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CNN International: Supreme Court Allows White House To Press Social Media Companies To Remove Disinformation; U.S. Supreme Court Yet To Rule On Some Key Cases; One Day Away From Trump-Biden Rematch In Atlanta. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired June 26, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, an important U.S. Supreme Court decision just out that could have implications with this November's election. We're live in Washington with the latest here. Plus, the clock is ticking, U.S. President Joe Biden and Donald Trump honing their strategies ahead of their debate rematch. Our panel will discuss. And I can see it, the Kenyan President says that he will not sign that 2024 finance bill. We are live in Nairobi with the latest here.
We want to start this hour at the U.S. Supreme Court with a decision that could have a significant impact on the flow of information ahead of the November presidential election. The court ruling six to three that the White House and federal agencies such as the FBI can press social media platforms to remove posts that the government views as harmful disinformation. The court decided that state Republican officials and social media users who challenged the Biden administration did not have the legal standing to sue.
Let's bring in CNN Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider, who joins us now from Washington. So, Jessica, lay this out for us exactly what we learned in this decision.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, I'd say that this is a big win for government officials, and not just in the Biden administration, but also for future administrations, because it will continue to enable officials in all agencies across the government to communicate with social media companies and to push those platforms to remove content that could be damaging when it comes to any range of subjects. Most particularly, this case dealt with public health information like the COVID-19 pandemic, or crucially, as we head into November, disinformation about upcoming elections.
So, what the Supreme Court did in this case, they all out dismissed this challenge from Republican officials in Missouri and Louisiana. These officials really wanted to ban officials from pushing platforms like X or Facebook to take down certain content that the government viewed as wrong or misleading. And the Supreme Court dismissed this case from these officials, these are Republican officials, on standing grounds, saying they just didn't have the legal right to bring this case as Republican officials and other social media users.
So, they dismissed this case. And what the majority opinion did, they also stressed that social media platforms often act independently without government input to take down some of that same damaging content that the government might raise flags about, and that also added to the weakness of this case.
So, it was a six-three decision. But then, the three dissenters were Justice Thomas, Justice Alito, Justice Gorsuch. Justice Alito really came out biting and this is what he said. He says "The Supreme Court permits the successful campaign of coercion in this case to stand as an attractive model for future officials who want to control what the people say, hear, and think." He continued to say "that is regrettable". So, Alito there really agreeing with Republican officials that in their take, the government, whenever they communicate with social media, they're being coercive when they urge which content needs to be taken down.
But, for now, Rahel, government officials can continue to do that. They can communicate with social media companies. And this will be especially crucial as we head into November's election, where we might be already seeing some efforts at disinformation by foreign actors. The Director of National Intelligence just a few months ago warned in particular about China's growing efforts to exploit disinformation.
So, this is a big win for government officials, because they'll be able to continue that communication with social media platforms, urging them to take things down when they just might contain misinformation, disinformation, or just misleading information. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. The dissent by Alito especially interesting, as he wrote "The country may come to regret this decision by the court." Jessica, one may ask, there are still a lot of cases that the Supreme Court still have in front of them. There is obviously a huge political event happening tomorrow night. Do we have any sense of the timing of some of these really big thorny issues that are still in front of the court?
SCHNEIDER: That is the question we grapple with all of these mornings, Rahel. We wonder today why we only got two opinions. Only two opinions were released, this big one and then a minor one. We still have about 10 cases remaining. We do have opinion days slated for tomorrow and Friday. But, with about 10 opinions remaining, all of the court watchers seem to think that we're going to go into next week, which is a bit abnormal.
[11:05:00]
The court usually wraps up by the last week in June. But, it just goes to show you the weight and enormity of these cases. The big ones we're waiting for involve, of course, that immunity decision when it comes to former President Trump. Whether he and other former presidents can be immune from criminal prosecution? So, that is the big one. But then, we're also waiting rulings that have to deal with abortion rights, particularly in Idaho and other states that have near-total abortion bans and whether those bans will continue to be in effect. And then, there is also a case involving a January 6 defendant that could ripple out and affect other defendants' cases who were at the Capitol on January 6.
So, yes, we are waiting for key ones. The Supreme Court never really gives any hints when it's going to release the cases or which ones at which time. There will be opinion days on Thursday and Friday. That's all we know so far. We'll see what comes the next two days. Rahel.
SOLOMON: We'll see what comes. And Jessica, I'm sure I will be seeing you very soon. Thank you very much.
All right. Let's continue this conversation and bring in some more legal expertise on all of this. I'm joined now by Jeff Swartz. He is a former judge in the state of Florida and a professor at the Thomas Cooley Law School. Jeff, always good to see you. Let me just ask your first reaction to this decision six-three. So, it clearly crossed ideological lines. What do you make of it?
JEFF SWARTZ, FORMER MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGE, & PROFESSOR, THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL: Well, there is a couple of things that I saw, and that is the idea that people have been wondering whether Amy Coney Barrett would in some way or fashion break away from the influence of Justice Alito and Justice Thomas. I think she has indicated she is capable of doing that, and maybe as many justices over years of being on the court start coming from left or right and coming more to center. I think that Justice Barrett is a little bit more or a little bit less right-winging outside of abortion cases, and I don't think she is going to follow Justice Alito down whatever rabbit hole he is going to go down. So, I think that we got that out of this case.
Yeah. I also think that they're continuing to use standing as a way of avoiding making decisions. It makes me wonder really what's going to happen with the immunity case, which may not come out by Friday. They've been known to release opinions after the term has ended. So, I'm not really counting on it by Friday, but it could happen. I think that the decision in the immunity case may entail a large number of opinions. And if it does, we can end up with a plurality opinion with absolutely no precedential value whatsoever, and that would throw things into kind of a confusion. So, I'm waiting to see what's going to happen. But, Justice Barrett really is kind of operating as an individual now.
SOLOMON: Well, Jeff, this is really the question that I want to ask, because this is now the second case, second big case in two weeks, where standing was sort of the issue here, right, this one, and I believe the mifepristone case --
SWARTZ: Yeah.
SOLOMON: -- and also because so many --
SWARTZ: Yeah.
SOLOMON: -- of the thorniest cases are being decided at the very, very end of the term. Jeff, what does that suggest to you? Is that -- does that suggest some division on the court that the justices just --
SWARTZ: Yes.
SOLOMON: Yeah. What do you make of this?
SWARTZ: Clearly, there is something going on in there. The dynamics are changing. The idea that this was a solid six to three conservative who are going to follow Thomas and Alito wherever they take us, kind of conglomeration with Kavanaugh and Barrett, may not be what everybody thought it was going to be. And I think we saw some of that in the oral argument on the immunity case. Clearly, Barrett was trying to indicate a course she wanted to follow. Kavanaugh was kind of following like Barrett in a different way. So, I'm not quite sure exactly where everything is going to land.
But clearly, there is some division there in the fact that, for example, I don't know if Alito showed up today or not. He didn't show up last week. Whether he just doesn't want to be there. But, this was his opinion. So, I dissent. So, I have to believe he was there for some reason or another.
SOLOMON: He was. He was. Yeah, at least according to our --
SWARTZ: OK.
SOLOMON: -- reporting. He was. But, certainly a lot to watch, including perhaps the internal dynamics on the court, now perhaps more than ever. Former judge Jeff Swartz, good to have you. I'm sure I'll talk to you again soon. Thank you.
SWARTZ: Nice to see you again. Thanks for having me.
SOLOMON: All right. And now I want to bring in CNN Media Correspondent Hadas Gold, who is joining us live from New York. So, Hadas, talk to us about this moment for social media companies and the Supreme Court and the implications here.
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. This is a really important moment, because right now in front of the Supreme Court, in the span of about 15 months, they're essentially having the World Cup of decisions on internet speech that we have had in the past 30 years, some really important cases. Even beyond this case, there is another case that we're expecting an opinion from the Supreme Court that also has to do with internet speech.
[11:10:00]
And the reason is this is so important is because the laws around what happens online are very gray right now. And they have not been determined. And the established law that we currently have is so old. It still looks at places like broadcast television and the telephone companies, literally the wire telephone companies as kind of where most of our communications is happening. And obviously, that's not the case and why that is so different.
And there is a major question that still has not been answered in the Supreme Court, still has not been answered at all is, what are these social media platforms? Are they public utilities, like the telephone companies and the broadcast networks have been determined? Or are they still private companies? And then, of course, you go into the even thornier questions about which platforms will be considered public utilities or not. And so, this ruling today was a technical one. And as we've been hearing so far from these experts, the Supreme Court seems to like to get away with these technicalities, but it was an important one, especially when you think about how the election is coming up.
So, with this ruling, the Biden administration will still be allowed to have their communications with the social media platforms flagging disinformation and misinformation. And this is not just have to do with elections, because the Biden administration and other administrations have done this with other things, with terrorism, with COVID misinformation.
What I did think was interesting is that a lot of people were looking, a lot of experts were looking to the Supreme Court to see if they would put up a standard. What is the standard of what counts of coercion and censorship from the government when they reach out to these platforms? We did not get that today. And that's actually something that some of these platforms have sort of been seeking. Net Choice, which is actually one of the parties and one of the opinions we're expecting to hear soon, they are an organization that represents a lot of these platforms, they should have brief in this case. They didn't take a position on it. But, one thing that they said is that there is a clear rule that is needed in these sorts of cases. And they also argued that the companies themselves have their own First Amendment rights.
You mentioned Alito's dissent on this, and I did find Alito's dissent very interesting, because he said "The country may come to regret the courts failure to say that this was blatantly unconstitutional." We are being set up for even bigger rulings. These are all building up to what could be a major ruling that could completely change how the internet, how our speech online is regulated in this country. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Really well explained there, Hadas. Clearly, a lot of people asking for clarification, asking for some clarification here. A lot to watch for. Hadas Gold live for us in New York. Hadas, thank you.
All right. Coming up, we are getting closer and closer to the high- stakes rematch that has been building for the past four years. We'll have everything you need to know heading into tomorrow night's CNN presidential debate. Plus, some dire warnings about a second Trump presidency and the economy. Who is sounding the alarm and what they're saying, after the break.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. All eyes will be on Georgia tomorrow night with the historic showdown at CNN in Atlanta.
[11:15:00] We are only one day away from the first U.S. presidential debate of the year. Sitting President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will make their pitch for America's vote. Mr. Biden's team wants him to stand out as a contrast to Trump based on character, based on policy. Meanwhile, Trump's advisors are encouraging him to stay focused on the issues such as inflation, immigration and crime.
Our team tracking the stark contrast and the candidates' messages ahead of tomorrow night's debate. We have Alayna Treene standing by for us at our Washington, D.C. bureau. But first, let's begin with Kevin Liptak. So, Kevin, who was also at the nation's capital, I should say, Kevin, what themes or messages are you hearing that we should expect to hear from Biden tomorrow night?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, there are three very clear issues that the President, I think, wants to talk about at this debate, abortion, the threat to democracy, and the economy. Those are the things that they think that this election will be decided on. And they very much want to draw the contrast with Trump when it comes to all of these issues, because they really do believe that a lot of Americans just aren't paying attention to this election yet. And this will be a moment to put the contrast under a magnifying glass, as more and more Americans tune in.
I think that the other issue that isn't necessarily at the center of this election is foreign policy. President Biden has been consumed by this for the last, well, really for the last 10 months when it comes to Israel, but when you think about Ukraine for the last two years, and it is something that I think is something of a risk for him. It's something of vulnerability. While he has been successful in the case of Ukraine and rallying the West behind Kyiv, it's something that I think his opponents are trying to paint him as overly focused on. Any President who appears more focused on issues overseas rather than the issues that are confronting Americans at their kitchen tables is always going to be sort of left vulnerable to attacks from the other side. And I think that could be the case when he hits the debate stage on Thursday night.
The other issue that I think is an issue for him when it comes to foreign policy is that Donald Trump has not necessarily articulated very clear positions, particularly when it comes to the war in Gaza. He started out with some light criticism of Netanyahu. Throughout it, he has supported Israel's right to go after Hamas, but he has also called on Israel to end the war, to stop the violence and stop the suffering. So, it's not necessarily clear exactly what his positions are which, in the end, was true of his foreign policy when he was in office as well. So, it's something of an ephemeral thing for President Biden to try and pin down on the debate stage.
His advisors have been preparing for foreign policy sections. Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor, was at Camp David to kind of lead the prep on this particular area. But, in past election cycles, there has been a presidential debate that's specifically focused on foreign policy. That's not the case this time around. So, I think it will be up to the candidates themselves to sort of bring this up in a way that they think will benefit themselves and benefit their appeal to the American people.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Absolutely. Well, we'll watch for that. Kevin Liptak live for us from Washington. Kevin, thank you.
For more, let's also bring in Alayna Treene. She joins us as well from our Washington, D.C. bureau. Alayna, Trump's allies urging him to stay on topic Thursday, focus on issues like inflation, immigration and crime in the U.S. What are you hearing here?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, you're exactly right, Rahel. And those are three issues that Donald Trump's team believes are the strongest for the former President. They are also issues that show that Donald Trump is pulling higher on. So, they're really encouraging him to focus on those types of issues, the kitchen table issues that Kevin was just laying out previously, instead of the grievances that we know Donald Trump tends to like to talk about on the campaign trail, particularly when he is referring (ph).
And there is a couple of things that I find interesting. One is that, there has been a lot of criticism previously of some of the debate rules around this, including that the mics are going to be shut off at points to allow the other person to respond, as well as there will be no live audience. These are things that Trump allies had initially had been more critical of. But now, I'm actually hearing from many people, including some of Trump's own advisors, that they actually think this could benefit Donald Trump, the fact that he may not be able to continue speaking or to speak over Biden because his mics will be shut off.
That is something that in 2020, excuse me, in 2020 in his first debate with Joe Biden, Donald Trump repeatedly spoke over Joe Biden. He was very aggressive, barely let him get a word in, in that interview, and we saw Donald Trump's poll numbers fall shortly after that. Donald Trump himself actually addressed that in an interview, a very candid interview, I should add, earlier this week with the Washington Examiner. He said, look, I think people think I lost that first debate. I did better in the second debate. So, we'll see.
So, these are all discussions that are happening behind the scenes about his rhetoric. It's the same thing within audience. Donald Trump often feeds off an audience. You see this all the time at his rallies. I'm there at most of his rallies.
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He likes to feed off the energy from the crowd. But, his team is starting to think, maybe he can stay more focused on his own messages without that audience in the room. So, we'll see how that actually pans out. And look, I think the big thing here is that they want Donald Trump to not be super aggressive. But, no one actually knows what version of Donald Trump you're actually going to see on that debate stage. But, that has been some of the conversations happening behind the scenes where Donald Trump is now at Mar-a-Lago. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Fascinating. All right. Alayna Treene live for us in Washington. Alayna, thank you. TREENE: Thank you.
SOLOMON: Well, a group of 16 Nobel Prize-winning economists have issued a stark warning about a second Trump presidency. In a letter organized by famed economist Joseph Stiglitz, the group said that it is, quote, "deeply concerned that another Trump term would we ignite inflation." They point in particular to Trump's fiscally irresponsible budgets, their words, and say that the outcome would have a quote, "negative impact on the U.S. global economic standing" and a quote, "destabilizing effect on the domestic economy".
Joining us now from New York is Matt Egan. Matt, pretty strong words there. Who are these economists and what are they most concerned about?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Rahel, these are some of the leading economic thinkers, including famed economist Joseph Stiglitz and Robert Shiller, who famously called the housing bubble back in the early 2000s, and their main concern here is the impact with inflation. Remember, cost of living remains such a major pain point for Americans right now. Former President Trump says that he will help when it comes to inflation. But, these 16 Nobel Prize-winning economist, they're saying that not only would Trump's policies fail to fix inflation, it would actually make matters worse.
Let me read you the key line from this letter from the economist. They wrote, quote, "We believe that a second Trump term would have a negative impact on the U.S.'s economic standing in the world and a destabilizing effect on the U.S.'s domestic economy." In particular, they talk about how Trump's policies could reignite inflation, specifically because of what they described as quote "fiscally irresponsible budgets". They point to research, private research that shows that his policies would actually boost prices.
On the tax front, remember, former President Trump, he wants to extend those 2017 tax cuts. Not only that but he recently told CEOs in a closed-door meeting in Washington that he wants to cut the corporate tax rate to 20 percent. Trump is arguing that this would make American companies more competitive on the global stage and that it would help workers. But, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, they estimate that extending those 2017 tax cuts that would cost almost $5 trillion.
On the trade front, Trump is, of course, advocating a very aggressive trade policy. He wants across-the-board tariffs of 10 percent, 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods. And Trump is arguing that this would really get at some of those bipartisan concerns about Chinese trade tactics. But, research from the Peterson Institute warns that this would increase cost for the typical American family by at least $1,700 a year.
There is also Trump's immigration policy where he is arguing that there should be an immigration crackdown. There should be mass deportations. There is concern from economists about what that would do in terms of how many workers there are. I mean, businesses say they need more workers, not fewer. The Trump campaign, not surprisingly, they're pushing back here. They're blasting the economist, saying that the American people don't need, quote, "worthless, out-of-touch Nobel Prize winners to know which President put more money in their pockets."
And look, when you look at the polling, it's clear that voters do trust former President Trump more than President Biden on these two major issues. On inflation, Trump is winning by 18 points. When you look at an average of polls, on economy, he is winning by 13 points. Again, that's despite the fact that some leading economists are warning that the Trump agenda would actually make inflation worse. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, we'll see how he addresses it tomorrow night. But, as Alayna said there in her reporting, his advisors are telling him to lean into the issue because of the polls that you just showed. I mean, it at least right now appears to be a winning issue for him. Really interesting reporting. Matt Egan, thank you.
EGAN: Thank you, Rahel.
SOLOMON: All right. Joining us now with more is our panel, Geoff Duncan, he is the former Republican Lieutenant Governor of Georgia and now a CNN political commentator, and also Brad Woodhouse, an advisor to the Democratic National Committee, former President of Correct the Record, and a 2016 Hillary Clinton supporter. Good to see you both.
Geoff, let me start with you. I'm not sure if you just heard Matt's reporting there, real concern by this group of economists about Trump and his policies. I want to point to something you said in your most recent OpEd for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I think it was this morning. You said that one of the three most important things for Biden to do on the debate stage is tackle the economy issue head on, speak to all of the economic realities. So, Geoff, what would that sound like?
[11:25:00]
GEOFF DUNCAN, FORMER GEORGIA LT. GOVERNOR, & CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it's a tale of two stories, the current economy. There are some that wake up every day and this is the absolute worst economy they've ever faced. They can't buy a home. They can't afford rent. They can't afford groceries. The other side of the economy are folks waking up with the highest 401(k) balances they've ever had, highest home values and safest job in recent memory.
And so, I think Joe Biden has to speak to both of those sensitivities. Right? He has got to make sure that he speaks to those that want better than just trying to struggle to make groceries get in the door. And he also has to speak to those that don't want to see the scab get ripped off so fast on the economy that they lose all this asset value that's out there. That is the intoxicating nature of inflation. It's very disorienting. Some win, some lose.
I think there is an olive branch for him to extend to folks like me that are conservative, but just cannot back Donald Trump. And that's to talk about fiscal responsibility going forward in his second term. If we can start to focus on cutting spending, I think we can start to get our hands around inflation on a better and quicker scale.
SOLOMON: Brad, I want to play for you a new ad a pro-Trump group is out with. It's airing in Georgia, slamming Biden on inflation. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Biden created an inflation nightmare, then dismissed families' worries.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Inflation rate month- to-month was just -- just an inch, hardly at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hardly at all?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After years of Biden's policies, prices are still rising. Atlanta rent is way up, food prices soaring to record highs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: So, Brad, my question is, can he thread the needle, as Geoff says, or sort of indicates that he should speak to both of these realities? I mean, are these not things that Biden has already been saying on the economy? What can you say differently?
BRAD WOODHOUSE, SENIOR DNC ADVISOR: Well, first of all, this will be the biggest general election audience that either of these men has seen. At least, it's the biggest one President Biden has seen since he gave his State of Union address, the biggest one that Donald Trump will have the opportunity to speak to in this entire election. So, I absolutely think that he can make that point and thread that needle. And he has, by the way, this new ammunition, this -- the letter from the economist, the analysis that you discussed earlier about the inflationary policies of Donald Trump.
And I think an important thing here is to remind the American people what he inherited. That is a fair point. He inherited an economy in shambles, and we've done better. Our economy has recovered better than any other industrialized economy in the world. Our inflation is lower than any other industrialized economy in the world, though, it's still too high. So, I think he needs to address those issues. And he has talk about what he has done. There are items beyond groceries and beyond gas, like prescription drugs, healthcare premiums, student loan debt, junk fee reform that he has done to try to put more money in the pockets of the American people.
But, what he'll have tonight is to be able to compare himself to Donald Trump, the worst jobs record in American history, an economy in recession that he inherited. So, I think that contrast will help him thread that needle.
SOLOMON: Geoff, both of these men, obviously, very known quantities. Right now, it looks like the race could not be any closer. What does it take to move the needle in a significant way in terms of voters with four months left until the election? DUNCAN: Well, I think the debate is going to be a huge first step and kind of the closing act of what's going on in this campaign. Everybody is watching, because at the end of the day, these are both elderly folks with questions about their physical and mental capabilities. I think if Joe Biden shows up and puts on display his physical and mental strength and surpasses the bar that Donald Trump always set so low, I think that's a huge step in the right direction.
But, look, this election is going to be about the 10 percent in the middle that look and talk just like me. These are folks that are conservative, that are either going to sit on the couch and not go to vote for Donald Trump or Joe Biden, or they're going to show up and try to make a difference with the Republican Party and grab on to the fact that Joe Biden wins and we spend the next four years healing and rebuilding this party in a way that we're proud to say we're Republicans instead of sheepishly wanting to tell folks that we're Republicans,
SOLOMON: Brad, we don't have a lot of time. But, last word here. What do you think? What moves the needle?
WOODHOUSE: Yeah. Look, I think tonight what you'll see is Donald Trump will be on display to the largest audience of Americans he has had probably since he was President. And the American people have not had an opportunity to see how unhinged and chaotic he is and be reminded of how unhinged and chaotic he was during his first term. And I think that will be a big advantage to President Biden tonight.
SOLOMON: it all goes down tomorrow night. We got to wait a little bit longer, Brad, tomorrow night. Geoff Duncan, Brad Woodhouse --
WOODHOUSE: Tomorrow night. Tomorrow night.
SOLOMON: Tomorrow. Good to have you both. Thank you. And tune in to see the CNN presidential debate right here on CNN coming up on June 27 at 9 p.m. Eastern, and we will replay the debate in its entirety a few different times. You could watch it at 7 a.m. London time. That's 2 p.m. in Hong Kong or 12 hours later at 7 p.m. in London or 10 p.m. in Abu Dhabi.
[11:30:00]
All right. Still to come, the trial for a U.S. reporter on alleged espionage charges is underway in Russia. We have the developments in the Evan Gershkovich case straight ahead. Plus, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange back in Australia after spending more than a decade in legal limbo. What we know about his plea deal, coming up.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I am Rahel Solomon live in New York.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can now truly call himself a free man.
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It was a celebratory homecoming for Assange, as he stepped off the plane in Australia. His 12-year battle against extradition to the United States finally coming to an end with a plea deal. Assange pleaded guilty to a single espionage-related charge in a courtroom on U.S. soil in the Pacific and was freed on time served. The WikiLeaks founder spent years in a British prison while he fought extradition for his alleged role in one of the largest breaches of classified material in U.S. military history.
Let's bring in CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson in London. So, Nic, give us a sense of what's the latest here. I mean, what more do we know about how this came together?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It seemed to come together because there was a turning point when the British courts decided to allow Assange the ability to appeal against his latest sort of extradition ruling to go to the United States and this opened the way for the lawyers. It seemed to have a more productive discussion with U.S. officials, with the Department of Justice, about how this can be managed. There is also the political leverage from the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who had been speaking many, many months ago to President Biden about this. His view is very public now, of course, and that is that there was no point in keeping Assange any longer.
And the other thing that sort of seemed to factor in here was the amount of time that Assange had already spent in jail, that this would effectively amount to -- could effectively amount to time served in a deal, which it did. So, it was the amount of time it had in jail. The political sort of circumstances had changed to a degree. But, it was really the -- where it had got in the legal system and this sort of position between First Amendment rights and being charged under the Espionage Act. There was a confluence here that really put energy, it appears, at least according to his lawyers, into the discussions, and they really accelerated over the last few weeks and this is the result.
[11:35:00]
SOLOMON: OK. Nic Robertson live for us there in London. Nic, thank you.
All right. The trial of a U.S. reporter who has been behind bars in Russia for more than a year finally kicked off today. Evan Gershkovich is accused of spying for the CIA. Gershkovich, the U.S. government and his paper, The Wall Street Journal, vehemently denied the charges against him.
Matthew Chance has details now on the first day of this highly-watched trial, which is happening largely behind closed doors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the first glimpse of Evan Gershkovich for months, cameras briefly allowed into the courthouse about 1,000 miles from Moscow, where his trial for espionage is finally underway. His head shaved, the 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter looked calm. But, he faces a sentence of up to 20 years if or likely when he is found guilty. In a statement, the editor-in-chief of The Journal wrote, "This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man."
CHANCE: Hi. Matthew from CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
CHANCE: You holding up all right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
CHANCE: No, no questions.
CHANCE (voice-over): For nearly 15 months, Gershkovich has been held under tight security in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo Prison. He, his employer, and the U.S. government will vigorously deny the spying allegations against him. Russia appears determined to press ahead, despite the official U.S. objections. And new statement from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow says "Evan did not commit any illegal acts and should not have been arrested at all. This trial isn't about the presentation of evidence, due process or the rule of law. We're talking about the Kremlin using American citizens to achieve its political goals", the statement adds.
With the conflict raging in Ukraine, Russia began a crackdown at home on free speech, silencing dissidents or forcing them into exile. It's against this backdrop that Gershkovich was arrested on a reporting assignment in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. This is video from the website of the tank factory there where Russian prosecutors allege Gershkovich acted, quote "on the instructions of the CIA to collect secret information", although no evidence has been made public. The trial will take place in the city, which is about 1,000 miles from Moscow, amid an outcry.
LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS HOST: Journalism is not a crime.
LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Journalism is not a crime.
CHANCE (voice-over): Some of the most prominent journalists in the United States are calling for his release. And Tucker Carlson even appealed directly to Putin in his recent sit-down.
TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT: And I just want to ask you directly without getting into the details of it or your version of what happened, if as a sign of your decency, you will be willing to release him to us and we'll bring him back to the United States.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIA PRESIDENT (Interpreted): We have done so many gestures of goodwill out of decency that I think we have run out of them.
CHANCE (voice-over): But, they're not running out of Americans in Russian prisons, far from it.
PAUL WHELAN, FORMER U.S. MARINE IMPRISONED IN RUSSIA: I am innocent of any charges resulting from this political kidnapping.
CHANCE (voice-over): Former Marine Paul Whelan is serving 16 years, what U.S. officials say with trumped up spying charges. Dual citizens, Ksenia Karelina, an amateur ballerina from LA, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, are also in custody, as are Gordon Black, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and U.S. school teacher Marc Fogel. Critics suspect the Kremlin is collecting U.S. citizens as bargaining chips for a future deal.
With his trial for espionage now underway, Evan Gershkovich is one of the most valuable in the Kremlin's hand.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. Still to come, a U.S.-constructed pier is now operational in Gaza after a series of mishaps, that aid still is not reaching those in need as famine looms. We'll explain why, coming up. Plus, the race to Election Day, as time runs out for Iran's presidential candidates make their final pitches, anger is growing over an economy plagued by rising prices. We'll be back.
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[11:40:00]
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Heavy fighting is reported today between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants in the town of Rafah in southern Gaza. We are also getting our first look at the aftermath of a devastating airstrike in the north. Well, we do want to warn you that the video is disturbing. Hospital officials say that at least eight Palestinians were killed in Beit Lahia, including three children. Emergency crews pulled survivors out of the rubble and managed to free two boys and three girls. Witnesses tell CNN, they were targeted for, quote, no reason with no warning. We have reached out to Israel's military for comment.
Meantime in Israel, the families of hostages still being held in Gaza say that time is running out to bring their loved ones homes. They are demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accept a ceasefire proposal in full, after he suggested that he could strike a quote "partial deal with Hamas".
And after a series of mishaps, humanitarian aid is once again flowing through a temporary U.S. military pier off the Gaza coast. But, the problem is, no one is there to pick it up. Thousands of pallets are just sitting on shore after the World Food Programme suspended its eight collections due to security concerns.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more now. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAPT. JOEL STEWART, U.S. NAVY: We do that, you'll see, with a lot of different bridging systems here.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From ship to pier, aid trucks are rolling into Gaza. Interlocking steel platforms roar with each passing wave. But, after weeks of mishaps, the U.S. military's $230 million pier off the coast of Gaza is finally operational. But, this aid isn't actually feeding anyone in Gaza, at least not yet.
DIAMOND: We're currently aboard the U.S. military floating pier off the Gaza coastline. Yesterday, the military says they were able to get about 800 pallets of aid off of this pier and into Gaza. But, the problem now is the World Food Programme, which is supposed to be picking up that aid, they say the security conditions just aren't there for them to be able to pick up that aid and distribute it to the people of Gaza.
DIAMOND (voice-over): These are some of the now more than 6,000 pallets of humanitarian aid, the U.S. military says, are sitting in an open air warehouse across from the pier. The World Food Programme paused its operations at the pier more than two weeks ago citing safety concerns. Across Gaza, humanitarian aid groups say Israeli military operations and a rise in lawlessness and looting are bringing their aid operations to a crawl, and it couldn't come at a worst time, as experts say, people in Gaza are once again at high risk of famine. The U.S. military invited CNN to the pier for the first time to show how it is ramping up the flow of aid to Gaza and how it is getting this beleaguered project back on track after rough weather damaged and took the pier out of service for weeks.
STEWART: The Sea is a difficult task mistress, unpredictable. Each wave is different than the last. So, dealing with that is a challenge but we've adapted to that. And I think we're in a better position now than we were initially.
DIAMOND (voice-over): About 40 truckloads are now arriving at the pier each day, still well short of the military's initial estimates of 90 to 150. A complex effort, aid officials say, would have been best spent pressuring Israel to get more aid in by land.
STEWART: This was never meant to be a long-term solution to the problem. This was meant to be one more way until we could find ways to open those gates up to get pressure to open the gates.
[11:45:00]
DIAMOND (voice-over): Access to the U.S. pier also provided a rare vantage of the destruction to Gaza's coast.
DIAMOND: It really is remarkable to see the Gaza coastline up close like this after nearly nine months of war. All we can see along this shoreline are buildings that are either completely flattened, completely destroyed, or those that are simply shells of themselves. DIAMOND (voice-over): It is also the daily backdrop for U.S. soldiers
like Sgt. Ibrahim Barry, a practicing Muslim who started working on the pier operation in March during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
SGT. IBRAHIM BARRY, U.S. ARMY: Knowing that they're going through his harsh conditions and still fast, still holding on to their faith and getting the little bit that they can. That's what -- it was another motivation right there.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN, off the U.S. military's pier off the Gaza coast.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. Thanks to Jeremy there.
The next Secretary General NATO is calling his appointment a tremendous honor. Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was formally selected to replace Jens Stoltenberg as head of the Alliance earlier today. He is due to take up the post in October. Mr. Rutte is praising Stoltenberg on social media and says that he is grateful that NATO allies have placed their trust in him.
Well, less than two days and counting until Election Day in Iran, and the candidates vying to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi are making their final pitches. Happening this hour, the only reformist in the pool of six hopefuls is holding a rally in Tehran. Friday's snap vote comes amid bubbling anger across the country over the struggling economy and inflation that has sent the cost of basic goods like meat and dairy skyrocketing.
Well, Kenyan President William Ruto says that he will no longer sign a controversial tax hike bill that sparked deadly protests on Tuesday. You might remember it. We covered it extensively yesterday. The President announced that the finance bill will be withdrawn, saying that he concedes to the fierce opposition to the proposal. He also expressed condolences to the families of those who died in Tuesday's unrest. In his address, the President said that six people died in Tuesday's violence. A Police reform group says that the death toll is actually much higher.
Let's get more now from CNN's Larry Madowo, live in Nairobi. Larry, as I said, the Kenyan President saying that he will not sign this bill. So, what happens now?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What happens now is that he has withdrawn that bill. But, that is not necessarily going to satisfy the many protesters who were out in the streets here in Nairobi and across other parts of the country, because many of them told me that this is no longer just about this finance deal or trying to raise revenue for the government. For them, it's about President Ruto and his understanding of the plight of the common man, which is an extraordinary moment for President Ruto, just two years after he was elected. His campaign slogan was that he was the hustler-in-chief, that he understood the plight of the common man. And yet, he has not paid attention. He had not read the room in terms of the public anger and resentment towards the finance bill and towards his administration.
This was the President a short while ago,
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENT: I concede. And therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill, and it shall subsequently be withdrawn, and I have agreed with these members that that becomes our collective position.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: Those members are members of his ruling party. The President has a majority in both the Senate and the National Assembly. So, that's why these same MPs, sitting behind President Ruto, were in parliament, passing the finance bill, when Kenyans were outside parliament, asking them not to do so. Police were using live ammunition to protect those same MPs. Some young Kenyans were killed outside the parliament while they were passing the finance bill. And so, that's the anger that still is running through so many parts of the country. There are some young people on social media right now calling for "one million man" march on Thursday, as they had initially planned to do if this bill had not been rejected, as the President has done.
And the other thing you mentioned, Rahel, is about the number of those dead. President Ruto said six people were killed. But, the police reforms working group says 23 people were killed. And the Kenyan National Commissioner on Human Rights says this was the single highest number of casualties in a single day of demonstrations, Rahel.
SOLOMON: All right. Talk to me a little bit about the fallout from those scenes yesterday. I mean, you did such a great job out there reporting under really difficult conditions. What's the fallout been to that?
MADOWO: There has been incredible anger across the country. There are so many young people who feel that the government does not pay attention to them. And that's why President Ruto could have done this yesterday. Last night, he had a national address, where he called the young people who were protesting "treasonous criminals", and that did not obviously go down well for many of them. And yet, just less than 24 hours later, he does this climb down and declare that he is withdrawing the bill.
[11:50:00]
So, people feel cheated by President Ruto in this moment. He had said on Sunday that he was going to engage the young people, get heard their concerns, and he was going to reach out to them. But, he didn't do that. And because he didn't do it in a timely fashion, so many people died. I saw some of these young men shot outside parliament. I'm not using the word allegedly because I was there. I saw them. And so, that's why there is still so many people who are upset at the country, who want us to go ahead and march because if this could have been withdrawn a few weeks ago, maybe nobody could have been killed, and maybe the country could have spent a bit more time focusing on something else or figuring out a way to raise revenue because President Ruto is right. He has got a debt distress problem.
SOLOMON: But, obviously, now they'll have to go back to figuring out how to solve it in a different way. Larry Madowo live for us there in Nairobi. Larry, thank you.
All right. Coming up next, 15,000 athletes are heading to Paris and an army of cooks is getting ready to feed them. We will go inside the kitchens in the Olympic Village. We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Going for Olympic gold means burning a lot of calories, and the organizers of the upcoming Paris Games thinks that they have crafted the perfect menu with more than 500 dishes to meet the dietary needs of the world's greatest athletes, which is 30 days ago until the opening ceremony.
CNN's Saskya Vandoorne reports on the 200 volunteers who tested out the dining facilities in the Athletes' Village. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: This former power plant inside the Olympic Village is now an eco-conscious restaurant for the athletes. This is just one of the many kitchens that will be fueling future gold medalists. This food hall will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and get this, they will be serving 45,000 meals a day.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Cooking on this scale presents several challenges.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to feed 15,000 athletes for 200 nationalities. So -- and we have to feed (inaudible). We have to feed also gymnasts, which is not similar. They don't eat the same food.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Nutrition is key, and chefs have come up with over 500 different dishes, with a third of what's on offer being vegetable-based. In this kitchen, there is plant-based meat, but also lamb saka (ph), and some French culinary classics, but no wine to wash it down with.
VANDOORNE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
VANDOORNE (voice-over): That's right. There is no deep fryer allowed inside the kitchen because of safety reasons.
VANDOORNE: And when you think of athletes and you think of healthy eating, you don't necessarily think about cheesecake, tiramisu, chocolate muffins. Should the athletes be eating this?
HELENE DEFRANCE, NUTRITIONIST AND OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDALIST: Yeah. If they're here, it's for a reason, because sometimes you have like a hard day. You spend a lot of energy and you want to add this to your meal. So, you can cover your energy need.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): There will be several cuisines on offer, Asian, Afro-Caribbean, French, Middle Eastern, and halal cuisine. Kosha (ph) food will also be available on demand.
VANDOORNE: So, is the food any good? Let's go Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet what he think about it. Tony, is this good?
TONY ESTANGUET, PRESIDENT OF THE ORGANISING COMMITTEE OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES PARIS 2024: Yes. It is delicious.
VANDOORNE: Paris (Inaudible) and that's why you won't find any plastic in here. You've got your crockery and you got your porcelain bowls made in France.
[11:55:00]
VANDOORNE (voice-over): They've done away with plastic bottles in favor of reusable cups and these soda fountains.
VANDOORNE: Now, when the athletes are done eating, they'll come here. Now, there is a special (inaudible). There is the recycling and of course this is going to head straight into the dishwasher.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): 30,000 plates, 20,000 bowls, and 35 people at a time just to load these massive dishwashers. When it comes to cutting waste, Paris 2024 is going for gold.
Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: So much preparation.
All right. We know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.
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