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Biden to Speak to Netanyahu for First Time Since Seven Aid Workers Killed; After Months of Waffling, Trump Set to Make Announcement on Abortion Next Week; Interviews Shed Light on U.S. Evacuation from Afghanistan. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 04, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

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KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Abba denied John McCain's request to use take a chance on me the Republican nominee took it in stride telling writers It's more difficult to play let's take a chance on me than I thought it gets expensive In a big hurry, and if you're not careful, you could alienate some Swedes.

Fair enough, Mr. McCain. Did Biden ever had this problem? I don't think so.

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We used Higher Love, Kygo, so -- in 2020. He always loved Simply the Best and all of his campaigns use Simply the Best.

HUNT: I don't think we ever had this issue. All right, guys, thank you very much for being with me this morning.

Thanks to all of you for joining us. I'm Kasie Hunt.

CNN New Central starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A phone call that could shape the future of the war in Gaza. New reporting this morning on how President Biden plans to vent his anger at Israeli leaders.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Cancer cases potentially skyrocketing. The new report just out finding these illnesses worldwide could jump 77 percent in the next 25 years.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking overnight, police in L.A. are investigating one of the biggest heists in the city's history, more than $30 million in cash stolen.

I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan and John Berman. This is CNN New Central.

BERMAN: This morning, a crucial phone call at a crucial moment in Israel's war against Hamas, and the U.S. support for that war that could be on shakier ground than it was just a few days ago. This will be the first call between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since Israeli forces killed seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen.

White House sources say President Biden is, quote, angry and increasingly frustrated and is expected to make those feelings known to the prime minister.

A CNN analysis of the aftermath video found the attack may have consisted of multiple precision strikes. The team was traveling through a de-conflicted zone in two armored cars and one unarmored vehicle. They had coordinated their movements with the IDF.

Now, Israel continues to claim the strike was unintentional. This morning, World Central Kitchen is calling for an independent third party investigation into the strike.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the White House this morning. Arlette, we've been told the president is frustrated. What are you learning about how he will express that frustration in this phone call?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, President Biden is expected to directly convey his frustration and anger to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when they speak in the coming hours.

It really marks the latest tension point between the U.S. and the Israeli prime minister. The frustration levels here at the White House have been growing with the way that Israel is conducting their operations, especially in the wake of that strike that killed seven aid workers working with World Central Kitchen. President Biden made that plainly clear in a statement released earlier this week when he said he was outraged by that incident.

Now, while the deaths of these workers is expected to be a large focus on the call, the president is also expected to broaden out the discussion a bit as well, to talk about protections for humanitarian aid workers. We also have learned that Biden administration officials have been stressing to Israeli officials that there needs to be changes in the way that they transmit information about working with these aid workers as they're stationed there in Gaza and trying to deliver aid.

The president is also expected to talk about the ongoing discussions to try to reach some type of temporary ceasefire in order to release hostages and get more humanitarian aid in, as well as the concerns about a potential Israeli operation in Rafah.

Now, ahead of this call between Biden and Netanyahu, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart yesterday. A Pentagon spokesperson said that in that call, he expressed the outrage over the deaths of these aid workers, but also reinforced the concerns that the administration has relating to that potential operation in Rafah.

But even as we have seen this rhetoric really sharpen and heighten from the administration since the death of these seven aid workers, what we have not seen is any type of shift in the strategy and policy when it comes to U.S. support for Israel, especially when it comes to continuing to provide military aid. That is something a top spokesperson here at the White House spoke about yesterday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: Of course, we want to see them do things differently to prevent civilian casualties, absolutely, and that's been an ongoing conversation that we've been having with them for many months.

So, while we make no bones about the fact that we have certain issues about some of the way things are being done, we also make no bones about the fact that Israel is going to continue to have American support for the fight that they're in to eliminate the threat from Hamas.

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(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, it all comes as President Biden is also facing significant pressure here at home. He heard some of that firsthand when he hosted Muslim community leaders here at the White House on Tuesday evening, people conveying their frustrations of his approach, his handling specifically of the situation in Gaza.

And so, really, this could mark a major moment for President Biden going forward, as there are questions of whether the U.S. might change its steadfast military support for Israel, whether this could serve as a turning point in the U.S. support for the war. But at this time so far, even as that rhetoric is heightened, even as the administration is expressing outrage, there has been no signs that a shift in policy is imminent.

BERMAN: All right. Arlette Saenz at the White House watching things there very closely this morning, we'll check in with you again in a bit. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also this morning, there's new reporting that Israel has been using artificial intelligence to help identify bombing targets in Gaza. The report from Plus972 Magazine cites six Israeli intelligence officers and finds that the A.I. tool was known to have a 10 percent error rate. The IDF is responding now to questions about this report and this A.I. program this morning.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv. He's got much more on this for us. Tell us more, Jeremy.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, it is a truly stunning report from this Israeli Plus972 Magazine, noting that the Israeli military is using artificial intelligence, a program known as Lavender, to identify targets in Gaza, effectively drawing up kill lists of suspected militants that are then used to carry out the Israeli military's bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip.

The military, according to this report, relied on this system to carry out strikes with the IDF systematically attacking militants, in particular, in their homes at night, resulting in significant civilian casualties.

This is a section of that report which says, the result, as the sources testified, is that thousands of Palestinians, most of them women and children, or people who were not involved in the fighting, were wiped out by Israeli airstrikes, especially during the first weeks of the war, because of the A.I.'s program's decisions.

Now, the Israeli military has responded, and this is part of their statement. They say that, contrary to the claims, the IDF does not use an artificial intelligence system that identifies terrorist operatives or tries to predict whether a person is a terrorist.

Information systems are merely tools for analysts in the target identification process. For each target, IDF procedures require conducting an individual assessment of the anticipated military advantage and collateral damage expected.

And so what you can hear in that is not denying that they are using the system, but claiming that there are human checks on this system. But one source told Plus972 that human personnel effectively served as a rubber stamp, with oftentimes personnel devoting only about 20 seconds to actually review the targets that were selected before authorizing the bombing. And as you noted, this system apparently has a 10 percent error rate, which obviously resulted in civilian casualties.

So, a really remarkable report, particularly in the context of the Gaza war, but also really when you consider the future of modern warfare, potentially.

BOLDUAN: And, Jeremy, on the pressure that has been on Benjamin Netanyahu, some of his top war cabinet members are calling for early elections now. What are you learning about this?

DIAMOND: Yes. Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet, but who also happens to be Benjamin Netanyahu's chief political rival, yesterday, in a public statement, calling for early elections. This is the first time that he has made this call since joining this unity government in the first days of the war.

And he says that he would like to see elections by September, ahead of the one-year anniversary of those October 7th terrorist attacks, the one-year anniversary of Israel's war in Gaza. He says that he is framing it in the context of maintaining the unity that has existed in Israel in the wake of those attacks on October 7th.

And that's particularly interesting, because by being in this unity government, he really has helped to give the aura of unity to Benjamin Netanyahu's government. And while his departure from this unity government wouldn't topple the government all together, it could potentially fracture that image of unity, which Benjamin Netanyahu very much needs in this moment.

BOLDUAN: Jeremy Diamond, it's good to see you, thank you so much. Sara? SIDNER: All right. Still ahead, it's the one controversial issue, former President Trump hasn't been talking about much. Voters may finally hear Trump's strategy on the issue of abortion rights.

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Also new this morning, what really happened during the chaotic and deadly final days of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. We will bring you a CNN exclusive reporting.

And researchers are racing to reach people trapped after the massive earthquake in Taiwan. The overnight rescues and the hundreds that are still stranded this morning, we'll have all of that.

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SIDNER: We've got some brand new CNN reporting for you. The Trump campaign treading gingerly as it carefully tries to craft the former president's message on abortion for months now.

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Advisers have been quietly preparing and pressuring Donald Trump on this issue.

Just Tuesday, though, Trump surprised his campaign when he promised to make a statement next week on abortion. That offhand remark to reporters on the campaign trail in Michigan came right after Florida State Supreme Court paved the way for a six-week abortion ban in Trump's home state. Justices there also cleared the way, however, for Florida voters to decide in state Constitution.

CNN's Alayna Treene has the new reporting for us this morning. Where is Trump now? Sort of where is he on this issue? He has been pretty quiet on what he thinks about what's going on, especially in his home state.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, that's right. And, Sara, I mean, Donald Trump has really towed the line on this issue for over a year now and throughout the campaign trail, despite many outside people, people like Senator Lindsey Graham, his ally, Ralph Reed, even Kellyanne Conway pressuring him for months to take a more firm issue and firm stance, I should say, on this position. He's avoided doing so and also at the advice of some of his advisers.

What he's really done so far has been to try to have it both ways, to take credit for what he argues was stacking the Supreme Court with conservative justices that paved the way for Roe versus Wade to be overturned, but then also both privately and publicly saying that he believes the issue of abortion is a political loser, and especially in a general election.

But we have started to see him change his tune a bit in recent weeks. He started floating a 15-week or 16-week ban and has recently, as you mentioned, said that he plans to make a statement on this shortly. Take a listen to what he's been saying. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Pretty soon, I'm going to be making a decision. And I would like to see if we could do that at all. I would like to see if we could make both sides happy.

REPORTER: Mr. President, do you support the six-week abortion ban that the Florida Supreme Court just upheld?

TRUMP: I'll be making a statement next week on abortion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Sara, that last sound from him right there when he said he'll be making a statement next week on abortion.

From our reporting, many of Donald Trump's advisers told us that it caught them off guard. They were not anticipating that he would say that. And, really, it's because even though many people have been pressuring him to clarify his position on this, once he became the Republican nominee, essentially, they argue that maybe the politics of this doesn't make sense to come out with during a general election, when, really, it's an issue that Republicans are very vulnerable on.

But now, it's really -- you know, he's put his advisers on the clock. And we do know that behind the scenes, his policy team has been quietly preparing a working on a policy memo led by his top policy aides to put something out on this.

And, look, when I talk to Donald Trump's advisers, they essentially tell me that we wanted to avoid this issue. We know it's not great politics, but at some point, he was going to have to address this. And one of them even said, from a P.R. standpoint, it's better to do so earlier rather than later. So, that's where Donald Trump is right now.

And I do just want to be very clear. We still don't know exactly what he's going to say next week. Right before he had made that comment about making a statement next week, his advisers had essentially put out a statement saying his position is that he believes the issue should be decided by the states.

And so I think they're still working out the details behind the scene. And we'll see that unfold in the days ahead. Sara?

SIDNER: You know how big of an issue this is. The Biden administration saying they believe they can capture Florida in the vote because of this issue. We will have to wait and see what Donald Trump says about abortion.

Thank you so much, Alayna Treene. I know you will get the answer to that soon. John?

BERMAN: I will also say for those still waiting for Trump to release his tax return. Sometimes he does say he's going to do something and then doesn't follow through. So, $30 million in cash stolen in one of the biggest heists in history, new clues the police have.

An exclusive new CNN reporting testimony that the plans for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan were created from scratch.

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BERMAN: All right. Breaking overnight, a CNN exclusive, new details of the U.S. military's final chaotic days in Afghanistan. CNN obtained transcripts of interviews with the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in which three officials say the 2021 evacuation plan was created from scratch and they were rushed there with little time to prepare.

13 U.S. service members were killed in twin bombing attacks by the Taliban during that evacuation. Twin bombing attacks during that evacuation, I should say, attribution unclear.

CNN's Kylie Atwood helped break this story. What are you learning this morning, Kylie?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, these transcribe interviews from these State Department officials paint just how suddenly they were thrust into the heart of this chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal. One of them was working at a posting in Turkey, another one working on Arctic affairs. And a third was working at the State Department, asked by then-deputy secretary of state to go to Kabul, and left eight to ten hours later. It was a very sudden launch to this effort for them.

And then, when they got there on the ground, John, what these folks described was situations that were changing minute by minute, and that there was no plan that was an effective plan in place that they were following. They were essentially creating that plan on the fly.

I want to read to you a portion of the transcribed interview from James DeHart, one of these State Department officials, who was asked, quote, were you executing off a specific plan? And he answered by saying, I would say, not really. We had to, I would say, create from scratch tactical operations that would get our priority people into the airport.

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And then, of course, he went on to add, we were routinely as effective as we could be under the circumstances.

But those circumstances on the ground were just so challenging. They talk about having to work with the Taliban and how hard that was.

Now, the State Department is doubling down on the Biden administration's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, saying it was the right decision. It gave them more ability to focus on other foreign policy issues, of course, Ukraine and the Middle East, or two that they name.

And I do want to take a step back here. Chairman McCaul from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who is leading this investigation, has been carrying out this investigation for more than two years now. And according to sources who are working on this investigation, what they're going to do with all of these transcribed interviews is put together a report with the key takeaways.

And when you talk to Biden administration officials, they are very cognizant of the fact that there's a political motive here for Congressman McCaul and the Republicans who are leading this investigation. They want this issue to come to the fore around the time of the November elections. We will have to watch and see if that report comes out around that time so that they can focus on one of the worst parts, one of the really damaging aspects of the Biden administration's foreign policy legacy.

BERMAN: Kylie Atwood, part of the team that broke this story, thanks so much for sharing your reporting this morning. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So, the chance that cancer cases could spike by more than 75 percent in the next two decades. This is part of a new study out just this morning, and we have more details that we'll be bringing to you.

And one of the largest cash burglaries in Los Angeles history, authorities now baffled after thieves get away with $30 million.

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