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CNN Talks To Potential Juror Dismissed From Trump's Hush Money Trial; Israeli War Cabinet Met For Fifth Time On Iran Response; Israel Weighing Response To Iran Attack. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired April 16, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

KARA MCGEE, JUROR DISMISSED FROM NY HUSH MONEY TRIAL: And I said April 15, Tax Day. And she said I think that's when the Trump trial starts. So, I was wondering if I wouldn't be on that or on some other case, at the same time, you know, in the building because I assume there's a lot more going on. And then yesterday when I got here and we were put into a jury holding room, and it's -- you'd like, there were 500-ish people waiting to get put into two separate holding rooms. I had the thought of like, this is probably Trump because I don't think they call it quite these many jurors for anything else. So --

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: So, what was everyone doing when they realized like you at that point that you were likely a part of the Trump jury trial pool of people? Are people talking amongst themselves were sort of kind of a buzz in the air?

MCGEE: You could feel that people were starting to realize it, but people weren't talking amongst themselves nearly as much as I expected. Weirdly enough, I think everyone had a sense of kind of uncertainty over what the protocols were in this situation. And so, no one really felt like they should mention it.

I'm sure there were some jurors who just didn't know that this was happening right now or didn't realize that this was what they were called for. You could definitely see people kind of looking around. Like, do other people also get the sense that this is, but not really talking about it? No.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you walked in the courtroom and you saw him, is that when you first learned that for sure this was the Trump trial? And how did it feel to see him?

MCGEE: So, in the initial jury holding room, one of the, I guess, employees of the court had mentioned something about it being an unusual day. And I kind of wondered, like, does that mean, we're definitely on this case or just because this case is also in the building? So yes, it was when we walked into the courtroom and saw him that it was -- that I was sure that it was definitely this case.

COATES: Did he make eye contact with you?

MCGEE: Yes.

COATES: What was that like?

MCGEE: Odd. It's -- you know, it's someone who you've seen as this larger-than-life public figure for a decade or so at this point, and for people who have followed his business career, I'm sure longer than that, I didn't, but -- and then you get in there. And it's fascinating because you get these two very contrasting, kind of, senses at the same time, which is, on the one hand, it's this very -- like, massive sense of gravitas and importance because you know that this is history in the making. And whatever the outcome of this is everything going forward will be affected by it.

And at the same time, you walk into the courtroom, and you see Trump sitting there -- I had never seen him in person before. You see him sitting there, and it's like, oh, it's just a guy. He's just a dude.

COATES: Why are you dismissed?

MCGEE: I was dismissed because -- so, in the jury questionnaire that you answer the questions -- too out loud. Sorry, this just going up. There's one question at the end that says, is there anything else that might affect your ability to tariff that you haven't mentioned other than all of the questions that they asked? And I said, the nature of my job would make it very difficult for me to be here from 9:00 TO 5:00 for at least six weeks, and probably longer. It's not really something that I can entirely do, you know, by myself, and the hours from 5:00 to whenever, after being -- (INAUDIBLE)

COATES: It was the reason you thought that they dismissed you.

MCGEE: I believe so.

COATES: Was it clear to you, why?

MCGEE: I believe so. It was -- it was right after that question that they -- (INAUDIBLE)

COATES: Do they tell you why they dismissed you at all?

MCGEE: No, but it -- other jurors that were dismissed due to an answer to a specific question, it was always right after that question where the judge asked the two legal teams if there were objections to dismissing the juror. So, I assume it was not prior questions, but I can't be sure of that.

COATES: Kara, thank you so much for stopping by. Really informative to understand what's going on inside of that courtroom. Thank you so much.

MCGEE: Of course, yes. I'm happy to.

COATES: I'm going to go back to you, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Laura, thank you very much. In fact, Kara for us as well. Both Karas who are up there.

Up next. As the world waits to see how Israel will respond to Iran's attack, we're learning that any action could be "limited in scope." CNN's Anderson Cooper is standing by live in Tel Aviv. He'll join us in a moment with the very latest developments. And they are significant. Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[11:39:31]

BLITZER: New this morning. Israel is telling the United States that its response to Iran's weekend attack will be "limited in scope." That according to a senior U.S. official. And we have just learned that Israel's War Cabinet has wrapped up its fifth meeting since that Iranian attack. In the meantime, Iran's president is warning of a severe response to any further action from Israel.

Our Anderson Cooper alongside Clarissa Ward are both in Tel Aviv for us right now. Anderson, the Israeli war cabinet met again today. Give us the latest. What are you learning?

[11:40:05]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. They met for more than five hours today. We don't know what if any decision that might have come out of that meeting today. As you said, this is the fifth meeting that they have had. Obviously, there's a lot of divisions within that war cabinet and a lot of competing pressures, both domestically and from allies.

I want to bring in our Clarissa Ward. There are many different options, obviously, that they are going to be looking at in terms of the response. Not all of them necessarily, militarily but certainly, the military option is one that seems likely at what they're saying.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the question is less if but when now, right? Israel has made it clear that there is going to be some kind of a military piece to its response. We don't know as you say what that will look like.

It's clearly something that they're debating and discussing. This is now the fifth meeting. How many hours every single day? There's a diversity of opinions.

Do you go for a straightforward tit-for-tat, hit Iran, some kind of a military site on the ground? Do you go for an asymmetrical attack one of Iran's numerous proxies in the region? Do you look at a cyberattack?

I think what's interesting today is that you're seeing a lot more push on the diplomatic piece of this. We've seen Israel's foreign minister issued a statement saying that he's, you know, reached out to more than 30 different foreign ministers trying to create consensus in the region, or even they had talked before. Benny Gantz had talked about building a regional coalition.

Those types of things take time, right? They're not things that you can do overnight. And there's a lot of hesitation in the region. On the one hand, an agreement that yes, Iran's threat is significant. On the other hand, horror about what they're seeing in Gaza. And so, trying to kind of find that sweet spot between sending a strong message or reestablishing a deterrent but also creating consensus in a region that is emphatically anti-Israel at the moment is not an easy thing to --

COOPER: You also have this war cabinet, which is deeply divided among the top three people on it, Netanyahu, Gallant, and Benny Gantz. I mean these are people who have run against each other, competed against each other, didn't talk to each other, and in some cases in different permutations for many years.

WARD: And they are also in turn answering to a lot of different voices as well. The U.S., Israel's strongest ally has been very critical, most recently about Gaza, about warning of an incursion into Rafah, the vibe, we got straight away after Iran's attacks were, don't escalate, urging caution. That's what you're hearing as well from international allies in the West. Be careful. Don't allow this to grow into something bigger.

At the same time when you talk to people in Israel and you listen to some of the voices from the broader cabinet, particularly that right- wing hardline coalition, Ben-Gvir, they're urging for a much tougher response, a robust response, a forceful response, one, that the finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said would make would resonate across the Middle East. So, how do you -- you know, juggle all those different political calculations and come up with some kind of a coherent sort of Goldilocks sweet spot initiative is, well, it remains to be seen.

COOPER: And then of course, there's the operation in Rafah, whether or not that is going to proceed. And if so, exactly when that's going to proceed?

WARD: And again, there had been a sense, according to one Israeli official who told our Jeremy Diamond, that it was imminent, that they were basically laying the groundwork, that it's now been delayed because the IDF is focusing on Iran. But there again, you have these competing calculations, you have the international community that has been horrified by a lot of what it seen happening in Gaza, that has been sounding the alarm bell about the importance of finding some kind of safe haven for the 1.3 million people who are currently hunkered down in Rafah. And then you also have people in Israel who are saying, hold on a second, where's the military victory? Where are the hostages? How is Hamas still, you know, surviving in some capacity inside Gaza?

So, there's no easy or clear answer or path ahead here. And it's precisely that instability. And that kind of ambiguity around this that has the entire region really on edge.

COOPER: Yes. Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: It's a very, very sensitive moment right now. Anderson and Clarissa, to both of you, thank you very, very much. You're both in Tel Aviv. Important. Appreciate it very much.

And to our viewers, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. The House speaker, Mike Johnson, now says he will not resign after yet another member of his own Republican party asked him to step down. I'll speak to Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz about that and more. Stay with us.

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[11:49:20]

BLITZER: I want to get back to one of our top stories right now. A senior U.S. official tells CNN's Alex Marquardt that Israel says its response to Iran's drone attacks will be "limited in scope." Limited in scope. Let's get some reaction right now from Capitol Hill.

Joining us now is Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz of Florida. He's a key member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman, thanks so much, once again for joining us. So, what do you think -- what do you think a limited response from Israel should mean?

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): Wolf, thanks -- Wolf, thanks for having me. Well, I think what that means is, is that Israel is doing what the world has asked and is not trying to escalate the situation. Make no mistake about it, they have every right to. I mean, you're talking Iran sending 130 ballistic missiles over to Israel. Remember, ballistic missiles could carry a nuclear payload if Iran were ever able to get a nuclear weapon.

[11:50:14]

But I think what Israel is doing working with their partners, and you saw really a historic effort, working with their Arab neighbors, the United States, France, and the UK, to repel Iran's major attack. Israel has a right to respond, they should respond, and they should do so swiftly. But obviously, we want to make sure that this does not turn into a regional issue.

BLITZER: Yes, that's an important point. House Speaker Johnson says that new foreign aid will now be broken into four separate parts. That means aid for Ukraine will now be separated, Congressman, from aid to Israel. Would you support, for example, an Israel-only bill?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, look, if at the end of the day, this is about process and not policy, I mean, I think it's a distinction without a difference. Obviously, it'd be nice and neater and faster if we could take the Senate Bill, which has been languishing for months now, and Senate -- and get that on the floor, pass it, and send it to President Biden, who will sign it so that we can help our allies in need, both Ukraine and Israel. You know, one from Putin and Russia, the other from Iran, who by the way, are linked at the hip.

But if they -- if they want to split it up and do separate votes, but the policy is the same, it's basically the Senate Bill, just you know, separated by two or three votes. You know, I'm happy to do that if that's what it takes to get it out of this body. BLITZER: Another very sensitive subject that is emerging right now. I know you just told our Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju that you will vote to save the House speaker, Mike Johnson if he faces removal. Why the difference between how you and your Democratic colleagues handled Kevin McCarthy?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, first of all, like -- you know, it's like Groundhog Day here, Wolf. I feel like we're at the scene where like, it's Bill Murray and the groundhog in the truck driving over the cliff. I mean, we've seen this show before.

What's the difference? The difference is the world has changed, right? The Kevin vote happened before October 7, right? The Kevin vote happened before Ukraine really needed our help against Putin. So, the world has completely changed. That's number one.

Number two is that I don't know speaker Johnson well. Our politics and policy beliefs are completely different. But there is no way I'm going to let Marjorie Taylor Greene who wants to secede from the Union take over the House.

There's no way I'm going to let Thomas Massie who has never voted to help any of our allies -- he would let the Ayatollah go right into Israel. He'd let Putin take all of Europe. There is no way I'm going to side with these people and stand by while they let the world burn.

I mean, Marjorie Taylor Greene would invite Putin to give a joint session of Congress speech. I mean, Thomas Massie literally, if the Capitol was on fire, he'd get more gasoline. So, these are not just chaos people. These are people who want to break the world order and side with our enemies.

And so, look, Democrats have -- will have a choice. Obviously, I defer to Hakeem Jeffries and our leader. He knows what the best course of action is. And so, we'll all wait as they -- as they work that out. But Democrats will have a choice. Let them light this on fire and watch it burn or to get a bucket of water and throw it. And that's what I plan on doing.

BLITZER: So, right now, what's your assessment, Congressman? Will the House speaker, Johnson, survive this effort by these Republicans, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie Republicans to try to oust him?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, remember, the vote that will come is they'll make some motion to vacate, perhaps, OK? And then there'll be a motion to table. So, we'll never get to the motion to vacate. It'll be tabling the motion. So, that means we don't ever talk about it. We don't ever discuss it. It goes away.

I think that would likely pass so long as Speaker Johnson continues to deliver on what he said, which is basically to bring the Senate bill on policy divided up into votes. I just don't see Democrats -- we -- look, we've been in chaos here and the 118th Congress. Republicans have played politics with our allies, which has emboldened our enemies. The idea that Democrats are going to let them do that, I just can't see that happening, Wolf.

BLITZER: And very quickly, a final question before I let you go, Congressman. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is now drawing a contrast with how the United States and other NATO allies have responded to Iran's attacks on Israel over the weekend versus the support his country, Ukraine, is receiving hinting at a double standard that's underway. How do you respond to that?

MOSKOWITZ: He's not wrong. I mean, you heard it from Chairman Turner, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, come out and say he hears Russian propaganda from his own Republican colleagues, right? And don't get me wrong. That's what Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie are trying to do here, right? They're trying to do Putin's bidding.

[11:55:00]

Not necessarily directly, but indirectly. That's how this would help. I mean, if Speaker Johnson goes, we will not help Ukraine, we will not help Israel, OK, and the House will be forever broken on trying to make sure that we can still keep world order. China will be more powerful. Russia will be more powerful. And every country in the world will start looking to China and Russia as more reliable allies than the United States.

And so, look, this is a pivotal moment. I was happy to hear that the speaker says he's not resigning. Good. He should have resolved, and he should fight these chaos agents within his party.

And we should come together as Americans and do what we've always done, which is, be the leader in the world. This is that moment, Wolf. We got to stand up.

BLITZER: Yes. Very strong words. Congressman Jared Moskowitz of Florida, thank you very much.

And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining me here in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. I'll, of course, be back later tonight at 6:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Right back here tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS" with Dana Bash starts after a short break.

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