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Boris Johnson Resigns; Mick Mulvaney Comments on Republicans' Testifying; Russia Bombs Ukrainian University; Roy Jones Jr. Is Interviewed about Brittney Griner; Rihanna Makes Forbes' List. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 07, 2022 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Because, Brianna, these are different circumstances and these are different countries and these are different set-ups in terms of the party structure and in terms of who they're accountable to. The way that the system works in the U.S. is that, you know, all of these elected officials in the Republican Party, whether it is members of Congress or whether it's senators, mostly members of Congress who feel like they need Donald Trump's support in order to make it through their primaries, are right now hard pressed to change from that.

Now, again, I think the bigger comparison is it's - and it's too late for this, right? This is looking at hindsight. But why didn't you have a lot of cabinet officials working for Donald Trump resign en masse? And that is a question that I think is going to be asked of history for a very, very long time. But whether there is a broader analogy here, I just think the systems are just too different.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is interesting.

And, Kasie, this isn't totally switching gears because it is in this vain of what happens when a party or key officials do say enough.

KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: You interviewed former Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and he says that Republicans need to start paying attention to the testimony and the January 6th committee hearings.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK MULVANEY, FORMER TRUMP CHIEF OF STAFF: What you're seeing, I think, is folks, especially in my party, are looking at Donald Trump as damaged. And as, well, something that might weigh down the party going into the midterms and into 2024.

Well, those were discussions that I don't think you would have had six or eight weeks ago before these commissioned hearings started. As a former chief of staff, I picked up on things in Cassidy's

testimony that really frightened me. And it was the way the West Wing was running. It wasn't running. It was anarchy. It was chaos. It was a clown show with folks like Rudy Giuliani and Lynn Wood and Peter Navarro in the Oval Office when all the reasonable people, the smart people, seem to be sort of disengaged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Kasie, this was part of a longer, really interesting conversation you had with Mulvaney last night. What did you take away from that?

HUNT: Yes, thanks, John. It was really interesting to me. And to pick up on the first part of the remarks that you heard there, he was talking about the impact of the Republicans, dyed in the wool Republicans, who have been testifying before the committee, saying that he believes them. And he went on to say, and this is something that I'm going to spend a lot of time exploring in the coming weeks talking to campaign operatives and people around potential 2024 candidates for the Republican nomination who are not named Trump, he suggested that the hearings have been damaging enough to potentially open the door.

And, you know, frankly, I'd be - I'd be really interested to know what Maggie is hearing, if anything, on this because he seemed to suggest that maybe Ron DeSantis, maybe Mike Pompeo, maybe Mike Pence, maybe others are feeling more willing to challenge him in a Republican primary scenario than they might have been otherwise.

And, you know, I think that's part of Mulvaney's willingness to speak out. I think it sort of suggests this perhaps shift, and I'm not convinced yet that it's really there. I feel like we need a little bit more evidence and a little bit more time to kind of figure this out, but clearly he feels as though there's a little bit more space for him to be speaking out the way that he is against the former president, and that is a little bit of a shift, John.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: You think that's right, Maggie? You see that shift?

HABERMAN: I do see that shift, Brianna. I mean I think especially among former officials who work with Trump, and there's a ton more who say this privately, but that's always been the problem with the Trump administration is people willing to say these things privately and not publicly.

I think Kasie is right, that we just don't know whether this is going to have an impact with voters yet. I think it is too soon to say. Remember, we still have a hearing to go on what Donald Trump himself was doing during this riot and things that he was saying and things that he wasn't doing. And so I think that, if there's going to be an impact with voters, I think that could be it, but it's just too soon to say.

I do think there is a weariness on the part of a lot of Republicans that is at a different point than I've heard it before.

BERMAN: And we will see if that causes any of these other candidates to become emboldened.

Maggie Haberman, Kasie Hunt, thanks to both of you.

And you call all watch Kasie tonight on "CNN TONIGHT" at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

HUNT: Thanks, guys.

BERMAN: So, Russian forces striking Snake Island overnight, just days after the Ukrainians pushed the Russians out. That as we learn about a university destroyed overnight. We are live in Ukraine.

KEILAR: And Brittney Griner back in court this morning, facing drug smuggling charges in Russia. World champion boxer Roy Jones Jr. joins us on what he is doing to help secure her freedom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:38:43]

BERMAN: We do have new images just in showing the Ukrainian flag being raised over Snake Island. This is after Russian forces withdrew from the key outpost last week. The Ukrainians pushed them out.

It is worth noting, however, there is still fighting happening in and around there. A Russian aircraft attacked the island earlier this morning. That's according to both the Russian defense ministry and the Ukrainian armed forces.

I want to turn now to the eastern part of the country, to Kharkiv up here. That's where we find CNN's Alexander Marquardt, who is at a university that was hit by a Russian missile strike.

Alex, what are you seeing?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, this is a city, because of its proximity to the border, that comes under almost daily attack from the Russians, usually at night. And this is the site of one of the latest strikes. As you mentioned, it is a university. You can see here, the Russian barrage hitting right in the middle of the university. Just extraordinary destruction. Debris everywhere. Brick, cables, steel.

If you look out into the courtyard here, it is covered in glass. And that is because, at the moment of the impact, all of these windows on the inner courtyard were completely blown out.

Today, we've seen a number of the staff, professors, a post graduate student who I was speaking with, all coming here to help clean up, putting debris into buckets, sweeping up the glass, cleaning up the classrooms.

[08:40:04] Luckily, John, there was no one here at the time in class or teaching. One watchman we're told was killed, but because of Covid and the war, this university was largely empty.

Now, John, this is a pedagogical university, which means people were coming here to learn how to be teachers, to learn how to teach for the next generation of Ukrainians. Teachers who would go on to work in pre-k's, in secondary schools, and they were learning how to teach English classes, Ukrainian classes, science and math.

This, in fact, the area we're walking into now, is, was, I should say, the math and physics department. You can see here, all these hallways are completely destroyed. All the classrooms have had -- suffered some kind of damage.

And I just want to show you this one thing on the wall. This is -- these are some of the star pupils of the math and physics department. I was just speaking with one of the professors who was going down the line telling me where all of these students are, whether they are still here in Ukraine or in other countries nearby. And that just speaks to how close the community here was at this pedagogical university, which had around 3,000 students, one of the professors told me. That professor, who works in the English department, said to me, you know, bowing her head, it's so painful, it's so painful.

John, the Ukrainian forces have managed to push back the Russian forces to around 20 kilometers or 12 miles away from the city. But there is an expectation that the Russians could mount a new offensive. We've seen Ukrainian forces digging in, building new trenches, fortifying those trenches and really preparing for another attack. It is the second biggest city in Ukraine. It has been largely emptied out. It is quite an eerie feeling, particularly at night when everybody is inside and there are no lights.

I asked some of the people who work here, some of the professors, why they stayed here in Kharkiv. And the universal answer was, it's because this is our city. One of the professors who teaches in the Ukrainian department, she told me, I have faith in our God, and in our army. And the other one who teaches in the English department say, this is my city. Teaching is a profession of peace. I want to stay here. I'm not going anywhere.

John.

BERMAN: It's an institution of learning that's been destroyed.

And, Alex, you touched on it, Kharkiv, right here, was one of the initial targets of the Russians and the Ukrainians were able to push them back. But now that Russia does have control of the Luhansk region, what's the sense about where the Russians might look next? And might they try to target once again some of those areas where they failed initially?

MARQUARDT: It's a really good question, John. You're absolutely right. The Russians are consolidating their gains in the Luhansk region, which, of course, is in the eastern Donbas part of the country. They have taken over almost all of that except for a few pockets. So now there is an expectation that they will try for elsewhere in the east. Perhaps here in Kharkiv, which is in the northeastern part of the country, or to the south in the Donetsk region, which is the other part of Donbas.

Now, there, of course, was that breakaway region in Donetsk called the DPR, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. And from there the Russians are pushing farther into Donbas. They are targeting cities called Kramatorsk and Slaviansk (ph). And that is where we expect the Russians to make their main push.

Local officials in Donetsk have been calling on residents to leave the area. Most of the population in Donetsk has left already, around 20 percent of the population -- of the pre-war population remains in Donetsk, but that's still more than 300,000 people. And the national railway company is actually putting on more carriages on to their trains to help people to evacuate. So that just speaks to how dire they think this -- they think the situation is, how fearful they are that the Russians will be able to make advances in Donbas.

John, we have heard some optimism from President Zelenskyy, who has said that he is -- he believes that Ukrainian forces will be able to retake the Donbas, Ukrainian forces were pulled out of Luhansk because, he says, there was such a Russian onslaught that he wanted to save lives. But with the help of all the western weaponry, this more advanced weaponry coming from the U.S. and other NATO countries, Zelenskyy believes, or at least is saying, that Ukrainian forces, at some point soon, will be able to re-enter the Donbas and hopefully retake it.

John.

BERMAN: Alex Marquardt for us in Kharkiv this morning.

Alex, thank you so much for being there. Stay safe.

So, boxing legend Roy Jones Jr., who is a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, says he's now trying to help secure the release of Brittney Griner.

[08:45:06]

We will speak to him in just a moment.

KEILAR: And a candidate vying for the Republican nomination for Michigan governor facing a judge for his actions on January 6th.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Boxing legend Roy Jones Jr., who holds dual U.S. and Russian citizenship, says he is working behind the scenes to help secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from a Russian jail. Griner appeared in court just moments ago. She's been detained since February after being accused of drug smuggling.

Joining us now, former world champion and Hall of Fame boxer Roy Jones Jr. Thank you so much for being with us.

Can you tell us exactly what you are doing to try to get Brittney Griner released?

ROY JONES JR., WORKING TO HELP BRING BRITTNEY GRINER HOME: Well, I know a few guys that are friends with guys in Russia who speak to -- close to the president. So, I have a dual citizenship because of my sports career, because of my athleticism, because of what I was able to do in boxing. So, since she's an athlete, I immediately - I set for a minute (ph), but I had a friend of mine call me and say, hey, do you think you could possibly help this Griner situation? I said, I can try. He said well I think you having duel citizenship is worthy that you should try it. I said OK.

So, I reached out to my guy and said to call over there to ask him were they willing to do anything to let her go home. This was about a month, a month and a half ago. They sent me back a request saying that we would do a prisoner swap. I gave that to my lawyer, and he immediately reached out to people here, people here, and they said, we need to get a letter signed by Cherelle, her wife, just to OK my -- to approve my participation, my volunteer participation in this matter. She never got that. We were never able to get that letter. So, I think it kind of just went away for a while.

So we came back and they asked me again, you know, the states (ph) office asked me to see if I could reach out again, and -- by the time I reached out again, it was a little late because she had already started - they already had it set to go to trial.

BERMAN: So you are speaking to people inside the Biden administration about this?

JONES: My team has spoken to people inside the state's office and, yes, they have. My lawyer, Mikey Shapiro (ph), has spoken to people, yes.

BERMAN: And the State Department has OK you serving as a go between?

JONES: I wouldn't say they OK it, but, I mean, at this point, it's so -- such a rough situation and the way I feel about it was, I thought they'd want her to come home just as anybody else would, so why would they not OK that. I mean we're trying to get an American who was a parent - who was a kid of somebody - some parents here in this country, why wouldn't our whole country want this girl to come home.

[08:50:00]

So I never even thought of the fact that, would they be OK with me doing it. It don't really matter who does it, we just want the girl to come home.

So, I didn't really go ask for an OK. I mean I just told them I would help because I felt like if I can be a dual citizen because of my athletic career, she's an athlete, why would I not try to lend a hand. BERMAN: Totally understood. You say you're speaking to people who are

speaking to people, but either are you or your people actually communicating with folks inside the Kremlin?

JONES: Yes. My friend is a best friend with one of the guys that works right inside the Kremlin. So, he lives in Miami, but he knows those people very well. As a matter of fact, the guy that he knows, I trained the guy once while I was in Russia, so I know the guy too. That's how I knew that he knew people because he knows that guy very well.

So, I called him an asked him to seek that he make contact with those people in Russia and asked him what they find out if we could possibly do anything to get her home. That's what they sent the situation that they sent to me, through him, which I sent to Mickey Shapiro, to see if our government would be willing to do anything like that. But they say we have to have a letter signed from the wife first and we were not able to secure that letter. But I was - it's like, if you're going to have dual citizenship, why would you not give all your efforts to try to help get the girl home - the woman home.

BERMAN: Did they give you names? Did the Russians give you names of people they want in exchange for Brittney Griner?

JONES: Yes, and I sent them names to my lawyer, Mickey Shapiro, and he sent it on for to whoever he had to send it to.

I'm not a politician. I don't really get into the politics. I kind of stay back and play in my lane. My lane is sports. I was a bad dude in boxing. When I got citizenship, we understood that it's not -- nothing political because I don't do politics. Although Klitschko tried to involve me, I don't do politics. I have friends on both sides of the fence. I don't want to see no country at war, you understand me? I definitely don't want to see ours, nor theirs, nor the Ukraine at war because when there is war, lives are lost. Nobody wants to see that.

BERMAN: Have you thought about renouncing your Russian citizenship since Russia invaded Ukraine?

JONES: No, because, like I said, I have people on both sides. I'm not into the politics. I don't know why they did it. I do know that, you've got to remember, back in 2015, I went to Crimea, Ukraine put me on a black list for something I didn't do nothing about. So, it's like, I'm not saying I'm not on either side. I don't want to see a war with nobody. So I'm not going to denounce my citizenship because of that because they are - they told me I wasn't welcome in their country (INAUDIBLE). So, I mean, you understand me? So it's just not a thing that makes sense to me to denounce it because politically I don't really give it -- get into it anyway. So I don't want to know about that. Our intention was to help the kids (ph), whether they were in Crimea, whether they were in Russia, whether they were in the United States, whether they're in South Africa. I love teaching what God gave me. That's all I try to do.

BERMAN: Roy Jones Jr., thank you so much for explaining your efforts behind the scenes. Appreciate it. JONES: Thank you.

BERMAN: The breaking news out of London this morning, Boris Johnson announces he is resigning as prime minister. The fallout, ahead.

KEILAR: And looks like all her work has paid off. Rihanna become the youngest self-made millionaire.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:56:36]

KEILAR: You know her name, Rihanna. Well, actually, it's Rihanna. And Rahel Solomon was juts correcting me on that. Thank you very much. And I suppose now that she's a 34-year-old billionaire, right, the youngest self-made one, female one, Rahel, we should probably get her name right now or I should. You had it right. I'm going to get it right.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know. We've been calling her Rihanna for years. But, yes, she says Rihanna.

But, guys, we've been talking about the stock market all year. It's been a rough year for stocks. The S&P 500 having the worst first half since 1970. Well, "Forbes" magazine actually saying that the stock market sell-off also leading to some big moves in the wealth of the nation's richest self-made women, including Rihanna. There are 100 women on that list according to the magazine. Thirty-eight percent now worth less this year than they were last year.

So, taking the top spot for the youngest self-made billionaire is 34- year-old Rihanna. "Forbes" placing her value, and she shines bright like a diamond, at $1.7 billion as of market close yesterday. Most famous for her music, it's probably her work, work, work, work, work that she puts into her business ventures that catapulted her into the billionaire status. Her cosmetics company, Fenty Beauty, that's quite popular, reportedly a 50 /50 joint venture with French luxury conglomerate LVMH. "Forbes" says that Fenty generated $550 million in sales in 2020. She also owns a little less than a third of the Savage lingerie line. That was valued at $1 billion in February 2021. And, guys, you have a little bit of everything on this list, from athletes and bankers, to TV hosts and venture capitalists. The industries really vary.

At the top spot for the richest self-made woman, that would be entrepreneur Diane Hendricks, who's worth an estimated $12.2 billion.

Also on the list, Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres and newcomer, actress Sandra Bullock. The magazine places her worth at $225 million. And, guys, if you were wondering, isn't Kylie Jenner the youngest self-made billionaire, remember all that controversy it created in 2019. Well, "Forbes" now estimates her worth at $600 million. Her sister, Kim Kardashian, also on the list with an estimated worth of $1.8 billion.

But, guys, I always think these lists are so interesting because it's good it see who's still on the list, good to see who's new. And I always wonder, what can I create? Like, what kind of business can I create?

KEILAR: Lip sync.

SOLOMON: Like, what kind of business can I create?

KEILAR: Yes. Cosmetics, Rahel, is where it's at.

SOLOMON: Apparently.

KEILAR: That's what we need to know.

Rahel Solomon, thank you so much.

BERMAN: That's what I always say.

The front runner in the Republican primary race for Michigan governor set to be arraigned this morning on charges for a role in the January 6th insurrection. Last night, during a debate, Ryan Kelley made clear where he stood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN KELLEY (R), MICHIGAN GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: The question that's on everybody's mind, and the answer for me is that, yes, the 2020 election, in the state of Michigan, was fraudulent and it was stolen from President Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Sara Murray live with us with the latest on this.

Sara.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's an interesting split screen for Ryan Kelley. He was on that debate stage last night. Today, he's going to be in front of a federal judge. As you might expect, he is standing by his belief that the election was stolen, which, it, of course, wasn't. On the debate stage, he also defended his appearance in Washington, D.C., on January 6th. He said it was First Amendment activity. You know, he said that when the FBI came for him, there was a big theater show all for these misdemeanor charges he's facing.

[09:00:03]

He called the January 6th congressional committees a witch hunt.

As you might expect from that defiance, we expect him to plead not guilty when he appears before the judge today. This is, of course, a hotly contested Republican primary. All of the Republicans there want to take on Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer in the fall.

BERMAN: Not running from it. Perhaps, in a way, running on it.

Sara Murray, thank you so much for following that for us.

MURRAY: Thanks.

BERMAN: What a morning.

KEILAR: Big morning, and so much more to come.

BERMAN: So much more to come.

CNN's coverage continues right now.