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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump Bragging About Massive Tariffs: "Rebirth Of Our Country"; Walt Under Fire By Maga Loyalists After Security Breach; Trump Triples Down: "There's A Way" To Get A Third Term; State Attorneys General Take Lavish Trips. Who's Paying? Aired 7-8p ET
Aired March 31, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:20]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Breaking news, Trump's massive tariffs. The president just announcing in the Oval Office that they'll be amazing.
And the Senate majority leader trying to laugh off Trump's talk of a third term. But is Trump dead serious as he says he is? Why even legal experts on the left say there could be wiggle room.
Plus, a CNN investigation reveals more than a dozen attorneys general from across the United States taking luxury foreign trips, flying business class, staying at five-star hotels, getting it all paid for by the groups that they are investigating.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, mass tariffs are hours away. Something Trump tonight is celebrating as his word, amazing.
Here he is just moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think this is going to be an amazing, you know, I call it a lot of different names but it's really the -- in a sense -- it's a rebirth of a country because what -- how we could have afforded to do what we did. We helped everybody and they don't help us. I really -- the term I like best probably is the liberation of America. It's the liberation of this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, he said that term he likes the most liberation, the liberation of America. In fact, that is something he's been calling it a lot. He's called it liberation day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: Liberation day.
We have a lot of tariffs that we're going to be putting on.
It will be substantial.
And it will be liberation day.
Liberation day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Liberation day.
So, what exactly does that mean? What will actually go into effect in hours here?
Well, no one knows. It seems the White House itself doesn't even know at this point. A lot of conflicting plans have been floated, and there is very good reason to be confused.
Since the day he took office literally on that day, Trump has threatened and backed down and threatened and backed down on a ton of tariffs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going to have tariffs on automobiles. We're going to have tariffs on steel
On steel, aluminum.
Lumber and for dairy products.
Copper and many, many different things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Many, many different things.
Here's the reality. Trump has made threats about tariffs on all the dates highlighted on your screen. Those are the days that he announced specific threats. He talks about it every day. Those are the days of specific threats, including a 25 percent tariff on car parts, a 200 percent tariff on alcohol. He has backed down or postponed many of these threats.
And then let me flip it and show you some more dates. These are the dates tariffs have actually gone into effect so far. It's head- spinning because it will be on one day. Something will go into effect. But it'll take a whole bunch more back. And it's really -- it's really chaotic and confusing. No one really knows what is a tariff and what doesn't.
And that chaos is as destructive as the trade war itself, which may be why Trump has backed down and delayed so many tariffs up to this point, even as he says this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm a big believer in tariffs.
The tariffs are going to make us very rich and very strong.
The tariffs are necessary because we've been treated very unfairly by many, many countries, including our friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Not everyone agrees, including some of the people who know the most.
So, when Trump calls it a rebirth, amazing, and liberation day, you may want to consider the context of Warren Buffett.
(BERGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN BUFFETT, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY CEO: The tariffs are actually -- we've had a lot of experience with them. They're an act of war to some degree. The tooth fairy doesn't pay 'em.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: No, we do. We pay them, all of us.
And the uncertainty Trump has created for American consumers, for wall street has not helped the economy either.
Trump's back and forth on tariffs has helped put U.S. stocks to their worst fourth quarter slump in years. Recession risks have been rising. Every single firm has been increasing their risk of that. Goldman now has it at a 35 percent chance of a recession in the next year. Thats a jump from 20 percent.
The U.S. dollar index, which is actually crucial because this is what all of this comes down to, by the way, is the dollar, the reserve currency for the world. That is the thing that matters more than anything else. And so far, the dollar down 4 percent this year against major foreign currencies. That is its worst start to any year in a decade, almost a decade since 2016.
And again, it is not just the American economy that's at stake. It's relationships with allies.
Here's how Canada's new prime minister puts it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over. What exactly the U.S. does next is unclear, but what is clear is that we as Canadians have agency. [19:05:05]
We have power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT at the White House.
And, Jeff, amid all of this, the White House still has these big questions about that. Signal chat.
Trump's national security advisor, Mike Waltz, who invited Jeffrey Goldberg in the chat and infamously said that maybe his number got sucked in. As Jeffrey Goldberg said, no, it's quite more mundane than that. I do know you have met you and you have my phone number.
I mean, you have new information about Waltz tonight and his future. What are you hearing?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, look, even as the White House is looking forward to trying to figure out the, really the fine print of the -- the tariffs. We're finding out they're not looking backward to actually keep investigating this whole matter last week that consumed every bit of this White House, the Signalgate, if you will. So, we asked the White House press secretary if that case was still going.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: What's the status of that review and what is the status of National Security Adviser Mike Waltz?
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team. And this case has been closed here at the White House. As far as we are concerned, there have been steps made to ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again, and we're moving forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: So, moving forward, case has been closed. That was something that was actually a bit of a surprise, because we're actually just a few days from the controversy, still reeling over all this. And there is still some deep concern even among many of the president's allies here, how this happened.
The defense secretary is still abroad. He has not been back to Washington. He has not weighed in on any of this. There is still a Senate committee that said they were going to investigate, but the White House is saying the case is closed.
For Waltz, however, we are learning tonight the president is standing by him, largely because he does not want to give a scalp, if you will, to "The Atlantic". That is one of the central reasons here, even as there are some concerns about walls from some people inside the West Wing. So, there is no doubt that his credibility is still very much on the line. It was an embarrassing episode, but the president said he's moving on. The question is, for how long, Erin.
BURNETT: All right, Jeff, thank you very much.
And I want to go now to Democratic Congressman Pat Ryan, because he's on the House Armed Services Committee. He's also an Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq.
So, Congressman, I appreciate your time.
You know, you heard Jeff Zeleny there just -- just a second ago saying that there are some in the White House who -- who aren't supporting Mike Waltz right now. And in part, we understand the reason for that is they don't see him as MAGA enough, that maybe he was too mainstream Republican before he entered this administration.
"The Wall Street Journal" tonight is giving them ammo by reporting that Waltz had a lot or several conversations on Signal with other cabinet officials about military operations and Russia, Ukraine, right, all of which is totally inappropriate.
Do you think that Waltz's time as national security advisor is limited?
REP. PAT RYAN (D-NY): I certainly hope so. I mean, this whole crew, it's been amateur hour from day one, and this is real. I mean, this is not a game. This isn't about internal MAGA versus how MAGA you are.
There are U.S. soldiers lives on the line. I know this serving 27 months in combat. That is not something we mess around with. The American people have no tolerance for that. And we're seeing that across the country. Our office has been inundated with calls about this.
So, the idea that the -- the case is closed is a joke. And we and I will continue to push for full transparency and accountability on this.
BURNETT: So those calls that you're getting, you know, when you say you've been inundated, is that still continuing? I mean, do you feel that groundswell of public pressure or that makes you think that they won't be able to or that Trump will not be able to sweep this under the rug and move on?
RYAN: Absolutely. I mean, this is really gone from a screw up, or I would use another word, but I'll say a screw up to a cover up. And my constituents have seen that folks across the country have seen it. They're trying to bury this and sweep it under the rug, because they know how widely this has broken through to the American people, not folks that are typically paying attention to politics are folks that are that are calling us. A lot of people I serve with saying, if I had done that, I would lose my clearance. I'd be persecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I might even go to jail. And yet there's no consequences for -- for these folks? BURNETT: So, I want to ask you also, Congressman, about the tariffs, since we were talking about that, that Trump just said moments ago, you heard that they are amazing. He is talking about liberation day, as he has called it, a rebirth of America. But we know we showed on the calendar the number of times Trump has, you know, announced and then pulled back on tariffs.
So, most of what he said he's going to do, he hasn't actually done. He's done enough to cause some damage. But a lot of these big profile ones haven't happened. The China ones have. But many against Canada have not and certainly Europe.
So, do you think when he talks about liberation day he's bluffing, or do you think that he's actually going to do it?
RYAN: At this point, the chaos is so all over the place that it's hard to know until it happens. I'll tell you what's already happening, though. In my district, just the other week, I did a roundtable with a bunch of business leaders, farmers, dairy farmers, a distillery owner. They're already just because of the chaos and the uncertainty getting absolutely hammered. And that's before the biggest bite of these tariffs goes into place.
It does seem that, you know, he's been talking about tariffs since the '80s as you know. So, I do think he's going to push for this. And let's be clear. Tariffs are taxes on the middle class on small businesses, on working families and working people. And again, the American people, that is the last thing that they want, certainly in my district.
BURNETT: So, obviously, I know you're focusing as well on these special House elections. Theres some crucial one's going on. Two of the most important, Congressman, are in Florida, including the seat that Mike Waltz once held before he got this job.
Now, Trump won both of the districts that I'm talking about here by more than 30 points, right? So, this shouldn't even be a thing that we're talking about. But we are talking about it because there's been growing alarm among Republicans about both races, right. So, this is from Republicans that the concern is coming. We'll see what the numbers show.
I'm wondering what you think. Do you think Democrats have a real chance of upsets tomorrow night?
RYAN: Absolutely. I mean, we saw already in Pennsylvania a significant message sent. I ran in a special election a few years ago where nobody thought we were going to win. We sent a message then, in the wake of roe and freedom's being taken away.
Look, the American people are smart. They see what's happening. He promised to lower costs. And as we just talked about, costs are going through the roof. Chaos and uncertainty, stock markets crashing. And -- and we're -- we're focused on this scandal and cover up with -- with Signalgate. And that's the opposite of what, I'm telling you, folks want, certainly in my district. And we're going to see people come out and send that message I think tomorrow.
BURNETT: All right. Congressman Ryan, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
And when I mentioned those two Florida races, they are one of many important ones tomorrow night, another one that you probably have heard us talking a lot about that's being watched incredibly closely, is the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, which has become really ground zero for the entire thing.
It's a race where Elon Musk has been front and center on the ground. Last night, giving out $2 million checks to people backing his crusade against judges who rule against Trump wearing a cheesehead when he first took the stage. So, so, playing into that moment, going there, handing out the checks, that's where he is. His actions speak the same as his words, signing that cheesehead, throwing it back in the crowd, urging voters to back conservative Brad Schimel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, TECH BILLIONAIRE: Everybody's got to mobilize everywhere like crazy for the next 48 hours. And I -- I think this will be important for the future of civilization. It's that significant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay. I mean, that's a big thing to say. And Musk has spent, along with groups affiliated with him, more than $20 million to back Schimel in this race, as they don't have rules on maxes for, you know, corporations and things in the state of Wisconsin.
Ryan Mac is OUTFRONT. He covers Musk extensively for "The New York Times", coauthor of "Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter".
So, Ryan, I mean, I just had to play that sound bite. I mean, he's making this a matter of life and death. He says that this race in Wisconsin is about the future of civilization. And he is -- obviously believes this. He seems very serious.
As someone who has covered him so extensively, what do you hear when you hear Elon Musk talk like that?
RYAN MAC, REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: I think I hear the same patterns over and over again. You know, everything to Elon Musk is an existential crisis, whether that is, you know, making life multi- planetary by getting people to Mars with SpaceX or you know, unveiling electric cars and bettering the environment. You know, he gave himself a mission. And this idea that he is -- he is there to save humanity.
That's how he framed his participation in the presidential election and his kind of unprecedented backing of President Trump --
BURNETT: Yeah.
MAC: You know, in the in the year prior. And now, we're seeing that again in Wisconsin, where this is a race that means the future of the country. And, you know, for him, it's -- it's existential.
BURNET: I mean, certainly future of civilization. So, he was also supposed to visit the CIA today. He was invited after he had had that meeting with top Pentagon officials that you reported on, Ryan.
So, the CIA director today, John Ratcliffe, came out and said, look, this was not about DOGE zero to do with DOGE. It was focused on, quote, unquote, advancing the mission. Unclear exactly what that might mean. It could mean almost anything.
But, do you buy that that there nothing about cuts, nothing about the role that Musk is playing in this government?
MAC: Well, it's interesting because there's some new reporting from my colleague Julian Barnes that just came out that said he did visit the CIA today, and that was for the sake of government efficiency. Now, what that exactly means is not clear. They didn't explain what they talked about.
[19:15:01]
And this comes in light of some judicial decisions to reinstate employees at the CIA who were you know, essentially fired for being involved in diversity initiatives. But he did make that visit today. And we're -- we're starting to get reporting out from it now.
BURNETT: Yeah. Well, and important that you mentioned Julian's reporting that it had to do with efficiency. So, well, there goes that claim from Director Ratcliffe.
So, Musk says that he's not going to exceed his special government employee status. And by that, you know, he only has a certain number of days, Ryan, as you know. So, it says he may bow out -- bow out in May.
President Trump just spoke about this a couple of moments ago in the oval office. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, at some point he's going to be going back. He wants to --
REPORTER: You just want to keep him around?
TRUMP: But -- I'd keep him as long as I could keep him. He's a very talented guy.
REPORTER: Is DOGE going to keep operating even without Elon here?
TRUMP: Well, I can't tell you that. I can say this, that a lot of the people that are working with DOGE are the secretaries, you know, the heads of the various agencies, and they've learned a lot, and they're dealing with the DOGE people. I think some of them may try and keep the DOGE people with them. But, you know, at a certain point I think it will end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, what do you think when you hear that, Ryan? I mean -- I mean, and Musk has said May. I mean, but DOGE really hasn't. I mean, I know there are some of the things it's done has been quite dramatic, but a lot of what they say they have done has not happened at all, right? The numbers that they're saying aren't actually the reality of it.
Do you believe Musk will really walk away so soon?
MAC: I think it's hard to say, but let's assess him based on the promises he made going in, which is that he would save $2 trillion from the federal budget. And from what we've seen so far, its not even close to that. And so, you know, were about a month, a month and a half, you know, a month away from May to tomorrow's April.
And if he walks away, you know, I don't think it will be at that limit. You know, the $2 trillion expectation that he had going in. That being said, you know, he isn't one for rules. He's -- he's one to test the boundaries of, you know, whatever rules are set aside for special government employees. So, we could see him overstay that that limitation.
BURNETT: Right, which is crucial because that that rule, the 160 days, is why you didn't have to have Senate confirmation and background check all the things that he didn't do. So, you know, crucial if he does test it.
Thank you so much, Ryan. I'm glad to see you.
MAC: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, Trump tripling down on talk of a third term. He says he's serious. And constitutional law professor Lawrence Tribe tells OUTFRONT it's not out of the question. And Putin is the blueprint.
And Russia announcing its biggest draft in nearly a decade. Trump wants a ceasefire. Hear what Russian tv is saying about Trump and Vance on that tonight.
And a CNN investigation this hour. This is incredible. Kyung Lah chased down state attorneys general across this country asking about extravagant trips that they took, paid for by the very companies that they're investigating. And they weren't so eager to talk to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to end the conversation right there. Thank you. Yeah, whatever.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: I appreciate it. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:22:28]
BURNETT: Breaking news, President Trump not backing down from talk of serving a third term as president. Moments ago in the Oval Office, he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: People are asking me to run, and there's a whole story about running for a third term. I don't know, I never looked into it. They do say there's a way you can do it, but I don't know about that. But I have not looked into it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Said he hadn't looked into it. Important, not just what he said there, but after. Thats on the heels of what he said yesterday on NBC. He said that there are, quote, methods to serve a third term, telling Kristen Welker he is, quote, not joking. Very clear there.
Well, famed constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe spoke OUTFRONT, gave us an exclusive statement tonight. He says in part, quote, the 22nd Amendment prevents anyone from being elected president more than twice, but not from serving a third term. If Trump ran as J.D. Vance's running mate, he could step into the presidency. Although he might have to strong arm J.D. into stepping aside, and the 12th Amendment wouldn't stand in the way of that sort of Medvedev-Putin bargain because it bars only a vice presidential candidate who's ineligible to serve as president, which wouldn't exclude Trump.
Medvedev-Putin, of course, is that Putin was president, then became prime minister while Medvedev was president really a puppet and then flipped back to be president again.
OUTFRONT now, Norm Eisen, former special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee in Trump's first impeachment trial, and Brian Kalt, a law professor at Michigan State University who has written about presidents seeking a third term.
So, Brian, let me start with you. I know you're not advocating for this, right? I mean, but we're having a discussion about it. You do say there is a way for Trump to get around the constitutional amendments and serve a third term.
BRIAN KALT, AUTHOR, "CONSTITUTIONAL CLIFFHANGERS: A LEGAL GUIDE FOR PRESIDENTS & THEIR ENEMIES": Well, like Professor Tribe said, the wording of the 22nd Amendment leaves room for that interpretation. There's plenty of people who don't interpret it that way, but ultimately, it's not about what I think. Or one of those people thinks. It's what someone might be able to get away with, what the voters might allow, and what the courts might allow.
BURNETT: So, you think this ambiguity such that there is an ambiguity between, you know, coming in as a vice presidential candidate as opposed to the top of the ticket, that could be the end around? KALT: Yeah, that's the argument. It says you can't be elected more than twice. It doesn't say you can't be president after that. And when they were drafting it, they had language that said, you can't be president after that. And they changed it. So, it's not like this is this is an accident.
BURNETT: But that's the thing, Norm. You could say, look, elected versus serve, that is a rhetorical dance that they never intended us to take. But then when you look at the other point that Brian makes, perhaps there was intentional ambiguity. I guess that's the debate.
NORM EISEN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ETHICS CZAR: Erin, I'm a little outnumbered by Larry Tribe and Professor Kalt, but I will tell you that I have the vast majority of constitutional scholars on my side. Thousands, literally. When you read the plain text, no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice as the 22nd Amendment. Then you look over at the 12th Amendment. No person constitutionally ineligible, in other words, elected more than twice to the office of president shall be eligible to be vice president.
So, I think this is like medieval debates of the angels dancing on the head of a pin. I respect Professor Kalt. Obviously, Larry Tribe, my mentor and frequent coauthor.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. This is a gigantic distraction by Donald Trump to not talk about the other things that are bad for him, never happening.
BURNETT: Professor Kalt, I know I'm not asking a political question here, but it is the fact that rhetorically, Trump's talks about this again and again that he says this weekend, he's not joking, that he talks about there are methods. Whatever he may be trying to do.
Norm, maybe you're right. But, professor, is it not possible that that is also giving permission to a whole swathe of people around him, or who might vote for him to believe in it?
KALT: Absolutely. Thats the nature of constitutional interpretation. It doesn't matter, again, what a bunch of constitutional law experts think. If there is an alternative interpretation and people tend to latch on to whatever constitutional interpretation delivers, the political result that they want and -- and that's the -- that's the issue here.
BURNETT: So, Norm, professor tribe also said when we asked him, he told us to focus on this, he said that Trump's quote, role as an oath breaking insurrectionist could render him ineligible to run for any public office under section three of the 14th Amendment. What do you think of that norm?
EISEN: Well, that very -- Erin, it's like you read my mind. People I respect push that argument to the Supreme Court, like this argument that the Constitution supposedly is ambiguous and allows a third term. It lost nine to nothing. If this goes to the Supreme Court, it'll have a similar purpose.
You know what? The law is that Donald Trump doesn't want to talk about? Forty-six courts, Democratic and Republican, across the country that have slammed his other illegal ideas that he's put in executive orders and otherwise. As you know, I've been involved in a lot of that litigation. One another court order against him on Friday.
This is a gigantic distraction. Don't fall for it, folks.
BURNETT: So, Professor Kalt, Trump has talked about this many times after, and I want to provide these examples I'm about to play are all after he was sworn in for a second term, right? So, he was president for the second time, as he said, each of these things.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Did I run again? You tell me.
I think I'm not allowed to run again. I'm not sure. Am I allowed to run again? Mike?
It will be the greatest honor of my life to serve not once, but twice or three times or four times.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, professor, do you think this ultimately does go to the would go to the Supreme Court? I mean, its hard to imagine a situation where you'd be there. I mean, a lot of things could have happened before that, but is that that possible?
KALT: Yeah. Well, again, like you said, a lot of things would have to happen. People in the Republican establishment that whose support he needs could say were not okay with this. The voters could say they're not okay with this.
But once it happens, if it does, once he's on the ticket as a vice presidential candidate or -- or there are other ways to get into the presidency besides that. It's -- it is a little awkward, for the court. There's the -- some suggestion that there's some justiciability questions, meaning the courts not allowed to get into this, that it's up to Congress to rule on this.
So, ultimately, it comes down to whether he has enough support to do it. I don't support the idea, but if he has enough support to do it, it's not as straightforward for the Supreme Court to stop it as it was with some of the other things we've seen court stopping.
BURNETT: Yeah, well, a lot of lot of things. And sometimes when you challenge things, you just challenge norms. People don't know what to do. And so, they do nothing.
Thank you both very much. I appreciate your time.
And next, Russian state television now openly mocking President Trump and J.D. Vance.
[19:30:01]
We just saw this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's simply amazing. They can't even come up with anything on their own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I'll tell you why they're saying that. And we're hearing tonight from astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams for the first time since their eight-day trip to space turned into a year-long voyage, would they do it all over again?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:35:02]
BURNETT: Tonight. Putin preparing for more fighting as he orders the largest military draft in nearly a decade. Putin is calling up 160,000 more Russian citizens to his military. That is the largest conscription in Russia in at least eight years.
And the numbers are really incredible. We just went back and looked at this. Get ready for this. Putin's army has grown from 1 million to 1.5 million people in his military, 1 to 1.5 million.
So right now, Putin's army is 50 percent bigger than the night before he invaded Ukraine. He's added 500,000 more people into his military. This is stunning when you consider how many people are dying a month on his front line.
And despite this massive increase, right. Largest conscription in eight years, a military 50 percent bigger than before the war. Trump is taking Putin at his word still that he wants the war to end, which may be part of why Russian tv is now mocking Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were a great country before America was even discovered as a continent, not to mention before America became a nation. Could we imagine, as "The New York Times" admits, that we would fight America in a war and win? Now, we're doing it every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Dan Rice is OUTFRONT now. He is the former special advisor to the commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces. Also, of course, himself spent time in Iraq and now a lot here in Ukraine.
Dan, I want to ask you about Putin's draft, because the numbers are just so stunning. First, though, I want to begin with something that happened here just in these past hours, a strike in Ukraine this weekend, attacks in restaurants in the city of Dnipro. We're showing images of it now.
You were actually there, physically there. And you, you say it was your closest call that you've had in years. At this point in the war, what -- what happened?
DAN RICE, FORMER SPECIAL ADVISER TO COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF UKRAINE'S ARMED FORCES: Yeah. Thanks for having me on, Erin.
And yeah, it's an incredible that every night the Russian terrorists continue to terrorize Ukraine all across the country. I was in Dnipro, which is a beautiful city, down south from Kyiv and close to the front lines. And we were attacked by Russian shaheeds.
Those are the Iranian supplied drones that attacked the city and hit all civilian targets. Like it's ridiculous. These are just terrorists. The Russians hit the several restaurants and, and a military hospital they were targeting, and it was a pretty massive attack. We were very close.
BURNETT: And this is -- this is as there's some sort of a whatever. I don't know how many quotes you can put around the words ceasefire, but this is what's going on. Just here in these past hours.
And in that context, Dan, let me ask you about what we are learning today, that Putin is ordering 160,000 more troops to come into his military. Thats an increase from last year and his conscription, and that his military overall is 500,000 more people now than it was in February of 2022 before he invaded Ukraine itself.
So, what is the state of the Russian military right now?
RICE: Yeah, it's incredible, Erin. I mean, this is a -- this is a -- Putin is accelerating the build-up of men, arms, munitions and -- and is on a war footing 40 percent of the GDP of Russia is now going to weapons. It's not going to stop just at Ukraine.
I mean, there's a very serious concern that it will continue on to other countries Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Thats why they are all arming. Thats why they are -- this is a very serious situation.
Russia is losing a tremendous amount of soldiers. First, they lost a lot of the Wagner group, which were just mercenaries, and nobody in Russia cared about them. Then they lost all of their prisoners that they euthanized. Basically, they took all their prisoners. Nobody cared about them.
Now, they're losing Russian soldiers and that actually has an impact on the Russian population. They care about their own people, obviously. So, so, you're starting to see. But they're drafting more and more Russians.
And so that has an impact. And the Russians are losing right now about 45,000 casualties per month, which has killed and wounded an enormous amount every month. And Ukraine, Ukraine is increasing that number by killing a wounded more and more Russians. But it's an enormous number.
BURNETT: It's enormous. And, of course, as awful as it is to hear all of that, then you just start looking at the math and how Putin can actually manage to get all these more young men that that just there are more people in Russia.
Putin's closest advisor, Alexander Dugin, he's been referred to as Putin's brain. He's been incredibly influential in this war. He now says Putin is going to launch hypersonic missile strikes on Kyiv to, quote, destroy everything and everyone. Now, he's talking about if the cease fire gets violated, whatever this cease fire actually is.
So, when Putin says, Dan, that he is open to negotiations for a peace deal in the context of a military that's 50 percent bigger than it was before this war, does anyone in Ukraine take that seriously?
[19:40:07]
RICE: I mean, everybody in Ukraine knows you can't trust the Russians. You haven't been able to trust the Russians for 300 years. Never mind the last 30 years. They violated every single ceasefire, every single agreement.
The Russians basically at this point, in my opinion, every war is -- boils down to political, military and economic issues. The biggest thing for the Russians right now is their economic weakness. They have an Achilles heel. Their -- their weakness is their economy.
And right now, I think President Trump is going for the economy. And so, Russia is running out of money. They started the war off with $109 billion in reserves. They're almost out of money, and they're losing about 15 billion a month.
So, Ukrainians follow this incredibly closely. Everything from the Russian economy to the American diplomacy to the -- to the Ukrainian situation on the military front. But I think everybody knows that the Russian economy is facing a very big challenge. And that's where the West has to stick together. We will win this.
BURNETT: All right. Dan, thank you very much. Dan Rice there.
RICE: Thanks.
BURNETT: And next, the breaking news, Senator Cory Booker slamming Trump on the senate floor right now. He says he is going to keep talking as long as he physically can. It's a real moment of drama going down on Capitol Hill right now. We're going to go there.
And the CNN investigation we promised you, Republican and Democratic state attorneys general taking lavish trips paid for by the people that they're investigating.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:45:42]
BURNETT: Breaking news, these are live pictures from the Senate floor. You're looking at Democratic Senator Cory Booker. He has just begun what is expected to be a marathon floor speech, talking as long as he possibly can. He is doing it in protest of actions by President Trump that he says are hurting his constituents. Manu Raju is OUTFRONT on Capitol Hill.
And, Manu, obviously, this is a -- you know, I'm thinking back to Ted Cruz's green eggs and ham. But I mean, this is the beginning of what is literally a marathon, but a lot of drama here. How long is booker going to go?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He could really go as long as he wants. And he's he indicated as he opened this speech that he would go as long as that he is able and potentially could go late into the night all night overnight into the next day. It just depends on his stamina at this moment. This is all part of an effort, an uptick of sorts, of Democrats trying to ratchet up their rhetoric against Donald Trump and his policies.
And Cory Booker, as he opened his speech, gave a taste of what he's objecting to on the Senate floor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): It should not be possible in America for one single man, even an elected president, to stop funds which Congress has already allocated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And this is not. While its not common for senators to give these long form speeches, it is also not unprecedented either. Weve seen some marathon floor speeches over the years. Senator Jeff Merkley, in recent years delivered one about 15 hours or so. Senator Rand Paul has done that in the past.
And as well as the longest speech in the history of the Senate was senator, the late Senator Strom Thurmond, 24 hours and 18 minutes. That was back in 1957 to object to the Civil Rights Act at that time.
So, we'll see if how long booker plans to go. This is not an actual filibuster, Erin, but it's actually a long floor speech. But he can go as long as he wants.
BURNETT: That's really incredible. I mean, and I'm curious how long he's going to go, but it is it is sort of the moments, right, trying to make some sort of a splash. The Democrats have been struggling so hard to find their footing.
Manu, thank you.
And now tonight, as I promised, a major CNN investigation. And here's what it reveals. It reveals that more than a dozen attorneys general across this country, both Republicans and Democrats, took extravagant trips paid for by major corporations.
Okay, maybe that bothers you on its own, but it adds here. The trips were tens of thousands of dollars, business class and a whole lot more. And who paid for them? The companies. Companies they were investigating. Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Attorney General Torrez? Excuse me, sir. Hi. Can I just grab you for one second?
(voice-over): New Mexico's attorney general, Raul Torrez, is on his way into a public meeting.
RAUL TORREZ (D), NEW MEXICO ATTORNEY GENERAL: We got to run.
LAH: We reached out to your office. We hadn't heard back.
TORREZ: Sure. Let me -- let me do this. And then we can have a talk.
LAH: Afterwards? Okay. Thank you, sir.
What we're trying to find out is why he and a bipartisan group of attorneys general would accept invitations to join corporate lobbyists. On an exclusive trip to South Africa in 2023, featuring a safari, a stay at this five-star hotel, wine tours and gourmet restaurants that serve wagyu steaks. Costs covered if you're an AG, including flight allowance of up to $26,000.
CNN obtained text messages about the trip, including the guest list, which shows more than a dozen attorneys general, the chief law enforcement officers of their states. These Republicans and these Democrats.
Also invited, this long list of corporate lobbyists and lawyers from some of Americas most powerful companies like amazon, uber, Pfizer, Albertsons, some of the same companies the AGs have sued.
The group that put it all together is the AGA, the Attorney General Alliance, an association funded by those private businesses. It calls donations, sponsorships. And as you can see on this AGA document, the more the corporations pay, the more they get.
For example, $150,000 would get a company special projects and collaborations, and access to two invite only events. The AG has hosted international trips to Spain, France and scheduled for next month, Italy.
Invited with the AGs on these work trips. A plus one like when Ohio's Republican Attorney General Dave Yost and his wife booked business class tickets to France last year.
[19:50:05]
The South Africa trip did include meetings on topics like cybersecurity and international relations, but also a wildlife bus tour, as seen in a separate text, chain of African animals. As an AGA staffer shared.
Replying to those photos, Chris Carr, Georgia's Republican attorney general, who texted: That's fantastic. Thank you again. Once home, Carr staffer texted, the boss had a blast last week and asked for the calendar of upcoming events.
At the time, Carr's office had an ongoing investigation into TikTok, which had a lobbyist invited on that South Africa trip. In a statement, Carr spokesperson told CNN that investigation continues and added Carr supports AGA's educational forums that are essential to staying ahead of emerging threats. Neither Carr nor any of the Republican AGs agreed to interviews.
We caught up with Torrez and other Democratic AGs at this public event. His office is part of a multi-state case against Amazon. The company had a representative invited to the AGA South Africa trip.
Also on that trip, and part of the suit against Amazon, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
I wanted to ask about the international trips.
KEITH ELLISON (D), MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yeah.
LAH: Ellison's office had not replied to our two emails asking about AGA trips.
Why go on these international trips that are sponsored by corporate lobbyists?
ELLISON: Well, so, the -- in -- from Mexico, we have a large amount of fentanyl coming through. There are a lot of international issues that we deal with every day.
LAH: Ellison did not mention South Africa or France in our discussion.
ELLISON: I mean, I understand how this game is played. I mean, us reporters and politicians always. Oh, you went on a trip and try to embarrass the politician. I understand that thing. But I will say that there is real work that we're doing that is important for our constituents and has a lot to do with the fact that we live in a globalized world.
LAH: Well, the concern from --
ELLISON: I get it. I know where you're coming from and -- and I'm just telling you that we have substantive programs, our constituents that are disadvantaged if we are not having meaningful conversations with international partners. I'd like to end the conversation right there. Thank you. Yeah, whatever.
LAH: Appreciate it. Thank you.
The AG would not talk to CNN on camera, but in a statement said foreign delegations have a key goal of strengthening bipartisan relationships and educate all delegates on pressing civil and criminal issues. Asked about the safari, the group said the visit included discussion on combating the illicit trade of endangered species. New Mexico's AG did not stick around like he promised to respond to
our questions. Our CNN investigation did find that not all AGs go on these lavish international trips, like Arizona's Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Is that an intentional move on your part to avoid these trips?
KRIS MAYES (D), ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think it's an intentional move on my part to put my focus here in Arizona. I'll leave it at that.
LAH: Okay.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAH (on camera): And we did get a follow up statement from the New Mexico attorney general's office, who pointed to lawsuits filed against private companies and said ag programs promote equal enforcement of the law. Illinois's attorney general also told us AG trainings have led to more effective enforcement efforts, though we did not hear back from all attorneys general offices we did contact, Erin.
And the AG did send a follow up statement that said the group hosts many U.S. trainings offering legal education credits for attorneys and that not all event speakers are donors -- Erin.
BURNETT: Kyung, thank you very much. It's hard to imagine why an attorney general needs to go on a trip with lobbyists in South Africa.
All right, Kyung, thank you. And next, space and birthday cakes. We're hearing from the astronauts who spent nearly ten months there for the first time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:43]
BURNETT: Tonight, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams speaking out.
And Ed Lavandera is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is none other than Suni Williams.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the first time since Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore returned to Earth with fellow astronaut Nick Hague. The crew faced questions about the saga that engulfed their space mission.
BUTCH WILMORE, ASTRONAUT: We had a plan, right? The plan went way off for what we had planned. We pivoted to all that training we did that we didn't think we needed to do. SUNI WILLIAMS, ASTRONAUT: There's a huge group of people who are looking at the whole program and understanding how, and what was the best time and way to get us back home. We knew that, and we were ready to wait until that decision was made and that was fine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Godspeed, Butch and Suni.
LAVANDERA: Williams and Wilmore launched into space last summer on a test mission of the Boeing Starliner. But the spacecraft suffered helium leaks and thruster outages. NASA determined the Starliner wasn't safe to bring the astronauts home, turning a mission that was supposed to last about ten days into 286 days in space.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And splashdown, Crew Nine back on Earth.
LAVANDERA: When you reentered the Earth's atmosphere and came back to gravity, can you talk specifically about any kind of weird either sensations or experiences that you've had dealing with that over the last couple of weeks?
WILMORE: I can tell you that returning from space to Earth, through the atmosphere, inside of a 3000 degree fireball of plasma is weird, and the whole capsule starts shaking and twisting, and then the parachutes open up and you're like, I've said it many times, there's not a better feeling returning from space than the parachutes open and work.
LAVANDERA: Did you know that you guys had been greeted by dolphins when you splashdown?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dolphin cam back again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had requested dolphins as kind of a joke. Yeah. Somehow they pulled it off.
LAVANDERA: Williams and Wilmore spent more than nine months on the international space station, which forced them and their families to adjust to a new timeline. They missed the holidays at home, but they marked the occasions with their space family.
CROWD: Merry Christmas!
LAVANDERA: Suni Williams, wearing an eye patch, celebrated her birthday during International Talk Like a Pirate Day with space made strawberry cakes.
(MUSIC)
LAVANDERA: The crew even simulated Olympic style sporting events inside the International Space Station.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are working to remove that. LAVANDERA: The astronauts also carried out crucial mission work on the
space station, including various scientific experiments and mesmerizing spacewalks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That RFG is just in front of Suni.
WILLIAMS: When something doesn't go your way, you just have to take the blinders off and look around you and see what other really great things are waiting for you.
LAVANDERA: Despite the troubles with the Boeing Starliner, both Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams say they would fly the spacecraft again in a heartbeat and say they're committed to helping the team of scientists and engineers fix the Starliner.
WILMORE: We're going to look forward and say, what are we going to use? Our lessons learned from this whole process and make sure that we are successful in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAMS (on camera): Ad, Erin, both astronauts have been here at Johnson Space Center in Houston since they landed here several hours after the splashdown in the gulf. They say they are acclimating very well. They credit the vigorous exercise regimen that exists on board the International Space Station with keeping them as strong as they are.
In fact, Suni Williams mentioned that she was able to run three miles yesterday, Erin.
BURNETT: Oh my gosh. Going to do that now.
All right. Thank you very much, Ed.
And it's time now for Anderson.
