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FBI Agents Testify about Surveilling Sen. Menendez; Progress on Male Birth Control; Leroy Chiao is Interviewed about the Starliner Launch; Wray Speaks about Threat of Domestic Terrorism; Slander Conviction Upheld against Amanda Knox. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired June 05, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:33:26]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're getting new details about the allegations against Senator Bob Menendez as the federal corruption trial against him reaches a critical stage. Steaks, cigars, booze, diplomats all on the menu with frequent dinners at a steakhouse in Washington, D.C.

CNN's Jason Carroll is outside the courthouse this morning.

Jason, what have we learned so far?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a couple of things.

First of all, when it comes to what happened at Morton's steakhouse in Washington, D.C., turns out that the FBI was actually conducting an undercover operations surveilling a different group of people at a different table. And then at a certain point, Senator Menendez and his soon to be wife, Nadine, walked in and sat down at that table. And so as a result, John, they ended up being under surveillance as well. And the FBI investigator, when she was testifying to jurors, talked about how this whole operation got underway, how she wore a black dress to fit in, how she posed as a couple when she was there at Morton's steakhouse. They were equipped with hidden cameras, as well as hidden video. So, they were able to take pictures and video of Senator Menendez at this particular table with these three other men.

And that's when the FBI agent says that she allegedly overheard Nadine Menendez say the following, "what else can I do? What else can and the love of my life do for you?"

Now, it's unclear who she was saying that to at the table.

[08:35:00]

But one of those people seated at that table is one of the co- defendants, Wael Hana, who, obviously, is under investigation and is accused of allegedly bribing the senator and his wife in exchange for influence with the government of Egypt. So, the defense says, look, that Senator Menendez went to Morton's

steakhouse in Washington D.C., as a regular, in fact. He says he's probably been there some 250 times in just one year alone. And that there's nothing unusual here about a senator going to have dinner with constituents. That's been really what the defense has been arguing all along, that there's nothing to see here, that all of these allegations of bribery are really just a senator meeting and doing what he needs to do for his constituents.

So, an interest day in court yesterday, that's for sure, when you're hearing about the surveillance activity and the senator and his wife ending up being under surveillance. But again, they were under surveillance because - not because they were the targets, because someone else was. They just happened to walk in to Morton's at that time, sit down and have dinner.

John.

BERMAN: Yes, not the kind of luck I'm sure that Senator Menendez wanted in that case.

Jason Carroll, nice to see you this morning. Thank you very much.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: After decades of false starts, researchers say they are now finally making progress on a birth control option for men.

CNN's Jacqueline Howard has the details and she's joining us now.

Jacqueline, what are you learning from this new clinical trial?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Yes, Kate, this is new research that was just recently presented. And researchers developed and tested a type of hormonal gel that can be used as a form of male birth control.

So how this works in this research, you apply the gel to your body, men in this study applied it to their shoulders. You apply it one daily, and it contains progestin and testosterone. It's a hormonal gel. And it works by suppressing sperm production in the body.

So, a normal production of sperm, a normal sperm count typically ranges from about 15 million to around 200 million. But in this study researchers say the gel was able to suppress production to less than 1 million per milliliter.

And in this study, researchers say that after using the gel for about 12 weeks, 86 percent of men did achieve that sperm suppression. And that's the way that this form of birth control would work.

Now, I will say, if a man forgets to put the gel on one day, it won't have an immediate effect because it takes about eight to ten weeks to stop the gel and return to a normal sperm production. So, on the flip side, there is that caveat. But overall, Kate, this is an interesting, I guess, alternative for

men out there, outside of vasectomy, to consider. And this research, again, it was just recently presented. So, more trials, more testing needs to be done. But it's fascinating, preliminary data on this gel, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and it goes without saying, as what you're alluding to, is this, obviously, we're still require - needs FDA approval and they seem to be long before that.

HOWARD: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you. Thank you so much, Jacqueline.

HOWARD: You too.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: All right, happening now, two veteran NASA astronauts are strapped into a Starliner spacecraft. I think we have pictures of them. Well, there is a picture of the spacecraft. They are preparing to make history. But to be fair, history has been delayed a lot over the last few weeks. This is the third launch attempt after a computer glitch scrubbed last weekend's mission. The first attempt last month was scrubbed over a faulty oxygen valve.

Former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao is with us now.

We had pictures of the astronauts. They were strapped in, inside there, getting ready to go.

BOLDUAN: We are not in control of that camera. That's NASA TV.

BERMAN: I - I know. I mean, look -

BOLDUAN: We'll see it when we get to it.

BERMAN: Let's hope NASA controls the cameras and the launch well.

Leroy, it's great to see you this morning.

LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Yes, good to be with you.

BERMAN: What's going on - what's going on in their minds right now, especially when you've been associated with a launch that's been scrubbed, especially when you've been there, you know, until three minutes before launch, what are the astronauts thinking right now as they're waiting hopefully to get airborne?

CHIAO: They're very much focused on what's coming. They're expecting a launch. Hopefully this time is the charm. Of course, we've all been waiting for a long time for this and, you know, I think they're just eager to get on with their mission.

So - and, actually, once you strap it, it's the first chance you've had in the while to kind of relax. You know, I'm sure during their quarantine, even after all the scrubs, they've been going over their notes. They've been going over their training. And they are very much ready to go. So, they're just waiting for the - waiting for the countdown clock to keep going and hoping for a good - good flight.

BOLDUAN: You know -- Leroy, you know both of the astronauts very well. Tell us about them and, I don't know, how they're - how they handle this month of quarantine, if you will, and the attempted launches, scrubbed launches, and the history that they eventually will be making.

[08:40:08]

CHIAO: Well, sure. They've been - both been waiting a very long time to go flying on this vehicle, especially Suni Williams. I know Suni very well. We trained together in Russia for a number of years. And she is a consummate professional, as his Butch. I don't know Butch quite as well, but Butch is also a consummate professional. They've been doing very well. And just eager to go.

I know that even several years ago, you know, they'd been frustrated by the delays in the development of the Starliner. And then finally the Starliner was completed, went through its flight tests with mixed results, got - got modified, got redesigned, got fixed.

And so here they are finally, you know, many years later, ready to go. And so it's been a little bit of frustration, I'm sure, going on, but at the same time, now they're excited. Now they're at the moment and hopefully, just very soon, we'll see a launch.

BERMAN: Well, you're talking about the frustrations. You did a little bit of Starliner, what's gone not so right over the last few years. So, why is this worth it? Why is it so important to get this particular rocket up given that there are launches these days with other types of vehicles?

CHIAO: Well, that's right. And the whole idea was that NASA wanted to have more than one vehicle, one provider, for redundancy. You know, at NASA, and in spaceflight, we're all about redundancy. So, SpaceX has been flying for nearly three years, flying astronauts to the International Space Station. Boeing was actually supposed to get there first, but they - through their - their missteps and problems, they - they haven't - didn't get there first and haven't been able to get there yet. Hopefully today is the day where we will have two sources, two American sources, of getting astronauts to and from the ISS.

So, the idea is redundancy. NASA definitely wanted more than one provider. And hopefully Boeing's going to - going to get there today.

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly, Leroy, but take us - take us back kind of into this moment where they're strapped in, they're sitting on top of this enormous rocket, the countdown - the countdown begins. It's just under four minutes, talking about the last attempt, and then it goes into an indefinite hold. They're taken off the rocket and it's learned that it's because of a computer glitch. I mean talk about - a computer glitch from a ground computer. Talk about like frustration on top of frustration. What does that feel like? CHIAO: Well, that's right, because in the past, every other, you know,

launch scrub was due to a problem with the vehicle or with the rocket. And this time the rocket and the vehicle were fine. And then, at the last moment, of course, we had the problem with the ground computer.

These things happen. It's happened several times similar things in the shuttle program over its 30 your life. You know, you get down to the last moments, even, you know, there have been shuttle missions that were scrubbed in, you know, the - within the last minute, you know, where you had a failure of a handover because of the ground launch sequencer computer. Same - similar computer, different launchpad.

But it's - it's frustrating. There's no question about it. But like I said, they're consummate professionals. There's a procedure they have to dive into once there is a launch scrub and safe the vehicle - safe the vehicle before they get, you know, the crew can come in and get them out. But, you know, it's frustrating. You go back to crew quarters. You - you know, you have a burger and you - you wait for the next time.

BERMAN: It's always worth it for the burger.

CHIAO: Absolutely.

BERMAN: We should note that the pictures we showed a minute ago was of the astronauts. Live pictures of the astronauts as they are waiting. I think the launch is scheduled for something like 10:50 something.

BOLDUAN: Two hours and nine minutes and 18 seconds from now.

BERMAN: If you want to be specific, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11.

BOLDUAN: It almost looked like Butch was, I don't know, sleeping or meditating as we're waiting.

BERMAN: Yes, no, what are you going to do? You've got two hours to kill.

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly.

BERMAN: All right, Leroy Chiao, thank you very much for being with us as we await what will hopefully be a launch this morning.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you, Leroy.

All right, so the FBI director now says he cannot remember another time when the country faced so many different threats of domestic terrorism simultaneously. More of this on - more on this ominous warning from the FBI director coming up.

And new details on the tragic incident when a woman was hit by a train as she was handcuffed in the backseat of a police car.

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[08:48:49] BERMAN: All right, new testimony. The FBI director, Christopher Wray, revealed domestic terrorism as one of the greatest threats he sees facing the nation. He told Senate lawmakers, quote, "we view the domestic terror threat as being persistent, I should say, significant."

CNN chief national security analyst Jim Sciutto is with us now.

Jim, first of all, great to see you.

Christopher Wray is consistent about this.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: These warnings that he gives about domestic terrorism. You really do get the sense it's at the front of his mind.

SCIUTTO: No question. And the FBI has been there for years now, that primarily - in fact, they've often said the primary terror threaten this country is from domestic actors, including white extremist groups, white supremacists, et cetera.

Although I will say in his testimony, he also re-elevated the threat from international terrorism. To a degree, I think that most Americans don't realize - I think we have this false sense that that's behind us now. But he made the point, particularly in the wake of October 7th, that there - that there are attempts - that they've thwarted many attempts at terror attacks here, and that it's not just international groups trying to plan stuff here, but its internal sympathizers inspired by events abroad, lone wolves, et cetera, who might act here.

[08:50:02]

So, you have, in effective, a double terror threat, domestic actors from extremist groups, but also those inspired by events internationally.

BERMAN: We had just - there was this warning at the Cricket World Cup out in Long Island recently. John Miller was here talking about that. And the real fear there was people inspired by ISIS-K in this case. Does the FBI - do you get the sense from Christopher Wray he feels like he's putting out fires?

SCIUTTO: Yes. And, by the way, the ISIS-K, I mean he said that the - we, as a country, are at risk of an attack like Russia saw, that horrible theater attack by ISIS-K, where dozens were killed, you know, taking over the theater, which is - I mean we haven't heard of a - a threat like that in this country for some time.

I do get the sense that, I mean, overwhelmed maybe be too strong a word. The FBI has enormous resources. But whenever he talks about threats, they come from so many different directions. So, you've got terrorist threat, domestic, internationally inspired. He's extremely worried about interference in the election. Multiple foreign actors, China, Russia, and Iran, North Korea. And he's also very upfront about the cyber risk in this country. He always makes the point, China and Russia too, they've already planted the tools in this country in critical infrastructure to turn them on, in effect, in the event of a broader conflict, to the point where they could, you know, turn the lights out in New York.

BERMAN: Talk to me more about China, because you write about this a great deal in your work here. What is the specific concern with China, and what is China - what direction are they going?

SCIUTTO: So, the same concern - specific concern is that China wants to challenge America's position in the world. It, one, wants to weaken the U.S. and Russia as well. They're kind of hand-in-hand on this/ But it also wants to replace the international rules-based order. It wants to replace a system that it sees as built by the U.S. to the U.S. advantage.

And that means a whole host of things. That means bringing down U.S. economic influence, elevating its own. It means strengthening China's military. You know, hundreds of navy ships. And threatening places like Taiwan. I mean there's no one I talked to in this country or in Asia or in Europe, frankly, who does not believe the threat to Taiwan is real. So -

BERMAN: And imminent in some cases.

SCIUTTO: And imminent.

BERMAN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: I mean, you hear the 20 - to be ready by the - by the year 2027. He's instructed his forces. Not necessarily that he orders that to happen, but he wants them to be ready.

So, it is a multi-tiered, strategic threat. It's a new great power competition, right? I mean we think the Cold War is over. It's back, and it's not just Russia, but it's also China.

BERMAN: You can read about that in your latest book.

SCIUTTO: Sure.

BERMAN: Jim Sciutto, great to see you.

SCIUTTO: Thanks.

BERMAN: Thank you very much.

So, we are waiting to see if Amanda Knox will comment directly this morning after a court in Italy upheld a slander charge against her for falsely accusing a man, they say, of killing her roommate.

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[08:56:05]

BERMAN: On the eve of the 80th anniversary of D-day, Corporal Waverly Woodson Junior, a black Army medic credited with treating many wounded soldiers, has been posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Woodson, a member of 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, an all- black unit, spent 30 hours treating fellow soldiers when the Normandy landing took place. He was injured himself when his boat hit a mine. He did survive. He passed away in 2005. His widow, Joann, says, he would be thrilled by this honor, but it was his desire to always help people in need.

A Colorado woman hit by a train while in police custody just got an $8.5 million settlement. In 2022 police detained Yareni Rios-Gonzalez. They cuffed her and put her in the back of the patrol car. The officer parked the car on the tracks and it was hit by a freight train. She survived but was badly injured. Two of the officers involved were convicted of misdemeanor charges.

So a Texas toddler is recovering after a giraffe got confused and yanked her out of her parent's car during a drive through safari.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON TOTEN, DAD: Paisley was holding the bag like this and the giraffe went to get the bag, not get her, but ended up getting her shirt too and picking her up.

My heart stopped. My stomach dropped. It was scary - it scared me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: An unwanted giraffe ride to be sure there.

Now, it turns out, when the mother yelled, the giraffe did drop the daughter very quickly. She's doing fine. Our affiliate reports she even got her own toy giraffe out of the whole ordeal after a trip to the gift shop. So, there's that.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Unclear if she wanted said toy giraffe after this.

BERMAN: Yes, maybe she'd never want to look at a giraffe again, but, hey, that's not for us to decide.

BOLDUAN: You know what, I don't judge.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: I hope it's one of those things like when you fall off the bike you get right back on. Maybe that's what they were saying. That poor baby. My God.

Thank you.

All right, so, just this morning, a court in Italy upheld the slander conviction against Amanda - American Amanda Knox. This is related to the death of her British roommate back in 2007. But the slander charge has to do with Knox falsely accusing her former boss of Meredith Kercher's murder. Knox, you'll remember, was convicted of that murder, but years later cleared of the crime.

Now, let's get over to CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau outside the courtroom.

So, Barbie, what does this slander conviction, now upheld, what does it mean for Amanda Knox now?

BARBIE LATA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Well, I mean, it's a big disappointment. Her lawyers told us outside the court this morning she was terribly disappointed. The European Court of Human Rights had actually ruled on this last year and said that Italy was wrong, that they had violated her human rights and they needed to throw out this slander conviction. So, she can go back to the Court of Human Rights. She can appeal it with Italy's high court. She doesn't have to go to jail. There's a three-year jail sentence attached to this, but they're considering it time served because she spent four years in prison when she was originally convicted of the murder back in 2009.

You know, she's been banned from doing any public service in Italy for five years. No one is quite sure what that means because she doesn't live here. She could go back to Seattle, have - you know, she has no obligations to come back here to Italy. She's not under any thread. But her lawyers say that they will very likely use their opportunity to appeal again.

Now, this is a case that's been batted around for almost 20 years, you know, and Meredith Kercher, the victim of this case, her parents both died - are dead now. You know, there's just a lot of - of court and bureaucracy and Italian judiciary confusion that just seems to keep this case alive.

But Amanda Knox, re-convicted or a conviction upheld for slander, three-year sentence, that she's served. She'll have to pay a fine to the - to the victim, Patrick Lumumba, her boss, she accused of the murder. It's not over yet, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Wow, 20 years, as you lay out, it's just like amazing how long this has all been happening.

It's good to see you, Barbie. Thank you very much.

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A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.