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New Day

META Shuts Down Covert Campaigns; Sen. Joe Manchin is Interviewed about Energy. NASA Makes History. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 27, 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]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Announced that it has shut down two separate networks of fake accounts run from China and Russia. The accounts were engaged in covert influence operations and even posed as Americans on both sides of the political spectrum. That's according to the company.

With me now, CNN correspondent Donie O'Sullivan, who covers this so closely.

Explain what was just announced, Donie.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Quite a bit to unpack here, John.

First, to these Chinese accounts. And we should point out, that in both cases of China and Russia, Facebook META is saying - they're not saying it's from the governments of those countries, they are just saying that these campaigns are coming from within those countries. So they're not saying what specific entity.

Now, when it comes to these Chinese accounts, there was a tiny number of accounts. They seem to have very little impact at all. But they were posing as Americans on both sides of the political divide.

And the reason META is saying that is important is because they say they have not seen that sort of behavior coming out of China before. They have seen it, of course, where Russia infamously with their troll farm and whatnot.

Now, we spoke to Ben Nimmo last night, which is one of the senior people on the team looking into this at META and this is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN NIMMO, GLOBAL THREAT INTELLIGENCE LEAD, META: This was a small operation. And it didn't seem to build any meaningful audience. But it's the first time that we've seen an operation from China like this really focusing on targeting the U.S. political debates. And we're all on high alert ahead of the midterms.

They were running fake accounts that pretended to be Americans and try to talk like Americans, and they were talking about really divisive, domestic issues, like abortion and gun control. So that's a real step change from what we've seen before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN: So, we shouldn't be hair on fire China is medaling in American elections in the midterms, but what Facebook is saying here, they want to put this on people's radar. This is happening. This is what they found. And they have passed this information on to the FBI.

Quickly on the Russia campaign was far broader, very sophisticated. Focused a lot on pushing messaging about Ukraine. $100,000 spent on Facebook ads on the platform. More than 2,000 Facebook accounts and pages. And not only activity on Facebook. I want to show you, they were actually mimicking western news outlets.

So, I want to show you this real article headline from "The Guardian," which was - this is just a headline that they had on their website earlier this year, and then a fake headline, which popped up. They built a whole fake website trying to make it - particularly around the Bucha massacre, trying to make it seem that real news outlets were pushing the pro-Kremlin narrative and they were building these entire websites. An entire website to look like "The Guardian's" website, so quite sophisticated stuff there.

BERMAN: How long - every time - it's a good thing, right, when Facebook catches this, but always do wonder how long they've been operating and if they could have been caught sooner.

O'SULLIVAN: Yes. I mean, look, you see there that when it came to this Russia campaign they had spent $100,000 on Facebook ads. Look, we do say a lot - there's a lot wrong with Facebook. There's a lot wrong with META and Mark Zuckerberg and Nick Clegg, all the people who run it who are kind of out of touch.

But this specific team that works at Facebook, rooting out these influence campaigns run from other countries and around the world, they do do a lot of good work. You know, how this stuff lasts longer on the platform than it otherwise should remains a bit of a mystery. I would say it's down to resources. But the fact that they are sharing this information, that they're putting it out there, and that they're also telling other platforms. They're telling the likes of Twitter, YouTube, who haven't got these specific campaigns, to take this stuff down, that is a good thing.

BERMAN: Donie O'Sullivan, thank you very much for sharing your reporting, helping us understand what is going on.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell launching a war against Senator Joe Manchin's energy proposal. Why a progressive Democrat is also pushing back. Senator Joe Manchin joins us live, next.

KEILAR: And President Biden announcing new rules requiring airlines to be more transparent about pricing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:38:02] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I'm going to look at Senator Manchin's proposal. I think it's going to fall short of what we'd like to see.

SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SC): And as I've shared with Joe earlier, and I don't think that the legislation he's proposing is going to do what he would like to have get done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The Senate set for a key procedural vote today on a short-term government funding bill that includes Senator Joe Manchin's energy deregulation proposals that are now opposed by many Republicans and also some Democrats. The tense standoff over Manchin's bill, which would expedite permits for energy projects, is complicating efforts to pass the stop-gap spending bill before government coffers run dry at the end of the day on Friday.

Joining us now is Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. He is chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Sir, thanks for being with us this morning.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): Thanks for having me, Brianna. Good to be with you.

KEILAR: So you've said that you are hoping for 45 to 48 Democrats here. Do you have 12 to 15 GOP votes to hit that 60-vote mark?

MANCHIN: Well I would hope that - you know, 47 of my Republican friends have signed onto a bill extremely similar to this, and knowing how important energy security and energy independence is for our country to remain a superpower and also have control of our own density, you would think that maybe 15 or 20 out of the 47 would look at this and say it's a time and it's a moment of time. It's basically a time in history we have never had an opportunity to do this and we haven't done anything with permitting, Brianna, for the last decade or more. And I don't see a pathway forward in the future.

I'm the only Democrat that's ever voted for major permitting reform. And we're not trying to eliminate any of the processes that we have. We want all the reviews and all the checks and balances. We just want to expedite them. It shouldn't take - in the United States of America, it shouldn't take 5, 10 or more years to build any infrastructure to carry the energy we need for our country when around the world in developed nations of the world, in our neighbors of Canada and Australia, you know, favored nation, they're one to three years maximum.

[08:40:04]

So we're just trying to get in line to be able to meet the needs that we have and the challenges we have.

KEILAR: Republicans have pinpointed some things in this that they don't like, but you're right. There are many things in your proposal that they have advocated for, for a very long time, and yet you have Leader McConnell who is whipping, maybe not formally, but he is whipping against - he's whipping your bill, whipping votes against it. Why do you think he's torpedoing this?

MANCHIN: I don't - you know, I'm not going to second guess what Mitch would do and what his motives are. I think there'll be a time when he looks back if he really evaluates this well that we've never had this opportunity to take a major step forward but we're all in sync with.

Permitting reforms need to be done for the United States to meet the energy challenges. So if you're for fossil fuel and clean fossil fuel, which I am, then you have to build. You have to build basically pipelines, transmission lines. If you're for clean, which I think most Americans would like to do, more that they can and renewables and clean (ph), you've got to have transmission lines to develop and to basically deliver because most of that is going to be produced in areas where there's no people.

So there's so much that needs to be done here to meet the challenges for the 21st century. We're not going to go down this path again. We're not going to have these opportunities again. When you have Democrats - overwhelming majority of Democrats are voting for it. They know the challenges and they see the good that can be done. And this is a first time. And now for the Republicans to balk (ph) whether it be about politics or I really don't know why, but I'm hoping that at least 15 to 20 come to the reasonable senses of saying this is a movement, a moment of time. Let's make sure we take advantage of it.

KEILAR: You mention politics. Do you think it's revenge for you supporting the Democrat-only inflation act?

MANCHIN: I've heard that might be Mitch's motive. I don't really know. We haven't talked. I've tried to, but we haven't spoken. But whatever it is, I understand. I've been around a long time. He's been around a long time. And this, too, shall pass, but the basic hardship and the true tragedy of all this, if this passes without us having any meaningful reforms and a step forward in moving forward, challenging what the energy (ph) - energy's been weaponized by Putin, so we're going to let Putin and Bernie Sanders decide what the energy policy is (ph), and now we have Mitch McConnell and if he's whipping or whatever he's doing with the Republican colleagues, that's pretty strange bedfellows and I'm hoping that's not the case.

And these people have legitimate concerns. We're trying to answer all we can, but it is a step forward. It's a movement in the right direction. Brianna, there's no perfect bill. There's never been a perfect bill that I've ever voted for. I like to see more. Sometimes I like to see less, but I've always looked at it, is it a movement, a positive movement? This is a positive movement, and I would hope my friends would look at it that way.

KEILAR: The CBO score out for Biden's student debt forgiveness plan, and it's a doozie. It's $400 billion without an offset, a cut or a tax to pay for it. What's your reaction to that?

MANCHIN: Well you know, I'm very much concerned about the debt. We have about a $31 trillion debt that we have to be realistic about. In the IRA bill, we had $300 billion being paid down, and this seems to wipe that out. But the bottom line is I just thought there was other ways that we could do it. I cannot answer when people call me and saying you're giving X amount of dollars away, $10,000 or $20,000 to this, this, this class. How about I paid mine off. Why am I penalized? And how about the people in the future?

KEILAR: Well sure, and you oppose - certainly, you oppose this, but do you think it's -

(CROSSTALK)

MANCHIN: Yes. I would not -

KEILAR: Yes. That's right, but do you think --

(CROSSTALK)

MANCHIN: I would not support it.

KEILAR: Do you think that it's going to hurt Democrats during the midterms?

MANCHIN: I can't - I guess it depends on where you are. I can tell you in West Virginia when I speak to my friends and colleagues and my constituents back home, they call and they would ask, say Joe, I just can't make these debt - these payments for my student loan. What can I do?

And I said, well there's things you can do. If you're into the healthcare field, if you're in the education and if you're the government services, I can show you how you can eliminate your debt by working it off, so that is a tremendous opportunity so you can walk away debt free. I think that's a better alternative than just wiping it off and forgiving it and it leaves people stranded. I just - I think there's a better way to do it, and I would have done it differently.

KEILAR: Do you think Democrats can hold the Senate here in six weeks?

MANCHIN: I think it's - I think we have some tremendous candidates. I mean, every candidate we have is an experienced or they're well rounded and they're balanced. So I think that's the advantage the Democrats would have right now. I know that there's a movement and any time a midyear election is always a challenging thing.

I think these elections are going to be a toss up. I think it's going to be very, very close. I'm hoping especially that we don't have another 50-50 Senate. That's not a desirable place to be, but you have to - you have to vote your conscious and you have to vote your constituents and what you think is right for the government and our country.

[08:45:02] The shame of all of this is that it's gotten so political and politicized. Brianna, we're making all the viewers you have right now, the politics in Washington's making them pick a side. What side are you on? Are you on our side or D (ph) side? Pick the A side, the American side. The other two sides will figure out how they're going to work the problems out. Not that you should be on my side because we're going to fight and be against everything the other side wants. That's what people are sick and tired about politics and not getting anything accomplished.

And we have a chance today with basically a permitting reform that everybody's wanted. You have almost 100 percent, I mean, a good 90, 95 percent of Democrats and Republicans that want the same thing. Can't you look at the good that it can be and the positive movement rather than looking and trying to figure a way why you can justify not supporting it? That doesn't make any sense to me.

KEILAR: Yes. They may support some of what's in it. We'll see if the votes are there, though, sir. Senator Manchin --

MANCHIN: Sure.

KEILAR: -- we appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

MANCHIN: Good to be with you, Brianna. Thank you. ?????

KEILAR: NASA successfully slamming a spacecraft into an asteroid. We have more on the technology that some day might save us all.

BERMAN: And new overnight, the White House announces Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:40]

KEILAR: Time now for "5 Things to Know for Your New Day."

Documentary footage obtained by CNN shows Trump ally Roger Stone the day before the 202 election with no interest in waiting for the votes to contest the election. Stone saying, f the voting, let's get right to the violence. Stone questioning the authenticity of that footage and says it was selectively edited.

BERMAN: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton allegedly ran away to avoid being served a subpoena. It was part of a lawsuit seeking to block potential criminal charges for helping women obtain abortions out of state. Paxton says he was avoiding, quote, a stranger lingering outside his home.

KEILAR: This morning, U.S. stock futures are higher after all three major indexes started the week in major decline. The Dow slipped into its first bear market since the pandemic.

BERMAN: President Biden has announced new rules that require airlines and travel sites to be more transparent about the fees they charge. KEILAR: And on Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit the DMZ in Korea or the Demilitarized Zone, the 160 mile stretch that divides the north and south, as part of her visit to Asia.

BERMAN: Those are "5 Things to Know for Your New Day." More on these stories all day on CNN and cnn.com. But don't forget to download the "5 Things podcast every morning.

KEILAR: Another history-making night for NASA as it worked to save the planet. Really to save us all from a potential future catastrophe. The agency crashing its own spacecraft into an asteroid, on purpose, on Monday. It's likely the first time that a space crash has been called successful.

CNN's space and defense correspondent Kristin Fisher has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a galaxy where asteroids have pummeled plants for billions of years, now one planet strikes back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lift off.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ten months, around 6.8 million miles later, and with the speed of nearly 14,000 miles per hour, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft, known as DART, make history on Monday night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three, two, one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, wow.

FISHER: The NASA crew and scientists around the world celebrated the culmination of a grueling journey live.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fantastic. Oh, fantastic.

FISHER: DART's mission, the first of its kind, was to test technological capabilities to protect humanity from hazardous asteroids or other deadly objects in space.

ELENA ADAMS, DART MISSION SYSTEMS ENGINEER: To see it so beautifully concluded today was just an incredible feeling. And also very tiring.

FISHER: The DART spacecraft was about the size of a refrigerator. Its target asteroid, Dimorphos, is about the height of the Washington Monument. Over the last seven years, thousands of people have been working on this planetary defense test mission.

NICK MOSKOVITZ, PLANETARY ASTRONOMER, LOWELL OBSERVATORY: So this is an important test for planetary defense mitigation strategies, in case we ever heave to do this for real. FISHER: That meant building an unmanned spacecraft and deliberately crashing it into a moving planetary object. In their very first attempt, right on target.

MARK JENSENIUS, DART SMART NAV. GUIDANCE ENGINEER: Once we got a look at Dimorphos, I think that's when the team was confident that we were going to hit.

FISHER: A remarkable achievement that could possibly prevent future threats from hitting our planet.

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, ASTROPHYSICIST AND SCIENCE COMMUNICATOR: These are baby steps right now just to see if it works, all right, to see if we have the power to do this. And then when the big one comes, you want to make sure that there was enough of these practice runs that, in fact, we would end up succeeding.

FISHER: In the coming weeks, NASA will analyze images and video that a briefcase sized cube sat captured during the impact. But NASA says it will take months before it knows if the DART mission was successful.

ADAMS: What we're going to be seeing probably in the next couple of months, we're actually going to get a confirmation of exact period change that we made.

FISHER: Asteroids, especially big ones, are not just a Hollywood imagination, as in the 1998 movie "Armageddon."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: that's what we call a global killer. Nothing would survive. Not even bacteria.

FISHER: Asteroids are very real threats. And having the means to defect them is of vital interest to everyone on planet earth.

MICHIO KAKU, PROFESSOR OF THEORETICAL PHYSICS, CITY UNIVERSITY OF NY: If we can confirm that the thing was deflected by less than one degree, we know that this would, in principle, work on a large scale.

[08:55:07]

FISHER: The last time a deadly asteroid hit earth was around 65 million years ago.

TYSON: You can bet that if the dinosaurs had NASA, they would have deflected that asteroid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What a moment.

FISHER: Monday's test hopes to prevent that from ever happening again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Should all earthlings sleep a little easier tonight?

ADAMS: I definitely think that, as far as we can tell, our first planetary defense test was a success and I think we can clap to that, everyone. So, right? So, yes, will it - well, yes, I think the earthlings should sleep better, and definitely I will. (INAUDIBLE) how are you feeling? The people working here, we're definitely going to sleep better. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FISHER: Yes, so the DART team sleeping better last night after successfully slamming their multi-million dollar spacecraft into that asteroid. That was objective number one. But, Brianna, it's going to take a few weeks before we know if they successfully achieved objective number two, which is actually pushing that asteroid off of its orbit.

Hands down, one of my favorite space missions I've ever covered.

KEILAR: Of course. Well, because it's life imitating art.

FISHER: True.

KEILAR: Because if "Armageddon," the movie, isn't art, I just don't know what is.

FISHER: And it was the dinosaurs. It really felt like it was a tribute for the dinosaurs last night.

KEILAR: It was everything. I don't think they're sleeping better either. They're so excited. They were - they were probably up all night partying, let's be honest.

FISHER: There was an after party.

KEILAR: Totally.

All right, Kristin, that was great. Thank you.

BERMAN: All right, any moment now, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will speak at a press conference from the state of emergency operations center to discuss Hurricane Ian, which does threaten a path of destruction as it churns towards Florida.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)