Transcripts For CNN The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 20240707

Vice president harris doorstep right here in washington. And a cnn exclusive. The former white house Chief Of Staff mark meadows has complied with a subpoena in the u. S. Justice departments January 6th Investigation, potentially escalating the legal danger for former president trump. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in tthe situation room. President biden is touting the agreement that prevented a crippling National Railroad strike, even though its not a done deal yet. Tonight were learning more about his role in the talks. Lets go to cnns White House Correspondent mj lee. I am very pleased to announce a tentative labor has been reached between the Railway Workers and the railway companies. Reporter tonight a Major National economic crisis averted. This agreement is a big win for america. Reporter representatives for freight Rail Companies and unions for thousands of rail workers reaching an 11th hour deal, warding off a Worker Strike that was expected to begin at the stroke of midnight on friday. This is a win for tens of thousands of rail worker, and for their dignity, and the dignity of their work. Reporter key negotiators descending on washington, d. C. On wednesday for talks hosted by Labor Secretary marty walsh. The final breakthrough announced after a marathon 20 hours of highstakes negotiations that extended late into the night. Compromise reached on a number of major issues. Like Working Conditions for engineers and conductor, Wage Increases, staffing shortages, and scheduling rules. Because of the labor agreement, those rail workers will get better pay. 24 Wage Increase over the next five years. Improved Working Conditions, peace of mind around their health care by capping the costs that workers will have to pay. Reporter the tentative deal marking a major victory for the biden white house. President biden himself had increasingly inserted himself into the talks in recent days, calling the negotiators directly to try to get them out of the impasse. After spending the day at the Detroit Auto Show on wednesday you all know im a car guy. Biden calling into the still ongoing meeting at the Labor Department after returning to the white house in the evening. We knew that if this became a strike, that it would severely cripple the supply chain and the economy. The possibility of a rail strike had already canceled some Long Distance trains and alarmed administration officials. A strike could have created crippling Supply Chain Disruptions and wreaked havoc on an already fragile economy as the white house continues to grapple with stubbornly high inflation. Thinking agreement allows us to continue to rebuild a better america with an economy that truly works for working people and their families. There is just no overstating how important it was for this white house to avert this rail strike. A huge sigh of relief here at the white house for dodging what could have been a really tough situation both politically and economically. Of course, this is a white house that is still dealing with issues like inflation that remains stubbornly high, and just generally a pretty fragile economy. So the last thing that this white house wanted were more obstacles that could have gotten in the way of the economic recovery. Wolf . Youre absolutely right. Mj lee at the white house, thank you very much. I want to go to Cnn Transportation Correspondent pete monteen. Amtrak was bracing for possibility of a strike. Whats the impact on Train Commuters tonight . Wolf, amtrak says it will fully return to normal Train Service tomorrow, even though some trains were still canceled tonight. Remember, this was going to be the first impacts if a rail Worker Strike did ultimately happen. Amtrak had planned to cancel all of its Long Distance routes, every corner of the country, as well as State Sponsored Trends on ten different lines. The issue was twofold. First, that many of the Long Distance routes take days to complete and would have overlapped with the start of a strike. Also, that 97 of amtrak routes rely on freight rails, which would have been impacted the most if rail workers walked off of the job. The same with Commuter Rail systems across the country. Were hearing from chicagos metra. It says trains that were canceled tonight will run as scheduled. Passengers dodged a huge bullet here, wolf, with this deal that has now been struck. A huge bullet indeed. Pete muntean over at union station, thanks very much. Lets discuss what has happened and what is going on with a key figure in the negotiations, the Labor Secretary of the United States, marty walsh. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for joining us. As you fully understand, the white house clearly celebrating right now. But this is still a tentative deal to avoid what you said would have been a catastrophic disruption. How soon do you expect this agreement will pass . And is there any chance you believe mr. Secretary this deal, god forbid, could still fall apart. Well, first of all, thank you for having me tonight, wolf. There is 12 unions that were talking about on the rail system, and theyve all reached an agreement actually, 11 have reached an agreement. There is still one theyre working a little bit on to get that into the hands of the membership. What happens now is it will be floating over the next six weeks to two months different radification dates. The two we negotiated last night and came to a deal they will get that information out to their members over the course i think its within the next six weeks. They will have town hall meetings. They will have caucuses. They will talk to their members. Theyll explain whats in the document, whats in the contract. And then there will be a democratic ballot that will go out to the members and the members will vote yes or no. In my years of doing Labor Negotiations and being around the Labor Movement and seeing contracts, both as a union leader and also as mayor of the city of boston, this is a good contract. There is a lot in here. There is a lot that the union can be very proud of what they negotiated. And quite honestly, there is a lot in here for companies too about recruiting and retaining people. So i view this as a winwin situation with the contract. I feel good. Obviously, the work has to be done now to get ratified. But i feel the chances are very positive of ratifying these contracts. I know, mr. Secretary, you were involved in some 20 hours of negotiations. Only yesterday, one official told cnn your role, im quoting now, was part mediator, part motivator, part guy who blocks the door if they try to leave without a deal, close quote. Can you take us inside that meeting . What were your main sticking points . Yeah, it really was about keeping both sides in a conversation. This negotiation was going on for well over two years. The president had to appoint a president ial Emergency Board to come up with a framework that we worked off of yesterday. It really was about really three or four major issues. And what i suggested was we take one at a time. And we get that one we put it aside and move forward. And thats what we did. And the unions and the companies worked very hard together. There were two separate rooms they were caucusing in and going through the different information. But at the very end, at 2 30 in the morning, both sides came in to me. Both were dug in on a particular issue. Both sides agreed to kind of take their foot off the gas a little bit on that issue. The union was able to secure some needed days that they wanted time off for their workers. The company was able to get some language. And quite honestly, thats how a negotiation goes. And around 5 30 5 00 this morning, we had initials after the unions brought it back to their boards to get their committees for the contracts. They initialed it. And now we take the next step. As you know, President Biden describes himself as the selfproclaimed most pro Union President in american history. And this is indeed a big moment, very big moment for unions in the United States. But can the u. S. Economy, mr. Secretary, afford the threat of more strikes with inflation still skyhigh right now and the risk of a recession clearly looming out there . Well, to be quite honest with you, as a labor person, i think when we get to a strike, there has been a breakdown at the table either on one side or both sides. And id prefer to see these contracts negotiated at the table and not lead to a strike. And i think a strike doesnt help a lot of people. It might give you a little leverage for a little bit of time. But i know there is a big strike going on with nurses in this country right now that are being treated unfairly. There has been threats of strikes. And a lot of strikes have been prevented, quite honestly. But i think strikes do impact our economy, but also strikes are the last resort of a union to take when a negotiation breaks down. My advice to people is to stay at the table and talk. In this particular case with the rails and the unions, they were talking, but they were at the table, but they werent in my opinion, they werent as focused for a long period of time on getting this thing done. And yesterday, i said to them on tuesday night if they dont get an agreement, i expect them in my Office Wednesday morning, and were not leaving until we get a contract. And that was my intention. If i didnt have a contract by 5 00 in the morning, we would have stayed. If i didnt have a contract by now, i would still be there. But the unions and the companies were able to come to about a agreement, which is great. And certainly the president is very relieved because this this negotiation goes way beyond the workers and the companies. This goes to the american economy. Yep. This prevents growing inflation. This prevents layoffs. This prevents disruption in supply chain. This would have this strike would have caused so much havoc and chaos in our american economy. And right now we dont need that. What were doing right now the white house, as an administration, were battling to bring Inflation Costs down, bringing gas prices down. In the present past major legislation to build up the infrastructure and move our economy forward. And were still hanging on to people. Im grateful. It would have been catastrophic, no doubt about that. Labor secretary marty walsh, thank you so much for joining us. Just ahead, the white house is Familying Southern republican governors for bussing and flying migrants to the northeast, calling it, and im quoting now, a premeditated political stunt. Stay with us. And now were providing 88 Billion Dollars to support underserved commmmunities. Helping us all move forward financialllly. Pnc bank see how we can mamake a difference for you. Choosing a treatment for your chronic migraine 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more can be overwhelming. So, ask your doctor about botox®. Botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they even start. Its the 1 prescribed branded chronic migraine treatment. So far, more than 5 million botox® treatments have been given to over Eight Hundred And Fifty Thousand chronic migraine patients. Effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. 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Learn all the ways to save with amazon. My name is austin james. As a musician living with diabetes, fingersticks can be a real challenge. Thats why i use the freestyle libre 2 system. With a painless, onesecond scan i know my Glucose Numbers without fingersticks. Now im managing my diabetes better and ive lowered my a1c from 8. 2 to 6. 7. Take the mystery out of managing your diabetes and lower your a1c. Now you know. Try it for free at freestylelibre. Us this. Is a glimpse into the notoodistant future of lincoln. Its what sanctuary could look like. Feel like. Sound like. Even smell like. More on that soon. The best part . The prequel is pretty sweet too. U. S. Attorney for massachusetts says she wants to talk to the u. S. Justice department about Florida Governor ron desantis sending migrants to Marthas Vineyard. Cnns Priscilla Alvarez reports desantis spent taxpayers dollars to send dozens of migrants and their families, including children, to the island in massachusetts on private jets in what critics call a political stunt. Reporter tonight, dozens of migrants are set to spend the night on Marthas Vineyard, sent there by floridas Governor Ron Desantis as part of his promise to send migrants to democratic cities. Our message to them is we are not a sanctuary state, and its better to be able to go to a sanctuary jurisdiction. And yes, we will help facilitate that transport for you to be able to go to greener pastures. Reporter on wednesday, the republican governor sent 50 migrants, all from venezuela, on two privately chartered airplanes to Marthas Vineyard, a small island off the coast of massachusetts. Every community in america should be sharing in the birds. Reporter but municipal officials and Lawmakers Said they received no advanced notice of the migrants arrival and scrambled to respond. They were taken totally offguard. A private chartered plane, evidently there were two, not cheap. Reporter the flights are an affront to Biden Administration over its handling of the u. S. mexico border. Over the last few week, Texas Governor greg abbott and Arizona Governor ducey have sent thousands of migrants out of state, an effort thats cost them millions of dollars. Just this morning, 100 more migrants arrived by bus from texas and were dropped off in front of Vice President Kamala Harris home at the naval observatory. In a tweet, abbott criticized harris claim that the border is secure. Democrats, though, were calling the actions a political stunt. Two republican governors, one using Taxpayer Money for chartered jets and reportedly his own Video Photography to capture this for his own political benefit, taking advantage of women and children, men who didnt know where they were going. Reporter Immigrant Advocates in florida are also condemning desantis actions. This shameless action hoisted upon our defenseless people fleeing persecution and violence is a mere political ploy in his quest for power and wont go unnoticed. Reporter and the people at the center of this all are seeking asylum in the United States, sharing stories about the treacherous journey to the border. Translator only the bus left us here, and now. They didnt tell us where we were, but they left us here. Its very difficult to bring a child here. Its eight days of child through the darien jungle, something extremely difficult. Translator there were three options, washington, utah, here, massachusetts. Whatever was available, the plane left and brought us here. While desantis sees the flights as a solution weve worked on innovative ways to be able to protect the state of florida from the impact of bidens border policies. Reporter others do not. The fact that fox news and not the department of Homeland Security, the city, or local ngos were alerted about a plan to leave migrants, including children on the side of a busy d. C. Street makes clear that this is just a cruel premeditated political stunt. Reporter now wolf, weve also learned that the flights that arrived in Marthas Vineyard originated in texas, and its unclear whether anyone boarded in florida. Now as you heard there from the white house, press secretary, the administration is condemning ooms these actions. In a state, the Homeland Security spokesman told me it creates unsafe conditions for vulnerable migrants as well as receiving jurisdictions. Republican governors, though, are not standing down. Wolf . Priscilla alvarez, thank you very, very much for that report. I want to bring in right now cnns rosa flores and cnn senior political analyst niamalika henderson. Rosa, first to you. Youve been reporting on the border, speaking to migrants. Youre there in texas for us. How different are the circumstances of these flights chartered by Governor Desantis compared to governor abbotts buses that he has been using . You know, wolf, i witnessed the circumstances around abbotts buses. And its very simple. Migrants are dropped off at Respite Centers along the border, by border patrol, and then the individuals, the volunteers for those Respite Centers give migrants an option. Those migrants want to go to places across the country. Many of them do not have money. So theyre offered these buses, provided by governor abbotts office to go to places like chicago, new york, and d. C. And so these migrants choose to get on these buses, and then they go on their way. Now theyre also allowed to get off the buses. Some of them have gotten off here in the city of houston, and other cities along the way. Again, because its a choice. Now the flights that were arranged, according to Governor Desantis by his office, those the circumstances are very different, and were still investigating on this a lot more. My colleague, Maria Santana talked to one of the migrants who said that a woman named perla offered these migrants to go to a hotel. They spend about five days at this hotel. They were promised jobs and shelter before they got on these flights. Again, the circumstances very concerning. Wolf, ive covered immigration for many years. This is a very vulnerable population. These individuals are very vulnerable. A lot of them have already been extorted. All of their money has been taken on the mexican side as they try to cross the border. Now the ceo of Kat Thick Charities san antonio telling me that he is very concerned about this going on because this happened in san antonio. Catholic charities is taking over the Migrant Respite Center that is that was opened a few months ago, and Catholic Charities is taking over that Migrant Center on monday. And hes expressing the concern, again, because this is a vulnerable population. And now people are making them promises, according to my colleague Maria Santana, who talked to one of the migrants who was on this flight. Very concerning, wolf, the circumstances around those flights headed from san antonio to Marthas Vineyard. Very concerning indeed. Nia, these are human beings, these people, these migrants, and there are a lot of families, including young kids who are being moved. But are these republican governors, based on everything you know, trying to outdo each other to try the get more coverage on fox news . Well, listen, both of these governors are obviously up for reelection in november. They are also eyeing 2024 as well. You had abbott out front kind of doing this, crying to get the attention obviously of the white house, trying to get the attention of fox news certainly, and to raise the question of immigration and make it much more of a national story, because that certainly benefits him in texas, but it also benefits republicans more generally. So now we have ron desantis who again on the ballot and is a likely competitor for 2024 the gop nomination in 2024. He in some ways is oneupping abbott here of apparently this idea of sending migrants to Marthas Vineyard, was actually raised on fox news a couple of days ago. So you have him doing exactly that, getting lots of coverage on fox news, getting lots of National Coverage for what he has in fact done. He is also getting lots of blowback from venezuelans in florida. Florida is the number one place where Venezuelan Americans live, and they are expressing some concern about this. Just i think it was last week, he promised venezuelans, he promised cubans as well that he wouldnt send refugees out of the state because they are so crucial not only politically, but economically to florida. So this isnt without risk for ron desantis. But its obviously something that he has decided to do. There is lots of criticism in florida, and more broadly too to the folks who have to receive those migrants and werent given any notice. I do think well see more of this Going Forward as the midterms heat up. Republicans think that immigration, illegal immigration and the problems down at the border are an issue that works for them. So i think youre going to dont see them do this. Niamalika henderson, rosa flores, guy, thank you very, very much. Big story. Coming up, what could mark meadows cooperation with the u. S. Justice department subpoena mean for the January 6th Investigation . Were getting more information right now. Stay with us. Youre in the situation room. 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And i earn 5 cash back on travel purchased through chase with Chase Freedom Unlimited. That means that i earn 5 on our rental car, i earn 5 on our cabin. I mean, cmon hello cashback hello, kevin hart im scared. In a good way. Im lying. Lets get inside. Earn big time with Chase Freedom Unlimited with no annual fee. How do you cashback . Chase. Make more of whats yours. Tonight were learning new details about the scope of the federal criminal investigation of efforts to subvert the 2020 president ial election here in the United States. This comes after the fbi seized the phone of a staunch trump ally, mypillow ceo mike lindell. Cnn Political Correspondent sara murray is joining us right now. What did the subpoena for lindells phone reveal . Were learning the Justice Department is actually looking for information about at least seven people who were connected to this sort of effort to get information from a Voting System in the colorado county. These people are considered subjects in this probe, but a number of them were also involved in efforts to get information from several other states. What we dont know is whether the Justice Department is looking at these efforts and these other states as well. Of course, all of this is coming as weve seen the Justice Departments investigation into january 6th expand. We have new details on that tonight. Just how much more information could mark meadows give investigators . Thats the big question. Will he cooperate . He was the intermediary for trump with the outside world in a lot of respects. So obviously, he is very valuable to prosecutors if theyre really looking at trump. Reporter the question lingering after sources tell cnn the former white house Chief Of Staff became the highest ranking trump fish known to comply with a subpoena. This is about donald trump and about actually going after him once again. Reporter as part of the federal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. To meet the obligations of the previously unreported subpoena, meadows handed over the same materials he provided the House Select Committee investigating january 6th. There is no doubt some of the stuff we found has really set off the Justice Committee into these phats. Reporter that document dumped to the Committee Last year like this Text Exchange with gop lawmaker jim jordan. Jordan saying on january 6th 2021, Vice President mike pence as president s of the senate should call out all electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all. Meadows responding i have pushed for this. Meadows withheld hundreds of messages, citing executive privilege, and its unclear if he will give doj more information that could shed lights on moment likes this one. Hang mike pence i remember pat saying something to the effect of mark, we need to do something more. Theyre literally calling for the Vice President to be fing hung. And mark had responded something to the effect of you heard em, pat. He thinks they deserve it. Reporter even with efforts to challenge the election and trumps handing of classified materials, the former president still confident escape indictment. I cant imagine being indicted. Ive done nothing wrong. Sara murray reporting for us. Thank you very much. Joining us now cnn legal analyst, the former federal prosecutor elliot williams. And cnn political analyst maggie haberman. She is the senior political reporter for the new york times. Also, the author of a brandnew book coming out in a few days titled Confidence Man the Making Of Donald Trump and the making of america. Let me forward to that book. Elliot, just how valuable is mark meadows compliance as far as the Justice Department is concerned . You know, he could be very valuable, wolf, but i would caution anyone from getting too excited here. Well really dont know the extent of his cooperation. If you remember some months back, there was back and forth with the House January 6th Committee where he didnt fully comply. So its hard to know exactly what he did provide here. But as saras roaring noted, he is an important figure, both a political and policy aide to the president , and certainly has a lot to say about all of these matters. Maggie, meadows is now the highest ranking trump official to go ahead and to cooperate and comply with the subpoena and testify before the Justice Departments federal grand jury. Whats your assessment of whats going on right now . Look, i think that what elliot said is correct. Its hard to know what exactly in means in terms of both where their investigation is and what meadows himself turned over. Meadows tried with the house select to have it both ways. He tried turning over a bunch of texts but not complying with testimony. I believe there were other additional Text Messages and communications he did not return over. The cnn reporting is he turned over what he turned over to the house. I have to assume it is the same thing that is somewhat limited in scope. What we do know and can tell from the subpoena and other subpoenas is that the Justice Department is intent on continuing with these investigations into the events leading up to january 6th when there was this riot at the capitol. And what, if any, knowledge that Trump Officials may have had about activities leading up to it. We know, elliot, that trump has been counseled to cut contact with meadows, but a source tells cnn the two have still spoken a number of times. How risky is it to ignore that legal advice . You know, it could be risky because criminal wrongdoing can extend into the future. Now, look, im not accusing anybody of a crime here, but certainly continued conversations could lead toward obstruction of justice or any other offenses there. Now, look, the simple fact is either of these individuals are at least subjects, if not targets of Justice Department investigations in general, wolf. If you are either of those things, its best to keep your mouth shutt shut and lawyer up. But whether they have personal communications or legal one, its just hard to know what the nature of the relationship is right now. Maggie, you just heard the former president insist he cant imagine being invited. But based on your reporting, is that what he is saying both publicly and privately . Privately, he has said a range of things, wolf. But generally speaking, people around him have started to detect anxiety, not the least of which he just hired a very new highpriced money who is being paid through pac money. Even if it isnt Donald Trumps personal money, he doesnt like parting with it if it is in his control. There is a real level of concern here desite whatever bravado he is showing. Thanks to both you have very much. Just ahead, we have exclusive new reporting coming in from ukraine right now. Cnn is inside a newly liberated town right on the russian border. Not that one. Thats the one. At university of phoenix, you could earn yoyour masters degree in less s than a year for under 11k. Learn more at phphoenix. Edu medium latte, halfcaff, no foam. Quite the personalized order. I know what i like. Ive been meaning to ask you, carl. Does your firm offer personalized Index Investing . Hmm . So i can remove a stock that doesnt align with my goals. Im a broker, not a barista. What about managing gains and losses to be more Tax Efficient . Not a wizard either. Looks like schwab Personalized Indexing can. Schwaaab learn more about Personalized Indexing at schwab today. Tech when you have auto glass damage, let safelite come to you. Pop rock music tech my customer enjoys time with her family. So when her windshield got a crack. She scheduled with safelite in just a few clicks. We came to her house. Replaced the windshield. And installed new wipers. That on her time. Grandkid here you go tech wow, thank you customer and grandkids bye tech bye dont wait, schedule now. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Tonight, ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a mass burial site has been found in the city of izyum following its liberation from Russian Forces. And in a cnn exclusive, our International Security editor Nick Paton Walsh went inside another russian town, another town i should say near the russian border, retaken by ukraine in its stunning counteroffensive that sent Russian Forces fleeing. Watch this. The fact that Ukrainian Forces are able to push right up to here, the beginning of the Border Buffer Zone with russia. Russia is just a matter of kilometers in that direction is yet another Calamity Moscow has imposed upon itself. Its opponent in this war it is struggling so deeply to defeat is now so close to russias own towns and cities. Nick paton walsh is joining us live from the scene. Nick, what more can you tell us about the devastation left in russias wake . Its extraordinary to drive towards that border area, wolf. Today and see youre right, the devastation, certainly the remaining armor left behind, at one point the bodies of two russian soldiers still lying there in the road. But actually, in the town of vovchansk itself, which was for so many months utterly vital to russias supply and essentially the start of the Railway Lines that lead down to izyum, the other town visited just yesterday by president Zelenskyy Which became a vital part for the war with russian. When it lost control, positions crumbled and disappeared. So close to russia that it seems suddenly one morning the Russian Troops had suddenly disappeared. Overnight just packed up their stuff and moved back, four or five kilometers, three miles or so back into russia itself. The town not as heavily damaged perhaps as you might expect. And local theres, some of them betraying an element of sympathy, perhaps, certainly not open hostility towards russian folks though some locals deeply troubled about the months they lived under russian rule. But whats important is now we have Ukrainian Forces right next to the russian border. Again, utterly normal, frankly, for decades. But now with that extra sense possibly of anger in ukrainian hearts about the damage done to their country so far. And an added security risk. As you heard there for moscow, because essentially now along these hundreds of kilometers and miles of border, we now potentially have right next to russian territory, possibly putting their artillery within range of russian Population Centers if they do choose to take that particular step. No sign of it as yet. But remarkable to see the scope of the russian retreat here, and frankly, how fast it appears to have been. They gave up the vital town of vovchansk, wolf. Cnns Nick Paton Walsh on scene force. Stay safe over there. Thanks very, very much. And joining us now, democratic Congressman Jason Crow of colorado. He is a key member of both the Armed Services and intelligence committees. He is also a veteran of the wars in both iraq and afghanistan. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for all of your service to the United States. As you know, cnns Nick Paton Walsh got this exclusive access where ukrainian troops have pushed nearly all the way toward russias border. How does the u. S. Help ukraine sustain this very, very powerful and dramatic sonoma. Well, its good to be with you, wolf. And youre right. Ukrainians are doing a remarkable job. This counteroffensive that started earlier in august is meeting with tremendous success. And its being success for two reasons. Number one, the courage, the bravery, and the grit of the ukrainians and the ukrainian fighters, which is really unbelievable. History is going to go down as some of the best fighters weve seen. But second is because of the leadership and the support of the United States of america. We have stepped up in a huge way and made investments to send weapons and equipment and support, and weve done so under the leadership of joe biden. We have to understand that this is a great counteroffensive, but this is not the end of the war. This is not mean that one side wins or loses. This is a great advance for the ukrainians. We have to make sure we stand firm with them. Having said that, sources are now telling cnn, congressman, that the u. S. Wont, wont supply the longer range missiles that ukraine has requested, at least not for now. Is that something the u. S. Should be reconsidering . I think the u. S. Should reconsider that position, and ive long said that publicly, that i think we have to make a decision to fully help win this war for the ukrainians. And that means some of the longer range missiles. Weve done a lot. Weve provided the high mars, weve provided the shorter range missiles and rockets that have been instrumental in the counteroffensive in the last couple of weeks. But the war always changes. One thing ive learned about war in all my time in iraq and afghanistan, fighting overseas is that one day is never the same as the next. War changes. It evolves. And you have to stay nimble. You to stay flexible. You to understand whats going on in the battlefield around you and how thats changing. You to not just fight the day the fight of the day. You have to be anticipating whats going to happen two, three weeks or several months ahead. It is time for us, in my view, to provide those longer range missiles. I think that will help put ukraine in a position to win. And i do not believe there would be any additional escalatory that what is already done. In both the wars in iraq and afghanistan. Lets move on, congressman. In this rare facetoface meeting thats been going on today between Russian Vladimir Putin and chinese xi jinping. Putin acknowledged beijings questions and concerns about its war in ukraine. How revealing is that comment alone . Well, it is pretty revealing. Here you are the first meeting of two of the Worlds Largest autocrats, wannabe dictators. And this is the first time that putin has met with president xi since the war has kicked off. And it shows a couple of things. Number one, president putin, Vladimir Putin is desperate. He needs friends. He doesnt have many, and he is looking for support. And number two, the chinese and xi is potentially amenable to be that friend. So we have to make sure that were making it very clear what this is about, what the russians are doing. Thats one of the reasons why ive introduced an amendment to Intel Authorization Acts because i sit on the Intel Committee that would help gather evidence about the russian war crimes and the atrocities that have been committed over the past six months and the terrible, terrible things they were doing to the ukrainian people so the world can see. And china will have to make a decision about whether or not they want to support that. Congressman jason crow, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Coming up, well go live to london, where mourners are now lining up for miles to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth ii. We believe theres anan innovator in all of us. Thats why we build technology that makes it possible for every business. And every person. To come to the table and do more incredible things. My Mental Health was much better. My mind was in a good place. But my body was telling a different story. I felt all people saw were my uncontrolled movements. 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You cant you cant not come here and not be emotional. I think its right just to pay my respects, you know, because its someone i admired over my lifetime. Shes been there constant the whole time, the whole of your life. I think were just beginning to realize that that constant is gone. Reporter for a second day, Queen Elizabeth iis Royal Standard draped casket lying in state, serene atop. Royal archers, heads bowed standing guard. One succumbing to the rigors of such prestigious duty, collapsing where he stood. Among those paying respect, former british Prime Minister theresa may. Around the country, royals hearing condolences first hand. The prince and princess of wales at the queens norfolk residence, sandringham, meeting villagers. The queens daughter, the princess royal, was in glasgow. And the queens youngest son and wife, the earl and Countess Of Wessex went to manchester. After several days of intense public mourning, king charles and the Queen Consort spent the day at his country residence, high grove, for moments of personal reflection. And as they did in scotland monday, king charles and his siblings will hold a Vigil Friday Night at the queens coffin. Sunday hell host visiting dignitaries, including President Joe Biden at buckingham palace. The biggest such gathering in recent history ahead of the funeral monday. And that funeral is due to start at 11 00 a. M. Local, 6 00 a. M. Eastern time. The queen will be taken from where she is lying in state on the state gun carriage of the royal navy. It will be pulled not as weve seen recently by horses, it would be pulled by 142 sailors. At the end of the day, shell be laid to rest next to her husband, prince philip, at windsor castle. Thank you very much. Well be right back with more news. 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Wolf, this sort of gives us a Status Update on these ongoing negotiations that the Biden Administration has been engaged with with russia to try and secure the release of Brittney Griner and paul whelan. There have been movement, there hasnt been a breakthrough. Thats what a Senior Administration official said. But they also indicated that russia hasnt really engaged productively in these back and forths, saying the Biden Administration has encouraged them to provide a serious counteroffer, and then they describe the russians response by saying this. Quote, weve gotten back a repeated demand as something were not capable of delivering on, i mean not capable of delivering on. Its not something within our power. And i think anyone would see that as a nonserious counteroffer. Of course, wolf, this comes as President Biden tomorrow is going to meet with cherelle griner, the wife of Brittney Griner, and elizabeth whelan, the sister of paul whelan. Both of those families have been pushing for a meeting with President Biden and they will get their independent meetings tomorrow. No serious breakthrough for him to present, but they continue to work on this. Kylie atwood, thank you very much. Well watch what happens tomorrow. Im wolf blitzer in the situation room. Erin Burnett Outfront starts right now. YoourcGovernor Ron Desantis backing down after sending planes of migrants to Marthas Vineyards. President Trump Making A Thinly Veiled threat. Should he be indicted and cricke contradicting his own legal team. Is there a split or are they closer than ever