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Isa Soares Tonight
U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss Sacks Finance Minister; Russia Plans Kherson Evacuation; Iranian Children Dying Amid Crackdown; U.K. PM Liz Truss Makes Major U-Turn Amid Economic Control; Jeremy Hunt Appointed As U.K. Prime Minister; Video Shows Congressional Leaders Scrambling To Respond. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired October 14, 2022 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Hello and welcome to the show everyone, I'm Christina Macfarlane in for Isa Soares. Tonight, Liz
Truss has sacrificed her Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng to restore her credibility with voters and investors. But will it work? A looming
evacuation of Kherson residents to Russia as Ukraine's counteroffensive is making it too dangerous to stay. We are live in Kyiv.
And a stark report from Amnesty International. Many of the victims in Iran's crackdown on protests are children as young as 11. The British Prime
Minister Liz Truss is fighting for her political future as she makes yet another major U-turn, abandoning her policy to scrap the planned rise in
corporation tax.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ TRUSS, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: But it is clear that parts of our mini budget went further and faster than markets were expecting. So,
the way we are delivering our mission right now has to change. We need to act now to reassure the markets of our fiscal discipline. I have therefore
decided to keep the increasing corporation tax that was planned by the previous government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: The political and economic chaos, it comes as Truss fires her Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, replacing him with former Foreign
Secretary Jeremy Hunt, making Kwarteng the second-shortest serving U.K. chancellor in history. Truss' controversial mini budget rattled markets as
she crushed the pound earlier this month.
And now many, including within her own party are asking how long can she survive as a leader. Well, CNN's Nina dos Santos is outside Number 10
Downing Street and joining us now live. Nina, it was a spectacularly short press conference from the prime minister for what was meant to be, you
know, the speech to save her political career.
And she looked pretty defeated, you know, in announcing the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng, and of course, another U-turn. Has this press conference
made things better or worse for her politically? What are you hearing?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think a lot of people say that it has made it even more difficult for Liz Truss. This was not a great
performance, and just under 9 minutes, and that included only four questions largely from center-right publications. And many of those outlets
also didn't give her an easy time.
Three times during this press conference, she was essentially asked, why should you stay on in Number 10 Downing Street as prime minister when Kwasi
Kwarteng, the former chancellor, who you've just booted out was your co- pilot in this economic plan? And you haven't really changed your thinking, you've been elected by Conservative Party members -- not elected members of
the party by the way, on this platform of being able to promise that you're going to be slashing taxes, spurring growth, and now you've had three U-
turns since succession.
She didn't have very strong answers to that, and essentially, after just about 8 minutes, 41 seconds, called it a day. That has left people awfully
nervous here in Westminster about her political future from here on as she tried to assuage those kind of nerves, Christina, by appointing Jeremy Hunt
as her chancellor of the Exchequer, the U.K.'s finance minister, the fourth by the way to take up that position in just the last year alone.
He is known as being a very safe and experienced pair of hands, having dealt with large big briefs(ph) like for instance Liz Truss herself, he's
been at the foreign office, he's also been at the helm of the National Health Service, he was at the helm of the Cultured Media's Board Department
at a time when the U.K. welcomed so many thousands of people for the Olympic games early in the 2010s.
But the big question here this evening in Downing Street is whether or not he is really going to be stirring the ship rather than her when she's so
embattled. Now, he says in a statement that he's going to be unveiling his medium-term fiscal plan for the United Kingdom on October the 31st. So, by
the end of this month, 31st of course is Halloween.
Whether or not this will end up being trick-or-treat for the markets will depend on how much cash this government can find down the back of this --
so for us -- he said they did U-turn on one policy today that will save them another 20 billion. But there's still about 30 billion pounds to find
between now and the end of the month to make these numbers add up too. As Liz Truss say, make sure that the markets are re-assured of this country's
and this government's fiscal discipline.
[14:05:00]
I should also add that the former occupants of Number 11 Downing Street, a former Finance Minister Philip Hammond who served under Theresa May said
essentially that Liz Truss in just a few weeks has trashed and scrapped the fiscal responsible reputation of the Conservative Party that It had done so
much to try and steward over the last 10 to 12 years in power. Christina?
MACFARLANE: Yes, trick or treat. Nightmare in Downing Street. One wonders why they put that date of October 31st. And Nina, thank you very much. For
now, all this comes of course as the Bank of England ends its support of the U.K. bond market today. So, let's take a look at how all of this is
impacting the markets following weeks of uncertainty.
The pound dipped again against the dollar following Truss' announcement. This is the price we're seeing right now, you can see down by 1.9 percent.
And it's not down by a huge amount as markets were already down slightly on Thursday, of course, reacting to early rumors of the U.K. government's U-
turn.
But European markets are now closed, the FTSE rally faded after this Truss' speech, showing that despite her climb down, she failed to reassure
investors. Well, CNN's Richard Quest has been following these developments from Washington, where he's been speaking to business leaders attending the
IMF's annual meeting.
And Richard, of course, we've been saying this is a humiliating U-turn for the prime minister. But it was only a part reversal of her original tax
plan. We heard from Nina there saying that the figures don't really add up and she appears to be sticking to her spending targets. So, what are you
hearing? What is the mood there at the IMF? What are people saying?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Well, they're saying exactly that. The sums don't add up. Let me just tell you, if you can hear the loud
music behind me, it's because of Morocco, the annual meeting will be held in Morocco next year. So over my shoulder, there is Moroccan music which is
loud, and Moroccan sweets which are very tasty.
A lot more tasty than the crow that the prime minister had to eat along with the chancellor this morning. The truth is that the big difference
between what she's now promising and what still needs to be done. Basically means that the numbers don't add up. And you see that in the markets.
The pound is down. Yes, the FTSE is down, the others are down, but the FTSE is down more, and that's the key point here. Others may be suffering
effects, but the U.K. is in a worse situation, you look at that. Overall, I think you're going to see the markets giving a judgment they just rallied
somewhat in the last minute or so, which is why we're seeing a slightly difference of opinion.
I spoke to the Italian Central Bank governor, and I asked him, Europe is watching what happens with the U.K., it's something of amusement -- not
amusement, something of a bewilderment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: And you are --
IGNAZIO VISCO, GOVERNOR, BANK OF ITALY: It is important, it's not only has to do with trade, it has to do with financial markets. And clearly, there
might be a backfire so that we have to consider. So we will monitor the situation, and so far, the European euro area is well-sectored in terms of
financial intermediaries and so on. But all the non-bank financial intermediaries that have caused these problems clearly are very relevant
also to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The reality is, Christina, that the global financial situation is precarious, interest rates are going up higher, Inflation is remaining
stubbornly entrenched, and the lasting everybody here needed was the sort of crisis, self-generated crisis by the United Kingdom. People are
exhausted.
MACFARLANE: Yes, it is a crisis that continues, Richard. Thank you, enjoy the Moroccan music there at the IMF. Let's turn now to John Rentoul; he is
a chief political commentator at "The Independent". John, thank you for joining us. Eight minutes, four questions, and zero apology, John. Despite
sacking a chancellor and performing another damage in U-turn. What did you make of her performance at that press conference today?
JOHN RENTOUL, CHIEF POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, THE INDEPENDENT: Well, it confirmed that she is not a great communicator. And any other recent prime
minister would at least have tried to explain in greater detail and with more emotional warmth I suspect. Why she had changed her policy and what
she hopes to do next.
I mean, this was a perfunctory performance. She read out what sounded very much like a hostage statement. She read it out quite well, but no frills or
anything, took just four questions and couldn't get out of the room fast enough.
MACFARLANE: Yes --
RENTOUL: But she has, just by doing this U-turn, bought herself a little bit of time.
[14:10:00]
MACFARLANE: Bought herself a little bit of time, absolutely. But it obviously was a massive climb-down for her especially on an economic policy
we know that was much her brain child as it was Kwasi Kwarteng. So, she now has a serious credibility issue. Is she going to survive this, John? And
how long has she got?
RENTOUL: Well, that's the -- that's the huge question. No, I don't think she's going to survive. Certainly, you know, two years to the next
election, that's not survivable. I don't think. Conservative MPs may just give up and decide to go meekly to the slaughter. But I think there will
all be enough of them who will, even if they think they can't actually rescue the situation, think it's worth trying to save some of their seats.
So, I think there will be an attempt to replace her. But not until after the mini budget at the end of the month now that's going to come up, and
It's going to be presented by Jeremy Hunt, the new chancellor, who is in a very strong position because of course, he can dictate the terms of that
mini budget.
And he could decide exactly what's going to go into it, and it could be very much a center ground political initiative, rather than the rather
strange tax-cutting ideology that Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng were trying to foist on us.
MACFARLANE: Just on Truss' political future, I mean, you say you think they're going to attempt to replace her. Do you think that's the mechanism
that is now going to be on the table or do you think it's more likely that we'll be seeing votes of no confidence in the days to come?
RENTOUL: Not in the days to come. Because I think -- you know, I think she's done enough to survive until the end of the month. You know, it's not
long, but I think as long as they can get through that fiscal plan at the end of the month, which they must do, they must satisfy the markets, they
must satisfy the independent office for budget responsibility that they've got a plan that can control the national debt and stop it rising
inextricably. So, they'll do that.
But as you rightly say, Liz Truss' political credibility is short, and I think that conservative MPs will eventually move to get rid of her, but I'm
just not sure when that's going to be. I mean, it will be like --
MACFARLANE: Yes --
RENTOUL: Politics is just so unpredictable. These things just happened very suddenly, it happened very suddenly with Boris Johnson in the end, I
mean, he seemed to have won a vote of confidence, he seemed -- he seemed to be safe, and then suddenly a rowel blew up over the sexual conduct of a
government whip and suddenly he was gone.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and as you say so unpredictable. We're already hearing rumors of course of Rishi Sunak or Penny Mordaunt being lined up to replace
her. But let's see if she's able to last until the end of the month until that budget is announced. John Rentoul, thank you very much for giving us
your thoughts.
RENTOUL: My pleasure --
MACFARLANE: All right, still to come tonight, Russia's president isn't apologizing for the deadly barrage of airstrikes in Ukraine this week.
We'll hear what he says about the future of his war ahead. Musk says SpaceX can no longer fund satellite systems that keep the Ukraine military
functioning. Who he says should fund them instead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:15:00]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. Ukraine's military commander says the battlefield is complicated but controlled. He says his forces are
withstanding powerful attacks from Russia while continuing to gain ground as they move closer to the occupied city of Kherson. Pro Russian officials
there are asking Moscow to help facilitate evacuations of civilians to Russia. Ukraine calls it a form of semi-voluntary deportation.
Meanwhile, a top U.S. Intelligence official says Russia is burning through its high tech weapons, tanks and troops in Ukraine, but with the help of
mercenaries. Russia's forces are making slow but steady progress in the eastern city Bakhmut. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has no
regrets for the deadly air assaults on cities across Ukraine this week.
Speaking in Estana earlier, he called Russia's actions correct, while admitting the results are quote, "unpleasant". At least, 19 people died in
a barrage of rockets and drone attacks. And Mr. Putin says Russia doesn't want to, quote, "destroy Ukraine". And he says the mobilization of new
Russian fighters is expected to end in two weeks.
Well, let's get straight to our Fred Pleitgen who is live tonight in Kyiv. And Fred, just to Kherson first, we've heard that Ukraine are calling this
evacuation of residents in Kherson a deportation. Do we know how this is being carried out? And is this really a sign of panic from Russia as
they're rapidly losing ground there, it seems?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I would certainly say, Christina, that it is definitely a sign that they are
extremely concerned about the fact that the Ukrainians have been making some very steady gains, I wouldn't say necessarily at this point in time,
sweeping gains.
There was a phase of that I would say, about a week or a week and a half ago. But they are still infringing very much on the territory that the
Russians had been holding before. And one of the other things that we have to keep in mind is, as the Ukrainians make those steady gains, they also
increase the artillery range and range of their multiple rocket launching systems that they have into territory controlled at this point in time by
the Russian military and its proxies there.
So, I do -- I would say, that there's definitely a bit of concern. Now, the folks who are in charge of the administration on the side of the Russians.
Russia-installed people in Kherson are saying that they want to give the people who are in Kherson, the civilians there, the chance to go to Russian
territory, essentially the Oblast or the region of Rustov. It's right on the border with Ukraine, and it's not very far at all away from Kherson.
So, it's certainly fairly easy to get to. And they say those people should stay there for a while, they can do leisure activity there, and then at
some point come back. But you're absolutely right, the Ukrainians are saying that they believe that this is a form of deportation. I think you
said semi voluntary deportation, that's exactly what they said.
And they do believe that especially in regards to the fact that in Kherson and the city, specifically, there were a lot of people there who did not
welcome the Russians when they come. The Russians having a big problem controlling that area, and that's really one of the reasons the Ukrainians
believe why the Russians are doing this as well, Christina.
MACFARLANE: And Fred, also, there were a range of potentially significant comments from Vladimir Putin today, he was talking at this summit in
Kazakhstan, including a quite striking announcement that military mobilizations will be completed within two weeks. I mean, as I --
PLEITGEN: Yes --
MACFARLANE: Understand it, the full mobilization hasn't actually been completed yet. So why is this decision coming now?
PLEITGEN: Well, first of all, you're absolutely right. It's also something that really caught everybody's eye, that Vladimir Putin is saying this will
be completed within about two weeks. Obviously, the mobilization has been a big problem for the Russians. On the one hand, they're having trouble
actually getting enough people that they can get mobilized.
And of course, we've also seen literally hundreds of thousands of Russian men flee the country. Flee to places like Kazakhstan, flee to Georgia, try
to flee to the European Union. And that's certainly something that's not lost on the Kremlin as well. Though, have seen that, they understand that
the fact that they're doing this mobilization, have been doing this mobilization has been a form of instability or has fomented instability in
the country.
[14:20:00]
And that's probably one of the reasons why Vladimir Putin is saying this is going to end soon. They are saying that they've mobilized almost as many
forces as they want. I think he was saying 220,000 is what they've mobilized so far. They want 300,000. Those people are in training, but of
course, that has also not gone without hitches.
And you know, for many Russians, it is now that it is sinking in that this war, that's going on in Ukraine is real. When there was no mobilization,
this was not necessarily something that many families in Russia dealt with on a daily basis. But that certainly is now happening with this
mobilization, that might be one of the reasons why Vladimir Putin believes this measure needs to end as fast as possible.
MACFARLANE: Yes, Fred Pleitgen live from Kyiv tonight. Fred, thank you very much. Elon Musk says his SpaceX corporation can no longer foot the
bill for critical satellite services in Ukraine. As CNN first reported, he's now asking the Pentagon to pick up the tap for the service known as
Starlink.
Starlink has been vital for keeping Ukraine's military connected, even as Russia's wiped out phone and internet capabilities across the country. Our
senior national correspondent Alex Marquardt is joining me now live from Washington. And Alex, we know Starlink has been a vital source of
communication for the Ukrainian military.
And I think to many observers, the timing of this announcement is interesting, right, coming not long after Musk put out that controversial
peace plan tweet. What have you been learning about this?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Christina. It's hard to overstate how critical this technology has been for
Ukrainian forces. They use it not only to communicate on frontlines, but also to control drones, to correct artillery fire, to make them more
accurate on the frontlines.
So, this news that SpaceX either wants to slow or end their funding for Starlink in Ukraine, and instead asked the Pentagon to start picking up the
tab. This comes amid reports of Starlink outages along the frontlines as well as real questions about Elon Musk's support for Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUARDT (voice-over): In Ukraine's fight to push out Russian invaders, one of the most critical pieces of technology doesn't fire rockets or
bullets, it's small easy to use satellite internet terminals called Starlink made by SpaceX. The rocket and satellite company founded by Elon
Musk.
According to SpaceX, there are around 20,000 Starlink terminals in Ukraine, and they've been vital for soldiers' communication, flying drones and
artillery targeting.
SETH JONES, SENIOR ADVISER, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAM, CSIS: Starlink is the glue really between the forward deployed drone and the artillery
that's conducting the strike against Russian possessions.
MARQUARDT: Starlink arrived in Ukraine as the war started, earning Musk global praise and thanks. CNN has now exclusively obtained documents
showing not only that SpaceX is just one part of a large international effort, getting Starlink to Ukraine's frontlines, but now seven months into
the war, SpaceX is warning the Pentagon it is facing the difficult choice of reducing or stopping service.
JONES: Why, at this moment, Starlink is raising this issue? It's just -- it's really bad timing.
MARQUARDT: The company says it has spent almost $100 million, and quote, "we are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine or fund
the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time." SpaceX has now requested the Pentagon pick up much of the tab, $124 million for the rest
of 2022, a rate that would translate to close to $400 million for the next year.
DMITRI ALPEROVITCH, CHAIRMAN, SILVERADO POLICY ACCELERATOR: SpaceX is not a charity, of course, and they're losing a lot of money right now as a
business. So, I'm sure they're trying to recoup some of their costs.
MARQUARDT: SpaceX's request came after Ukraine's commanding General Valerie Zalushni(ph) wrote in July directly to Musk. The letter obtained
exclusively by CNN, "Starlink units provide exceptional utility", the General wrote, then asked Musk for almost 8,000 more terminals.
Instead, SpaceX said they told Ukraine to send their request to the Pentagon, adding, we have now exceeded our original agreement with Ukraine.
Without Starlink, Ukraine says it can't fight. Last week, reports emerged of widespread sudden Starlink outages on the frontline, as troops fought to
take back territory.
ALPEROVITCH: They are puzzled about why that's going on. Is that something that SpaceX is doing intentionally? Is that coming from Elon? No one is
quite sure.
MARQUARDT: The outages and news of the funding requests to the Pentagon come as Musk's support of Ukraine is also questioned. After he proposed a
peace deal, suggesting that Ukraine relinquish Crimea to Russia and hold UN-backed referenda for parts of eastern Ukraine. He told a private
audience that Ukraine doesn't want to talk about peace negotiations, while he says Russia would accept those terms.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUARDT: That peace plan so infuriated Ukrainians and was seen as so pro Russian that it caused one Ukrainian diplomat to tell Elon Musk to f-off.
[14:25:00]
And then earlier today, when Musk was confronted with our new reporting, that he wants to shift the cost to the Pentagon as well as those comments
by the Ukrainian diplomat, Elon Musk responded on Twitter, "we're just following his recommendation", as in to leave Ukraine. Musk also tweeted
that Starlink is costing them $20 million a month.
So that confirming our new CNN reporting that the costs are getting too high. Christina, I should note, I wasn't actually able to see those tweets
because Musk blocked me on Twitter. So this crusader of free speech on Twitter, who might actually end up owning Twitter, blocking me, but not
contesting this new reporting. Christina?
MACFARLANE: It says a lot, doesn't it, Alex? Great reporting, thank you.
MARQUARDT: Thank you.
MACFARLANE: All right, still to come tonight, fighting for her political life. British Prime Minister Liz Truss U-turns on a key policy and sacks
her finance minister amidst economic turmoil. And the demand for answers. The U.S. committee investigating the January 6th insurrection subpoena
Donald Trump. How the former president is responding ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back to the show everyone, I'm Christina Macfarlane in London. Back now to our top story. The British Prime Minister Liz Truss is
fighting for her political future. She's confirmed another U-turn on her controversial mini budget, dropping her policy to scrap a planned rise on
corporation tax.
Miss Truss has also sacked her Finance Minister, Kwasi Kwarteng after the government's economic plan caused market turmoil and crashed the pound.
Now, former Tory leadership contender Jeremy Hunt takes over that role. He's the fourth person to hold that post in as many months.
Joining me now to discuss is Mo Hussein; former Chief Press Officer at 10 Downing Street. Mo, thank you for joining us. I'm fascinated by someone who
has been in the internal workings at 10 Downing Street to get your perspective on what's happening behind closed doors tonight. And have you
had a chance to speak to anyone inside government? And find out what people are saying about Liz Truss in the future?
MO HUSSEIN, FORMER DOWNING ST. CHIEF PRESS OFFICER: Yes, it's not a good feeling at all talking to a few people inside government at the moment in
terms of morale, and in terms of where we are four or five weeks into a new premiership, where you would expect a feel-good approach and lots of new
announcements, lots of things the government should be talking about proactively. But actually, it's been mired by the missteps, the-U turns on
the not so many budget, and a lot of people thinking about what does the future hold? How safe is the Prime Minister going forward? So it's not a
good sense at all. It feels really quite a perilous moment for the Prime Minister now.
MACFARLANE: Sounds like you have a Liz Truss protestor in the background there, Mo. Are you hearing --
HUSSEIN: My apologies.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Are you hearing, Mo, that letters of confidence, or of no confidence rather, are being submitted?
HUSSEIN: Yes, that is certainly what some MPs have been saying, which goes on to what the mechanism is going forward. Under current rules, the Prime
Minister is protected for 12 months as a new leader. However, in politics, there's often no rules. And if you want something to happen, you can make
it happen if you have the majority. So it feels like the more pressure there is on people from MPS, the more that Graham Brady of 1922 Committee
will look at this and present it on the 10 as an overwhelming force.
MACFARLANE: Yes, so there would have to be, as you say, a rule change in order to replace Truss, essentially, with another appointed candidate. I
mean, we know this might not happen until the end of the month. But can we talk already about who that candidate might be? I mean, there's been a lot
of discussion about Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt. I mean, it's ironic, isn't it, that, you know, Truss is now having to reverse her policy and adopt,
essentially, a policy Rishi Sunak proposed on, you know, raising corporation tax. So, is he being seen as the next shoo-in for this?
HUSSEIN: Well, he did get the most votes from MPs. But he did not win that when it came to the party members. So, the question then becomes, if it
goes back to the members, or not, or will MPs, as elected representatives, will they just make a decision on this?
But because this is such a big part of the Prime Minister's economic platform, a big part of the leadership campaign that she did put forward to
U-turn on something so significant so early on is really risky and really dangerous. And the people who supported her will be questioning about what
else might be get the U-turn on going forward.
MACFARLANE: Yes, well, it's certainly all over the papers, as you can see her with the Times reporting of that potential plot to replace her already.
And we know the U.K. has had four Chancellor's now since July. And, you know, there appear to be no admission of fault or that she would be
changing course in her press conference earlier today. So how much of a surprise was it to you that she appointed Jeremy Hunt as new chancellor?
HUSSEIN: Well, on the face of it, it would be quite surprising because he's from a very different wing of the party, more mainstream, more moderate,
most libertarian really, at all. But he has got experience in government. He has ran quite big deployments before. And if you're trying to speak to
the markets, which do need to be calmed down, also speak to the electorate, you probably want to show an admission that you did get something wrong.
And here's an olive branch. Here's somebody from a different wing who can be a check and balance on the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is
effectively saying, this person will now be clipping my wings. There'll be somebody he will send to check what I wanted to do in an attempt to try and
short the markets.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Well, we will wait to see what happens of course on October 31st. Mo Hussein, thank you so much for joining us tonight. We'll
let you get back to your mood music at home there.
HUSSEIN: Thank you. Thank you very much.
MACFARLANE: All right. Now he's willing to give his side on social media, but former U.S. President Donald Trump won't say whether he will go under
oath to account for his role in the January 6th insurrection. Congressional Committee investigating the attack on democracy took the extraordinary step
yesterday of issuing a subpoena to try to force Trump's testimony. They presented evidence during a hearing that Trump knew he had lost the 2020
election, but still went ahead with a premeditated plan to contest it with false claims of fraud.
Well, CNN has obtained access to more exclusive behind the scenes footage of the congressional leaders on January 6. It comes from filmmaker
Alexandra Pelosi, the daughter of the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She was in Washington shooting a documentary when the riot broke out.
[14:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRI MCCULLOUGH, CHIEF OF STAFF: Secret Service said they have dissuaded him from coming to Capitol Hill. They told him they don't have the
resources to protect him here, so at the moment, he is not coming but that could --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Change.
MCCULLOUGH: -- change.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): If he comes, I'm going to punch him out. That's what I'm going to do. We're waiting for this. For trespassing on the
Capitol grounds. I am going to punch him out and I'm going to go to jail and I'm going to be happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: I'm going to punch them out. Nancy Pelosi. Well, other never- before-seen footage was aired during Thursday's hearing on Capitol Hill. CNN's Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider tells us how it unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ CHENEY, JANUARY 6TH COMMITTEE VICE CHAIR: We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: An extraordinary move from the January 6th Select Committee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those in favor will say "aye."
MEMBERS: Aye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: Unanimously voting to subpoena former President Donald Trump for testimony and documents and their ongoing probe after a hearing where
members continued to make their case that Trump is a clear and present danger to democracy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: The central cause of January 6th was one man, Donald Trump, who many others followed. None of this would have happened without him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: The committee unveiled never-before-seen footage of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scrambling to safety as protesters breached the
Capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: We have got to get -- finish to proceedings or else they will have the complete victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: In the hours that followed, anger and disbelief from Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: They're putting on their tear gas masks.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): I'm going to call up the effing Secretary of DOD.
PELOSI: Oh my gosh. They're just breaking windows. They're doing all kinds of -- it's really that somebody -- they said somebody was shot. It's just
horrendous, and all at the instigation of the President of the United States.
SCHUMER: Yes, why don't you get the President to tell them to leave the Capitol, Mr. Attorney General, in your law enforcement responsibility? A
public statement they should all leave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: The committee also disclosed snippets from the nearly one million records they've received from Secret Service, detailing how
officials knew days before January 6th the violence that could unfold. In a December 26th email, a Secret Service field office relayed a tip that the
Proud Boys plan to march into Washington, saying they will outnumber the police so they can't be stopped. Their plan is to literally kill people.
Please, please take this tip seriously and investigate further.
In the days after the election leading up to January 6th, Trump's own officials repeatedly tried to dispel the false claims of election fraud
that Trump continued to repeat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The suitcases of ballots out from under a table, you all saw it on television. Totally
fraudulent.
RICHARD DONOGHUE, FORMER U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: There is no suitcase. The President kept fixating on the suitcase that supposedly had
fraudulent ballots and that the suitcase was rolled out from under the table. And I said, no, sir, there is no suitcase.
WILLIAM BARR, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I told him that it was it was crazy stuff and they were wasting their time on that. And it was doing a
great grave disservice to the country. There was never an indication of interest in what the actual facts were.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: The committee also released new testimony from Trump's former Chief of Staff and former Transportation Secretary, both of whom resigned
in the wake of January 6th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICK MULVANEY, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ACTING CHIEF OF STAFF: I was stunned by violence and was stunned by the President's apparent
indifference to the Bidens.
ELAINE CHAO, FORMER U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY (via phone): At a particular point, the events were such that it was impossible for me to
continue given my personal values and my philosophy. I came as an immigrant to this country. I believe in this country. I believe in a peaceful
transfer of power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: Immediately after the hearing, the former president quickly fired off criticism of the Select Committee's subpoena for his testimony
and documents asking on his truth social platform, why they didn't ask him to testify months ago and wondering why they waited until the very end
since the committee will likely be disbanded at the end of the year for Republicans win the house. The committee, though, is saying it finally
moved forward to subpoena Trump since he has prevented many aides from testifying fully, urging them to invoke privilege. Jessica Schneider, CNN,
Washington.
MACFARLANE: All right. Still to come tonight, a devastating report that says dozens of children have been killed as Iran cracks down on protesters.
And then escalating violence in East Jerusalem, we'll see what's behind the six straight nights of Israeli-Palestinian clashes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:42:19]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. The unrest in Iran that started after Mahsa Amini's death in police custody is now in its fourth week and Amnesty
International has released a troubling statement. It says that at least 23 children were killed in the last 10 days of September during these
protests. And this month, a Kurdish rights group says a 7-year-old boy died in his mother's arms on Sunday after security forces fired into a crowd.
Let's bring in our Jomana Karadsheh who's live for us tonight. Jomana, this is a devastating report from international -- Amnesty International. But it
also said in this report that the real number of children killed could in fact be much higher than just 23.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It could. I mean -- and this is what they're expecting, Christina. It's absolutely devastating. And thanks to
Amnesty International that has been working over the past month to document the atrocities that are taking place inside Iran. We now know the names of
those 23 children. We see the faces now of those 19 Children, thanks to Amnesty International, but, again, as you mentioned, they're saying that's
just in the last 10 days of September. The crackdown has intensified in October, we've reported on that same child amnesty mentions killed in
October, a 7-year-old who died in his mother's arms in the city of Sanandaj.
We weren't able to really tell the story of that child because the Iranian regime cut off the city of Sanandaj from the rest of the world by, you
know, restricting the internet there that According to Amnesty and others is the regime's way of hiding its crimes. They say now nearly half of those
children who were killed are from the country's Baluch minority and they were all killed on a day that has become known as Bloody Friday where
anywhere between 60 to 90 protesters are believed to have been killed in the Baluchistan-Sistan province in the city of Zahedan in Iran.
And Amnesty also detailing the stories of two young women -- two teenagers who we've reported on extensively, Nika Shakarami and Sarina Esmailzadeh,
16-year-old girls. Nika was days away from her 17th birthday. The Iranian regime has been trying to push the narrative that these two young
protesters who were out at protests taking part in these demonstrations that they -- their deaths were suicides. And According to Amnesty
International, in Sarina's case, she was beaten severely, including with batons to the head when she was out at a protest and that is how she died
they say.
[14:45:08]
Christina, one of the most heart-wrenching scenes that has emerged over the past month that I've seen is a video of a mother walking down the street in
Tehran holding up this framed photo of her son, a 16-year-old boy, and she's shouting out his name, saying this is Siavash Mahmoodi. See -- she
wants people to see his face and hear his name. She wants people to come and attend his funeral. And she's shouting, saying that they killed him.
They shot him in the head. But they want me to be silent. But I won't be afraid.
A really, really heartbreaking video, highlighting, again, what we have been hearing from human rights organizations, that the Iranian government
has been intimidating and harassing the families of victims, including these young protesters, telling them that they can't mourn publicly, that
they can't grieve publicly, that they can't have funerals for their children and they shouldn't tell people how their children were killed.
Really no words to describe what is going on in Iran right now, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes. It really is deeply, deeply distressing, Jomana. At the very least in this current climate, at least we're getting to see these
videos, you're getting to see the pictures of these children who have been killed to attempt to hold the regime to account. Thank you very much,
Jomana Karadsheh there for us.
OK. Well, for the sixth straight night, clashes have erupted between Israelis and Palestinians in East Jerusalem. And these twenty Palestinians
and two Israelis were injured. A CNN producer in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood witnessed Israeli youth, some chanting death to Arabs throwing stones at
Palestinian vehicles. Some Palestinians also threw stones at Israelis. Separately in the West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry says two
Palestinians were killed during a raid by Israeli forces.
CNN's Hadas Gold is following developments tonight from Jerusalem. Hadas, this is obviously the most serious unrest we've seen now in months. What
have you been seeing there on the streets of Jerusalem?
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christina, for weeks, we've been talking about the worsening security situation and mostly concentrated in
the West Bank. But now it seems as though that violence, that sense of tension, those clashes, are starting to seep into Jerusalem. And in the
last few nights, we have seen clashes erupting, especially in East Jerusalem, an area that's considered occupied by most of the international
community. And especially last night, we saw those clashes erupting in Sheikh Jarrah. This is a neighborhood in East Jerusalem that's very close
to the old city walls.
And what was unique about last night was the fact that it wasn't between Israeli police or Israeli forces and Palestinian youths or anything like
that. It seemed to be the sort of Israeli civilians against Palestinian civilians on the streets throwing stones, firecrackers at one another. At
one point, this far-right politician showed up and even brandished his personal gun, trying to tell the police if they throw stones, you should
shoot.
Now, we haven't seen clashes and tensions like this in Sheikh Jarrah in several months. In fact, it was clashes and tensions like these that we're
seeing that helped spark last year's 11-day war between the Israeli military and Hamas. And then elsewhere in Jerusalem in East Jerusalem, the
Shuafat refugee camp, had been under blockade essentially for days by the Israeli military after a Palestinian shot and killed an Israeli soldier at
a military checkpoint and critically wounded another. So, the Israeli military essentially almost shut off the checkpoint, keeping people inside
the refugee camp. More than 100,000 people reportedly live in this area, that caused several clashes, rocks being thrown, tires being burned.
Now that has been eased just a little bit. But this is all adding to this environment of tension. It's not just Sheikh Jarrah and Shuafat. We've seen
these clashes erupt. It's been elsewhere in Jerusalem. And then in the West Bank, these almost daily Israeli military rates are continuing. Now the
Israeli military says that they're going after militants. This comes after a wave of attacks earlier this year killed more than 19 people, but that's
leading to the deadliest year since 2015. For Palestinians, more than 115 Palestinians killed, more than 21 Israeli civilians and soldiers have also
been killed this year, also the deadliest year for Israeli since 2015, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes, sadly, Hadas, so many developments really to be keeping across here. We know you'll continue to do that. Thank you. All right.
Still to come tonight. A rare protest in Beijing just days before a major Communist Party Congress.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:52:21]
MACFARLANE: A rare protest against Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his policies quickly ended ahead of an important Communist Party meeting.
Photos on social media show that two provocative banners were put up in Beijing, one of them reading in part "No to great leader, yes to vote.
Don't be a slave, be a citizen." CNN cannot independently verify these images. But we did identify the bridge and China's online censorship has
now gone into overdrive. The ruling party's meeting will start on Sunday. Mr. Xi is set to secure a third term in power. CNN's Selina Wang reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An extraordinary site in China's capital. Two big banners attacking China's supreme leader and his policies hung on a
busy overpass in Beijing. One of them reads "Go on strike. Remove dictator and national traitor, Xi Jinping." A voice repeats the message on
loudspeaker. Plumes of smoke billow from the bridge. The cause, unclear.
Demonstrations are rare in China, especially ones directly criticizing Xi. And especially ahead of the crowning of his unprecedented third term in
office. The other banner reads "Say no to COVID test, yes to food. No to lockdown, yes to freedom. No to lies, yes to dignity. No to great leader,
yes to vote. Don't be a slave, be a citizen." Punishment for the people involved of the demonstration could be very severe, including prison time
or even worse.
The brazen display of defiance already scrubbed from China's internet a few hours. After the incident, hashtags of its location and even the word
"Beijing" banned from Chinese social media. Chinese draconian, zero COVID policies have pushed many over the edge. Fights with COVID enforcers,
screens for freedom from locked apartments, protests for food and supplies, resistance of snap lockdowns, entire cities are still being locked down
over a handful of COVID cases.
This woman yelling out in frustration that she's been in isolation for six months already. But the images of anger erased from China's internet. Just
like the anti Xi Jinping banners, folded, taken away by police. The bridge, sanitized and cleaned up like nothing ever happened. The party clearing a
smooth road ahead for its supreme leader. Selina Wang, CNN, Hong Kong
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:55:10]
MACFARLANE: Now I'm covering ancient artifacts in ordinary neighborhoods. But that's not so unusual in Syria. This week, the country's director of
antiquities announced the discovery of this mosaic, which experts say dates back to Roman times. It shows scenes from the Trojan War and a picture of
Poseidon, the Greek God of the Sea. Experts uncovered it between two houses in a Syrian neighborhood and they say it's likely that the mosaic continues
beneath the houses next door. Extraordinary.
Right. Now, it's back down to Earth for NASA's Space X crew. Astronauts from the Crew-4 mission are returning home after nearly six months on the
International Space Station. During that time, they orbited the Earth more than 2,700 times. They're expected to land in the coming hours in a
parachuted-assisted splashdown in the waters somewhere near Jacksonville, Florida. It comes after the return trip was delayed several times due to
bad weather. So good note to end the show on tonight.
Thank you so much for watching. Stay with us for "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS," that's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
