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U.S. Veteran & Father Of 5 Dies Fighting In Ukraine; Evidence: Trump, Allies Were Warned Of Potential Violence; Nonprofit On Mission To Combat Asian American Hate. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 14, 2022 - 8:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: U.S. veteran Dane Partridge has become the fifth known American to be killed while volunteering in Ukraine. Partridge died earlier this year or pardon me this week from injuries that he sustained after he and others were ambushed by two Russian vehicles while they were clearing trenches.

The father of five suffered a broken neck and wounds to his brain from shrapnel. He was in a coma for eight days and he passed away in a Zaporizhzhia Hospital on Tuesday, while he was still on life support. Partridge had been fighting alongside Ukrainians since April. And joining us now is Dane's sister, Jenny Corry.

Jenny, I am so sorry for your loss and for the loss of your family. How are you doing? And how are you reflecting on what your brother was doing at the time that he died?

JENNY CORRY, SISTER OF DANE PATRIDGE, AN AMERICAN VETERAN KILLED IN UKRAINE: We're doing OK. And obviously, we're - we're devastated at this news but we, we believe, and know that he paid the ultimate sacrifice. And we had many conversations about how he just felt like he needed to serve and be there for his fellow man. And so that's how we're going to go on honoring his name and telling his story.

KEILAR: And remembering him through his stories and for his children as well. I know, he bought a one way ticket to Poland. He did something that actually many service members do before going into service, which is he prepared, he drafted his will. Did you have tough conversations before he left about the possibility of what could happen?

CORRY: We talked about it. It's interesting, because part of our conversation was, in his earlier years he had right out of high school, he had joined the army, and he did go over and he fought for Operation Iraqi Freedom. And he said, it's different this time, when I went to Iraq, I was scared. This time I have such a strong conviction. And I know with every bone in my body, that this is right and I'm not scared. And I know very likely that I'm not going to come back.

KEILAR: He thought that? He thought he might not come back. But he thought it was worth it. Can you tell me more about why he thought it was worth it, considering he had so much at home to live for. CORRY: He saw a noble cause. And he wanted to go, fight for it. And he's kind of faith based man that when he gets a piercing in his heart, and he knows that he believes it with every bone in his body, he can't deny that. And he wanted to honor his God and the conviction that he got to go, fight.

KEILAR: Can you tell us a little bit about him, Jenny? I mean, you've already told us about his convictions. And obviously we know about his willingness to sacrifice for those convictions. Can you tell us a little more about him?

CORRY: Yes, he was the kind of guy that he would - he would help anybody. But he also liked being the life of a party. He was a tall, kind of a loud, booming voice and you knew he was in the room. And he loved to make people laugh. He loved to be witty, if you were sad, he wanted to cheer you up.

He didn't talk much about himself when he was over there because he didn't want us to worry. He just wanted to connect with us at home and keep things as happy as he could, so that we weren't worrying so much for him. But he was one to - when he saw a need, he was going to reach out and he was going to take care of somebody, somebody whether they needed help, whether they were sad, whether they needed cheering up. He just wanted to be that person to lift people up.

KEILAR: Jenny, he sounds like he was an amazing person. And I'm so sorry for what you are going through and for what your family is going through and I thank you for sharing a little bit about him with us this morning. Jenny Corry, thank you.

CORRY: Thank you.

KEILAR: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The January 6th committee hearing yesterday shared testimony that linked the Trump White House to right wing extremists. One of those organizations at the center of the committee's investigation is the Oath Keepers. The Oath Keeper's former spokesman Jason Van Tatenhove, who joins us now. He testified before the committee back on July 12. Jason, thank you so much for joining us this morning. Really appreciate it.

Yesterday, the committee revealed that the leader of the Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes that he told members of the Oath Keepers in a group chat on Signal that if Trump called upon them as a militia that he believed the U.S. Secret Service would be happy to have their help. Why do you think Rhodes believed that?

JASON VAN TATENHOVE, FORMER SPOKESMAN, OATH KEEPERS: I think there were inroads communication lines ever opened between the administration and different militia groups. I think that goes all the way back to before the first election where they were trying to make those inroads.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, what communication do you know about the White House, people in the Trump orbit, people close to Trump who would have been in communication with Oath Keepers or other extremist groups?

[08:40:00]

VAN TATENHOVE: I wasn't there firsthand but I do know about a call that was put out for calling for militia leaders to go meet with Roger Stone in the desert of Nevada, back before - before the first election. So I think - I think it's something that they've been working on for a while it's been in the back of their - their minds. And I think it was one of the cards they were holding back leading up to January 6.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe that on January 6, there was communication between the Trump orbit, the White House and the Oath Keepers?

VAN TATENHOVE: I don't know if it would be direct communication. But I certainly think that there was, you know, in the peripheral communication happening. I think, you know, the fact that there was security being provided to Roger Stone the day before, I think we're seeing that the communication was attempted, you know, through Secret Service, possibly, and possibly through the White House switchboard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know, about any communication with the Secret Service?

VAN TATENHOVE: I don't, I mean, I've been out of the game for five years. I only know what you know what's being released. But you know, I do follow up pretty closely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to play some sound from committee member Adam Schiff, yesterday. He's talking about new messages that were revealed between top Trump officials that say in part quote, that they got the base fired up and shared a link to violent comments from supporters about lawmakers leaving in body bags. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): The subcommittee has obtained a text message that Jason Miller, a senior communications adviser sent to Mark Meadows, less than a week before January 6. I got the base fired up, he wrote in all caps. He sent a link to this page on theDonald.win. The linked web page had comments about the joint session of Congress on January 6.

Take a look at some of those comments. Gallows don't require electricity. If the filthy commie maggots try to push their fraud through, there will be hell to pay.

Our lawmakers in Congress can leave one of two ways, one in a body bag, two, after rightfully certifying Trump, the winner. (END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much do you believe that extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and others who are out there on January 6, were taking their cues from people who were very close to Donald Trump versus doing it for their own reasons.

VAN TATENHOVE: I think they absolutely were taking cues. But you know, it also coincided with their own reasoning and their own goals. But I have no doubt. I mean, they were called up. They were asked to come and that they thought it was going to be a wild ride. This is something that has been going on for a while.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they were told that January 6 was going to be wild. All right, Jason Van Tatenhove in Boulder, Colorado. We got to leave it there. Thank you so much for your time this morning. Appreciate it.

KEILAR: In the never before seen video released by the committee the claim that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked or delayed the calling of the National Guard was disputed. Here are claims that some Republicans have made.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): When the riots were going on and the National Guard were there and Nancy Pelosi was criticizing because there - they were at the Lincoln Memorial protecting it. Was there a decision made by the Speaker not to have the National Guard at the Capitol that day?

REP. JIM BANKS (R-IN): Was Speaker Pelosi involved in the decision to delay National Guard assistance on January 6.

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): They should have had help. They should have had more - more National Guard or more police there. Why didn't they?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Well, here's what actually happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Hi governor. This is Nancy. Governor, I don't know if you had been approached about the Virginia National Guard, Mr. Hoyer was speaking to Governor Hogan. But I still think you probably need the OK of the federal government in order to come into another jurisdiction. Thank you. Oh my God. They're just breaking windows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: You see what actually happened there, which is you have Republicans raising questions about why wasn't Nancy Pelosi doing this or that. She actually was. And President Trump we've now learned wasn't and Nancy Pelosi was - we see her in certain parts of this video in a room with Mitch McConnell and other Republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Frantically making calls really to anyone to - she's talking about calling Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, DC. You can see that they were talking about outreach to the National Guards of Virginia and Maryland. They were in a panic and they were looking for as much support as they could get.

KEILAR: Even talking to Vice President, then Vice President Mike Pence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And making sure he was OK.

KEILAR: Yes, it was amazing to see. Up next, who's talking to Chris Wallace. Well, George Clooney, Guy Fieri and you know who else us, we get to talk to him. Chris is here with a preview of this weekend's episode

[08:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: This weekend, it is a brand new episode of who's talking to Chris Wallace. Chris sitting down with one of the biggest names. I mean, the biggest names.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really can't get any bigger.

KEILAR: Really can't. In the entertainment industry. Here's a preview of his chat with George Clooney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR, FILMMAKER: I think sometimes actors get too much credit for things and I can prove it to you. Because for instance, it's script and director, that's all it is. It really is. I've been you know, I was kind of hailed as the worst Batman in the history of time. Fair enough. I was.

The next film I did was 'Out of Sight' which is probably the best reviewed film I've ever done and - and I'm good in it because the film was good.

CHRIS WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Is that one of the reasons though, that you went into directing early on because if the acting thing doesn't work out, I've got another skill set here.

[08:50:00]

CLOONEY: I started by producing and writing and directing because I thought I don't want to worry about what some casting director thinks about how I'm aging you know and like well, he looks pretty old, don't put him in this thing. I knew that would come. But also, when you're acting in a film, you're - you're basically one of the paints.

And when you're directing a film, you're the painter, and you get to pick and choose, and it's infinitely more exciting. And I've succeeded wildly, and I've failed terribly at that as well. I've never learned anything from succeeding ever. I've learned a lot from failing.

WALLACE: Which lasts longer for you? The successes or the failures?

CLOONEY: The failures.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And joining us now is the host of Who's talking to Chris Wallace, Chris Wallace. How did you know? I mean, how did you even handle doing this interview? I couldn't have. But this was amazing. I love just listening to him. And I love your questions.

WALLACE: I just want to say that George Clooney and I have two, two Sexiest Man Alive awards between us.

KEILAR: It's just too much between the two of you.

WALLACE: I know it's just a tsunami of attractiveness. No, he's - he's - as you know, he's a fascinating guy. I've often said the least I know him a bit. The least interesting thing about George Clooney is that he's a movie star because he's so interesting. He's so plugged in. He's so smart. We talk about his new movie, which is out a week from today called Ticket to Paradise with Julia Roberts, his dear friend.

We talk about that, we talk about the business. You know, he was so smart back in 1993, he was offered his own TV show on ABC. It wasn't the name, but it was basically the George Clooney show, or to be part of an ensemble on ER with Michael Crighton, who wrote it, and Steven Spielberg, who was directing and he said, I'm going there.

And he's just has been so canny throughout his career. We talk about his wife, Amal, his kids. And we also talked about his causes, because he outside of the industry is very, very active in issues of gun violence and human rights and atrocities. And he's a really admirable human being.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very wide ranging. And then you take a turn into the culinary world, you talk to Chef Guy Fieri. We actually have a clip of that. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: How would you rate yourself as a chef?

CHEF GUY FIERI, CHEF RESTAURATEUR: I'd put myself at a seven and a half, eight. You know, I can cook anything. I'm not as refined. I didn't go to culinary school. But I've been in the restaurant business my whole life. You know, I've cooked - I've been working in restaurants since I was a kid. Started washing dishes when I was 12.

So, but I'm exactly where I want to be as a chef.

WALLACE: Anybody who is as successful as you are, is going to get some critics. And one of the criticisms is about the food that you feature on your show. FIERI: Let me - let me say this to you first. One, I'm your chef, I'm not your doctor. OK.

WALLACE: Right.

FIERI: Got to have responsibility in what you eat and you got to eat in moderation. Two you would be so surprised. I pick every single item that's on the show. And I know that people love to watch Big Lasagna. But I challenge you to go watch Triple D and see how many vegetarian restaurants we put on there. Quite a few there, probably more than most.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you rate yourself? That's a pretty blunt question. And he makes no apologies for what he serves.

WALLACE: Yes. And you know, he is so - such an interesting guy. I don't know that anybody is going to mistake him for George Clooney with a spiked hair and all of that, but in his own way, so attractive, so interesting, and so big. He's got the sprawling empire. I think he's got 60 or 70 or 80 restaurants around the world.

You know, it's so funny, because I'm now on HBO Max. I've got my one show. I said, How many shows have you got on the Food Network? He literally had to count because I think it's about a half dozen that he - that he has there. And you know, we talked about the food because he has his most famous show, I think is Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

And the one thing we show because of course we are troublemakers is this lasagna. And he's got some - the chef has got some sausage. And he says to her, well, how much are you going to put on and she goes all of it and she just dumped the heaping plate of sausage on the lasagna. But as he points out, there are other things he does as well.

And as he says, I'm your chef, I'm not your doctor.

KEILAR: He's put a lot of places on the map though, with that show. I mean, people seek out restaurants that they probably would go to anyways, I don't think it's you know, he's--

WALLACE: Local - they would go but he makes them national. And one of the things he is - people have said to him, you never criticize any restaurant or at a - and he says, look, I'm not there to criticize. I love American cooking. I love these places that feed people around the country. And I'm there to celebrate, not to criticize.

[08:55:00]

KEILAR: I think they're bring in their best day when Guy Fieri, they bring in their best food on their best day with their best personality so I bet he doesn't get that much bad food when he does that. Chris, it's always great to see what you're cooking up.

WALLACE: Can I say how much - Oh, I got it, I saw what you did there. Very good. KEILAR: Can you say what?

WALLACE: I was just going to say, can you see why I love doing this?

KEILAR: Yes.

WALLACE: George Clooney, Guy Fieri is how you pronounce it in Italian. Fieri. And Dick Ebersole. It's just a joy every week to sit down with these very interesting people and to get to show the conversations to America.

KEILAR: It really is and we appreciate you joining us to walk us through little bits of it, a little sampling so that we can see what is in store on Who is Talking to Chris Wallace, which airs Sunday at 7pm, Eastern on CNN. Can't wait for this episode, Chris. Thank you so much.

WALLACE: Thank you guys.

KEILAR: And we are back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amid the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes here in the United States this week, CNN Heroes salutes Michelle Tran, a Chinese and Vietnamese American whose nonprofit called 'Soar over Hate' has provided more than 30,000 personal safety devices as well as self defense classes to Asian Americans. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE TRAN, CO-FOUNDER, SOAR OVER HATE: The day of our distribution, lines are past four blocks around the neighborhood where people waited almost two hours to obtain a personal safety device from us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To make the noise you pull out the pin and it scares people away and alerts people around you.

TRAN: It was simultaneously heartbreaking but also motivating to see so many people come out. I think it highlighted the need and the fears that many folks like me are experiencing right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much.

TRAN: Hope that our work helps save lives. That's our only hope moving forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To learn more about Michelle and her organization, head on over to CNNheroes.com. How horrible that that even has to exist. KEILAR: Yes, people shouldn't have to use that but it's really amazing that she's stepping in and providing that you can see a lot of people are interested in it. And she's doing a really good thing there.