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Texas Governor Declines First Pitch; Gaetz Defends Himself; Derek Chauvin Murder Trial; Indictments in Ukraine Plane Shoot-down; Navalny Continues Hunger Strike; Baylor Upsets Gonzaga. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 06, 2021 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[06:30:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: First pitch at the Texas Rangers home opener after Major League Baseball took a stand against Georgia's new voting law. Governor Abbott writes, quote, it is shameful that America's pastime is not only being influenced by partisan politics but also perpetuating false political narratives.

Joining us now is CNN political commentator Errol Louis. He's the political anchor at Spectrum News.

Errol, what is Governor Abbott doing? Is this really about the voting law in Georgia or is he doing a preemptive strike because similar voting laws are under way in Texas?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, that's -- that's the key, Alisyn. They've got a whole raft of legislation and rules changes teed up in Texas where what had been an 800,000 vote margin for Republicans back in 2016 shrank to 650,000. They see the handwriting on the wall down there, the Republicans do. They know that without some aggressive gerrymandering they would have lost quite a lot more political power, both at the statehouse level and in their congressional delegation. And so Greg Abbott is trying to align himself with what looks like a national effort by Republicans to try and suppress the vote because in these swings suburban counties and in these big Democratic-leaning cities, they simply can't win and they're starting to see states, and Georgia being a prime example, starting to flip. And so that's what this entire fight is all about. It certainly has nothing to do with Major League Baseball itself.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And, look, you can tell that there are some Republicans who know they have a problem here in terms of corporations and the business world now weighing in, Major League Baseball, Delta, Coke, because Mitch McConnell felt the need to come out and say something.

Listen.

Oh, we don't have it.

All right, Mitch McConnell made a statement out loud, you'll have to take my word for it, suggesting that, you know, businesses, corporations should stay out, he said, of politics. It -- he wouldn't be saying this unless he knew, he knew they were vulnerable.

LOUIS: I'm not so sure about that. I think this might be an attempted bravado, an attempt to try and back down some corporations. Of course, what Mitch McConnell is missing is that these are gigantic global brands. Major League Baseball itself has got offices in Beijing and is expanding into Latin America and Europe and everywhere else. Ditto for Delta, which owns stakes in European airlines and in Latin American airlines.

You know, if it -- Coca-Cola, a global brand for 100 years, they're -- they're not going to be scared by Mitch McConnell threatening to maybe move a couple of tax exemptions here or there. They're engaged in long-term thinking. They know where the world is going. They know that these narrow attempts to try and suppress the vote are going to damage their brands and they're simply not going to play along.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about Matt Gaetz and the latest Errol. He put out an op-ed defending himself against the allegations that he was involved somehow in sex crimes or trafficking of an underage woman.

What -- here is part of what Matt Gaetz has to say. He says, to this point there are exactly zero credible or even non-credible accusers willing to come forward by name or state on the public record that I behaved improperly towards them in the manner by which Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo has ten accusers.

We should point out that Matt Gaetz is accused of paying these women and sometimes giving them presents in the form of travel and such. Sometimes when you pay people they don't speak out against you. But that's just the accusation. So where are we now with this case?

LOUIS: Well, yes, the -- we're at the beginning stages of this. The -- a lot of what has befallen Matt Gaetz, his legal and political problems, stem from Joel Greenberg, who was a man who's in a lot of trouble, who just had un -- new charges filed against him just in the last couple of weeks, who is apparently implicating his friend, Matt Gaetz, in some really untoward behavior. Joel Greenberg is in a lot of trouble for identity theft and a number of other things.

What we're going to see is that Matt Gaetz is going to continue apparently in this sort of trumpian fashion, just accuse everybody of everything. You know, it's a remarkable op-ed if you read it because he says, I'm innocent, which everybody has the right to say, and -- but to sort of then lash out at everybody. And, of course, missing from that op-ed is the fact that it was the Trump Justice Department that launched this investigation. It was Bill Barr, the attorney general, under President Trump, who first noticed that there were these charges out there to be pursued and that's the source of all of his problems.

CAMEROTA: It is a remarkable op-ed. The whole thing is remarkable. And, in fact, the last sentence got me, and I know that we have to go, but he says, as for me, I'm going to fight like hell for my constituents and the country I deeply love. You deserve no less, especially right now.

[06:35:00]

I forgot he had constituents. I mean the whole op-ed -- I forgot -- I -- literally, until I read that, I was like, oh my gosh, he's a congressman with constituents. I had forgotten because every other line in it was about how he's fighting this Justice Department, cancel culture, CNN, and then I was like, oh, right, he's supposed to be serving constituents.

On that --

LOUIS: Yes, I mean, look, he's a two-term member with very few accomplishments. He's in a lot of trouble and his legal problems are now intertwined with his political problems.

CAMEROTA: Errol, thank you, as always, for everything.

LOUIS: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: OK, coming up, a preview of what's ahead in today -- in today the Derek Chauvin murder trial. We're going to break down the key moments, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: The world is watching the Derek Chauvin murder trial. And we've seen so many fascinating moments. The question we always ask ourselves is, what are the moments that are going to matter most to the jury?

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig joins us now. He's a former state and federal prosecutor.

And, Elie, we heard from two police officers yesterday, including the chief.

[06:40:01]

So what was the main take away from the testimony?

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, John, a big question yesterday and throughout this trial, did Derek Chauvin use excessive force against George Floyd? We've now heard from three witnesses, not just any witnesses, though, the three who would know this issue is best. Last week we heard from the most senior officer in the entire police department. Yesterday, we heard from the chief and the training officer. All three of them have said unequivocally this force was excessive and it was not even a close call.

Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your view -- you know, your view of that use of force during that time period?

LT. RICHARD ZIMMERMAN, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: Totally unnecessary. CHIEF MEDARIA ARRADONDO, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: That in no way, shape or

form is anything that is by policy. It is not part of our training. And it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values.

CMDR. KATIE BLACKWELL, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: I don't know what kind of improvised position that is. So it's not what we train.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HONIG: That was deeply damaging testimony. Both of the witnesses yesterday, I think, came off as very credible, measured, experts in their field and I thought they really connected with the jury.

Now, the defense lawyer tried to undo some of the damage in his cross- examination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's limitations on the use of force, right?

CHIEF MEDARIA ARRADONDO, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: Yes, there are limitations. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they're -- and it's situation by situation, right?

ARRADONDO: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The use of force has no precise objective, singular rule. It's different in every case?

ARRADONDO: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HONIG: And this is where the defense is going. Look, you can have these rules on the books, but out on the streets, it's subjective. Things are happening quickly. You can't second guess after the fact.

The problem is, that doesn't mean anything goes and the witnesses yesterday were clear that what Chauvin did was far over the line.

CAMEROTA: And so, Elie, there was also this dispute about the exact placement of Derek Chauvin's knee. Why is that so critically important?

HONIG: Yes, Alisyn, so it looked for a brief moment like the defense lawyer almost had this Perry Mason aha moment.

Here's what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you agree that from the perspective of Officer King's body camera it appears that Officer Chauvin's knee was more on Mr. Floyd's shoulder blade? CHIEF MEDARIA ARRADONDO, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HONIG: That seemed like a very important moment. Was Chauvin's knee actually on George Floyd's shoulder blade, not on his neck? But then the prosecutor got back up on redirect examination and watch what happened then.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the knee of Mr. -- of the defendant was on Mr. Floyd's neck up until the time you just pointed out?

CHIEF MEDARIA ARRADONDO, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: Yes. When I viewed that video portion, that is the first time that I'd seen the knee on the defendant on the shoulder blade area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HONIG: That was a really costly moment for the defense counsel. Not only did he lose the actual point, it was clear that the knee was on the neck up until that very last moment, but he damaged his own credibility in the jury's eyes. If you're going to try a move like that, a stunt like that, and it backfires, the jury is going to remember that when they're assessing your credibility as a lawyer.

BERMAN: All right, Elie, something peculiar is going to happen this morning with this -- it's a friend of George Floyd, who I believe was with him at the time. The judge wants to question him and try to figure out about whether this testimony is admissible. What's going to happen here?

HONIG: Yes, so the prosecution wants the testimony from George Floyd's friend, who reportedly is invoking the Fifth Amendment. Now, he's not charged with a crime related to this case, but any person has the right to remain silent, invoke the Fifth Amendment, if their testimony could be used against them in some future proceeding.

What judges sometimes do is bring people in that situation in and question them. This will happen in private to make sure that it's a legitimate invocation of the Fifth Amendment, to make sure the person has some basis to invoke it because once in a while people sort of fudge that or fake it to try to get out of testify. So the judge will make that decision today.

BERMAN: Elie Honig, as always, thank you very much.

HONIG: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: So Iran just made a big announcement about the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane that killed 176 people. The new developments in a live report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:11]

CAMEROTA: New this morning, Iran has just announced that ten officials have been indicted for the military shoot-down of that Ukrainian passenger plane last year that killed 176 people.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen covered this story extensively for us and he joins us now live from Vienna, Austria, where the U.S. begins in direct talks with Iran to revive the nuclear deal today.

So tell us all of this background, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Alisyn.

Yes, for the first time the Iranians acknowledging that they have these ten individuals who they've indicted after the shooting down of that Ukrainian passenger plane early of last year.

Of course, all this happened right after the U.S. killed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qasem Soleimani at the beginning of last year in a drone strike. The Iranians then retaliated by shooting ballistic missiles at the U.S. base in Iraq. And then after that, the Iranians were fearing that there would be U.S. retaliation, and they say that the commander of a surface to air missile battery mistook that Ukrainian plane for a possible U.S. missile and shot it down. Obviously, they said, a lot of failures there in the entire chain of command and now we're hearing that ten individuals have been indicted. And the Iranians are saying that the military court will deal with them.

Meanwhile, here in Vienna, both sides are trying to get things back on track diplomatically. Very tough negotiations, but also very important negotiations. The two sides aren't talking directly to one another. You have the Europeans, who are still inside the nuclear agreement. They are talking about the Iranians -- to the Iranians about getting back into full compliance with the Iran nuclear deal. Of course, the Iranians have enriched a lot of uranium, have enriched it also to a higher grade than they're actually allowed under the nuclear deal. So the Europeans are saying the Iranians should get back into compliance with that.

At the same time, at a different venue, talking to the U.S. about possible sanctions relief. Both sides acknowledging, these are still very early stages. Both sides say they want to get the U.S. back into the nuclear agreement.

[06:50:03]

They want to get Iran back into full compliance, want to salvage this deal. The big question here, however, is, who's going to move first and what are the background moves going to be in all of this.

John.

BERMAN: I was just going to say, it will be fascinating to see who moves first or if somehow they choreograph a movement at the exact same time. We're watching very closely.

Frederik Pleitgen, great to have you there.

So, this morning, there is growing concern about the health of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is in prison and said to be on a hunger strike.

CNN's Matthew Chance is live outside the prison camp in Russia where Navalny is being held.

Matthew, what have we learned?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hey, John, this is prison camp -- Penal Colony Number 2, sorry, in Pokrov, which is a small town about a two hour drive outside of the Russian capital, Moscow.

You see Alexei Navalny is behind those sort of metal fences over there. We're not being allowed to go any further by these -- by these prison officers that have been posted outside to keep all the journalists and the various people, the protesters who have come out here today to protest against the fact that Alexei Navalny has not been given the medical attention that he's asked for. He's been sort of quite sick over the past couple of weeks, since he was moved into this Penal Colony. He's been complaining about a bad back. He said that that pain has spread to both of his legs. It doesn't sound that serious, does it, when you consider that back in August Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a suspected nerve agent. There is a strong chance, according to doctors, that it could be linked to some kind of neurological damage, which is why Alexei Navalny's doctors want to get in there and they want to give him a proper, thorough examination.

There are other complications as well. He's on a hunger strike, first of all. He's lost quite a lot of weight, to protect the fact he's not getting the doctor that he wants to see. Also, he's, within the past 24 hours, reported a very high temperature and a cough, which is obviously very concerning in this time of COVID. But he also says that it may not be COVID. It may be tuberculosis. You know, don't worry, there's an outbreak apparently of tuberculosis inside this Penal Colony.

Today, a number of doctors have come here to protest the fact that he's not being seen by a proper medical professional inside and saying that, you know, he could -- his health is now very serious concern to all of those who are watching developments with Alexei Navalny, John.

BERMAN: I've got to say, Matthew, w\hat an interesting report. Also interesting the mere image of you standing there. It does not smell of transparency, the picture of you there surrounded by Russian law enforcement/military, does it?

CHANCE: No. But there has been some video, funny enough, that's come out over the past couple of days showing Alexei Navalny inside this Penal Colony. It's closed circuit television. You know, it's pictures of him sort of sleeping in bed. He's complained that he's suffering from sleep deprivation because he gets woken up every hour to make sure he's still there. There's video been put out by state-sponsored television, you know, showing him fast asleep in bed. You can see him walking around a little bit, speaking to prison officers as well. The attempt to show that he's not as bad as he says he is.

CAMEROTA: All right, Matthew Chance for us. Please stay safe, Matthew. Thank you.

So, this morning, Waco, Texas, is title town. Baylor celebrating its first-ever men's basketball championship. The highlights in the "Bleacher Report," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:32]

CAMEROTA: Baylor ruins Gonzaga's perfect season to win the men's NCAA tournament.

Andy Scholes has more in the "Bleacher Report," live from Indianapolis. A lot changed yesterday, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

What a performance by these Baylor Bears here in Indianapolis at the Final Four. They dominated Houston and then just crushed Gonzaga's dreams of a perfect season last night. Hats off to the Bears. And now, for the first time, they can call themselves national champions.

And last night title's game really was over from the start. The Bear's veteran guards Davion Mitchell, Jared Butler and MaCio Teague just pouncing on the Zags. They were knocking down shot after shot, playing some stifling defense as well. But Baylor up 19 points halfway through the first half. Just never looked back. They win in dominant fashion. 86-70.

Coach Scott Drew, he took over this Baylor program after it was rocked by numerous scandals 18 years ago. Now he's completed one of the greatest turnarounds in college basketball history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT DREW, BAYLOR HEAD COACH: God has blessed us with unbelievable players, the people that have come for 18 years and put in work, our fans that have been with us for the lean years, the good years, and our administration, President Livingstone, Mack Rhodes, they all deserve this. The city of Waco deserves this. Hey, Texas, we got a national championship, too! The state deserves it!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, check out the wild celebration back on campus in Waco. All the fans there storming the field at their football stadium after the final buzzer sounded.

All right, Stanford, meanwhile, celebrating the women's championship with a parade in campus in downtown Palo Alto yesterday. The Cardinal beat Arizona on Sunday to claim their third title in their history and first since 1992.

And July's Major League Baseball all-star game now going to be played at Coors Field in Denver. That's according to multiple reports. It was originally set to take place in Atlanta, but the league decided to move the game in response to Georgia's recently passed law that critics say make it harder to vote. Major League Baseball has not responded to CNN's request for a comment.

But now that March Madness is over, guys, we can look at the final standings for our bracket challenge. Alisyn, you got third. Not going to talk about where Berman and I finished in the standings. But Jim Sciutto, first place. He didn't have the best bracket, but he was the only one that picked Baylor to win. So the lesson learned here is, pays to be different.

[07:00:01]

BERMAN: Congratulations to Jim Sciutto there. Again, he's a Mets fan. So it's nice for him to win something, like some day he finally gets some kind of victory.

CAMEROTA: Sweet.