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Dominique Pelicot Handed Maximum Sentence for Rapes; Putin Ready for Talks with Trump; Biden Unveils Ambitious New U.S. Emissions Target; Russian Cosmonauts Begin Six-Hour Walk outside ISS. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 19, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

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ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to our second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Erica Hill, in for Becky Anderson,

joining you today from New York.

A stack of guilty verdicts handed down today in France in a mass rape case that has sent shock waves across the world. Dominique Pelicot found guilty

of repeatedly raping his then wife and bringing other men home to abuse her over the course of a decade.

He received the maximum sentence allowed, 20 years in prison. His 50 accomplices found guilty as well and also sentenced. Pelicot's now ex-wife

Giselle has been seen as a hero by so many for choosing to bring her case publicly.

She says she has never once regretted waiving her right to privacy in hopes of encouraging broader societal change.

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GISELE PELICOT, RAPE VICTIM (through translator): By making the trial public on September 2nd, I wanted society to be able to understand the

issues it would raise.

I've never regretted that decision. I have faith now in our capacity to carve out collectively a future, where everyone, women and men, can live in

harmony, in respect and mutual understanding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: CNN's Melissa Bell has been following the verdict and the reaction as well outside the court in Avignon. I spoke with her a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Gisele Pelicot, who has been admirable throughout this, celebrated for her courage, her

humility from the very start and from far across the world.

It was her decision, of course, to make it public that made such a difference that allowed a number of things to happen.

First of all, the accusers and right to anonymity to be waived and then the videos to be shown in court. All of that has meant that the impact of this

has really gone far beyond the borders of France.

As to what actually happened here in court today, there were large crowds outside, as there has been almost every day for the nearly four months of

this trial, Erica. Men and women who come to support Gisele Pelicot, again, as she arrived, shouting, "Merci, Madame," to her arrival.

And again as she left, thanking her for what she has done. By achieving this, whatever the sentence is handed down today, the fact that the trial

was made public has led to this sort of societal reckoning.

The question of how this number of men could have come into someone's home, found an unconscious woman and not thought to raise the alarm or alert

anyone or turn away themselves is remarkable. And it's a very uncomfortable question that's really been placed before wider society.

We heard those sentences handed down. The only man who did receive the maximum sentence being sought was Dominique Pelicot himself. All of the

others received lesser sentences, as you mentioned, Erica. And that's led to a great deal of outrage outside the court here today.

There were shouts of "Rapists, we see you," as proceedings got underway. And when at least one of the men who walked free today, because of a

suspended sentence, walked out, he was jeered fairly violently by the crowd, even as he tried to hide his face.

We also heard, beyond the strong words of Gisele Pelicot herself that you played there a moment ago, we also heard from a lawyer representing

Dominique Pelicot, the husband, again, the only guilty man here today to be handed the full 20-year sentence. This is what he (sic) said.

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BEATRICE ZAVARRO, DOMINIQUE PELICOT'S ATTORNEY (through translator): The Criminal Court of Avignon (ph) has given its verdict, sentencing Dominique

Pelicot to 20 years in prison.

Mr. Pelicot has taken note of the decision and we are going to take advantage of the delay, which has given us 10 days to decide if we will

appeal this decision. At the moment I am speaking to you, no decision has been taken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: So he (sic) has, that lawyer, 10 days to appeal. But so too do -- does the prosecution. And I think that's going to be really interesting, to

see what happens in the next 10 days.

If the prosecution decides that they feel that some of their sentences have been too lenient, they can appeal, as you just heard Dominique Pelicot can

also appeal the decision.

What that would mean, Erica, is that this courtroom, which had a jury of five judges on it, there would now be a second Mazan trial that's been

called off -- the name of the village not far from Avignon, where these terrible events unfolded, where the Pelicot couple lived. There would be a

second Mazan trial, this time in front of a jury.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: I also spoke a short time ago with a self-described feminist attorney from France, joining me from Paris. And I asked her how this case

has changed the conversation in France about sexual violence and specifically about rape.

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ELODIE RAUILLON-HIBON, ATTORNEY: Thanks to Gisele, now it's a kind of randomization of sexual violence. I mean, in France now, it's starting to

be clear that rape is a huge political matter, that it's everywhere in the -- in the streets, of course, but mainly in the families, at the workplace

and so on.

So she did something really important by choosing to get -- not get that private. So it's -- -- yes, it's very, very important. She put the matter

in the place again, I would say.

HILL: And how rare is it for a victim to waive that right to privacy, as she did?

RAUILLON-HIBON: It's quite difficult, mainly when there are videos, because -- well, it's hard for them to imagine that there are so many

people who can see and listen. But it tends to become more usual to get that public, actually, because women are victims.

Not only women but victims are really much more aware that it's important and that it's not to them to be ashamed of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Turning now to Russia, Vladimir Putin making headlines today, discussing Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. All of this happening

at his annual news conference in Moscow, where Putin said his forces are making advances.

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VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): Because the situation is changing dramatically, movement is taking place along the

entire front line every day. And as I already said, we are not talking about advancing by 100, 200, 300 meters.

Our fighters are taking back territory by square kilometers. I want to emphasize every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: You hear him talk about taking territory there. The Russian leader, though, declined to say when Moscow would recapture its southern Kursk

region from Ukrainian forces. CNN's Clare Sebastian has been following this annual news conference, monitoring what he has to say there.

The marathon news conference, we can call it, Clare, what more did we hear from Putin?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Erica, it was 4.5 hours, which, for a 72 year old I think, is sort of part of the optics here, designed to

project the strength of him personally and of Russia in general.

We were watching out, of course, for any commentary around president-elect Trump just 32 days out for when he takes office. The Kremlin and Putin

himself have made some pretty approving noises about him in recent weeks, unsurprisingly, given his policy toward Ukraine, at least what we know

about it as of now.

Putin recently called him an intelligent and experienced person. And in this press conference he was asked by a U.S. journalist from NBC what he

could bring to a potential meeting with Trump. Take a listen to what he had to say about that.

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PUTIN (through translator): You asked me what we can offer or what I can offer to the newly elected president Trump when we meet.

First of all, I don't know when we will meet because he hasn't said anything about it. I haven't spoken to him at all in over four years. Of

course, I am ready for this at any time and I will be ready for a meeting if he wants it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So that comment about, he's not spoken to him in over four years, obviously, we know from Bob Woodward's latest book in the U.S. that

he has reported that Trump did speak to Putin several times after leaving office. The Kremlin continues to refute that.

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So we heard that again there. But clearly they're open to engagement, though, I think, interestingly, also not giving a lot of a lot away,

because, as I alluded to, there is still a lot of uncertainty, including in Moscow, around what Trump's Ukraine policy will actually look like.

But overall, this was a confident, collected Putin. He was comfortable; he was cracking jokes and he was really sort of doubling down.

He knows that this is an event with an international audience as well on these ways of projecting Russian strength, whether it be about the economy,

which he said is growing faster than countries in the E.U., and the U.S., whether it was about defense production, which he said is outpacing

Russia's rival.

And he was even asked about Western skepticism around the Oreshnik, that medium range ballistic missile that Russia recently fired at Ukraine. The

skepticism among some Western experts that it is impossible to shoot down.

And he said, look, I'd be willing to do an experiment. We could fire it at some target in Kyiv, where, you know, if these experts want to amass their

air defense capabilities and essentially see who wins.

And President Zelenskyy, who's in Brussels at the moment, has responded to that, saying, look, I think this shows what we're dealing with here. But

look, trying to project strength. And I think that as well is a measure of the uncertainty of what the next U.S. administration will bring.

HILL: Yes, there is all that uncertainty which hangs over not just decisions. Right. And even comments from Vladimir Putin but also decisions

on the front when it comes to the E.U. and even NATO.

You mentioned Zelenskyy, of course, in Brussels, who is there to meet with E.U. leaders and, frankly, is pushing for continued support.

SEBASTIAN: It's continued support and certainly, with things like air defense is especially crucial as we see this ramp-up in Russian aerial

attacks over the past few months.

But also unity is a big part of what Zelenskyy has been pushing for today. We do see, of course, with the incoming Trump administration, that there

has been a gulf on some issues surrounding Ukraine.

Trump's incoming Ukraine special envoy, Keith Kellogg, has talked about how both sides in this conflict want to want to tap out and look for a way out

of this; whereas, of course, on the E.U. side, they're saying we don't want to talk about peace as of yet because Russia doesn't want it.

So this push for unity is a big part of what we're hearing from President Zelenskyy today.

HILL: Absolutely, Clare. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Still ahead, the U.S. President announcing an ambitious new goal to reduce planet warming pollution. Details of that target and why it is very likely

doomed.

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HILL: U.S. President Joe Biden just announced an aggressive new target for the country to cut its climate pollution. The goal: reduce emissions by

between 61 percent or 66 percent below those 2005 levels and to do that by 2035.

The issue: Donald Trump will likely reverse that goal in his very first days in office. CNN's chief climate correspondent Bill Weir joining me now

live from New York.

So first of all, this is an ambitious goal in and of itself.

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The fact that it's coming with, what, three weeks left or so of this administration also makes it feel like it's sort of DOA.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: It is, in all intents and purposes, Erica.

But this is sort of a non-binding step. This is the nationally determined contribution. Every five years, all the countries that signed onto the

Paris accords are supposed to come back and say, here's where we stand on our promises. Here's how we'd like to increase them or face reality in

those cases.

His interim numbers that Joe Biden gave a few years ago, 50 percent to 52 percent, he's now goosed those up 60 percent to 66 percent by 2035. Even if

Kamala Harris had won, that would have been a challenge.

The Inflation Reduction Act, studies show, will get the country to about 50 percent or just under of those goals. But, of course, if Donald Trump claws

all this back, the momentum, it'll make it much harder to meet those goals in the end.

HILL: There's also the concern over the ripple effect, right, of what we could see in this second Trump presidency, even just looking at the Paris

agreement.

WEIR: Exactly. And then how it influences other populist leaders around the world, their commitments to this, that's a big part of the story.

But things are very different around the world than they were the first time Donald Trump tried to roll back Democrats' environmental laws.

Electric vehicles, for example, have made such an impact into markets around the world, 40 percent in China. So you can't kill the electric car.

Even if Donald Trump tried at this point there's enough momentum with big cities, governors, this climate alliance between so many around the world,

around the country, that they can keep the momentum going, they hope.

And maybe four years from now, there's a change in administration. That's what leaders are sort of building in, this pendulum effect that we're

seeing, between elections in America.

HILL: Well, as you point out, some of the changes that are already in place for businesses, too, it can be a bit of whiplash. But it would seem

that a number of businesses are sort of staying on this more climate friendly path, recognizing that this is, in fact, an issue that needs to be

addressed, whether leaders may want to do it or not.

WEIR: Exactly. Yes, the laws of physics don't care about our elections. The Earth is overheating at record rates right now. And a lot of this will

be worked out in court.

For example, California's tailpipe emissions, they lead the country. They set the standards because of the air pollution that they've had to deal

with historically. Trump could try to go at that but that could take years.

And in the meantime, automakers know that the market is going in that direction. So they have to build factories in anticipation for three or

four years down the road. And there's so much momentum there, there's not a whole lot that Trump can do to claw back that.

But we're at a time, Erica, of course, where all efforts, scientists tell us, need to be in the same direction. And while this may not change the

direction, it will certainly change the pace.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. Bill, appreciate it. Thank you.

WEIR: You bet.

HILL: Still ahead here on CONNECT THE WORLD, let's take a little trip high above the Earth, shall we?

Two cosmonauts venturing outside the space station. I believe we're looking at live pictures right now. More of those on the other side of this break.

Stick with us.

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HILL: How about some live pictures from space for you?

We have got just that right now. Live pictures here from the International Space Station. This is a spacewalk getting underway this hour for two

Russian cosmonauts. One of them, as you can see there on the left side of your screen, venturing out of the International Space Station, actually,

for the first time.

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What they're doing in this spacewalk is installing a celestial X-ray monitor for research purposes. They're also taking care of some fairly

routine maintenance. The spacewalk itself expected to add to last a little more than six hours.

It comes on the heels of that record-breaking nine-hour spacewalk this week outside China's space station, although, as retired astronaut Leroy Chiao

told me yesterday, you actually don't want the record for the longest spacewalk because that means that your work wasn't getting done.

So six hours would probably be a little bit better here. Again, live pictures for you. We will leave you with that.

Thanks so much for joining me today on CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Erica Hill. Be sure to stay with CNN. "NEWSROOM" is up next.

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