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One World with Zain Asher
President Biden Expected To Deliver A Rare Foreign Policy Prime Time Speech; Israeli Resident Tells CNN That Hamas Knew Detailed Information About His Kibbutz And Its Security Plans Before Launching Their Attack; Egyptian CNN Say The Rafah Border Crossing Is Preparing To Open; Former Trump Attorney Sidney Powell Pleads Guilty In Trump's Attempts To Overturn 2020 Election; Hardline Candidate Jim Jordan Stands Down On A Third Vote; Natalee Holloway's Murderer Confesses. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired October 19, 2023 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: A presidential plea, Joe Biden is set to make a rare address to the nation tonight.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: ONE WORLD starts right now. Joe Biden will make a speech from the Oval Office, making his case on the need for continued U.S.
support for both Israel and Ukraine.
GOLODRYGA: This as Israel announced the capture of a prominent Hamas leader, details on who he is and how his apprehension could impact the
desperate attempt to release hostages.
ASHER: And later, 18 years in the making. Joran van der Sloot has finally admitted to the murder of Natalee Holloway. Hear the moment he finally came
clean.
GOLODRYGA: Hello everyone, live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher, you are watching ONE WORLD. Thank you so much for being with us on this very busy Thursday. We are just a few hours away
from a very rare foreign policy prime time speech by the American President.
Officials are saying that Joe Biden, who is capping off a week of intense diplomacy, will be making the case for further support to both Israel and
Ukraine, as well. It comes at a time when the Hamas terror attacks in Israel have exposed deep, deep rifts across the Middle East.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, this is Egypt and Jordan are warning that any expansion of the war could plunge the entire region into a catastrophe. Jordan's King
Abdullah and Egypt's President Abdullah El-Sisi met today in Cairo to discuss the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: This was the scene outside a hospital in Khan Younis a few hours ago. Civilians are streaming into a hospital after blast this morning
-- many of those victims are children.
ASHER: One sliver of hope, though for many Palestinians is the fact that Egypt has agreed, they've now agreed to allow much-needed aid into Gaza.
Trucks are going to be ready to roll as early as Friday morning. We just got confirmation of that a short time ago.
There is trouble though brewing on Israel's northern border. Those sirens, an all too familiar sound now across Israel. The IDF says that it is
responding to rocket fire from Lebanon. This comes after Hezbollah says it attacked an Israeli position.
GOLODRYGA: So, let's begin with President Biden's speech and go to the White House, where Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak is standing by
in Washington, D.C. So, Kevin, what exactly do we expect to hear from the President that's different from what we've already heard from his two
previous speeches following that heinous attack on Israel?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and those speeches certainly very forceful in their support for Israel. But I think what's
different about tonight is President Biden really working to convince Americans why they should care about this conflict, not only in Israel, but
also Ukraine, why they should feel invested in these wars half a world away.
And as he comes and prepares to ask Congress for $100 billion supplemental package that includes assistance for Ukraine and includes assistance for
Israel. And I think his aim, really, his objective will be to try and convince Americans that it is worth this amount, this astronomical amount
of American taxpayer dollars to support these conflicts that on their face don't have any effect on the American homeland, on Americans lives.
And he will try and sort of bridge that gap, convince Americans why, for example, protecting democracy in Ukraine or, for example, protecting the
Jewish state is important to their own lives and it will be a tall task. And he has chosen this most prominent, sort of stage, for this address in
primetime. He has only done one before that. So, I think that tells you the importance that he is placing on that speech.
And I think the other thing that I'll be listening for in this address is whether he accounts for this historic trip that he just got back from in
Israel. Now, I was on that trip with him and we talked to him at the back of the plane as he was coming back and it was certainly clear that he did
feel like he accomplished quite a bit on this trip.
But a lot of what he says that he accomplished remains to be seen. It will be seen in the coming days, coming weeks as this conflict proceeds, guys.
GOLODRYGA: And it's worth noting that another focus of this speech tonight will be the ongoing war in Ukraine and the U.S.' continued role in
providing support there.
[12:05:00]
There had been some growing skepticism in Congress specifically among some Republicans, in terms of continuing that support. What do we expect to hear
from the president specifically on this issue?
LIPTAK: Yeah, the President actually already asked Congress for money to support Ukraine and it hadn't been passed. And I think this is a battle
that he is still fighting. In fact, this speech that he's delivering tonight actually predates the conflict in Israel.
He had been planning to deliver what he called a major address on Ukraine over the last, you know, month or so. And it got delayed and it got delayed
and eventually got combined with this speech that he'll deliver tonight.
And I think what you'll hear from him is the message that he has been trying to drum up over the last, you know, 600 days of this war, which is
that protecting democracy in Ukraine matters to the entire world and that if you let a state like Russia impede Ukraine's sovereignty, that that's a
slippery slope and that President Putin could certainly have his eye on other countries. And so, certainly, President Biden will want to reinforce
this at a moment when the world's attention for the first time in a long time isn't necessarily on that conflict.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, the President trying to make a plea the couple aid not only to Israel but to Ukraine, as well. Kevin Liptak, thank you so much.
ASHER: All right, now to some news that we actually just got a few hours ago. Israeli security forces saying that they have a prominent Hamas
spokesperson in custody. Right now, let me just explain a little bit about him.
This man you see on your screen, he was actually arrested by Israeli forces. His name is Sheikh Hassan Youssef. You just saw a picture of him.
He was detained in his home in the West Bank on Thursday.
GOLODRYGA: Israeli officials say he's one of more than 60 alleged Hamas terror operatives arrested in overnight raids. Youssef served as the
official Hamas spokesperson in the West Bank. On Wednesday he participated in a protest urging unity among all Palestinian factions.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Let's bring in my colleague Becky Anderson in Tel Aviv. So, Becky, just in terms of this Hamas spokesperson, this is somebody
who has been arrested several times in the past. He's saying that he had no knowledge of the Hamas attacks on October 7th.
But there have been scores and scores of Palestinians rounded up, arrested in the West Bank. Just give us what the overall reaction to that is, both
among Israelis and among Palestinians.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah and I think it's really important that we don't take our eye off the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We know that more
than 60 have been killed just before this latest news, just since this conflict began. This latest part of this conflict, this sort of years long,
decades long conflict 12 days ago.
As we understand it, six Palestinians killed in what is described as an Israeli incursion into the West Bank refugee camp earlier, according to the
Palestinian Ministry of Health, this is the Nur Shams Camp where these deaths arose, where this happened.
A statement from Israeli authorities confirming they've been conducting what they describe as counter terrorism activities based on intel-taking
action, they say, to apprehend wanted suspects, to destroy terror infrastructure and to confiscate weapons.
I mean there's real, real concern about the -- that is the West Bank. And you talk to many people here and many experts on this region, they say part
of the sort of failure in intelligence as it were and to have known that this attack on October the 7th was going to happen on the Gaza border was
because the IDF had deployed resources to the West Bank which has for months now been, you know, a state of sort of, in a state of sort of
continued violence.
There is extremist settler violence against Palestinians there in the West Bank. We were in Al Khusra just a couple of days ago. We met a family there
who have been driven from their homes after, or their home, after an attack from settlers on four Palestinians who were killed outside their home. And
then at the funeral for those four, two other Palestinians were killed. This just speaks to the real tension in the West Bank and indeed in East
Jerusalem.
So, Israeli forces have said that they are reinforced in the West Bank. They do not want to see that, according to the IDF, as a new front opening,
nor do they want to see, of course, the northern front open in Lebanon.
So, while the Israeli military readies itself for whatever the next stage of this conflict with Hamas in Gaza is a real concern about what could
happen in the West Bank.
[12:10:00]
And so, that will be the reason that we are seeing Israeli efforts there. But as I say, when you talk to Palestinians there, there is a real sense of
unease and a growing sense -- the mayor of the town that we were in the other day spoke to us about young Palestinians who are not involved in
violence -- not involved. And these are just youngsters going about their daily life.
But he said, and I think it was a really important point. He said there are young Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank who are beginning to
feel like, you know, dying in combat is more dignified than being killed in their own homes. So, this just goes to speak to the kind of wider story
that is the occupied West Bank as things stand. Zain.
ASHER: All right Becky, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, still to come. An Israeli resident tells CNN that Hamas knew detailed
information about his kibbutz and its security plans before launching their attack on October 7th. Is it possible the terrorist group has sources
inside Israel? That is the big question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YARDEN RESKIN, KIBBUTZ MEFALSIM RESIDENT: They knew about other three or four entrances to the kibbutz.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like they knew everything.
RESKIN: They knew everything.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: What is believed to be Hamas materials appear to show just how much they knew ahead of time about the Israeli communities where they
slaughtered some 1400 people.
ASHER: It's incredible how much they apparently knew. Israeli officials say that the materials that they seized included detailed attack plans,
specific information about security and homes, and even the best places to hold hostages.
Some of the materials were recovered from the body of a fallen, of a slain Hamas fighter by Israeli first responders and then shared with CNN. But our
network has not actually been able to verify where exactly this information actually came from.
GOLODRYGA: We want to warn you, some of the images we are about to show you are graphic. CNN's Matthew Chance shows us some of this chilling
evidence.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE: CNN has gathered chilling new insights and details on the Hamas assault inside Israel, including disturbing video taken by the attackers
themselves as they rampaged through Israeli homes, killing on site and then being killed.
Searches of their dead bodies revealing a trove of highly specific Hamas battle plans, including these detailed maps now shared with CNN by the
Israeli government, showing communities near Gaza, like Kfar Aza, targeted by the attackers.
These were the terrifying scenes inside, as Hamas gunmen recorded themselves moving freely through the gardens of Israeli homes. Code Red.
Code Red. The Israeli loudspeaker blares in Hebrew, punctuating the sporadic gunfire. After the attack, Israeli first responders saw bullet
holes and blood stains in room after room in what looks like a coldly methodical killing spree.
CHANCE (on-camera): But while hundreds of Israelis were killed, some Israeli communities managed to repel the Hamas gunmen and save lives. A
kibbutz Mefilsim, also near Gaza, residents pushed back at Hamas' attack and found documents on the bodies of the militants they killed with
disturbing, highly accurate intelligence on their homes.
CHANCE (voice-over): Including precise numbers of armed guards there, regional defense force, at least 20 residents, one document reads, and 10
soldiers.
RESKIN: They knew basically the size of our security team. They knew about other three or four entrances to the kibbutz.
CHANCE: It sounds like they knew everything.
RESKIN: They knew everything -- where the generators are, they knew where the armory is. They knew about rural roads around the kibbutz.
CHANCE (voice-over): Security footage shows how Hamas gunmen killed an Israeli outside the kibbutz gates before being repelled, even with detailed
intelligence on their targets. Not every Hamas objective was achieved.
Nearby kibbutz Sa'ad wasn't even attacked, although we now have documentary evidence that Hamas intended to inflict the maximum possible human
casualties there and to hold hostages. A highly detailed street map found on another Hamas gunman and obtained by CNN shows individual buildings in
Sa'ad identified and assessed for their military value.
The communal kitchen, for example, is described as the main place suitable for holding hostages. Inside the guard room, the soldiers must be
neutralized, the Hamas instructions say, while the kibbutz dental clinic is designated a place for first aid for both enemies and friends. Israeli
residents of Sa'ad say they also found that level of detail astounding.
SARAH POLLACK, KIBBUTZ SA'AD RESIDENT: Shockingly, the details are very accurate. The map is a map of our kibbutz. It's very accurate. It's
horribly accurate.
CHANCE: If they'd have come to your settlement, they would have known exactly where to go, exactly where to cause the most damage.
POLLACK: Yes, and we now see that their goal was to take hostages, including children.
CHANCE (voice-over): Israeli officials say they found other documents, too, that advised attackers to kill anyone posing a threat or causing a
distraction, to keep captives away from arms or means of suicide and to use them as cannon fodder.
It is a dark turn even for a group seen here parading before the attacks. It's come to symbolize the uncompromising face of Palestinian resistance
and violence against Israel. Israeli officials say a document referencing ISIS and al-Qaeda, which CNN has not been able to authenticate, was found
on one Hamas gunman killed during this attack on Kibbutz Be'eri.
The document given to CNN by a senior Israeli government official praises jihad against Jews and crusaders. Israeli officials say that's evidence
Hamas is increasingly influenced by global Jihadi ideology, an assessment many experts have dismissed. But in the wake of the unprecedented brutality
of these attacks, U.S. officials tell CNN the Hamas threat may now be reassessed.
[12:20:00]
Matthew Chance, CNN Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Gosh, there are -- there are no words. I mean, it is almost traumatic reliving that over again, just seeing the detail in terms of what
these militants knew. Let's bring in "New York Times" Magazine Staff Writer Ronen Bergman. He's also the recipient of the Sokolov Prize, Israel's most
esteemed award for journalism.
Ronen, thank you so much for being with us. I know that you didn't -- you weren't able to see that piece fully by our Matthew Chance, but it was
incredible. It really just sort of painted. a detailed picture in terms of just how much these militants knew about just various kibbutz in terms of
where they were going to target, where they were going. How did they know so much, Ronen? How did they know so much?
RONEN BERGMAN, STAFF WRITER, "NEW YORK TIMES" MAGAZINE: Well, you know, Israel is an open country. It's a democracy and much of this information
with meticulous and continuous work and collection from open source, also the social media you can just get. It's out there. I am by far more
surprised to -- from the information they gathered on military installations.
Those orders that were given to assign to each of the teams, the Hamas teams, there were something like 100 teams, each one with different
location, with different target. And I saw some of the orders that were given to raid military installations, including the secret intelligence
hubs.
In "The New York Times", we published some screenshots from the GoPro that was on the head of the head, the chief of that team from Hamas. He held a
map of a secret intelligence space. This takes us to a different realm of collection, of intelligence gathering by Hamas.
I think one way to gather such information is, you know, the ongoing daily traveling of day workers from Gaza to Israel. This could be one way using
the aerial satellite, photography is another, and breaches in Israeli intelligence is a third.
This is a collapse, a total failure of different parts of the Israeli establishment, the military establishment and intelligence establishment.
It will be, I'm sure it will be investigated, but so far. Just from our investigation, the gaps are so enormous. The underestimation of Hamas is so
severe.
The lack of visibility into their communication is so tremendous that I think when people get exposed to the whole thing, people will be shocked as
much as they will be when more testimonies and more videos and more pictures will be released from the atrocities.
Your correspondent said something about an assumption or a claim by Israeli authorities that Hamas is going through some kind of a jihadist
transformation to ISIS or Al-Qaeda. That might be from the theological, from religious point of view, that Hamas is not a Salafi organization. It
might be so.
But if you compare the atrocities that the Hamas perpetrators have conducted, and I just returned from the front, spending every day there
today, in one of the villages, I attended the funeral of six members of the same family that were slaughtered together and burned afterwards.
And the stories are just really horrible. And so, at least from that side, I think there's abundant proof that Hamas is getting very close to ISIS in
time.
GOLODRYGA: Ronan, the stories are so horrible, you know. It's difficult to separate our professions as journalists from humans. And I can only
imagine, you know, as an Israeli, to go through what you and your fellow countrymen are going through these past, now 14 days. But you continue the
work.
And I want to go back to something that you just said. And I want to make sure that I don't misquote you. Did you say that there's a possibility or
imply that some of these terrorists, some of these perpetrators may have worked on these kibbutzim or may have collaborated with some of these
terrorists, people who had worked there?
[12:25:00]
BERGMAN: Well, again, some of the labor in the South is done by people coming with permits from Gaza. The permits are being given after some
security screening done by Israeli intelligence and military. It's not being given, of course, to any Hamas member or someone who knows to have an
affiliation with Hamas.
But trying to figure out how come in reading the orders and the feeds of intelligence that were given to the perpetrators before they went all this
horrible, offensive on October 7, I'm trying to figure out exactly what you asked at the beginning of this conversation. How come they knew so much?
And this is not based on knowledge. It's totally speculative and I don't know if you will have any answer, any real evidence on that. But this could
be the ability of Hamas to recruit people that are not known to be Hamas, but are getting -- that have a permit to come and go to work in Israel.
Now, this doesn't solve the mystery of the information on military basis, but people working in kibbutz, again, it's a very free country, very free
society, can get a lot of information. This is open. It's not this -- nothing of that was ever tagged as secret.
But they know from those orders -- they know how many people, where they live, how kibbutz is built, how many people, how many soldiers are present
permanently in kibbutz. How much -- how many are in the team that is assigned to fight perpetrators? That's just too much.
GOLODRYGA: Ronen, we could continue talking to you about this for the whole hour. Unfortunately, we are out of time. And this, as it appears that
that long anticipated massive ground invasion appears to be imminent. The Israeli defense minister telling troops that are stationed nearby to quote,
"They will soon see Gaza from the inside."
So, we'll be following all of these developments very closely. Ronen Bergman, always great to have you on.
ASHER: Thank you, Ronen.
BERGMAN: It is imminent. Thank you so much.
ASHER: Of course. All right, still to come among Israel's allies vowing their support is Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. There he is. He is
promising friendship. He is promising solidarity in what Israel has called its darkest hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. Live from Tel Aviv, I'm Becky Anderson. Our breaking news coverage continues. Well just in, the Egyptian security
officials telling CNN that the Rafah border crossing is preparing to open on Friday morning. A CNN journalist at the crossing said 25 trucks carrying
aid to the Palestinians in Gaza are ready to cross and the road is being cleaned in preparation for the journey.
Meantime, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Britain supports Israel's, quote, "right to defend itself in line with international law and to go
after Hamas". Mr. Sunak met with the Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, the latest Western leader to
travel to Tel Aviv following President Joe Biden's visit here on Wednesday.
Sunak added, quote, "We recognize that the Palestinian people are victims of Hamas, too, and welcome Israel's decision to allow some humanitarian aid
into Egypt from -- into Gaza from Egypt."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We also recognize that the Palestinian people are victims of Hamas, too. And that is why I welcome
your decision yesterday that you took to ensure that routes into Gaza will be opened for humanitarian aid to enter. I'm glad that you made that
decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: President Biden says Egypt has agreed to allow at least 20 A trucks to cross the border into Gaza, though the Egyptian President has
said his country cannot accommodate fleeing Palestinian refugees. Well, as Gaza gets new glimmers of hope that desperately needed help could start
coming in again.
The European Union is calling for, quote, unhindered humanitarian access. An E.U. spokesperson saying that restricting the amount of assistance into
Gaza is not in line with international law. All of this as aid piles up at the border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: This is where international aid should be flowing into Gaza. But it's been eerily quiet. Vital life-sustaining humanitarian aid has been
piling up, stuck in no man's land on the wrong side of the border, while agencies sound the alarm on an accelerating humanitarian crisis.
Now, there are signs of a breakthrough. On Wednesday, hours after a deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza, U.S. President Joe Biden landed on his wartime
visit to Israel. Hours later, he delivered these remarks.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I asked the Israeli cabinet, who I've met with for some time this morning, to agree to the delivery of life-saving
humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, based on the understanding that there will be inspections and that the aid should go to civilians, not
to Hamas, is that the humanitarian assistance can begin to move from Egypt to Gaza.
ANDERSON: But in a statement Wednesday, Israel said it will not allow any aid into Gaza from its own territory until all hostages held by Hamas are
released. Following the announcement, IRC Jordanian Foreign Minister for his reaction.
AYMAN SAFADI, JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We're all working for a ceasefire that would allow the delivery of humanitarian supplies to Gaza.
So, talk of ceasefires continuing, talk of allowing supplies is continuing, talk of a decision to end the war is continuing.
[12:35:00]
So, we're all working towards that and any step in that direction is definitely a welcome step.
ANDERSON: President Biden now says he is working with the U.N. to get aid trucks moving as quickly as possible. But even when that flow of aid can
begin, its route has been badly damaged by Israeli airstrikes.
SAMEH SHOUKRY, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, currently there's a long - - miles long convoy of humanitarian assistance between Arish and Rafah with trucks on the side of the road, awaiting the possibility of entering Gaza.
The Rafah crossing over the last days has been bombed four times.
TOM POTOKAR, DOCTOR, CHIEF SURGEON, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: There's a lot of infrastructure that has been destroyed. Obviously,
the lack of fuel, the lack of water, the lack of food is going to compound the situation. The difficulties with moving around due to security, but
also just to blockages from rubble, et cetera, and unexploded munitions.
ANDERSON: For Gaza's citizens, the deadly waiting game means lifelines are fast running out. The Palestinian Health Ministry says hospitals are
collapsing without fuel. And the World Food Program warns that shops in Gaza will run out of food in mere days.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNKNOWN, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): There is no water. There is no water at all. Medicines for children, food, drinking, there are no
supplies at all in the Gaza Strip. It's not just me. All of the Gaza Strip is suffering. All the families in Gaza are suffering.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And anecdotally, we are hearing this time and time again. I spoke to the U.N. who have a shelter down by that Raffa border. They are
sheltering 10,000 people down there at the moment. And they say their rations on water and food are extremely low.
We're talking about days' worth, just a couple of days' worth. So, those supplies couldn't get in quickly enough. Live from Tel Aviv, I'm Becky
Anderson. Zain and Bianna will be back to pick things up after this short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: We have a significant development to bring you in the Georgia election subversion case. Former Trump attorney Sidney Powell, one of the
most high-profile figures in the former president's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, has pleaded guilty.
[12:40:00]
ASHER: News of the last second plea deal came one day before her trial was actually set to start. Fulton County prosecutors are recommending she serve
six years probation. Powell will be required to serve as a witness in future trials, as well.
She is now the second person in this racketeering case to plead guilty. Last month, bail bondsman Scott Hall gave his guilty plea, also agreeing to
testify at future trials.
GOLODRYGA: Powell has pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts. Pro Trump attorney Kenneth Chesbrough's trial is expected to begin tomorrow with jury
selection.
ASHER: All right, de javu -- right now, we are watching Capitol Hill where there is more chaos in terms of the race to be the next leader of the U.S.
House of Representatives.
GOLODRYGA: Perhaps a short-term resolution. Sources telling us that hardline candidate Jim Jordan is standing down on a third vote. This comes
as House Republicans have been meeting behind closed doors trying to figure out how to move forward.
ASHER: Speaking of Jordan, the Ohio lawmaker is certainly a controversial, very polarizing figure among some of his fellow Republicans that's why he's
had such a hard time clinching the gavel, so far. As I mentioned, Jordan has failed twice to secure the votes needed to win the speakership.
GOLODRYGA: Well, as you'll know from watching this program, any decision on new U.S. aid for Israel and Ukraine needs to come from Congress. But
business in the House is paralyzed until a new speaker is in place.
ASHER: So, it's pretty much guaranteed that the Middle East and Kyiv are watching what happens on Capitol Hill. Melanie Zanona joins us live now
from Washington, Melanie.
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Yeah, well, Jim Jordan is not backing out of the race, but as he has struggled to win over support and
was at risk of bleeding even more support if he went to a third ballot. He is now pivoting with his strategy.
We are told that Jim Jordan is now getting behind a resolution that would temporarily empower the Interim Speaker, Patrick McHenry. Right now,
Patrick McHenry only has the power to oversee floor votes related to the speaker's race, but he does not have the power to pass legislation,
including government funding or critical aid to Israel or Ukraine.
So, at this moment, they are meeting behind closed doors Republicans are talking about this idea. But this is kind of a risk for Jim Jordan here.
Jim Jordan's allies think that this idea will give him more time to build support for his speakership bid.
This resolution would empower from Patrick McHenry until potentially January or until a new speaker is elected. But it is very unclear whether
this would do anything to win over Jordan's holdouts. I talked to one of them Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican. He said this does nothing to
change his opposition to Jim Jordan.
And meanwhile, this resolution is already sparking fierce pushback from conservative hardliners, conservative hardliners who are backing Jim Jordan
for speaker. So, you start to get a sense of just how messy this situation is on Capitol Hill. And because there's Republican opposition, that means
Democratic votes are going to be needed for that resolution to empower McHenry.
Democrats had a meeting of their own. They are kind of in a wait and see approach right now. They have not made any decisions or thinking it over
whether they're going to supply those key votes to be able to pass this resolution. But at this point, this looks like it's the only potential
viable option to finally end the chaos that has reigned here in Capitol Hill for two weeks now, guys.
GOLODRYGA: We'll continue to follow it all just as you are reporting for us. Melanie Zanona, thank you.
ASHER: Meantime, President Biden weighed in on the House chaos on Wednesday. He made his opinion clear. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIPTAK: Do you have a view of Jim Jordan's current predicament - unable to secure the speakership?
BIDEN: I ache for him. No. Zero. None.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: That was our very own Kevin Liptak who was able to get the President to convey how much he aches for Jim Jordan in a very sarcastic
manner. Meantime, in a memo released Thursday, the White House took a jab at the dysfunction among House Republicans and their quote, "downward
spiral away from governing", writing that President Biden is standing up for U.S. national security interests.
ASHER: Right. It comes just hours before Mr. Biden is set to give a very - - he rarely makes a sort of primetime addresses from the Oval Office. One of Biden's advisors actually explained last hour on CNN what the American
public should be expecting to hear. I want to play that for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN FINER, U.S. DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: You can expect a few things from the President tonight. One, to lay out his view of this
extraordinary moment that we are in when it comes to our national security and international stability with a highlight and a focus, obviously, on the
conflict in Israel and his visit there yesterday, as well as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine after Russia's brutal invasion there.
Second, he will connect those events and this broader moment to the lives of Americans back here and explain why this should matter to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:45:00]
GOLODRYGA: Joining us now to discuss, CNN Political Commentator and Democratic Strategist and our friend Paul Bagala. He's also a former
adviser to President Bill Clinton. So, Paul, great to see you. If you were to discuss CNN Political Commentator and Democratic Strategist and our
friend Paul Begala. He's also a Former Adviser to President Bill Clinton.
So, Paul, great to see you. If you were advising President Biden tonight ahead of this speech, what are the key points that you think he needs to
make right now?
And differentiate the speeches. Because he's already made two speeches in support of Israel back-to-back following that heinous attack on the country
on October 7th. How should this one differ?
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first, it's great to see you again, Bianna. Thanks for having me on. This -- he's got to start with
strength, right? The United States is the most powerful force on earth. As an American, I believe that it's the most powerful force for good on earth.
And I thought the President was pitch perfect in a moment of crisis, of standing with America's democratic ally in the region.
Now, he's got to, having been there, he's got to build that out, start with the strength and then also show the compassion. He has brokered a deal
we're reporting, right, to get aid through the Rafah gate in Gaza, to help all these innocent Palestinians while we're going after the terrorists.
It's a two-step thing. He's got to show that steely resolve. I think also he needs to now speak as the American president, not only the leader of the
free world, by which I mean Americans were slaughtered by those Hamas terrorists. Americans have been kidnapped by those Hamas terrorists.
America also has a right to punish those terrorists.
Now, right now, he's not doing that. He's not sending any troops in. It's probably a bad idea. I also think he needs to lean into his age. You know,
everybody, it's the first thing they say about Biden. He's old because he is.
But I think he can make the case, maybe not explicitly, but that with age comes experience, with experience comes wisdom, and wisdom matters in his
job. And so, I think that's kind of the goal substantively and politically.
ASHER: I think that he actually has been leaning into his age quite a bit, because just in terms of referencing his experience, he talks about having
meetings with Golda Meir, right, in the 70s, which really tells you how long he's been in political office.
But just in terms of part of the President's job, tonight, obviously, he has to unite the country. I mean, people are really entrenched in terms of
their opinions about Israel. And not only is the country divided, but even the Democratic Party.
There are so many divisions within the Democratic Party. You think about Cory Bush. You think about Ilhan Omar, some of their comments, Tlaib, as
well. How does the President not just unite the country, but unite the Democratic Party, too, in terms of his approach?
BEGALA: Right. He's got to do that. The Democratic Party, if you look at its platform, is a pro-Israel party. There is a fringe, and I counted it
about eight or nine in the whole 212 in the House who don't support Israel.
And I say that because they didn't even vote for the Iron Dome, which is a purely defensive weapon. I don't know if it could kill anybody. All it does
is save Israeli lives. By the way, it saves Palestinian lives because by interrupting those missile attacks, there's much less of an Israeli call
for vengeance against Palestinians under which innocents are often harmed and killed.
So, that's a fringe. But he needs to state clearly, and I think he has, that his party, our country, is pro-Israel, period. Now, he's also got to
broaden it. By the way, to Ukraine, where it's the Republican Party that's starting to go wobbly on aid to Ukraine. It's a 600-day war so far, and
he's got to show us how the fight for freedom and democracy is America's fight. At least, thank goodness he's not putting boots on the ground.
And I thought he had a really powerful message for the Israelis, which is, you know, we went through 9 11. We know how you're feeling. Don't make the
mistakes we made. You know, America overreacted and then we invaded Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9 11. And it would be as if today Israel
invaded Belgium. I mean, it's the greatest foreign policy mistake America's made since Vietnam.
And I think he doesn't want our allies in Israel to make the same mistake out of understandable desire for vengeance, but it's not, it's not, and it
was not a strategic success for America, and I think he's trying to ward the Israelis off that, too.
GOLODRYGA: Paul, there's no doubt that from the last two speeches and what we would expect from tonight, that what the President is saying is from the
heart. You know, I had a friend from Israel messaging me after that first speech showing solidarity with Israel, many describing it as the most pro-
Israel speech any U.S. president has delivered, and asking me, who wrote that for him? And you know, without knowing, I just would assume a lot of
that came from the President himself.
On the other hand, he is campaigning for another term. And I know people like you say, don't read too much into national polls right now. But it
seems on everything from the economy to even the early days of this war and a year and a half into the war in Ukraine, whatever the President is doing
doesn't seem to be resonating with a lot of voters right now, and a lot of these national polls have them neck and neck with Donald Trump.
[12:50:00]
What turns that around, and how worried should the administration be right now about that?
BEGALA: Right now, they do have to focus on the multiple crises that they're addressing. We have our closest ally in the region in a war. We
have Russia invading our friends in Ukraine who we are helping. We have, as you reported earlier, a Congress that is completely dysfunctional, broken
down and leaderless.
So, I really would say let the politics take care of itself over time. As I look back, you know, Bill Clinton was in terrible trouble the year before
his reelection. And there were two things that turned it around.
First, it's hard to talk about, but the Oklahoma City terrorist bombing where right-wing terrorists attacked the federal building in Oklahoma. He
handled that with such grace and strength. And that really got people to look at him differently.
And then at the end of that, that was in April of 95, at the end of that year, the radical Republicans shut down the country, shut down the
government rather. And he handled that with real strength. And I think those two events really turned his positioning.
I'm not saying that the same thing is going to happen to Biden. But we look at these presidents in these moments of crisis. And he's, I think, showing
a terrific strength and I think Zain is right, it's wise for him to look into the page.
ASHER: All right. Paul Begala, thank you so much. We appreciate it. We'll be right back after this quick break with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Well, after almost two decades after her death, the family of a murdered Alabama girl have finally heard her killer's confession. Natalee
Holloway disappeared on a high school trip to the Dutch Caribbean Island of Aruba in 2005.
ASHER: Yeah, her family now have closure. Joran van der Sloot, this man, was long suspected of killing her on a beach after she rejected his
apparent sexual advances. His taped confession came out as he pleaded guilty in a federal court to extorting and defrauding Holloway's family.
He's already serving time in Peru for murdering a student in Lima.
I'm going to play part of what he said for you and I want to warn you before I do that there is a lot of graphic language that van der Sloot used
in his description of Holloway's murder in this audio. Have a listen to this.
[12:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S MURDERER: I see a huge cinderbark laying on the beach. I take this and I smash her head in with it
completely. Her face basically, you know, collapses in. Even though it's dark, I can see her face is collapsed in. Afterwards, I don't exactly know
what, you know. I'm scared. I don't know what to do and I decide to take her -- to put her into the ocean.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: How awful that her family had to listen through that. But speaking after the confession, Natalee Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway, said it
actually brought a nightmare to an end. Listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETH HOLLOWAY, MOTHER OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY: All he's going to hear is that jail cell doors slam to remind him he's a double murderer. So, it feels
very, I mean, that's like a weight is lifted because we definitely came full circle to shift roles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Beth Holloway has spent all these years fighting for justice for Natalee and finally, as you said, some closure there in this
investigation. Natalee's body has never been recovered. The judge sentenced van der Sloot to 20 years on the federal charges.
ASHER: All right, that was a lot to process for the show, but that does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I am Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thank you so much for watching. "AMANPOUR" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
