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White House Holds Press Briefing After U.S.-Russia Prisoner Swap; Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) Discusses Americans Released In Historic Prisoner Swap With Russia & Hamas Leader Killed By Israel In Tehran. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired August 01, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Which she was a participant in, very much a core member of the team that helped make this happen.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Jake, a quick question. One as it relates to the president's interactions with Chancellor Scholz. It's been detailed, but maybe from the podium you could help us understand Chancellor Scholz had to make a big sacrifice giving up Krasikov here, a Russian criminal.

What specifically did the German chancellor say to President Biden about his willingness to do this?

SULLIVAN: Well, I will leave that to Chancellor Scholz because I think, for important and sensitive conversations, leaders should speak for themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But I thought you said, "For you. I will do this." Is that fair? And if so, can you at least detail that?

SULLIVAN: I can confirm that he did say that, but I thought you were asking sort of to elaborate in greater detail, which I just I'm afraid I don't feel comfortable doing because he can -- he can speak to his conversations with the president.

What I will say -- and President Biden made this point when he spoke to the press just a short time ago -- that relationship between the president and the chancellor, a relationship of respect, a relationship with genuine friendship, had the character of being able to work through this sensitive issue in a way that wasn't antiseptic or professional.

It was two guys actually to try to figure out a solution. That was the nature of all of the conversations. And ultimately, the chancellor was able to say to the president, let's do this.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Just to be clear, my second question today is it's clearly a day of celebration but already there is some criticism.

Including from the Republican vice-presidential nominee, J.D. Vance, who moments ago, said, "I think what this demonstrates, I think that really what this show those is that a lot of bad guys across the world are worried that Donald Trump is coming back into office."

Your response to those comments?

SULLIVAN: I don't follow.

Yes?

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Jake.

Can you talk about what, if any, engagement U.S. officials had with Vladimir Putin as part of this?

SULLIVAN: No engagement directly with Vladimir Putin.

TAUSCHE: What about (INAUDIBLE)

SULLIVAN: There was extensive engagement with Russian officials over the course of this. I'm not going to get into the details because those channels are sensitive and need to be protected for exactly this reason.

Because having those sensitive channels enables us to produce results like this.

SULLIVAN: Last week, in the Oval Office, President Biden said that he remains committed to bringing Americans home during his it's final six months in office.

How important was it for him to get this deal before leaving office?

SULLIVAN: Honestly, I don't think he was thinking about it, like I've got to get it before I'm -- I leave office. He was thinking about it from the family's perspective, which is every day is a lost day.

So I want to do this as rapidly as humanly possible. I want to push the pace on it because the longer that these Americans are held abroad, the greater the risk and the greater the pain.

So for him, it was really important to do the deal, but less tied to his time in office and more tied to the power and responsibility he had and wanted to exercise to get this done as fast as he possibly could.

TAUSCHE: I just want to follow up on this interaction with the Russians. Does this, in any way, delay any groundwork for discussions about the war in Ukraine, with the Ukrainians?

I mean, just too sort of say, look, we've cooperated on this. Is there any path that this creates, any sort of goodwill in terms of, you know, creating more aggression?

SULLIVAN: We do not see a link between the hostage negotiation or the detained persons negotiations, and any potential diplomacy over the war in Ukraine.

We see those as operating on separate tracks. One is really about the practical issue of producing this exchange.

The other is a much more complex question, where the Ukrainians will be in the lead and the United States will consult closely with all of our allies to support them when they are prepared to step forward and engage in those -- in that kind of diplomacy.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: If I can just follow up on, if we can't (INAUDIBLE) happening in the Middle East and with Iran and with the (INAUDIBLE).

Can you please just give us your assessment of how high the temperature really is and how great the risks are now of an all-out war, a bigger one?

SULLIVAN: Just taking a step back, we have been laser focused on trying to prevent that wider war since October 7th. There have been moments that have required intensive effort to keep a lid on things.

The risk has always been there and the risk remains today. And we believe we do have to be engaging in intensive efforts now, through deterrence, through de-escalation, through diplomacy to prevent a wider war. And we will continue to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thanks, Jake.

Back in May, former President Trump made the comment that Russia would release Evan Gershkovich for him after the upcoming election, quote, "but not for anyone else."

Did that comment complicate negotiations at all? And do you have a response to Trump's comment now?

[13:35:06]

SULLIVAN: Look, I'm just happy these guys are out and home. And I won't weighed in to the comments of the former president.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Jimmy Wilgus, are you working on him?

SULLIVAN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Jake, he noted that the president spoke to the leader of Slovenia right around the time he was making his decision on his political future.

How much was the thinking that he had to go through on his future part of this process, leading up in these negotiations? Was it something that weighed on him for days ahead?

SULLIVAN: Look, to be honest with you, the way in which this unfolded played out over the course of weeks, even months to put all of the pieces in place. So the timing and the cadence of the different elements coming

together was a feature of the diplomacy and the decision-making of each of the countries involved.

It wasn't about American politics, the American political calendar, president's thinking on other issues. And it did happen to line up on that Sunday in that way, but not through a conscious decision to make it so but rather because that's when the pieces we're falling into place.

And that's the moment when the president had to drop that final piece in. And it just so happened to come a couple of hours before he made his announcement.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And when do you think we will actually see them on American soil? Will the president great them in person?

SULLIVAN: I think you can expect to see Evan, Paul and Alsu later tonight on American soil. And as the president mentioned in his remarks earlier, there'll be landing at Andrews Air Force base. And the president and the vice president will be out there to greet them.

Vladimir Kara-Murza is going to be traveling to Germany. And his family, who was here with the president this morning, will be traveling there to join him.

But as Vladimir and the president discussed today, we expect him back here in the United States soon for him to be able to see the president and other people in the U.S. government.

Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you, Jake.

Switching gears for a moment, I want to ask you about the new deal that's been reached with the 9/11 suspects by military and military courts at Guantanamo.

Republicans are condemning this as showing weakness and calling it a sweetheart deal because it avoids a trial and the death penalty. Just wondering if the administration has any response to that.

SULLIVAN: As we said last night, the White House received word that --

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We have been listening to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan answering questions about this historic prisoner swap between Russia and the U.S. and several other countries.

Answering a lot of the questions actually that we're posed, but also not all of them. And I think that we can get to that with some of our panelists here.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes.

KEILAR: Our Kayla Tausche, I thought, actually asked one of the really good questions -- SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: -- which was about the engagement. What were the channels that were here? He totally dodged.

SANCHEZ: He did. He would not answer specifically whether folks close to Vladimir Putin we're consulted about this deal, which was fascinating.

KEILAR: It was very interesting.

But I know, Alex -- and I want to get to you quickly. Because you have some reporting on this.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: And that's because those channels are so sensitive. Kim mentioned Roger Carstens. He played a very big role in this over the years.

But the intelligence community, and particularly the CIA, also played a critical role. That the main channel, I'm told, was an intelligence channel between the CIA and their intelligence counterparts.

They held countless calls and meetings in third countries over the -- the months and years as this deal evolved. And it really did evolve over time.

And I was given a bit of a timeline from a U.S. official, who said that back in January of 2023, so a year-and-a-half ago, the CIA actually put forward a proposal to get Paul Whelan out -- this was before Evan Gershkovich was arrested -- to get Paul Whelan out in exchange for two Russian spies who we're picked up in Slovenia. The Russian said no.

And then 10 months later, in November, after Evan Gershkovich had been picked up and arrested, the U.S., the CIA again put forward a proposal saying, how about we get back the two Americans for four Russian spies. And this time, it was additional spies in Poland and in Norway.

And at that point, in November, the Russians made it clear, no, we're not talking about anything unless we're getting back this assassin in Germany, Vadim Krasikov, which you mentioned, Boris, was a lynchpin. He absolutely was.

So the conversation evolved a little bit over time. The name Alexei Navalny was then thrown into the mix. The Germans really wanted Navalny. Navalny had gone to Germany when he left Russia. Then, of course, he eventually went back.

There was never a formal proposal, I'm told, with Navalny's name in it. And the Germans we're very reluctant to give up this assassin, who had carried out a killing of a Chechen, a former Chechen fighter on German soil in Berlin.

[13:40:07]

But that pressure that Jake Sullivan was talking about, with that pressure, with these conversations with the Germans, the Germans eventually came around and then finally agreed, I'm told, in June to give up Krasikov.

A large reason, I believe, is also because, instead of Navalny, Vladimir Kara-Murza was released, along with other opposition figures by the Russians.

This is a very important thing for Germany. This is why we're seeing this extraordinary trade play out.

But no doubt that that intelligence channel was key to what we're seeing unfold today.

SANCHEZ: Kim, something that Jake Sullivan sort of repeated throughout his remarks was the importance of alliances. He actually said that this was a feat of diplomacy only achieved by someone like Joe Biden.

He said that the alliances that Biden tapped in order to make this deal happen, he reinvigorated. An illusion to former President Donald Trump and his more sort of, let's say --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: -- agnostic --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: -- agnostic stance when it comes to multilateral relations, right?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Because you've got multiple NATO and E.U. partners that we're key to making this happen. And we were talking about the small circle of people that brought this about. None of them talked.

So everyone was willing to give up someone who had been arrested in their legal system, had broken laws in their territory, and do this for the United States.

So the U.S. could get four people back, including with Kara-Murza, someone who is a symbol for what Russia could be if democratically minded people we're allowed to speak.

So for the European allies, that's what they're really getting out of this deal.

And also it just shows the Biden administration's commitment to continuing alliances and that trust that he's built up, that a lot of European officials tell me, they're worried might go away if there's a second Trump administration.

KEILAR: And as we look at a photo just released by the White House, this is of the families of these wrongfully detained people, the four of them who will be released back to the U.S., one to Germany. But these are the families of the four.

And you see there two the kids very excitedly bending into the speech speakerphone there in the Oval Office.

General, I just want to ask you, if you think Vladimir Putin's calculus here was that Joe Biden could deliver the release of Vadim Krasikov for Germany but that Donald Trump was not going to be able to do it if he ends up winning the election.

Do you think that factored into this timing?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER, RETIRED: I think it could have factored into the timing, yes. Because apparently, this man is really important to Vladimir Putin.

You know, the intelligence assets, that's his prize. That's what he came out of. That's what he's groomed. That's what he's using, really, in this hybrid war against the West.

So this man probably has secrets. He probably has things that could have been revealed. He obviously didn't reveal them. If he did, we're not going to talk about it. And he's back in Russian hands. We'll see what happens to him back there.

And maybe a hero or maybe he'll disappear somehow. But Putin really wanted him back and maybe he thought this was -- this was the opportune moment, get it over with. No telling what's going to happen in the U.S. presidential election, I want him back.

SANCHEZ: General Clark, Kim, Alex, thank you all for the perspective. Appreciate it.

Still ahead this hour on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, much more on this historic prisoner exchange. Four Americans now on their way home after a combined eight years in Russian detention, including "Wall Street Journal" reporter, Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran, Paul Whelan.

[13:44:10]

We'll be right back.

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SANCHEZ: We're following a historic moment unfolding right now. The largest prisoner exchange between the United States, its allies, and Russia since the end of the Cold War.

"Wall Street Journal" reporter, Evan Gershkovich, and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan are now heading home to the United States.

And moments ago, the White House confirming German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told President Biden, quote, "For you, I will do this," when he agreed to free a Russian assassin that was the linchpin of this prisoner swap.

Congressman Jared Moskowitz joins us now live. He's a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congressman, thanks so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us.

I want to get your reaction to this prisoner swap and what you think it means for U.S. relations.

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): Well, thanks Boris. Thanks for having me.

Well, first, look, I would be remiss to mention that I'm literally, you know, 10 miles from where the family of Bob Levinson, one of the longest-held hostages in us history, was taken by Iran.

What I saw today on TV, what I hoped the Levinson family would -- would see and they didn't. And that's why what happened today is so important.

It is definitely a victory for the United States. It's obviously a huge win for these families, for their loved ones, to come home. It's a big win for the president, President Biden.

[13:49:59]

It shows that, yes, allies matter. Having friends matters. That you can call and count on them when you need them.

And so I'm happy to see the families are reunited. It's good to know that diplomacy still works.

SANCHEZ: You mentioned the Levinson family and what they endured with their loved one being taken in Iran.

I'm wondering if you see cases like this becoming more of a pattern, that sort of state-sponsored hostage-taking, where rivals like Iran, Russia or Venezuela target Americans specifically for leverage and then negotiate the release of actual criminals.

MOSKOWITZ: Look, I think there is evidence of that, Boris. And that's why we tell Americans not to go to certain places.

But obviously, this country is going to do whatever they can to get back their citizens. And so, yes, it's a double-edged sword. Our enemies know that we'll do everything we can to get back our citizens. But what is the other choice? To leave Americans in these places?

And so, look, that's why the travel warnings are important. But obviously, we're going to do everything we can that, if Americans are taken hostage, we're going to do what we can to get them safely home.

SANCHEZ: I'd like to dig in on a portion of that, Congressman, because there's criticism from some on the right that this kind of deal actually encourages the arrest of more Americans. How do you respond to that?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, that's just nonsense. They're just mad that it happened under Joe Biden. They should just be honest, right? If Donald Trump got them back and we exchanged the prisoners that we had, they wouldn't care. So they're just making it partisan, which is a shame, because for

these families, this is a big deal. And for the Levinson family that I had the honor to spend many years with, as we we're hoping to get Bob back, I know what it was like for them when he didn't come home.

And so the idea that those folks are making this partisan and that we should leave these Americans there, I think the majority of American people find that preposterous.

SANCHEZ: Congressman, while we have you, I do want to pivot to some other international news because Israeli officials are saying that they're prepared for a response from Iran following the assassination in Tehran of Hamas' top political figure.

Do you believe that Iran is going to attempt a direct strike in Israel in response?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, nobody knows, right? I mean, Iran doesn't have many options. They tried that several months ago.

President Biden, the United States put together a huge coalition with Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and responded to those ballistic missiles that we're fired towards Israel. That was a failed attempt by Iran.

And this was obviously tremendously embarrassing that Israel was able to strike in the heart of Tehran, in the middle of the president coming to power there.

And so I don't know what they're going to do. Obviously, the hope is that we don't see escalation.

But, you know, look, Israel is doing exactly what the United States, not only would have done, but did do. We moved heaven and earth to get Osama bin Laden. We did the same thing with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who just took a deal the other day, and perpetrators of 9/11.

For Israel, 10/7 was their 9/11. So the idea that they're taking out the head of Hamas is -- you know, is how this goes. And it's how we saw it in America after 9/11. No one in the world is going to miss him. He's a murderer.

The same thing for the second in command of Hezbollah. He also was a murderer, killed hundreds of Americans. And so the world is a better place that these folks are gone.

But obviously, we don't want the region to turn into a powder keg. But we should realize that everything that's going on right now, what's going on in Gaza, what's going on in Lebanon, is all being -- the strings are being pulled by Iran.

And so we need to continue to build a coalition with our allies in the region, Israel and beyond, to keep Iran at bay, to make sure they don't get a nuclear weapon.

Anyone who is curious about what would -- that would be like, only take a look at the last several -- the last year, basically, of what that would be like.

And so we hope we don't see this expand to a regional war. But obviously, I support Israel's response to what's been going on with Hezbollah and Iran.

SANCHEZ: Congressman Jared Moskowitz, we have to leave the conversation there.

Appreciate you, sir.

MOSKOWITZ: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Let's get back to discussing that historic prisoner swap.

We're joined now by CNN senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez.

Evan, there was tremendous secrecy when this sort of diplomacy was being carried out. There we're signs though that something was afoot.

[13:55:01]

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right. Yes, in the last few days, just in the last few days, you could see that there were -- some of these Russians who were being held here in the United States were moving, essentially.

They were being moved from the Bureau of Prison's custody to the Marshal Service in preparation for something. And in having done many of these, we noticed that they were -- their names disappeared from the Web site from the Bureau of Prisons Web site.

And that indicates, you know, a couple of things. That could mean that they are being released. And we also of course, we're watching for a possible sable swap of this kind. And it turns out that's exactly what was going on behind the scenes.

And one of the more interesting things is one of these prisoners, Vadim Krasikov, is a Russian who was charge here in the United States.

He was extradited from Estonia last year for essentially trying to help the Russian government obtain military products from the United States. And so he's been charged in Brooklyn.

His lawyer -- we have a graphic of this. His lawyer actually wrote to the judge overseeing his case, just this morning, complaining that she has not been able to find her client. She herself didn't appear to be surprised by this.

She describes how she had called the Metropolitan Detention Center where he was being held, and they told her that he was not in custody, essentially. And so she was trying to track him down.

That's how secret this was being held behind the scenes. And of course, now we know that he is one of the ones, one of the Russians, one of three, that the Justice Department gave up as part of this historic trade. KEILAR: Really interesting stuff.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: Evan Perez, thank you for that.

Next, much more on our breaking news. Three Americans and a U.S. resident now on their way back to the U.S., and one of them on the way to Germany, after being released by Russia in a multi-nation historic prisoner exchange.

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