American Detained In Russia, Accused Of Being A Spy
POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: All right. Good morning, everyone. And a happy new year to you. If you are just waking up, happy 2019. I hope last night was festive. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Jim Sciutto has the well-deserve holiday off. And we do begin with important breaking news this morning. We are learning right now a lot more about the American detained in Russia, accused of being a spy. Paul Whelan was arrested in Moscow on Friday. Let's go to my colleague Marty Savidge. He has more on this man. The story, look, we are learning more details. This is someone who had frequently traveled to Russia and whose family says he was there for a wedding. The Russian government says something else.</s>MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. They do indeed. The family had been very anxious because they say the last time they heard from Paul Whelan was around the 28th of December. He lives here in Novi, Michigan here, in a suburb of Detroit. And he was a frequent traveler to go to Russia. He is a former marine, retired marine, I should say. And he works in corporate security for auto parts manufacturing. So he has gone to Russia several times for personal reason as well for work. He was in Russia. He arrived on the 22nd to attend a wedding of a fellow marine. That wedding was supposed to happen as they say on the 28th. He didn't show up. And that's when everyone became worried because it was so unlike him. When he travels, he usually stays in close contact with his family, especially his parents. And then they get the notification that he has been detained. They find that the reason for him being held by the Russians is absolutely preposterous. They are hoping that American officials will have a chance to actually talk to him. They have been gravely concern because they thought perhaps he might have suffered some kind of tragedy. It is still extremely serious for them but at least they know his whereabouts right now, Poppy.</s>HARLOW: OK, Martin Savidge there in Novi, Michigan where he is from. Again, this is a man that was born in Canada. The state department refers to him as an American citizen. And again his family wants answers. Before we get to his brother who will speak to us in just a moment in his first interview, let me go to Moscow. My colleague Matthew Chance is there. So Matthew, walk us through what the Russian federation is saying at this point.</s>MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, they are not saying a great deal that has to be said. They just made this very sort of stiff announcement by the FSB, which is the main cantor espionage agency here in Russia. They are saying they had arrested a U.S. citizen on the 28th of December in the Russian capital, Moscow. And they said he was caught spying, but no other detail was given about what exactly he was said to have been doing when he was detained. The Russian foreign ministry also said they formally notified U.S. authorities of the detention which was confirmed by the state department as well. But in terms of detail, very, very sparse information coming out about what this individual may have been concerned with. It does come just a couple of weeks after Maria Butina who is a pro- gun lobbyist held in United States pleading guilty to conspiracy there and faces six months in prison after U.S. prosecutors say that she tried to infiltrate U.S. for conservative groups</s>HARLOW: OK. Matthew Chance, I know you are asking for more answers. Please let us know if you get them. Thank you very much for that reporting live from Moscow in this morning. On the phone with me now is David Whelan. He is the twin brother of Paul. Paul Whelan again is the American detained on Friday in Russia on espionage charges. You see him there. The Russian government says he is a spy. Let me bring in his brother, David - his twin brother, David. This is your first interview, I should note. Thank you for taking the time on this New Year's morning to speak with us.</s>DAVID WHELAN, BROTHER OF AMERICAN DETAINED IN RUSSIA (on the phone): Thank you, Poppy. I appreciate the time.</s>HARLOW: Of course. What can you tell us first just about your brother as we look at his picture here? What do you want everyone to know?</s>WHELAN: Well, it's funny because I think sometimes we don't think about how we would describe our family members until we are in a situation like this. Paul is a very kind and generous person. I think he's well known for that. He is burglarious (ph) among friends, although maybe not comfortable in larger groups. He is loyal to a fault with his family and friends. He is just a very nice person.</s>HARLOW: Obviously there are a lot of answers that you want. So let's take through this slowly. Walk us through what you know at this point, what you have been told by the government, by the state department, perhaps anyone at the White House about your brother being taken into custody in Russia on these espionage charges. What have they said to you?</s>WHELAN: We don't know very much. The government has been helpful. My family members have been in contact with people at the state department and at the embassy in Moscow. And we have heard that they have received an announcement from the Russian government that Paul had been detained. But they have not yet been able to have constant access with Paul. And I believe there is a 72 hour window, so we are sort of waiting for that to pass.</s>HARLOW: There is.</s>WHELAN: I'm sorry. Go ahead.</s>HARLOW: No, there is a 72-hour window so let's talk about that. You guys have been told, as I understand it, that there is a 72 hour window before the U.S. embassy and representatives can meet with Paul and check on his well-being, et cetera. That 72-hour window would have, one presumes, started on Friday. I know you guys have an anxiously awaiting that to pass. It seems like that window would be closed at this point.</s>WHELAN: Yes. So I'm not sure how the timing on that has tolled.</s>HARLOW: OK. So have you reached out to the White House and/or have you heard from the White House or the President?</s>WHELAN: No, not from the White House or the President. But we have reached out to congressional representatives for Michigan, which is where Paul and my family are based. And we look forward to when we finally have access to Paul, hearing about his condition and helping him to get a lawyer to take on these criminal charges and continue to try and work with the American government to have him released.</s>HARLOW: Tell me about what your brother does. We understand he was in security. He did security contract work and travelled to Russia a number of times.</s>WHELAN: Yes. Paul and I are chalk and cheese. And so I can describe it but I am a librarian describing corporate security and so I may not get it right.</s>HARLOW: Sure.</s>WHELAN: My understanding is that he was -- he was responsible for looking at the physical security of sites for his employer to make sure that things couldn't be stolen or broken into, to remove the opportunities for people to have access to things he shouldn't have access to.</s>HARLOW: OK.</s>WHELAN: But it wasn't cyber security. It wasn't body guard type of security. It was much more about the physical plant.</s>HARLOW: Who did he work for?</s>WHELAN: His current employer is Baird and Warner.</s>HARLOW: OK. When is the last time, David, that you did hear from him because you say that it is unusual that you wouldn't hear from him on the 28th, you know, Friday, the day he was supposed to attend the wedding. So when is the last time you did speak with him?</s>WHELAN: I don't speak to him very often. We often communicate over email and things. But he communicates much more regularly with my parents. So they were surprised not to see any photos from him. He had been particularly worried that they were on a winter staycation and some mischief might happen to them while he was out of the country. They are older and it is snowy in Michigan. And of course we have a family pet and he is concerned about the dog. So there are a number of things that he would have normally have been checking in to see how that that's appointment is done or</s>HARLOW: Is there anything that concerns you about his travels to Russia? Did you have any concerns ahead of this trip or any of his trips to Russia that he could be detained, that he could be arrested?</s>WHELAN: Not more than any other tourist traveling to many countries in the world. Paul is a former marine. He is former law enforcement. He does corporate security and he travels extensively. So I think as far as people who are aware of the risks of travel and being prepared to, you know, avoid whatever risks are possible, I think Paul is probably as best situated as anybody could be, even in a country like Russia.</s>HARLOW: There is no world in which you suspect that your brother in any way worked as a spy for the U.S. government. Is that correct?</s>WHELAN: That's correct.</s>HARLOW: Can you tell us a bit about his military service?</s>WHELAN: I only know what he told me. I know for sure he was in Iraq in the early 2000s and he did multiple tours in Iraq. Names like Al- Assad airbase, Anbar province, that's the sort of things that I heard about. And He wasn't terribly forthcoming with his military service, but I was aware of where he was.</s>HARLOW: He was born in Canada, correct, but is a U.S. citizen?</s>WHELAN: Yes.</s>HARLOW: OK. What would you like to see from the representatives in Congress in Michigan that you and your family have spoken with from the state department and from the White House at this point and going forward this week?</s>WHELAN: I think there's really just one goal, which is to get Paul back home from Russia. And I'm not sure if it's at a level where leaders of both countries have to work out a deal or whether it's congressional action that can leverage him loose, but that is our goal, that is our one goal, is to get Paul back home.</s>HARLOW: We know that the President has had an increasingly, I wouldn't say open dialogue with Vladimir Putin, but as you know he has met with the Russian President in Helsinki and consistently says better relations with Russia are desired. Are you hopeful that President Trump can do something, say something to bring your brother home soon?</s>WHELAN: Yes. I would be supportive of anybody who can help to get Paul to come home.</s>HARLOW: David Whelan, I'm so sorry you are facing this. Thank you for taking the time in speaking to us. Reach out any time with more information that you might have.</s>WHELAN: Thanks very much, Poppy.</s>HARLOW: Of course. All right. We will stay on that. Again, the first interview that the brother of the detained American in Russia has done. We will bring you more information as we have it. Ahead for us, day 11 and counting of the shutdown. The President says he has no choice continuing the government shutdown as House Democrats come up with a plan of their own that they will vote on this week. We will give you the latest. And a new twist to the administration's plan to withdraw troops from Syria, more time. "The New York Times" this morning is reporting the President has given the Pentagon four months to pull out 2,000 members of our military there. We will have the latest on that. Plus, U.S. markets say good-bye to the wild trends and volatility of 2018 or do they? What do they expect? Ahead.