Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: Israeli War Cabinet Meets Again, Govt. Vows Response To Iran; EU Foreign Ministers Discuss Rising Tension In Middle East; Trump Slams Judge Ahead Of Hush Money Case. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired April 16, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning, and welcome to CNN's special coverage from New York. I'm Rahel Solomon.
ERICA HILL, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": And I'm Erica Hill outside the New York courthouse where we are following all the developments in day two of Donald Trump's hush money trial, day two of jury selection. This is CNN Newsroom.
SOLOMON: Well, we want to begin this hour in the Middle East with the world waiting and the world watching. Israel's war cabinet has met again to decide how to respond to this weekend's attack by Iran. A senior Biden administration official tells CNN that Israel's response will be limited in scope. Second source says that U.S. intelligence suggests that Israel is weighing a narrow strike inside Iran. Also happening today, the Israel Defense Forces conducting a military exercise in northern Israel. This is part of its annual training plan. Meanwhile, Iran's President warning that any Israeli action will be met with what he is calling a quote, "severe, extensive and painful response." He says that Iran's attack on Israel was an act of legitimate defense.
Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson, who joins us now from Jerusalem. So, Nic, this meeting, this third meeting now, the war cabinet just wrapping up, what was the outcome?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We don't know. We know that it lasted well over four hours, and that since Iran's attack over the weekend, it is the fifth war cabinet, and we're not getting precise readouts from those meetings, of course, the cabinet itself, the core of it, the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and Benny Gantz, who would formally have been described as a sort of lead opposition politician to Prime Minister Netanyahu, but is in the war cabinet. Others have bought in around the table. We're told that there were fewer people around the table today, but we know over the past few days, that's included defense chiefs, intelligence chiefs, all the sorts of people you would expect to be around the table to be involved in what may be a complex and sophisticated and far reaching-military action. Now, the United States is indicating that they believe that there is
going to be some action limited in scope. But, as we've seen in the past, Israel can keep its secrets very close to its chest, when it comes to the sort of strike it will take on its enemies, 1981, taking out the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor 2007, taking out serious nuclear reactor, and it was 11 years before they admitted to that.
So, Israel, well versed in putting together these long-range military operations that have very specific targets. But, again, we don't know what's on the table. What we do understand is that it's a question of not if there is going to be a strike, but when and the scale and scope of it. We know that the military last night, the defense chief was telling troops that there will be a response and reaction, but we also expect part of the response to be to try to build up an international coalition of support to put more sanctions on Iran.
But, I think the key takeaway here, or what we should perhaps be guided by, is that Israel is not going to come out of a meeting where it's deciding what action if or not to take it against Iran, and saying of it publicly. If it's going to happen, it will happen without advance notice, although we do understand that commitments have been made by the Defense Secretary -- by the Defense Minister here to the U.S. Secretary of Defense to share with the United States their plans, but of course, the U.S. is not going to be any part, they say, of any offensive action against Iran.
SOLOMON: Yeah, being tight lipped at least for now, at least from the Israelis after this fifth meeting, as you point out, Nic. Give us a sense just on the ground what the security situation feels like there today and just that the sense on the streets, Nic.
ROBERTSON: I think the IDF and Home Guard here, which is the sort of the backbone of the network of alerts and telling Israelis what it's safe to do, what it isn't safe to do, has really been and publicly saying they've been fine tuning that apparatus that they will give warnings if and when they need it, and they did that over the weekend, being quite specific about where people should shelter in the hours when Iran's missiles were inbound to Israel. So, in keeping with that, at the moment, there is nothing.
[11:05:00]
There were no alerts to sort of any threat from Iran. There have been alerts in the north to do with Hezbollah. Of course, those come and go by the hour, through the day. But, I think the fact that the schools are operating, there is no restrictions on people gathering in large numbers, indicates that for the moment Israel feels that there isn't a threat incoming from Iran. However, people are still worried. They know that there is a real possibility that the government will strike back at Iran, and that Iran could respond again and again. They'll be relying on the defensive structures to perform the same results and keep the country safe pretty much.
SOLOMON: Yeah.
ROBERTSON: But, it doesn't stop people worrying about it. SOLOMON: Yeah. And I think that worry extends even beyond the borders of the region, as we all sort of wait to see what happens. Nic Robertson live for us in Jerusalem. Nic, thanks so much.
Well, Israel is facing international pressure to avoid further escalation. Egypt's Foreign Minister has been in contact with both Iran and Israel since Iran's weekend attack. And he spoke earlier to CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMEH SHOUKRY, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, I've spoken to both foreign ministers in an effort to convey the importance of maintaining tranquility and peace, and not to engage in a cycle that will only bring about more instability and will have a very negative effect on the peoples of the region. This constant resort to military activity of one kind or another is not in any way helpful. We have to deal with the ongoing situation in Gaza, which is quite a humanitarian crisis of a unprecedented dimension. And we have to deal with the overall security and stability of the region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Now, also today, foreign ministers across the European Union are discussing the rising tensions, and it comes as Iran closes its nuclear facilities for security considerations. That's according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Joining us from Berlin is Fred Pleitgen now. Fred, give us a sense of the Iranian perspective here, because of course, with all sides, it's what they say, but then it's the subtext of what they say. What's Iran's perspective here?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, I think from the Iranian perspective right now, of course, they are bracing for something that might come from the Israelis. But, at the same time, you do have a lot of tough talk going on. You were mentioning that EU meeting, that, of course, that is something that is pretty significant. In fact, that German Foreign Minister has now announced that she is going to be traveling to Israel in the coming days to try and help de-escalate the situation there. To what extent that's possible, is really difficult to ascertain.
But, the Iranians, for their part, have been saying essentially two things. They've been coming out and speaking to some of their partners, but also some of the nations that are quite critical of them and saying, look, they believe that their strikes against Israeli territories, much of which, of course, were taken down by the U.S., its allies and the Israelis, that those were limited in scope, and that those were justified as well. That's the message that we're getting from an array of Iranian actors from the Iranian military, the Revolutionary Guard, but then also from politics, like, for instance, the President Ibrahim Raisi today in a phone call with Vladimir Putin.
At the same time, they do say, though, that there will be a severe response from the Iranians if the Israelis attack in a significant way. I thought some of the wording was quite interesting, what you mentioned earlier, of Ibrahim Raisi saying that if there was even a small act on the part of outside actors, he put it, of course, most probably, meaning the Israelis and possibly the U.S. as well, that there would be a severe and painful response coming from the Iranians.
The Iranians, of course, at the same time have also essentially announced a new strategy that they have towards Israel, where they say that if their personnel is attacked, their facilities are attacked, that they will strike back from Iranian territory. That really is quite a statement from the Iranians, considering, of course, how powerful militarily the Israelis are. So, they clearly have some bold words coming from Tehran. And then, finally, there is that warning to the U.S., telling the U.S. not to get involved, or else U.S. facilities in the Middle East to become targets as well, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Fred, give us a sense based on this meeting that we were just discussing there of what they may be considering, and if Iran, for example, with sanctions, I mean, Iran has already under hundreds of crippling sanctions as it is, if it would be able to withstand even more if that's the direction this meeting is going.
PLEITGEN: I mean, one of the things that we have to keep in mind, and I've seen this a lot when I was on the ground in Iran, is that the Iranian government, the Iranian security surface, but especially the Revolutionary Guard, they've learned to deal with sanctions a long time ago. They know how to thrive even under sanctions. If you look at the Revolutionary Guard, which of course has become a lot more powerful over the past couple of years, as sanctions have grown more pronounced.
[11:10:00]
And of course, this is also the country that has been dealing not only with sanctions from the U.S. and European countries for decades, but also those very tough sanctions that were put in place by the Trump administration, which really, at least the very beginning, hurt the Iranians a great deal, also hurt a lot of regular people as well. So, sanctions, more sanctions, in many cases can have severe effects on the Iranian population. But, certainly, if you look at the security services, if you look at the military and the Revolutionary Guard, they have been dealing with this for years. They've learned to replenish their military.
And if you look at the strike that was conducted by the Iranians against Israeli territory, the fact of the matter is, is that a lot of the projectiles that they fired via drones or missiles were pretty accurate, and they managed to achieve that despite having been under these heavy sanctions for such a long time. So, certainly, the Iranians, while sanctions would be painful, most probably for them, I think sanctions themselves will not necessarily, to a large degree, hurt the military apparatus, which of course has grown much more powerful over the past years.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Really fascinating perspective, Fred. You imagine that these ministers have to be considering just that as they meet there. Fred Pleitgen, we will leave it here, live for us there in Berlin. Fred, thanks so much.
HILL: Donald Trump is inside the courtroom behind me here in downtown Manhattan for day two of his historic hush money trial. Nearly 100 percent of jurors were sworn in Monday. 50 were dismissed after saying they did not feel they could be impartial. Seven have been dismissed so far today, either because they don't believe they can be fair or impartial, or because of scheduling concerns. Before heading into court earlier this morning, Trump once again attacked the trial, the judge, and President Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nobody has ever seen it. Nobody has ever seen anything like it. So, thank you very much for coming. I am not going to sit down.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I am now going to sit down. The voters understand it. All you have to do is look at the polls. This is a sham trial, and the judge should recuse himself.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: So, the former President continuing to attract -- attack, rather, the trial and the judge there, asking for him to be recused. Of course, that motion for the judge to be recused was denied. Yesterday is one of the first orders of business in court.
Our Senior Crime and Justice Reporter Katelyn Polantz is joining us now live with more of the developments from day two here. When we look at these jury -- this jury selection process, we knew it was going to take a long time. But, we are seeing more and more people dismissed today for a couple of different reasons, but including because they say they don't feel they can be fair here.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: That's right. Dismissed is one way to put it, or self-dismissed is the other way to put it. Yesterday, the jurors, they were asked, 96 of them brought into the courtroom and asked point blank by the judge, can you be fair and impartial in a case related to Donald Trump? Half, more than half, raised their hands and said they could not, and those people were taken out of the jury pool right away. There has been an overnight for people to think about yesterday.
They were in the room with Donald Trump as a criminal defendant in the same courtroom yesterday, answering questions as potential jurors. And this morning, we're already seeing several come back and say, I cannot be fair and impartial in this case. And so, they are being asked to leave, being removed from the jury pool. So, this is a process, Erica, one where there are hundreds of jurors
summoned to potentially sit on the jury in this case. Ultimately, there needs to be 12 Jurors plus six alternates. So, 18 total, who say they can be fair and impartial and have no other issues, health conditions, job issues, vacations coming up. There was a man yesterday dismissed because he has a wedding of a child at the end of when the trial may be taking place late May or early June.
And so, the people without those sorts of conflicts are remaining. And now, it is coming down to, can you be unbiased in serving in this jury against Donald Trump? They are still working through the people that have they have called back to the courthouse today. They're down to a bit under 30 people, but there are hundreds more to work through once they get through this batch.
So, we're going to have to just watch and see how things continue to go. People on this jury that are being questioned or people that could be on this jury, they clearly have heard of Donald Trump before. Just a few minutes ago, our reporters in the courtroom, Erica, heard one prospective juror say he had read some of Donald Trump's books and ticked off the names of them, "Art of the Deal", and Donald Trump, of course, sitting there listening, was nodding along.
HILL: Yes. The reporting from some of the pool reporters inside was that he seemed to perk up when he heard that that prospective juror had read some of his books and sort of going along with him as he listed those titles.
[11:15:00]
Katelyn, appreciate it.
Also with me now is Jury Consultant Alan Turkheimer. So, Alan, when we look at how this is playing out, there are the issues of these jurors being asked initially, can you be biased, or can you be unbiased, rather, much more important, and impartial? The ones who said no were excused. We don't know why. It's really important to note that there was no follow-up as to say, why are you saying you're impartial? So, important to note that. The scheduling, though, also really sticks out to me. People are going to have to commit to six to eight weeks in any trial, even if you take Donald Trump out of the equation. How difficult is it to seat a jury for that length of time?
ALAN TURKHEIMER, JURY CONSULTANT: It is difficult. And I think the judge made pretty clear that if it's something along the lines of, well, I have a job that I have to be at or I have other commitments, that's not good enough. It has to be on the next level where somebody maybe has a non-refundable ticket, a wedding, like you said, a vacation, or maybe somebody regularly cares for an elderly person or child care. So, the judge is going to have to look through that, and that's part of the reason why, not just the familiarity with Donald Trump and everything that he stands for to New Yorkers, but it's also a hardship issue for a lot of jurors.
So, this is why hundreds of jurors are being brought in and questioned, and ultimately the magic number is only 38, because once everybody is qualified, jurors make it through the initial phase. Then once you're at 38, each side gets to dismiss 10 jurors without giving a reason. And so, that brings it down to 18. There is your 12 jurors and six alternates.
HILL: So, going into this, the estimate was one to two weeks to seat a jury. Based on what we've seen over the first sort of one and a half days at this point, do you believe that timeline will still hold?
TURKHEIMER: I think it will. I think as the jurors come in, and it's interesting what that juror said. Sometimes, jurors want to be fair. Jurors want to be impartial. They want to keep an open mind. They want to do the right thing. So, it's one thing to in your mind to think that. But then, once you get to court, you see not just the reporters, but you're in court, the judges around and the lawyers are there, and of course, the most well-known criminal defendant in probably the history of cases, he is sitting right there.
So, it might evoke some emotion in a juror or two, or a handful of jurors, as the process unfolds. And then, they start to think, well, you know what, now that I'm here, I'm not sure I can do this. Maybe somebody else is better equipped to do it. But, I do think that the timeframe will hold up given the pace of the process and how many jurors are going to be coming in.
HILL: Well, that gives us several days to continue to talk through it. Alan, appreciate you being with us. Thank you.
Still to come here after the break, another trial with possible ramifications for Donald Trump as the U.S. Supreme Court hears a pivotal case involving the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to uphold some of the charges related to January 6. Now, at the center of this case is a former police officer. But, the implications here could impact the former President Donald Trump. The high court is deciding whether the Department of Justice is allowed to charge hundreds of rioters under a decades-old federal obstruction law. While is not party to this case, justices could make it easier for Trump to push back against a number of the federal charges that he is facing for plotting to subvert the 2020 election.
Let's bring in CNN's Marshall Cohen, who joins us now with more from Washington. So, Marshall, give us a sense, this seems less about the factual elements of the case, but more about the legal issues at the center of this. What are they considering?
MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Rahel, they're debating right now in the Supreme Court over the text of this statute, the verbs, the actual language, it's very wonky, but it's very consequential. So, zoom out for a second and remember that more than 1,400 Americans have been charged with crimes related to January 6. Only about a quarter of them were actually charged with this specific statute. So, we're talking about a subset of the rioters. It's a federal obstruction statute that makes it a crime to destroy documents or to forge documents. It's -- it was put on the books after the Enron scandal in the early 2000s. However, there is a provision that says anyone who otherwise obstruct an official proceeding, they also could be charged.
The debate today is about that term "otherwise". Is it as broad as the Justice Department has argued that it is, and it covers January 6, or is it narrow, and does the law only apply to document destruction, which would mean that possibly hundreds of rioters could either get their charges thrown out or get their sentences reduced? That's the big question on the table that's currently being debated.
I want to play for you a clip from one of the liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor. She gave an analogy for basically why she agrees or appears to agree with the Justice Department's broad interpretation of this law. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, U.S. SUPREME COURT: Let me give you an example. There is a sign on the theater, you will be kicked out of the theater if you photograph or record the actors, or otherwise disrupt the performance. If you start yelling, I think no one would question that you can be expected to be kicked out under this policy, even though yelling has nothing to do with photograph or recording.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Yeah. So, it's all about that term "otherwise". It's incredible to hear these justices debate the dictionary definitions of these terms because it could have huge implications, Rahel. As I mentioned, those individual rioters could see their sentences reduced, or some of their charges thrown out if the justice -- if the Supreme Court agrees with them. But, it's so much bigger than that. Two of the four charges that former President Trump is facing in his federal election subversion trial are related to this specific law. So, if the Justice Department loses here, in this case, they may have some more fights down the road, because you can bet that Trump will try to bring a very similar challenge in his case as well.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Truly fascinating, Marshall, and it all comes down to the definition and the limits of "otherwise". We will watch and see. Marshall Cohen live for us in Washington. Thanks so much, Marshall.
COHEN: Thanks, Rahel.
SOLOMON: All right. Let's take a look at live pictures from Capitol Hill. It's a beautiful day in Washington, D.C., apparently. Speaker Mike Johnson says that the House will take up bills this week for aid to Israel and Ukraine. Now, Johnson is predicting a Friday vote on the bills. President Biden has been asking for a joint aid package, but Johnson is apparently heeding demands from far right members of his conference to keep them separate. Joining us now from Washington is Manu Raju. Manu, give us a sense of
how separating these bills will apparently be more acceptable to the GOP conference.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is a big caveat there, Rahel, is in fact, they will vote on them separately, but it is expected that ultimately the product that will be produced by the House will be cobbled together in one big package because of a parliamentary maneuver that they can employ. And that is what's causing major angst within the ranks. In fact, today, a second Republican Congressman called on Mike Johnson to step aside, and said he would support Marjorie Taylor Greene's effort to oust him. This is Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky saying that Johnson should resign. In fact, he told that directly to Mike Johnson because of Johnson's strategy to move forward on this major foreign aid package which has been stalled in the House for months.
[11:25:00]
Now, the question ultimately will be, how does Johnson respond to this, and how does the rest of the Republican Conference deal with this as well? I put that question to a number of Republicans today, and they made clear that many of them are opposed to the effort to oust Mike Johnson, but it's uncertain whether he can hang on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BOB GOOD (R-VA): The Speaker just announced that border would be not germane to the bills. So, we're not going to allow border security to be part of the package. That's a big, big problem.
RAJU: But, the Speaker's strategy on Ukraine doesn't make sense to you despite all these up and cobble it all together.
REP. GARRET GRAVES (R-LA): In a word, no. Look, the reality is, is that you have to keep in mind, President Biden asked for Ukraine. President Biden asked for Israel. President Biden asked for (inaudible) Taiwan, and President Biden supports the changes to TikTok. What are Republicans getting out of this?
RAJU: How is Mr. Massie's call to find the motion to vacate received by the conference?
REP. AUSTIN SCOTT (R-GA): It was not received very well. But, I will tell you, the issue here, the primary issue here is the Republican conference, just like most Americans, won't the United States borders to be secure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: But, there are still just so many questions. Ultimately, how this will play out, the timing of this vote? It could happen by Friday or Saturday. Will they have the votes to actually pass these major aid packages, and will -- if there is an effort to oust Mike Johnson, when that will happen, and whether Democrats would come to Mike Johnson's defense? All huge questions at this critical moment as aid is desperately being called for by Ukraine, by United States allies like Israel, but uncertainty about whether the votes are there and uncertainty whether Mike Johnson could hang on to his job.
SOLOMON: Yeah, really interesting and are right, Massie saying I'm not going to call the motion to vacate, but I will tell you, if it's called, there will be a lot of people who vote. Stay tuned. Mana Raju live for us at Capitol. Manu, thank you.
All right. Still ahead, our live coverage of Donald Trump's first criminal trial continues. The day kicked off with Trump, again, slamming the judge in this case. We're going to have the latest on the second day of jury selection. Plus, while Donald Trump sits in a New York courtroom, U.S. President Joe Biden will be campaigning in Pennsylvania. We're going to have the latest from the U.S. election coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom.
It is day two in the historic hush money trial of former President Donald Trump.
[11:30:00]
Before heading into court this morning, Trump once again attacked the judge, attacked the case, arguing he should be spending his time not in court but on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Nobody has ever seen it. Nobody has ever seen anything like it. So, thank you very much for coming. I am not going to sit down.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Nobody has ever seen it. Nobody has ever seen anything like it. So, thank you very much for coming. I am now going to sit down for many hours.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I am now going to sit down. The voters understand it. What you have to do is look at the polls. This is a scam trial, and the judge should --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Right now, jury selection -- day two of jury selection is underway. You see some of those questions that are on the 42 question document that they need to answer. On day one, nearly 100 prospective jurors were sworn in. 50 of those were immediately excused after saying they did not feel they could be fair and impartial in the case.
Joining me now with the latest from the courtroom is Senior Crime and Justice Correspondent, Katelyn Polantz. So, Katelyn, as we look at this, jury selection, as I mentioned, still ongoing. No breaks yet so far in the day. We are waiting on a couple of other items as well. We have heard yesterday from the prosecution that they raised with the judge, they felt Donald Trump had violated that gag order. They made that official earlier today.
POLANTZ: That's right. There is a filing now on the books, and the judge is going to look at whether Donald Trump should be sanctioned for violating the gag order. The prosecutors in this case say that he has because he sent out tweets about a prosecutor as well as possible witnesses or likely witnesses in this case, like Michael Cohen, in the previous days. What the prosecutors want for that sanction is $1,000 fine for each time there has been a social media post from Donald Trump in violation of it. The gag order is something the judge set in this case to protect witnesses and others, court staff, line prosecutors, from harassment and intimidation. And so, we're waiting to see what happens in a hearing next week on that.
There are other proceedings too, Erica, in this case. Every day, we're going to get to work with the jury. We're already into day two of jury selection. They've been piecing through these prospective jurors, asking them additional questions, dismissing a handful already this morning who said they couldn't be fair or had other issues. But, outside of working with the jury, there often are legal arguments and other business the court has to attend to in a criminal case like this. One thing we're also waiting for is more discussion about what prosecutors would be able to ask Donald Trump if he chooses to take the stand in his own defense.
So, when that plays out, we may get an inkling from his team about what they're thinking is there and if he wants to testify in this case before the jury, but all of that often comes down to last-minute decision-making. You never really know if a defendant wants to take the stand until you're at that moment, and they choose to or not. Erica.
HILL: Yeah. Until it actually happens. As this continues to play out, once they get through this first group of jurors, they have to get first that first initial batch and then that next group of 100 or so, I believe it is 96, will be sworn in. Correct?
POLANTZ: That's right. So, they're working in batches and that there are hundreds summoned for the possibility of this trial. And they're working with 100 at a time. Now, they can't question all 100 at a time individually or get their answers individually. So, they're moving groups into the jury box, the 12 jurors plus six alternates into the jury box, and walking through questions with them about their jobs, about their lives, about books, if they've read Donald Trump's books, or others written by some in this case.
One man this morning said he has read "The Art of the Deal". And then there are other questions, mostly drilling down on the idea of bias or fairness. And there have been jurors that have said that they believe Trump is being treated fairly in the court system. There are others who've said they cannot be unbiased that they feel that they cannot give him a fair jury as the law requires in this case, after thinking about it.
Yesterday, one person, our reporters in the courtroom say, that was on the stand talking about exactly how she was feeling about fairness and said I believe no one is above the law. So, I guess that's a strong opinion. A lot of this is going to be coming down to the calls that the judges make. Do these people get removed from the jury pool, or have they been questioned enough that that person can be fair? It's all judgment, and that's why there is a judge in the room.
HILL: Yeah. Absolutely. As we continue to watch this, we should expect a break pretty soon. This is going to play out for the next week or two. You mentioned the number of jurors that are called every day. We should note too, it is not hundreds being called just for Donald Trump's trial here.
[11:35:00]
People are summoned. They are jury summons. They are summoned to the courthouse and there are a number of other cases going on. It's not just this one.
POLANTZ: That's right. When they walk into the room, they'll see Donald Trump there, if they are being brought into this particular case. Yesterday, though, our reporters who were watching and other media outlets feeding information into a pool, didn't notice any obvious reaction from the jurors whenever the case, the people of the state of New York versus Donald J. Trump, when it was called and when they were sworn in. Now, obviously, though, there are jurors that recognize Donald Trump, and we did get some notes yesterday from the reporters who are able to have eyes and ears in that courtroom that there were jurors staring at the former President, and he, of course, is looking back at them.
HILL: Yeah. Absolutely. As you and I talked earlier, in terms of his reaction, it was interesting when a prospective juror earlier today, as we heard from our reporters in the courtroom, had mentioned to reading some of Donald Trump's books. The former President really perked up and kind of went through some of the titles with him. It'll be interesting to watch. We'll continue to follow it. Katelyn, appreciate the reporting, as always. Thank you.
So, Rahel, of course, we heard the former President complaining this morning that he feels he should be out on the campaign trail. He does have to be in court. Important to note, court is only in session four days a week. He can be out there on those other days. We are seeing, though, President Biden out there on the campaign trail, taking advantage of this moment, of course, trying to put out a much different message than the one that is coming from here in downtown Manhattan.
SOLOMON: Yeah. No. Erica, it's a really interesting point, as the former President has to remain there in New York, the current President is sort of taking advantage of this time to campaign. He is actually about to head to the city of Scranton and the all-important battleground state of Pennsylvania. And that's been the focus, the economy. That's where he is going to talk about the economy. That's really been the focus of this Biden reelection video. Here is a clip. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scranton is a set of values. We pride ourselves on the importance of family and honesty and hard work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe loves Scranton because this was the beginning. President Biden is my first cousin, and there is almost like a part of him still here in Scranton.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're all middle class people, hard-working people, and he was part of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Well, the National Biden Reelection Co-Chair and the former New Orleans Mayor, Mitch Landrieu, drew the contrast between the former President and the current President on our air a little earlier. Take a look
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITCH LANDRIEU, NATIONAL BIDEN RE-ELECTION CO-CHAIR: Scranton is the place that basically he got his identity from. He talks all the time about sitting at the kitchen table in Scranton, talking his dad, when his dad lost his job, committing himself to make sure that if he ever had the power, he would use it to lift up people to make sure that they had good work, good- paying jobs, and that's essentially what he is going to talk about today. You contrast that with Donald Trump, who essentially has a three-point plan to go back to trickle-down economics, give billionaires tax cuts, cut Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, cut the Affordable Care Act.
The reason I love that ad is because that ad is so true. Those are real people in a real town getting real jobs because of the work that President Biden has done, and he is going to go to Scranton to talk about that today. Then he is going to Pittsburgh. Then he is going to Pennsylvania, and then will continue to do that from now until the campaign and then for the next four years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: All right. And also in Scranton is our Arlette Saenz. Arlette, those who follow the President pretty closely probably have heard him talking about Scranton a lot. It is a common theme. Talk to us a little bit more about what we can expect to hear.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, President Biden is really hoping to draw a sharp economic contrast with former President Donald Trump, as he campaigns here in battleground Pennsylvania. The President will be kicking off a three-day tour through the state here in his hometown of Scranton. This is a town that he has often turned to, to try to promote his working class roots.
I traveled here many times with him back in 2020, and one of the central themes back then was trying to frame this, the election, as a debate between Scranton versus Park Avenue. That is something that he is likely to lean into today with a little bit of a twist. Campaign officials heading into this trip said that the President would talk about how he has four kitchen table issues that Scranton people are concerned about, versus Trump, who has a quote "Mar-a-Lago vision" for the country.
The President is really expected to drill in on the differences in the two man's approach when it comes to tax policy. He is expected to criticize former President Trump for his pledge to wealthy donors to extend the 2017 tax cuts. Those were sweeping tax cuts that impacted many people, but really favored the wealthy much more. Biden, instead, has been running on trying to raise taxes on the wealthy, as well as corporations, and he has this pledge that he will not raise taxes on any families who are making $400,000 or less.
[11:40:00]
So, this is expected to be a speech that is really heavy on economic populism, as he is trying to draw that economic contrast with Trump. It does come at a time when he is also trying to move the needle with voters who still have pessimistic views about their own personal financial states, but also President Biden's handling of the economy. Now, battleground Pennsylvania will be critical to Biden as he is seeking a second term. It is states like this, Wisconsin, and also Michigan as part of that so-called blue wall that the President is trying to hold on to. So, he is trying to make this appeal to working class voters.
But, you also can't ignore the split screen that is occurring today. President Biden will be here in Pennsylvania at a time when Trump is in a New York City courtroom for his criminal trial. You really haven't heard President Biden use these criminal cases that Trump is facing in his arguments against his GOP opponent. But, it is expected to serve as a real split screen for voters for the President to be out of the campaign trail. That is something that his campaign team had really pointed to in the lead up to this week.
But, a bit later today, he will be here in Scranton, Pennsylvania, trying to push that economic contrast at a time when the two men are really locked in a very close state -- race, both here in the state as well as across the country.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Really interesting. And also for our international audience, just some context here, Pittsburgh is the west part of the state. It's a big state. Philadelphia is the southeast part of the state. They're very different cities. Scranton is northeast part of the state.
So, Arlette, as he makes this push across Pennsylvania, it appears that he is trying to reach perhaps different demographics, different voters from all parts of what is a pretty diverse state. Arlette Saenz live for us in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Arlette, thank you. All right. After a quick break, more next on the other major story
that we've been following closely, Israel. What will their response be to last weekend's missile attack from Iran, and what impact could it have on the region? I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. Israel is facing a balancing act today. It's considering a response to last weekend's attack from Iran, amid calls for restraint from its allies. Iran is warning of a severe response if its interests are targeted. All of these developments fueling fears of a wider war in the region.
I want to welcome now Steven Cook. He is a Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and his latest book is "The End of Ambition: America's Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East". Steven Cook, good to have you today. Thank you.
STEVEN COOK, SR. FELLOW FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Thank you.
SOLOMON: So, you have this balancing act. Right? You have Biden telling Netanyahu, take the win. Stop here. But also saying that the U.S. will not be drawn into a direct conflict with Iran. And you say in your last piece, "Given the likely political pressure with the Israeli government and the public to respond to Iran, Netanyahu may very well choose to interpret the President's words as a yellow light."
[11:45:00]
Talk to me a little bit more about that. What would a yellow light look like in this situation?
COOK: Well, this may very well be from Prime Minister Netanyahu's perspective, the yellow light. The President said he didn't support an Israeli response to Iran's attack over the weekend. But, he also didn't say, don't do it at all. It's clearly not a green light from the White House. But, it also may be interpreted by the Israelis as not necessarily a yellow light. There is clearly consensus within Israel about the necessity of responding to the Iranians. The question is, how and when. Certainly, the White House's words, the President's warnings are "Give the Israelis pause." But, it does seem to me that they're reading it as, if you do this, you're on your own. But, if you must feel you must do it, then go ahead, essentially.
SOLOMON: And what would -- if they would move forward with some sort of response to that, what would that mean for all of the countries that stand between Israel and Iran, Jordan, for example. What would that mean for them?
COOK: That's an important point, because there was a lot of triumphalism on -- over the weekend after the Israelis with partners were able to shoot down 99 percent of the missiles and drones that the Iranians launched against them. The Jordanians have been very clear that they were merely defending their airspace, and that if drones and missiles were shot in the other direction, they would do exactly the same thing. The Saudis issued a statement saying that they didn't play a role in intercepting the drones. Now, you can parse that as you will. There is a lot of things the Saudis could have done, besides intercepting drones. But, I think that the Arab states that are part of this virtual coalition that the United States leads in the Middle East want to be careful as not to be seen as defending Israel, but rather defending their airspace.
SOLOMON: And how does this change the conversation, this attack by Iran, how does this change the conversation in terms of aid to Israel? Because at least for the time being, we're not talking about the situation in Gaza. We're not talking about an imminent invasion of Rafah. We're talking about the response and the tit-for-tat right now between Iran and Israel.
COOK: That's exactly right. Gaza has been reduced to a secondary issue here because of the risks of an intensification of the regional conflict, should the Israelis and the Iranians escalate. There is an escalation risk along Israel's border. There is an escalation risk in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, all of whom are essentially unprotected, do not have the kind of layered air defense system that the Israelis enjoy. And thus, their cities would be vulnerable in the event of a major regional escalation. Then the Iranians have essentially threatened that they would go after those places.
So, it's very, very significant. And that's the reason why we haven't heard a lot about Gaza, and why the Speaker of the House has sought to bring forward security assistance for Israel. That seems to be running into some political difficulty because it's also tied to Ukraine. But, nevertheless, there is far less overt criticism of Israel because of what Iran did over last weekend.
SOLOMON: And then, how does that factor into Netanyahu and sort of his image right now? I mean, prior to this, of course, certainly there was a widening sort of relationship between the U.S. and its allies and Israel, and that conversation seems to have even changed.
COOK: Well, certainly within Israel, Netanyahu is no longer -- remains as unpopular as he has been. I think that the -- it's clear that the threat of regional escalation has made it important for the administration to set aside whatever differences they have with the Israeli government over a Rafah operation, over humanitarian assistance, in order to underline their concern about the possibility of regional escalation, should the Israelis respond. But, as I said, there seems to be some consensus within Israel about responding and they may in fact be reading the President's I do not support a response as, well, not a green light, maybe not also a red light.
SOLOMON: Yeah. It's a really interesting point. I was speaking with one of our correspondents about the Iranian response, we were just sort of talking about, there is the language and there is the text of what these leaders are saying and then there is the subtext, which sometimes you sort of get a bit more from.
Steven Cook, we're going to have to leave it here. But, so good to have your insights today. Thank you.
COOK: Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right. Coming up, a historic building in Copenhagen goes up in flames. We're going to have that and more international headlines just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. Some recent violent incidents in Australia have many people there concerned. Just days after a mass stabbing at a Sydney shopping mall, a bishop and a priest were among those attacked in what police are calling a terrorist act.
CNN's Anna Coren has the latest now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The two stabbing attacks in Sydney, just days apart, are completely unrelated. However, it's causing a great deal of anxiety and concern among many Australians. Overnight in the suburb of Wakeley in Western Sydney, a 16-year-old boy stabbed a bishop in the face with a knife at a Syrian Orthodox Church. The bishop reportedly said to the attacker, "May the Lord Jesus Christ save you." He was giving a sermon in the church, which was live streamed.
Now, people inside the church immediately raced forward to help. A priest who tried to intervene was injured. The teenager was tackled, pinned to the ground, and video shows him smiling as parishioners yell at him. Police arrested the teenager but are yet to charge him, as the investigation continues. They say this was an act of religious motivated extremism that has been labeled a terror incident. Let's now have a listen to some of those church eyewitnesses.
JAKLIN BITYOU, WITNESS: Everyone heard exactly the minute it happened, we just heard people screaming.
MARY ANOYA, WITNESS: It was shocking. It was something truly out of a movie. Like, we don't expect it to happen (inaudible) especially after what happened in Bondi. It felt like something surreal, like, it shouldn't be happening to us. It shouldn't be happening to anyone.
COREN: What happens next outside the church is equally disturbing. Hundreds of people tried to get inside the church, and when they weren't allowed, a riot broke out, as the crowd began attacking police, throwing bricks, chunks of concrete, fence palings. Several police were injured, and officers and paramedics were holed up inside the church for hours. The Riot Squad and Tactical Operations Unit were called in. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack and the ensuing violence on the police. Take a listen. ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: This is a disturbing
incident. There is no place for violence in our community. There is no place for violent extremism. We are a peace loving nation. This is a time to unite, not divide as a community and as a country.
COREN: Well, it comes just days after a horrific stabbing rampage inside Westfield Shopping Center in Bondi Junction in Sydney over the weekend. At least five women and a male security guard dead. Police say the 40-year-old attacker suffered for decades from mental illness. Six other stabbing victims remain in hospital, including a nine-month- old baby. She is in a serious condition. The 38-year-old mother was stabbed to death. The motive of the attacker remains unknown. He was shot dead by police at the scene. However, authorities believe he was targeting women.
Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. Taking a look at some of the other international headlines we're following before we go, Denmark says it has suffered a national disaster after a fire tore through the 400-year-old Danish Stock Exchange building in Copenhagen.
[11:55:00]
The fire continues to burn and has caused its iconic dragon-tail to collapse. The fire chief told CNN that nearly half of the building has been destroyed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKOB VEDSTED ANDERSEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GREATER COPENHAGEN FIRE & RESCUE: Everybody is safe and nobody is hurt in this fire. We have tried to rescue a lot of historic paintings that was inside the building and the historic furniture. So, we have been working very hard this morning to rescue out old paintings, old valuable paintings and historic furniture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice is preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation. The concert promoter is the parent company of Ticketmaster, which came under scrutiny during ticket sales for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. Chaos up. Millions of people are unable to buy tickets or made tickets too expensive.
Well, the Olympic torch relay kicked off ahead of the Summer Games in Paris. The following --or following ancient tradition, the flame was lit in Olympia, Greece. It will now be carried to France by 600 torchbearers over the next three weeks. Really cool. It's a bonus.
All right. We know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me. My thanks to my colleague Erica Hill. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:00]
