALL" in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)