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Israeli War Cabinet Meeting About Iranian Attack; Soon, Trump's Historic Criminal Trial Begins in New York City; Simpson Executor Plans to Fight Payout to Goldman Family. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 15, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

TIMOTHY HEAPHY, FORMER LEAD INVESTIGATOR, JAN. 6TH COMMITTEE: That the committee did in investigating the riot and the attack on the Capitol, arguably the most serious case should go first.

[07:00:06]

But, look, these are different judges in different jurisdictions with different laws that apply. This was the first case that was brought, and it is relatively straightforward in terms of the simplicity of the issues. And I wouldn't write off the chance of a trial in the Jan. 6 case in the fall if the Supreme Court quickly disposes of the immunity argument, as I and a lot of experts think that they should. This case could get scheduled before the election.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Tim Heaphy, great to talk to you. Hope we can do it again soon. Thank you very much.

And thanks to our panel and everybody else for joining us this morning. I'm Jim Acosta. CNN News Central starts right now. Have a great day.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: -- attack. President Biden making clear the U.S. will not join in any retaliatory strikes.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And a historic day in America. Today, Donald Trump will become the first former president to be tried on felony charges. This morning, he will head to a Manhattan court as jury selection begins in his criminal trial. We're live outside the courthouse for you.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: O.J. Simpson's estate now vowing to fight the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Why? He says he hopes they get nothing from the civil judgment they were awarded decades ago.

I'm Kate Baldwin wit Sarah Sidner and John Berman. And this is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: And the breaking news, we are just getting word that Israel's war cabinet is meeting right now to discuss its response to the massive Iranian missile strike. Iran launched more than 300 drones, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles targeting Israel with minimal effect. Still, it was a huge attack. And while the U.S. was among the allies heavily involved in defending Israel, President Biden has made clear the U.S. will not help in any retaliatory strike against Iran.

Let's get right to CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv. Jeremy, what are you hearing from inside this meeting?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, I'm told that this war cabinet meeting has now begun, and there has been heated debate among the war cabinet members over the course of the last couple of days since Iran launched this unprecedented strike on Israeli soil about the scope of an Israeli response and the timing.

One thing is clear is that Israel's war cabinet is united in the fact that a military response is required to respond to Iran's attack over the weekend. But now it's a question of how soon, how quickly they will respond, and how big that response will actually be.

There's no question that Israel's war cabinet members are aware that Israel is enjoying considerable international goodwill at this moment, considerable support from some of its key allies, including, of course, the United States. And so they don't want to squander that goodwill with an over-the-top response. And there's also, of course, concern about sparking a bigger conflict between the two countries.

But at the same time, the Israeli prime minister is coming under considerable pressure from his right flank to go with an over-the-top response, to change the paradigm, break all of the dishes, as one Israeli official told me.

So, this is really going to be a question of which direction they decide to in. And, ultimately, if they go in the more measured direction, how do they thread the needle? How do they send a message to Iran that takes into account that this was the first Iranian attack on Israeli soil while also avoiding further escalation?

That is the topic of this war cabinet meeting that is ongoing right now, and it's unclear how quickly they will actually reach a decision. I'm told that the war cabinet member, Benny Gantz, has been pushing for a quicker response than what we have seen so far. Up until now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pumping the brakes on an immediate decision. John?

BERMAN: As you said, the meeting going on right now. Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, let us know what you hear. Thank you very much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. From an unprecedented attack to an unprecedented trial, we are standing by for something this nation has never seen before. For the first time in U.S. history, a former U.S. president is going on trial accused of felony crimes.

This morning, Donald Trump's hush money trial begins here in New York, and he will have to be in court daily, setting the stage for a highly unusual presidential campaign platform.

When the presumptive GOP nominee departs Trump Tower soon, he will make his way to a lower Manhattan courthouse, where he now will be forced to sit inside four days a week.

In this case, Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges. This is for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Just over an hour ago, Donald Trump slamming the judge in a new post as the trial kicks off with a critical question.

[07:05:05]

Who will sit on this historic jury?

CNN's Brynn Gingras is live outside the court for us.

Brynn, despite several attempts to drop and/or delay this trial, we're here. The day has started. Walk us through what happens when Donald Trump arrives at the courthouse just behind you.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara. First, I just want to tell you, we already are seeing supporters and protesters here at the courthouse and court isn't expected to start for another two and a half hours or so. And that's when we expect the former president to arrive. As you said it yourself, he has to be here for court every single day that this trial is in session.

So, when it picks up today, jury selection, obviously a key part of this trial before it actually can get started. What we understand is that 500 jurors will be called in today.

Now, not all of them are for the Trump trial. There's, of course, other trials happening inside this courthouse today, but 100 at a time will enter Judge Juan Merchan's courtroom and they have any issues with, you know, staying this entire trial, which is expected to last six to eight weeks, they can raise their hands, say it's for childcare or they have something coming up during that time. We're told the judge will immediately dismiss them.

But those that are left in that, in that group will have to answer 42 questions. And there's a lot of different questions there that have to pertain, of course, to whether they attended a Trump rally. Do they have any certain affiliations with the Trump -- you know, with Trump or where do they get their news? Have they listened to Michael Cohen's podcast, as he will be a key witness in this trial? So, a number of questions that they have to answer out and that they will be weeded out for based on those answers.

Then we also understand that both the prosecution side and Trump's defense have 10 strikes against these jurors. They can raise their hand and dismiss them ten times is the total. So 12 jurors, 6 alternates, that's the focus of getting that starts today. We expect that could happen -- or, I'm sorry, that could last for about a week, maybe even two weeks. So, here we go. It's a start of, as you just said it, a historic trial.

SIDNER: You have been reporting on the unprecedented amount of policing that is happening around there, law enforcement preparing for this. What does it look like out there and what's been happening, we're trying to make sure that everything goes off safely?

GINGRAS: Yes. Listen, we are in a penned situation, so I wish I could, you know, turn this camera around. But opposite of me is going to be is there a giant park outside this courthouse and that's where protesters are pushed to actually right behind me. There was a protester who just came by and police immediately moved them into that penned area. We are penned in as well.

And you can see probably behind me there are barricades around this courthouse. We see a number of police officers. Of course, there have been bomb sniffing dogs. There are number cameras in the sky. They are monitoring this area. Intense security, of course, as this is unprecedented for an ex-president to be on criminal trial. Sara?

SIDNER: Brynn Gingras, thank you so much for bringing all of that to us, as court will begin very shortly here. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Coming up still for us, the Israeli war cabinet is meeting. The Biden White House is watching closely. What President Biden is saying now about Israel's promise to exact a price from Iran. Biden's spokesman is our guest.

O.J. Simpson's attorney vowing to fight on now to block the family of Ron Goldman from getting even a penny of the multi-million dollar civil judgment that they won more than two decades ago.

And the armorer involved in the fatal shooting on the Rust movie set is set to be sentenced today and prosecutors are using what she said in phone calls from jail to try to get her behind bars for longer.

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[07:10:00]

SIDNER: A battle is brewing in Nevada over the estate of former football player O.J. Simpson. We don't know a lot about his will, but the former football star died owing millions to the families of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and Ron Goldman.

Now, the executor of Simpson's estate says he will do everything he can to make sure the Goldman family gets nothing.

CNN's Camila Bernal is joining us now. Camila, this has got to be so painful for the family going through this again.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm sure it is, Sara. Good morning. And, look, O.J. Simpson appears to have put his final wishes in the hands of his longtime Las Vegas attorney, Malcolm LaVergne. And as part of that, the attorney told the Las Vegas Review Journal that he would fight any payout from the estate to the Goldman family, saying that his hope was that the Goldmans get zero, nothing, and then pointed them out specifically.

Now, Simpson's property was put into a trust, and the court records do show that the attorney was named as his personal representative and the executor of both his will and his testament. And the attorney also speaking to her affiliate, KTNV, and addressing that $33.5 million dollar civil judgment that was awarded to the families of Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, by a California jury in 1997.

And although Simpson was acquitted in the criminal trial of killing the two of them, he was sued by their families for wrongful death, and he was found liable by a civil jury.

Now, the attorney characterized that judgment as just creditors' claims, and then he characterized the families as publicity creditors who would be placed in what he called a pecking order.

[07:15:02]

Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALCOLM LAVERGNE, SIMPSON'S LONGTIME ATTORNEY: As far as a real creditor that would be of some importance, it's not those publicity creditors, and I'll characterize them as publicity characters. Mr. Simpson has IRS debt, there's IRS debt that's going to be out there, don't want to go into any more about it, but it's substantial. And then a host of other creditors, anyone, there's going to be a notice to creditors. So, that's a part of the process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: Of course, he went even further in that newspaper interview, saying that he would do everything in his capacity to try and ensure that the Goldmans do not get anything.

In the T.V. interview, he also said he'd spoken to Simpson a number of times in the days before his death, and he explained that he was in hospice care for two weeks before his death. And while he wouldn't comment on the condition, he did say that, at some point, they no longer had these functional back and forth conversations, Sara.

SIDNER: Wow. Camila Bernal, thank you so much for that reporting. John?

BERMAN: All right. We're standing by to see Donald Trump leave Trump Tower. Will he speak on his way to becoming the first former president ever to face criminal trial? Jury selection begins this morning.

And then idiots and A-holes, those are some of the names the armorer from the film, Rust, allegedly called jurors who found her guilty of manslaughter. Today, she will find out her sentence.

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[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: Right now, we're waiting to hear what Israel's war cabinet decides to do after Iran's unprecedented missile and drone attack this weekend. Israel says 99 percent of the ballistic missiles and drones from Iran were intercepted. Handout video we're showing you from Israel. Israel Defense Forces shows Israeli fighter jets intercepting some of them. And an Israeli government spokesperson tells CNN this morning that Iran aimed more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel Saturday night.

Quickly, after all of this, U.S. officials made clear to their Israeli counterparts that the United States will not help in any offensive retaliatory strikes against Iran now.

Joining us right now is a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, John Kirby. John, thank you very much for coming on.

So, Israel's war cabinet is meeting again right now. They have said that they will exact a price from Iran. Does President Biden support Israel retaliating now after the Iran attack?

JOHN KIRBY, SPOKESPERSON, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Well, we respect that that's a decision the war cabinet and the prime minister have to make. We know that they live in a very tough neighborhood. The president believes that what happened Saturday night was an extraordinary military success. And that it proved Israel is not alone, and it proved that Israel has a military superiority it can be proud of, and that they ought to think about what that success, the message that that sends to Iran and to the region itself.

He's also been very clear, Kate, that we don't want a war with Iran. We don't seek to widen and broaden this conflict. We don't want to see things escalate. As a matter of fact, what we want to do is see things de-escalate. And defending Israel the way we help do on Saturday should have that effect.

BOLDUAN: When we talk about de-escalating, so is it the position of the Biden administration that Israel should not retaliate on Iran or Iranian territory now?

KIRBY: Again, that's a decision that only Prime Minister Netanyahu and the war cabinet can make. I mean, again, we respect their sovereign decision-making process. What we want to see is de- escalation of the tensions.

We don't want to see a wider war. And everything the president's been doing, including putting U.S. forces in the fight Saturday night to defend Israel, which I think is the first time it's ever been done, has been to de-escalate, to take the tensions down, to put resources in the region, to send a strong signal to anybody who might act inimical to our interests or the interests of our allies and partners that it's unacceptable.

BOLDUAN: So, CNN reporting is the following, John. President Joe Biden and senior members of his national security team have told their counterparts the United States will not participate in any offensive action against Iran. That's according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

I've seen similar reporting in Reuters, Axios, CBS News, The Washington Post and many more. I list that out to ask you, is that reporting accurate? Is that the position of the Biden administration?

KIRBY: I really can't go any further than what I've gone to here this morning, Kate. I'm not going to get into the diplomatic conversations that the president and the prime minister had on Saturday night, or have had in any other time.

We want to make sure that Israel can defend itself. We actively participated in that self-defense on Saturday night. We will stay committed to Israel's self-defense. At the same time, we want to see tensions de-escalated. We don't want to see a war with Iran, and we certainly aren't looking for a wider conflict in the region.

BOLDUAN: Do you dispute that reporting?

KIRBY: Again, I think I'm just going to leave it right at that.

BOLDUAN: You have made clear that the position of the Biden administration is that he doesn't want this to turn into a wider regional conflict. I've heard you say that a few times now. The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Turner, he reacted to you yesterday talking about this, and he said that you're wrong to say that you don't want an escalation. His point is that it's already escalated. This unprecedented attack directly from Iran is the escalation. Your response?

KIRBY: There's no question that what Iran tried to do, and I emphasize the word, tried to do, was an escalatory step, no question. I mean, it was an unprecedented aerial attack from Iranian soil to Israeli soil. We haven't seen that. I mean, that's a huge step in the wrong direction.

But let's talk about what didn't happen.

[07:25:00]

And what didn't happen was any major damage or casualties caused in Israel, because the United States stands good by our commitment to help Israel defend itself.

And just because Iran conducted this unprecedented attack, which we and our Israeli partners and other partners thwarted, doesn't mean that we should just accept a constant rising escalation in the region. The president is not going to accept that. He wants to see things de- escalate. And everything we're going to do from this point forward is going to be designed to continue to try to reach that outcome.

BOLDUAN: Real quick, if Congress moves to approve aid to Israel now, with or without funding for Ukraine included, is this vote more about signaling the United States' ironclad support of Israel and its defense, or does Israel need the help right now?

KIRBY: They absolutely need continued support from the United States. And what needs to happen on the floor of the House is the bipartisan bill that was passed by the Senate, which includes Ukraine, which includes the Indo-Pacific, which included border security as well as Israel, needs to be voted on. Because we know, Kate, that if it got to the floor today, it would have the votes to move forward.

And if what happens Saturday night doesn't teach us anything, it ought to teach us the sense of urgency. So, yes, Israel will continue to have American support, but, yes, they need additional American support going forward. And, again, what happened Saturday night, I think, is proof in the pudding of that.

BOLDUAN: John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House, John, thank you so much for your time. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Ahead this morning, how Oklahoma authorities solved the mystery after two women vanished last month. Now, four people have been charged with murder. We're standing by for an update from local officials there.

And we're also standing for by an unprecedented trial. Donald Trump will leave Trump Tower soon. He's headed to court as the first former president to face a criminal trial. It all begins this morning.

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