Huntsman Visits Retired Marine Accused of Spying By Russia
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: New tonight, U.S. ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman, visiting the retired marine arrested in Moscow on allegations of spying. It's a stunning move for the highest- ranking American in Russia to be the first to visit an alleged spy, elevating the case of Paul Whelan big time tonight. Whelan's family says he was arrested in Moscow while attending a wedding just a few days ago. Michelle Kosinski is OUTFRONT.</s>MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An American citizen is in custody in Russia tonight, accused of spying, and only today, after five days, was for the first time allowed a visit by the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman, which is unusual and demonstrates the seriousness of the matter. Paul Whelan, a 48-year-old head of global security for a Michigan Automotive Supply Company, disappeared in Moscow on December 28th. He was in town for a friend's wedding and when he didn't show up, his friends reported him missing. The Russian government says Whelan was arrested on suspicion of carrying out an act of espionage, but why and what exactly Russia believes he did are still very much murky -- even this morning, to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.</s>MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: We've made clear to the Russians our expectation that we will learn more about the charges, come to understand what it is he's been accused of, and if the detention is not appropriate, we will demand his immediate return.</s>KOSINSKI: It was Russia that told CNN Whelan was finally allowed a consular visit today. Several hours later, the State Department confirmed it, saying: Ambassador Huntsman expressed his support for Mr. Whelan and offered the embassy's assistance, then spoke by telephone with Mr. Whelan's family. Due to privacy considerations, we have nothing further at this time. Whelan is a former U.S. marine reservist who served for 14 years, including two tours in Iraq. He received multiple medals and awards but in 2008 was discharged for bad conduct after a court-martial and charges related to larceny, according to the Marine Corps. Since then, he's worked in corporate security. His family says he's travelling often for both business and pleasure. He's been to Russia multiple times, has friends there, has had a Russian social media account for more than a decade, where he's posted some pro-Trump messages and pictures of himself in Moscow. The situation now has confounded his twin brother.</s>DAVID WHELAN, BROTHER OF PAUL WHELAN: We don't really know why he was picked up by the Russians, why he's being charged with espionage.</s>KOSINSKI: Some critics of the Kremlin and experts are calling Whelan's arrest a hostage taking, possibly to gain leverage over the U.S.' detention of Russian Maria Butina who pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to influence U.S.-Russia relations. She's been held for five months and Russia is not happy.</s>TONY BLINKEN, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: What this looks like, at least, is the Russians simply doing tit for tat. What they'll do in response and other countries have done in response is just arbitrarily pick up someone who isn't responsible or guilty of anything just to create pressure and leverage on us.</s>KOSINSKI: So, Russia isn't saying what they allege they have on Whelan, and the State Department isn't saying whether Russia's being forthcoming with information. What we do know is what we hear from our analysts here, even based on what we know about Whelan now, they're saying they feel it's highly unlikely he would be involved in the U.S. intelligence community. First of all, because of his dishonorable discharge from the military.</s>BURNETT: Right.</s>KOSINSKI: But also they say this is just not the way a U.S. espionage operation would work, that they wouldn't just send somebody over there as a sort of contractor in this way -- Erin.</s>BURNETT: All right. Michelle, thank you very much. So, let's go now to Bob Baer, former CIA operative who also used to work with the KGB in Afghanistan, and former assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security under President Obama, Juliette Kayyem. Bob, you know, so, Ambassador Huntsman is the highest ranking American in Russia and a very high-profile ambassador, right? So, within hours of Whelan being, you know, allowed a visitor, he's there, and you say that means this is a crisis.</s>ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: Oh, it's definitely a crisis, Erin. The ambassador never does a prison visit, almost never. It's always a vice consul goes in, checks his welfare, makes sure he has a lawyer, talks to the prison guards, makes sure he's got his medicine and it's that simple. Sending an ambassador is signaling to the Russians that we're very worried about this, and as a matter of fact, I've never -- can recall an incident where an ambassador goes in for the initial visit.</s>BURNETT: I mean, Juliette, what do you think is going on here? If Bob's saying he can never recall a situation like this, that this is being escalated so quickly.</s>JULIETTE KAYYEM, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY, HOME AND SECURITY DEPARTMENT UNDER OBAMA: It is. It's both being escalated but we do have to understand that in these hostage situations, that the -- you want some quiet. In other words, you don't want everything to be public. Lots of things are going on. There's family interests, there's political interests in this case, so when Huntsman says, you know, I can't talk about everything, I'm somewhat sympathetic to that. What this does tell me, just consistent with Bob, is we've ratcheted up immediately and we did so because this is clearly a -- not just a hostage situation. It's clearly, in my mind, a political hostage situation. So, Russians have been signaling after Butina was taken, let alone the fact that she is cooperating, which has got to be terrifying to Putin.</s>BURNETT: Maria Butina, who pled guilty to spying. Yes.</s>KAYYEM: Exactly, and she's cooperating now, that they have been signaling that wouldn't it be interesting to take or maybe a good tit- for-tat would be to take an American citizen and that's what they've done now, and the solution is only going to be a political solution. This is not a legal issue.</s>BURNETT: Well, I mean, you've used the word hostage a couple times here. This is a serious word, Bob. Do you agree? Hostage?</s>BAER: Oh, I agree with Juliette. He's not a spy. I mean, he could have been freelancing on something dumb but the Russians would know that and wouldn't have arrested him. They would have expelled him, not let him in the country, something like that. They know he's not a spy. So, it's a hostage situation and they're probably worried about what Butina has said about her mission here, that there could be other indictments, who knows what they're worried about. But Putin, at the end of the day, looks at Butina as a hostage herself because she wasn't properly spying. She wasn't collecting, stealing secrets. So, he's furious about this, and this is a message to the Trump administration -- you better back off now or no American is safe in Moscow.</s>BURNETT: And do you think, Juliette, that's the situation we're talking about, the former ambassador Michael McFaul is now saying he gets asked all the time whether it's safe to go to Russia, he's saying now, as a student, as a tourist, I'd say no.</s>KAYYEM: I rarely say that about any country, even ones that suffer from terrorism. I wouldn't, for two reasons. One is, you know, I mean, Russia did attack this country, you know, through -- during the 2016 campaign. I don't want to give them our money, to be quite honest. And secondly, we don't know what the Trump administration is going to do in response. We talk often about how the rules of engagement have changed over the Trump administration, you know, that there's -- that this sort of, you know, these legal rules, these understandings amongst countries are seen being pushed to the limit, whether it's the Russians killing in England or the Chinese taking their citizen who's the head of Interpol, and I think we're starting to see some of that. It makes me very nervous because I just don't know how -- I don't know what the Trump administration's reaction, how far they will push this to get him back, because of the underlying aspects of what we know about Trump, which is he tends to protect Putin in these situations.</s>BURNETT: This is going to be a huge, a huge moment, a huge test. Thank you both very much. And next, billionaire businessman Tom Steyer is my guest. He has spent millions trying to impeach Donald Trump. Is he now about to officially run against him? Plus, madam speaker, Nancy Pelosi, hours away from the gavel again. And you know, her story is a stunning one. And she has a revealing conversation coming up -- a conversation she had with her daughter.</s>REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), INCOMING HOUSE SPEAKER: I went to her and said, your going to be a senior, mommy has a chance to run for Congress and I don't even know if I'll win.</s>DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: She said, get a life.</s>PELOSI: She said, get a life, and I did.