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Queen Marks 70 Years on the Throne; Georgia's Secretary of State Testifies Today; Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals Begin; Grant Wahl is Interviewed about Ukraine's Win. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired June 02, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:34:16]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Today marks the beginning of a four-day celebration in honor of Queen Elizabeth's platinum jubilee, 70 years on the throne. At this minute we're seeing of starting of something called the Trooping the Colour ceremony. Buckingham Palace is pulling out all the stops for this.

So, let's go live to Buckingham Palace. Max Foster leading our coverage there.

Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, John, the atmosphere really is ringing out. We've got hundreds of military band members playing out. We've got horses in the background. There's a huge amount of atmosphere here as we kick off four days of events to mark the queen's 70 years on the throne.

But at this point it's all about the crowds, and Anna Stewart is amongst them.

[06:35:00]

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Hey, Max.

Yes, we've had a lot of excitement here already as the royal procession went past. Huge cheers from the crowds, particularly, of course, for the carriage that had the duchess of Cornwall, the duchess of Cambridge and the children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Fantastic to have so many people out here. Thousands of people. Plenty of people actually camped overnight despite some pretty chilly temperatures just to get the best spot so they could see that.

It's all quieting down a little bit while you can see that ceremony going on at House Guards Parade. But as the procession moves back for that real key moment where her majesty will take the salute from the balcony and then be joined by other members of the working family for the fly past, I think that's when we'll probably see the greatest cheers. And the crowds will be allowed to actually push up to Buckingham Palace, right where you are. But the excitement on the ground has been electric, infectious. Really

everyone so joyful, I think, to celebrate the queen. And what's so interesting, Max, I think, is it's not just royal fans. In a way the queen transcends royal interest. There is so much love and respect for someone who has been on the throne and done public service now for 70 years.

So, a fantastic crowd here today and plenty of parties to come today and for four days. So, we should really pace ourselves, shouldn't we?

FOSTER: It's great to have some good news, isn't it, for a change, even if you're not a monarchist. I think lots of people here in the U.K. are rallying around this as a national moment as much as anything else.

With me is Bianca, my colleague, who you all know. Also Emily Nash. She's with "Hello" magazine and is a CNN royal contributor.

Thank you both for joining us.

I just want to cut, Emily, straight to you because I just noticed -- I looked up to my -- over my shoulder as David (ph) was speaking and the queen is due to give a salute to the military effectively from Buckingham Palace balcony. But if we zoom into to the flag above Buckingham Palace, it is not the royal standard which signifies where the queen is in residence. It's actually the union flag. So, there's some concern. Are you -

EMILY NASH, CNN ROYAL CONTRIBUTOR: From you.

FOSTER: I shouldn't be talking to myself.

NASH: You're starting a rumor, Max.

FOSTER: I'm starting a rumor. But she's not in residence. But she's not, clearly.

NASH: She's not and she hasn't been.

FOSTER: But does that mean she's not going to be here for the salute.

NASH: We're anticipating her being on the balcony for not once but twice to come out and salute, take a salute herself and then return with members of the family.

But, of course, she hasn't been in residence at the palace for quite some time now. For the past five years it's been undergoing significant resurfacing works. And since the pandemic, of course, she's been based at Windsor Castle, which is, you know, a fitting situation for her. This remains monarchy HQ, though.

FOSTER: OK. We'll wait to see her. She's due in the next hour or so, isn't she, to appear on the balcony.

Let's just talk briefly about Trooping the Colour to explain what this is. Officially recognizing the queen's official birthday, but also steeped in military history because Irish guards this year have the honor parading their flag in front of the queen.

What does this mean to Brits?

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: And it's been going on since the 17th century, if not before in other permutations. I mean it's very significant to the queen herself because she is head of the armed forces, as well as being head of state. And also military runs deep in her veins and in her family. Her father was a military man in the navy. So was her beloved Prince Philip, who passed away last year. He served in the navy as well. This is one of the most important ceremonial duties of the monarch. You swear an allegiance when you join the armed forces in the United Kingdom to the queen. Even though ultimate authority will reside with parliament and the people, she is at the head of that pyramid. And so it's a very -- it's a poignant and significant moment for her personally and also for anybody involved in the armed forces. And we know that there are plenty of people from around the commonwealth as far as New Zealand who are involved today in the fly past and some of the military events.

FOSTER: Head of the military, head of the judiciary, head of so many core elements of British culture. Head of the church. It's amazing how she's integrated in every part of our life.

Let's show the pictures of how all this kicked off, though, Emily, because the first carriage came out. Who was in it? None other than the duchess of Cornwall, who will be the next queen consort, and her successor, the duchess of Cambridge, but also the three Cambridge children. So a huge moment for them and for George in particular. He will be king one day.

NASH: I mean I think we could hear the screaming from the crowds at this end of the mall (ph), couldn't we? People are absolutely delighted to see the children as always.

FOSTER: Even Louis.

NASH: Yes, little Louis, wearing a sailor's outfit, which is very reminiscent of one worn by his father as a child. I'll be interested to know if that's a hand-me-down.

But this is the next generation. This is very much about putting them front and center and showing there's a future here.

FOSTER: Yes.

NASH: And, you know, you're in safe hands. That this is going to continue.

FOSTER: You mentioned parliament recently. Prince Charles stepped in to open parliament, which he's never done before. He's also going to be at the Horse Guards instead of the queen. This is all part of the long-term transition. So these optics, this huge PR event, frankly, is about getting us ready for the next monarchy. And as tasteless as that feels, that's one of the crucial roles of the monarchy to continue. NOBILO: Yes. It is and it's somewhat inadvertent when we're actually

celebrating the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. But, nevertheless, that is what we're seeing, her taking more step backs - step backs from public duty, whether that's in trips abroad to commonwealth countries, to the state opening of parliament, something she's only missed three times in her entire reign, or events like we see today and stepping forward is king Charles.

[06:40:17]

And that's why it's a very interesting moment. Potentially a high water mark for support for the monarchy in Britain in modern times because Queen Elizabeth II is so much more popular than who is to succeed her. So that does raise some questions about where the country and populous will be.

You know, times have changed. The country is a lot more egalitarian, doesn't really sit well the idea of inherited privilege (ph).

FOSTER: Less deferential.

NOBILO: A lot less deferential. They don't like the idea of inherited privilege. And that is what this family exemplifies.

FOSTER: John, in the next couple of hours we're going to see a key moment really in the history of these events, which is the family coming out on the balcony. And they come every ten years for a jubilee. And, in 2002, we had the full extended family. In 2012, to reflect austerity, it was stripped down to the core members. This year it's going to be working royals only, which is the queen's modern interpretation of what the monarchy is. And it effectively means that the Sussexes aren't there. Prince Andrew's not there. We will see the Sussexes up at Horse Guards, but we're not going to see Prince Andrew at all. So she's making a distinction there as well.

BERMAN: So interesting who we are seeing, what we are seeing and what we are not seeing. Still, a whole lot of pageantry and a lot more to come.

Max, Bianca, Emily, Anna, thank you all very much.

Next, we are now hearing for the first time from a key January 6th player on how big the findings might actually be. The horror he says he uncovered.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, Georgia's secretary of state set to testify before a grand jury investigating former President Trump's efforts to overturn the state's election results. We have a live report next.

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KEILAR: One week from today the January 6th committee holds the first of eight public hearings on the Capitol insurrection. Former Trump chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has been a key source of information for the committee providing thousands of text messages.

Now, in a CNN exclusive, we're hearing for the first time from a key player in the investigation. Former Republican Congressman Denver Riggleman worked with the committee as a senior technical adviser. He says the evidence gathered from the text messages is massive and absolutely damning.

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DENVER RIGGLEMAN, FORMER SENIOR TECHNICAL ADVISER, JANUARY 6TH COMMITTEE: It's almost a roadmap to what happened. And a lot of the texts haven't come out, thankfully. I think the committee's going to do a great job of linking those text messages to the other interviews and data that they have. But I think what people are going to understand about the Meadows text messages is how horrible they are.

I have to tell you this, Anderson, when I first saw them, my bemusement turned into horror pretty quickly when I saw some of the language that was being used in there. I actually had to get away from the computer a couple of times as I was looking at these text messages.

And, you know, starting November 3rd, November 4th, in the Meadows text messages, all the way to the end, it is a roadmap. And I would have to say at this point, I think Mark Meadows is the MVP for the committee. I think they should pay him.

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KEILAR: Ahead, you'll hear more from Riggleman and we'll speak with Maggie Haberman about these new revelations and what this means for the January 6th probe.

BERMAN: So, Georgia's secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, is set to appear before a grand jury today to give testimony on whether former President Donald Trump and his allies committed crimes in their efforts to overturn the 2020 election in that state. In early January of last year, then President Trump was caught on tape asking Raffensperger to find enough votes for him to win the state of Georgia.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: All I want to do is this, I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state.

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BERMAN: Let's go now to the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, CNN political correspondent Sara Murray is there.

That reporting at the center of all this, Sara.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. And, you know, Brad Raffensperger, he's scheduled to testify today before the grand jury. He is a central witness in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation.

Let's just listen to a little bit more of that now infamous call that set this whole thing off.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The people of Georgia are angry. The people of the country are angry. And there's nothing wrong with saying that, you know -- that you've recalculated.

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is the data you have is wrong.

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MURRAY: Now, one of the potential crimes investigators are looking at is solicitation of election fraud. So, of course, the grand jury is going to be interested in these efforts from Donald Trump to get Brad Raffensperger to recalculate.

Then another point in that call, Trump tells Raffensperger that what he's saying about the election is dangerous. Later in a book that Raffensperger wrote, he said I felt then and still believe today that this was a threat.

This is going to be another point that's of interest to the grand jury. Another potential crime that they are looking at are threats related to election administration. So, we expect that Brad Raffensperger is going to have a lot to share with this grand jury today.

And, remember, their work is just getting started. He is one of the first, if not the first witness that they are going to be hearing from. We expect they're going to hear from a number of other officials from the secretary of state's office, as well as the state's attorney general.

John.

BERMAN: Sara Murray, you are there for us. Let us know what you hear. Thank you so very much.

Ukraine declaring victory on the football field. A victory that brings them one step closer to the World Cup. This was just incredible. The emotional game for that team and that country.

[06:50:04]

KEILAR: Plus, just days after multiple mass shootings, a gunman kills four people at a hospital complex. We have more on the news out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, next.

BERMAN: And Queen Elizabeth celebrating 70 years on the throne. More than any other British monarch. Now her platinum jubilee celebration is underway. We are live at Buckingham Palace ahead.

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KEILAR: First game of the NBA finals begins tonight between the Celtics and the Warriors.

And Andy Scholes has more from the Chase Center in San Francisco.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, what a matchup we have in this NBA finals. After a two-year hiatus, the Golden State Warriors are back. This is going to be their sixth finals appearance in the past eight years. And Steph Curry and the team, they just love playing here at the Chase Center.

[06:55:03]

They are a perfect 9-0 so far in these playoffs at home.

The Celtics, meanwhile, they're back in the finals for the first time since 2010. This team was in 11th place in the east back in January, but they've been the best team in the NBA since. Game one tonight at 9:00 Eastern.

And, John, a win in this series would be an 18th NBA championship for the Boston Celtics, breaking the tie with the Lakers for the most all- time.

BERMAN: Oh, I am well aware of that. And, go Celtics.

Other sports news.

What a moment. Ukraine's men's national soccer team now one match away from qualifying for the World Cup in November. Ukraine beat Scotland 3-1 in their first game since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. President Zelenskyy congratulated the team, saying, quote, two hours of happiness that we've grown unaccustomed to. What a joy for our military, for our whole country.

Joining me now, my favorite soccer journalist, author of thegrantwahl.com newsletter and "New York Times" bestselling author Grant Wahl.

You know, Grant, it's a cliche to say something is more than a game, but this felt like more than a game, especially for the Ukrainian team.

GRANT WAHL, JOURNALIST, GRANTWAHL.COM: Yes, most definitely did. Just a tremendous performance on the field. And these games are supposed to take place in March. They had to be delayed because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And a lot of these Ukrainian players played domestically and haven't been playing over the last few months. They were joined by some of their European counterparts. But the players for Ukraine have told the media that they've been getting letters all along from military members, from ordinary Ukrainians, about how important it is for this team to try and win and get to the World Cup and bring some happiness to their country.

BERMAN: And for these players, this is not something that's happening in another place. I mean they have been living this for months.

WAHL: A lot of these Ukraine players have been displaced with their families from their homes in Ukraine. They've been going through many of the stresses that their fellow Ukrainians have been going through. And so for quite a bit in the last few months, soccer has been very far from their minds. And it's, frankly, incredible just so see the soccer performance that these guys were ready to play yesterday in a hostile environment away at Scotland and eliminate Scotland from the World Cup.

And Ukraine deserved a win. They played a great game. Scored some very good goals. And now they're just one step away from making the World Cup and becoming probably everyone's second favorite team around the world at the World Cup if they make it.

BERMAN: They play. They have to win one more game to get to the World Cup, against Wales, in Wales, right? Are they favored in that game?

WAHL: Yes, I don't know if Ukraine is going to be favored. It's an away game for them. You know, Wales hasn't been to a World Cup since 1958. They're excited about their opportunity, too, and they have some very good players, like Gareth Bale, the Real Madrid star. And so I think coming into these two games, I did not think it was a situation where Ukraine was favored to win them in away settings both times. But the way they played yesterday was so good that now I'm starting to think they've got a real chance against Wales. And it would just be one of the best stories we've seen in the soccer world for a very long time.

BERMAN: They are playing inspired. And just to be clear, if they do get past Wales, their first World Cup game will be against the United States. That puts U.S. fans in a bit of a bind there. You don't want to root against Ukraine.

WAHL: Totally. That would be the first day of the World Cup. The night game. The U.S. has been waiting to find out who their opponent is going to be. And if it ends up being Ukraine, that becomes a story line that would draw attention even more than a typical World Cup game would, even with people who might not necessarily be sports or soccer fans. So, I think a lot of people are rooting for Ukraine to make this World Cup. And we'll see if they can pull it off.

BERMAN: It's a team playing for a whole lot more than just a win.

Grant Wahl, great to see you. Thank you so much.

WAHL: Thanks.

BERMAN: NEW DAY continues right now.

KEILAR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. It is Thursday, June 2nd. I'm Brianna Keilar, with John Berman.

And we begin this morning with America's worsening crisis. After recent mass shootings at an elementary school, a grocery store and a church, now four people have been killed in a shooting at a hospital building in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Police say the gunman opened fire with a handgun and a rifle before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

[07:00:00]

Fewer than ten people are wounded, none with life-threatening injuries. The community is in a state of shock, now questioning if anyplace is safe anymore.