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CNN International: U.S. Official: Israel Carried Out Military Strike Inside Iran; Blinken Speaks After U.S. Official Says Israel Struck Iran; Qatar Jury Seated, Search For Alternate Jurors Continues. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired April 19, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN BERMAN, HOST, "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Thank you very much.
JENNIFER RODGERS, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, & CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thanks, John.
BERMAN: All right. Meanwhile, new information about the Israeli strike on Iran. A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts now.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and this is the CNN Newsroom.
Straight ahead, Israel carried out a military strike inside Iran last night in retaliation for an Iranian drone and missile attack last weekend. We'll have the very latest and in-depth analysis. Donald Trump's hush money trial now has a jury, with opening statements on track to start as soon as Monday. And U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is putting policy over politics, a move that could cost him his job.
All right. We're following breaking news this hour. The U.S. is confirming that Israel has carried out a military strike inside Iran. An Iranian official says its air defenses intercepted three drones near an army base in the central province of Isfahan. The UN nuclear watchdog says no nuclear sites were damaged. Iranian media showed calm scenes in the city of Isfahan, as well as Tabriz in the northwest. Israel is not commenting. But, it has been vowing to retaliate after Tehran launched a barrage of drones and missiles against Israel over the weekend. Last hour, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would only say the U.S. was not involved in any offensive operations. Speaking at a news conference from the G7 summit in Capri, Italy, Blinken said the G7 is focused on de-escalation of the conflict.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: All I can say is that, for our part and for the entire G7, our focus has been on the escalation, on avoiding a larger conflict. And actually, that's been true since day one after the horrific events of October 7. A big part of our approach has been to prevent the conflict from spreading, to avoid escalation everywhere, and that's a common policy across the G7, and it's very much our approach now. So, we've been engaged in efforts to avoid escalation. Those efforts will continue.
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WHITFIELD: Countries around the world are calling for calm, and so far, Iran appears to be playing down the incident.
Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is live for us from London, and also Paula Hancocks is in Beirut.
Paula, let's begin with you, there in Lebanon. So, tell us what Iran is saying about the strike? Has there been any comment from Israel?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point, we are still waiting for a comment from the Israeli military. They have declined to comment up until now. In fact, it was a U.S official who told CNN that that Israel was behind this strike. And really, what we've been hearing from the Iranian side at this point, much of it through state- run media, is a downplaying of the incidents. Now, we heard from the Iran's Commander in Chief of the Army, saying that any explosions that were heard were shooting down of the drones and flying objects in the area of Isfahan.
So, at this point, it does appear as though Iranian officials are pointing out that there was very little damage, that there was very little impact, and certainly, showing street scenes on state-run media of a very calm situation. They are trying to give a visual proof, if you like. But, it's business as usual in this area. Now, it's a very different situation than what we've been hearing over the past few days. In fact, just hours before this strike happened, the Iranian Foreign Minister spoke to CNN and said that if there was going to be an Israeli response to last weekend, and if Israel was going to strike once again on Iranian assets, then the reaction would be, quote "immediate and at a maximum level", saying that it would be a decisive response in return.
Now, of course, the question now is, will there be that response? When you look at what we're seeing from Iran at this point, it looks increasingly unlikely even though you have that bellicose rhetoric in the days before this strike. And of course, you have to bear in mind, some of that is also for domestic consumption. Some of it is posturing. But, the fact that this was not a wide scale, a large scale, widespread strike by Israel, potentially gives Iran the opportunity to feel it doesn't have to respond. And there have been calls from around the world for Israel and for Iran to not respond, to not be reactive to each other. The deactivation of this -- the tensions in the conflict in the region have really been the main focus for many world leaders, including the foreign ministers in Italy at the moment.
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We heard from the Secretary of States, as you said that, and he was really trying to distance the United States from what happened in the early hours of this morning, really just saying that the conflict needed to de-escalate, not being drawn by many repeated questions on what he felt and what he thought about Israel's strike. Fred. WHITFIELD: All right. Paula, thanks so much.
Nick, to you, now the next question is, what's next? Before the attack, Iran's Foreign Minister had told CNN that any further Israeli action would result in an immediate Iranian response at a maximum level. So, now what?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTL. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, this is a part of what often where you have to strip away the rhetoric and actually look at the capabilities and longer-term intentions of the people talking now. Iran does not really, it's fair to say, have the military might I think right now to launch into a full, long-scale direct confrontation with Israel, despite what we were hearing from them in the hours leading up. They do always have to sound like they are ready. Yet, at the same time, it appears Israel has calibrated this. We have no open claim of responsibility. We still don't really have full transparency on what damage has indeed been done.
Israel clearly calibrating, it seems whatever happened here, to be something. It seems Iran could kind of deny. It seems some sort of damage has occurred. We aren't clear exactly. What we aren't clear if it is drones, three drones, like Iranian officials have suggested, or perhaps a missile like has been suggested by U.S. officials. So, lack of clarity there certainly, and that fits into the hands of the Iranian autocracy country where you can easily control the information being passed around. In this case, they can quite happily suggest that very little happened, and there is nothing to focus attention on, or indeed retaliate so much for.
That suits Israel. They can say they have struck back after the unprecedented taboo-breaking of the direct attack from Iranian territory into Israeli territory that we saw at the weekend. They responded in kind. But, they don't risk a conflagration here. You've got to bear in mind, while Israel is still dealing with Rafah, with Gaza, yet to launch its long telegraph Rafah operation that the U.S. has so keenly suggested. It needs to massively take into account the risk of civilians there. It's unlikely that even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to open another Northern Front against the Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, who would likely form the majority or the most potent part of any Iranian response. They are frankly the closest and biggest thing Iran has to Israel.
Israel probably doesn't want that right now. Iran, frankly, its military power, the apogee of that is behind it. It's not as strong as it used to be, economic issues, internal dissent, probably not entirely suppressed at this stage either. And above all of that too is the United States, the biggest military backer of Israel, utterly clear from day one, they don't want to see a regional war here. That desire gets more and more acute the more they get into an electoral season, where the last thing Joe Biden wants to have to talk about is how he has managed to get the U.S. caught in another Middle Eastern war.
And so, I think we're seeing a chapter here where what do you have to take into account, the capacity of everyone involved here to miscalculate. They have to get themselves to this point, frankly, already, to miscalculate more. There does appear to have been some calculation enough so that Iran's response to this moment seems to be what the Israelis hoped for, which is to essentially take this indeterminate hidden slap of some degree and try and move on. They've all got bigger issues to face domestically. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Paton Walsh and Paula Hancocks, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.
All right. Let's talk further now, joining me from London, Jasmine El- Gamal. She is a Political Analyst and a former Middle East Advisor at the U.S. Defense Department. Great to see you, Jasmine. So, what do you believe the interpretation is from State Department, White House about Israel's response, especially after the White House has been calling for restraint along with most of the international community?
JASMINE EL-GAMAL, POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me, Fredricka. The U.S. is probably not thrilled with the fact that Israel decided to retaliate despite President Biden's urging of Prime Minister Netanyahu to just take the win, as he said. But, as I said before, this can't come as a surprise to anyone really, including the U.S. If we look at Prime Minister Netanyahu's calculations after the Iranian strike, there are a couple of things that he was likely examining and a couple of things that he had to keep in mind. One, he had to do something to placate his domestic audience, the more extremist elements of his cabinet and the international community as well, basically saying we can't allow this Iranian unprecedented strike on Israel to go unanswered.
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So, that's the first thing he had to think about.
But, of course, the second thing and equally important is that President Biden had made it really clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that he would not have American support for an all-out war. That was absolutely off the table. The other thing, of course, is that Israel's Arab -- or the U.S.'s Arab partners and countries that Israel has peace treaties with, like Jordan, were not happy at having to get involved between Iran and Israel during the Iranian strikes on Israel. So, Prime Minister Netanyahu had to keep that in mind as well. He doesn't want to further damage the already tenuous relationships that he has with Arab countries in the region.
So, all of these things have to be taken into consideration. And so, when we look at what actually happened, what we know so far is this Israeli strike on Iran, that did not come out of Israeli territory, very important, that Iran has appear to kind of poopoo to say this wasn't really anything. But, at the same time, the Israeli Prime Minister can say, we did something. It seems to be a response that everyone could be OK with as long as the Iranians don't decide to retaliate.
WHITFIELD: And then, speaking of relationships, the Israeli opposition leader is criticizing far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben- Gvir for appearing to ridicule the strike in Iran as perhaps not going far enough. So, this kind of public airing of grievance, is it representative of how divided the Israeli government is right now?
EL-GAMAL: Right. Of course, the Israeli government is split, because you have these more extremist elements like Ben-Gvir who were always agitating for more military action and for more confrontation. But, Ben-Gvir is not really a serious voice. I mean, everybody knows that he is an extremist. I mean, by Israel's own standards, he was on trial for supporting terrorism and he is just not really seen as a voice that Netanyahu needs to listen to credibly. If you look at more respected voices from the Israeli establishment, including former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, they've all been saying, this is enough. We need to de-escalate. Israel cannot go to war. We have already a massively deteriorating situation in Gaza that we need to deal with. We have this Rafah operation that the U.S. is against. We don't know if we're going to go through with that.
The international community, before the Iranian strikes on Israel, was talking about conditioning of military assistance to Israel or suspending assistance. Israel has not really been in a great place because of its actions in Gaza. And so, the last thing that it needed was to aggravate the international community even further, including its closest ally, the United States. So, I think it's fairly easy for Prime Minister Netanyahu to brush aside Ben-Gvir's comments right now and say, listen, I retaliated. I made it clear to the Iranians that we know where their nuclear sites are. We can strike them if we want to, but I have chosen not to escalate things further. And that way, he looks a bit more responsible, frankly, than he has been looking over the last several weeks and indeed months.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jasmine El-Gamal, great to see you. Thanks so much.
EL-GAMAL: Thank you so much.
WHITFIELD: All right. Last hour, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke from the G7 ministerial meeting in Italy.
Let's go now to Kylie Atwood, who is in Washington. So, what all did the Secretary say?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, the Secretary did not directly acknowledge or confirm that Israel carried out those strikes against Iran overnight. Of course, we had been told from U.S. officials that it was Israel that carried out those strikes. But, the Secretary of State would only say that the U.S. was not involved in any offensive operations, and really focused all of his commentary on the fact that the U.S. wants to de-escalate the situation here. Listen to what he told reporters.
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BLINKEN: The United States has not been involved in any offensive operations. What we're focused on, what the G7 is focused on, and again, it's reflected in our statement and in our conversation, is our work to de-escalate tensions.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ATWOOD: Now, in seeking to not escalate the situation, he is sort of embodying that commitment by not commenting on what happened overnight, by not putting more fuel on this fire. There has been tensions between Israel and Iran. However, it is important to note that he was very clear in saying that the G7 condemned the Iranian strikes that happened against Israel over the weekend, saying that the G7 was committed to defending Israel's security and making sure that Iran was held to account for those strikes that occurred.
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He also spoke briefly about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, and called on Hamas to come to a ceasefire agreement, essentially said that they are standing in the way of that agreement at this time. But, we'll watch to see what more comes out of this building at the State Department and out of the White House today, as we watch to see how more U.S. officials respond to those strikes overnight that appear at this point a measured response by Israel.
WHITFIELD: All right. Kylie Atwood at the State Department, thanks so much.
All right. Still to come, the U.S. House Speaker's job is on the line. Will shepherding through four separate foreign aid bills get him back in his party's good graces? We'll take a look. Plus, we'll have a live report from India where the voting is underway in the biggest general election of human history.
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WHITFIELD: The judge in Donald Trump's hush money trial spoke four fateful words on Thursday, "we have a jury." 12 New Yorkers, some of whom admitted to having various positive or negative feelings about Donald Trump, had been selected to decide his guilt or innocence. In less than two hours, the judge and lawyers on both sides will begin looking for additional alternate jurors. If all goes as planned, opening arguments in the case could happen Monday.
Let's bring in CNN's Brynn Gingras, at the courthouse. Brynn, some of these jurors have said some very interesting things about Donald Trump. Haven't they?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. There has really been a cross-section, Fred, of people who were selected on this jury. There are seven men and five women, different professions. There is an investment banker, a speech therapist, teacher, lawyer. And like you said, there have been some things that were said in court that their defense team actually tried to strike some but they ran out of those strikes about Donald Trump, that -- not necessarily favorable to him. For example, one person said that they didn't like his persona, that he seemed self-serving and selfish when it came to being a public servant. Another person said they didn't agree with his politics. But, all said that they can be impartial and fair. Of course, that is what is needed for a jury.
And as you said, today, the task at hand is finding these alternates. A judge has stated that possibly they would have six. That number could change. So, they would need to look for five more. There is 22 people that have already gone through the original process of being selected -- of the original jury selection process. And now, we're going to be going to that next step of answering those 42 questions, as they seek out to find these alternate jurors. So, it's going to be an interesting day in court. And it's possible, like you said, we could be having opening statements on Monday.
One thing to note here, Fred, with -- at the end of court yesterday, the defense team asked the prosecution if they could get the list of people in the order of who they're going to call first to the witness stand, and the prosecution essentially said, no, because we don't trust that Donald Trump is not going to post something about these people on social media, and the judge agreed with that.
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So, quite an interesting thing that happened at the end of a court, and could sort of signal as to what kind of contentious type of trial we might be having in the next couple of weeks.
WHITFIELD: Indeed, all of that. All right. CNN's Brynn Gingras outside the courthouse in Manhattan, thank you so much.
And in the coming hours, U.S. House lawmakers will get their first chance to vote on a package of foreign aid bills that has deepened a rift within the Republican Party. Just before midnight, Washington time, the Rules Committee advanced the bills with support from Democrats, and now the full House will vote on the rules. Speaker Mike Johnson, whose political future rides on all of this, says the House will likely vote on the bills themselves on Saturday.
Lauren Fox is joining us live now from Washington. Lauren, what exactly is in these bills? How do they differ from the aid package already approved by the U.S. Senate?
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Today, what we are going to see in the House of Representatives is they are going to take their first procedural steps to try and pass this package of foreign aid bills. This has become so contentious, though, that last night, in the House Rules Committee, three Republicans actually voted against advancing this. Typically in the Rules Committee, it's just a procedural vote. Even if you don't agree with the underlying legislation, it's typically the responsibility of the majority to get this process moving, to get the debate started on the floor.
Those three Republicans voted against doing even that. That meant that Democrats took this very unusual step of helping this legislation get out of the Rules Committee. The reasoning for that, they argue, is that this set of bills is so essential that they have been waiting so long for it that they don't want to take any risks. They can wait no longer. They cannot wait for the Republican Party to unify. Today, we expect to see a very similar scene on the floor when they vote on this rules package. We expect that it's going to take more Democrats and perhaps Republicans to get this across the finish line. Tomorrow, we will see the final vote. But, this rules vote today, very important, and a symbolic sign of just how little control Mike Johnson has over his Republican colleagues. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Right. And so, I mean, House Speaker Johnson has said he is trying to do what's right, and that's his key motivation. But, of course, this does make things rather tenuous for him and his job. I mean, how worried is he, overall, about whether this will risk everything for him?
FOX: Well, I think publicly what he is saying is that he has to take the steps he needs to govern, that if he were afraid of what was going to happen to his speaker's gavel, he would be unable to do anything when it came to legislating. On the other hand, I think that the threat against him is extremely real in this moment, and what potentially could unfold over the next days or weeks. I mean, Marjorie Taylor Greene has not said when or if she is certainly or definitely even going to force the vote to vacate the Speaker. But, if she does, it is likely going to fall on Democrats to decide whether or not they want to save him. And there are a handful of Democrats who have already made clear that they don't want any more chaos in their chamber.
And if Mike Johnson continues to be on this path of passing the Ukraine aid, making sure the government was funded just a month ago, that puts them in a position perhaps where Democrats might feel like they want to help Mike Johnson. Now, it may not be every Democrat. A lot of progressives I've talked to have said, we are never going to do that. But, there are some who are running in swing districts who might view this vote as both the right thing to do and perhaps a electorally convenient thing to do. And so, I think that that is going to be worth watching. I think the other question there is, if Mike Johnson is saved by Democrats, how effective can he be as a Republican Speaker, as a fundraiser in an election year for the Republican Party? Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All powerful questions. All right. Lauren Fox, thanks so much.
Still to come, much more, the jury being seated in Donald Trump's hush money case, I'll speak to a former federal prosecutor about how he thinks each side did during jury selection, when we come right back. Plus, thousands of healthcare workers in Kenya are protesting over their working conditions. We will show you the devastating consequences on the country's health system.
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WHITFIELD: All right. More now on our top story. The U.S. is confirming that Israel was behind the military strike inside Iran. Israel is not commenting. An Iranian official says its air defenses intercepted three drones near an army base in the central province of Isfahan. The UN nuclear watchdog says no nuclear sites were damaged. Iran seems to be downplaying the incident with media showing calm scenes in the city of Tabriz and Isfahan. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would only say the U.S. was not involved in any offensive operations. He spoke at a news conference from the G7 summit in Capri, Italy, a short time ago. All right. Again, he reiterates that the U.S. was not involved in any offensive operations.
All right. Let's bring in CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who joins us now live from Tel Aviv. So, Jeremy, what more are we learning about the strike?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there appear to have been at least two targets of this Israeli strike overnight, the city of Isfahan where there is a military base, reports of explosions in the area of that military base, but no reports that the nuclear facility, which is also in that city, was hit in any way. The Iranian state media and Iranian officials are not acknowledging that anything was actually hit. But, an Iranian general is saying that there were -- the explosions were the result of air defense systems shooting at what he called a suspicious object. Separately, one Iranian official is confirming that three drones were intercepted by air defense systems in the area of Isfahan.
Meanwhile, Syrian state media is also reporting that the -- that Israel struck air defense systems in Syria. So, confirmations at least that there were hits to a Syrian -- an installation in Syria, where we know that the Iranian military also maintains a presence. But, there is no question that, overall, there is clearly an attempt by the Iranians to downplay the significance of this to not even fully acknowledge that Israel carried out some kind of attack inside of Iran. And for now, regional intelligence sources telling us that this tit-for-tat between Iran and Israel is effectively over, that Iran does not appear to be inclined to respond at the moment.
WHITFIELD: OK. So, Iran does seem to be downplaying the incident. At what point will Israeli officials want to confirm or expand at all on what their part and their role was?
DIAMOND: It has been absolute silence from the Israeli government, from the Israeli military, no acknowledgement whatsoever that this attack was carried out overnight. And I don't expect that to change.
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It appears that a big part of the messaging here was to keep this quiet, to not do any kind of public acknowledgement that could risk potentially embarrassing Iran, pushing Iran into the next layer of this tit-for-tat. Fred, over the course of the last six days, we've been talking about the ways in which Israel might potentially be able to thread the needle here, to send a message, to carry out a response that would show that this Iranian attack over the weekend in Israel would not go unanswered, without risking sending these two countries into a full-blown war.
And this appears to be where the Israeli war cabinet landed on a limited strike inside of Iran, one that would not be publicly acknowledged and one that would ultimately allow this kind of diplomatic coalition that we have seen reemerge this week to try and further isolate Iran to hold Iran accountable for that attack over the weekend, to allow that coalition to blossom and to go even further. And so, for now, that appears to be the intention, and it also appears to be the effect, as we heard the Secretary of State Tony Blinken today, talking at the G7 about that effort to further isolate Iran, to hold Iran accountable, rather than being forced to talk about some kind of Israeli strike inside of Iran. Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.
All right. The world's wealthiest nations want both Israel and its enemies to do whatever they can to prevent the conflict there from escalating. That's according to a joint communique from the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy. The G7 calls the Iranian strike "an unacceptable step towards destabilizing the region". Italy's Foreign Minister, which hosted the meeting, says the G7 asked Iran to cease relations with Hamas and stop funding Hezbollah.
Our Barbie Latza Nadeau is following the story from Rome. Barbie, can the G7 do anything about the Middle East conflict, but urge restraint?
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: No, not really. I mean, they don't really have the power as a group to make any policy. But, individual nations do have -- they can apply pressure. And I think at the G7, foreign ministers very much took credit for what is perceived to be restraint on the part of Israel and their retaliatory reaction. They talked a lot about sanctions as well. And we've seen that the United States has levied sanctions against Iran, the European Union that works as a whole. So, countries like Italy, France, and Germany can't act independently. The Italian Foreign Minister had this to say. Let's listen, about sanctions.
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ANTONIO TAJANI, IRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The United States were informed the last minute, but there was no involvement on the part of the United States. It was simply information which was provided.
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NADEAU: I guess that was different than what I was referring to. But, this is Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaking after the end of the meetings this morning, the final roundtable before all of the foreign ministers left the tourist island of Capri, off the coast of Naples. Now, of course, all of this is just paving the way towards the G7 -- of the G7 meeting in Apulia in southern Italy. Of the leaders, we will see President Biden coming here to Italy as well. And that happens in the middle of June, and there is a lot that can happen between now and then. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Barbie Latza Nadeau, thank you so much.
All right. This breaking news into CNN. Police in Paris tell CNN a man carrying a grenade or an explosive vest was seen entering the Iranian consulate in the French capital. Melissa Bell is on the phone with us now from Paris. Melissa, what are you learning?
VOICE OF MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, big police operation underway in the 16th Avenue d'Iena, Paris. That's where the Iranian consulate is. What we understand from Paris officials is that a man was seen entering the consulate about three and a half hours ago with what they believe may have been a grenade or an explosive vest. They're not saying much more for the time being about what else might be going on, apart from that they sent their specialist elite BRI unit to try and take the control -- the situation under control.
So, what we understand is that this is an ongoing situation for the time being, and that the Iranian consulate is at the heart of an operation to try and bring this under control. So, a man carrying a grenade or an explosive vest for now. That's what we know. A good part of Paris is completely blocked off, as the police try and get that situation control, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: OK. When we see the barricades and the police presence, which is very significant, which really does convey that it's more than a suspicion or a singular eyewitness account of a man described as having a grenade or an explosive vest. I mean, is -- this seems very elevated. Does it not?
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VOICE OF BELL: That's right. And it sounds as though they're pretty confident that there is an individual inside who is armed one way or another, whether it's by explosive vest or by grenade, and they have yet to apprehend. That is for now what the situation appears to be. And of course, this will have meant an enormous mobilization of security forces. Paris right now, Fredricka, is under this extra layer of control, because already there has been this -- ever since the terrorist attacks the last few years we've had here in Paris and elsewhere in France, what they call the Operation Sentinelle, these are military personnel who go about the streets of France to try and keep things under control. About 3,000 of them are in the streets of France any given time. That was doubled after the Moscow attack.
So, there is the sense of the highest alert possible here on the streets of Paris. And very quickly, you would have seen security forces enter that part of Paris. These are the Western neighborhoods and sort of Shiite parts of Paris, where this consulate is, and they would have been very quick in arriving there, both the military personnel and of course this elite police unit that I mentioned, the BRI, to try and bring the situation under control. Our understanding, given that mobilization, the pictures that we're seeing, Fredricka, is that this man has yet to be apprehended, and the situation around that consulate remains --
WHITFIELD: Very tense. All right. Melissa Bell, keep us posted. Thank you so much, from Paris.
All right. Still to come, what's at stake for India, as voting begins in the world's biggest election? We'll have a live report from the largest and one of the most influential states
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WHITFIELD: All right. Donald Trump has now left Trump Tower in New York, headed to the courthouse in Lower Manhattan, as he travels for his criminal trial. The judge is hoping to wrap up jury selection today by seating seven more alternate jurors, and just in case some of the regular jury cannot make it through the entire trial. All 12 have been selected for the jury and now they need six alternates. The case is on track for opening arguments to begin Monday. And an interesting wrinkle, the prosecution is refusing to release the order in which they will call witnesses. They say they're worried that Trump might post things to social media to intimidate witnesses if he knows which ones are coming up and in what order.
So, for some analysis of all this, let's bring in Shan Wu. He is a Defense Attorney and a former Federal Prosecutor. Shan, great to see you. Let's start with that selection of the jury. We know that it is crucial to any case in which how they're selected, the makeup of the jury. Do you think there is a real win in this round of the legal battle that both sides have agreed to add these 12 jurors, many of whom are professional New Yorkers?
SHAN WU, DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I think it's a win for the prosecution and a sign of the judge's mastery of the courtroom that they move through it at a pretty fast pace.
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I didn't expect it to drag on for weeks. These lawyers, the prosecutors and defense are very familiar with the state trial system, and those systems are actually more efficient than the federal ones because they deal with a lot more volume at this. But, I think it's a win for the prosecution, because obviously, the longer the jury selection took, the more opportunity there is for mischief on Trump's team and further delays. So, the fact that they've gotten to this point, I think, is a victory for the prosecution in moving to trial forward. I do think the judge is running a little bit afoul of some issues.
WHITFIELD: What do you mean?
WU: Well, I think he is sort of criticizing the press for that one juror wanting to get out of the jury, which she did get out of because some details have been reported about, her details which his own orders allowed to happen. I think he saw some frustration there and he was running a little bit into some First Amendment issues with telling the press yesterday that they should use common sense. They shouldn't report on what they're seeing. I'm not sure what else they're going to report on.
So, I think there is still a little bit of frustration there. The big problem, I think, Fred, is that the only way to really protect the integrity and the jurors going forward, and the same concern the prosecution has expressed about the witnesses, there really has to be a much stronger, clearer kind of gag order imposed on Trump's activities. There is going to be hearing about it next week. But, I think they really have to control them that way.
WHITFIELD: And on that, that there will be a hearing next week on that. Prosecutors are challenging that Donald Trump has violated the gag order, and the judge will say, OK, let's hear the arguments later next week. Do you think that is in part a mistake to delay it to next week, or is it because the priority is getting these alternate jurors in place, and it would simply be an interruption?
WU: Yeah. Tough call for the judge. I think you're exactly right. He clearly was prioritizing getting the trial going, worried about sideshow or delay if he tried to deal with the gag order. To some extent, it gives Trump more room to hang himself by doing more and more violations. But, I do think that even in the jury selection, even in the prosecution's view about witnesses, you're seeing the effect of him not being restrained for such a long time, and that's going to continue to happen throughout the trial. And my view is he needs a more of a Will Smith-style gag order, which is just keep my trial out of your mouth, minus the violence. But, I think it needs to be much stronger and clearer.
WHITFIELD: I got you. OK. So, let's look at the case. I mean, this is going to be a pretty complicated case, even though on the surface, it seems pretty, matter of fact, and simple because it's been on -- reported on for so long that the whole Stormy Daniels affair. But, let's talk about how -- what jurors have to do. I mean, they're going to have to really listen to, we through a lot of forensic evidence about accounting, questions about the law, how it should be applied. But, because we understand this to be a fairly well-educated jury. Perhaps that was the intent behind why the attorneys decided this is the kind of makeup of the jury that we want.
How much pressure is on the jury to quickly -- to be quick studies of the law, of forensic evidence, of accounting, and all of this kind of minutiae that ordinarily people might not be well versed on?
WU: There is a lot of pressure on them, and that's really the heart of our system of relying just on regular citizens, not experts in these areas to decide these cases. So, that's the usual challenge that's faced. Generally, I'd say prosecutors prefer a very savvy, well- educated jury pool rather than theoretically folks who are more reacting to emotional issues. Sometimes that can change with the type of case you have.
But, I think what the prosecution will need to do here is jurors will want to understand the basic facts of the story, and when they're talking about documents, finances, that needs to be presented in a very straightforward way. Here is the payment. Here is what they called it. Here is why it wasn't what they called it, and then use the actual human beings to really give life to that. The jurors are naturally going to like zone out a little bit on the heavy forensic issues. Those are really there to help them support their hopefully good impressions of the actual witnesses. That's what the prosecutors need to do.
WHITFIELD: All right. Former Federal Prosecutor Shan Wu, great to see you. Thanks so much.
WU: Good to see you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Overseas, voting has begun in India for the first phase of the country's general election, with nearly one billion people eligible to vote. This is the biggest election in human history. Polling will take place in seven phases over the next six weeks.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his powerful right-wing BJP are seeking a third consecutive term in office. Challenging Modi after 10 years as Prime Minister is India's main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, and its newly formed alliance of parties.
CNN's Will Ripley is on the ground there in Muzaffarnagar, I hope I said that right, India. Correct me if I'm wrong on that one. So, it is the largest and one of the most influential states. So, give us a sense of people there and their excitement or trepidation of this voting process.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi Fred. I choose to just go with the more simple Uttar Pradesh, which is the name of the state that we're in, India's most populous state. They have more than 200 million people living in this state alone, Fred. That's almost two thirds of the population of the entire United States. And when you look at the massive size of the electorate here in India, just think about this for a second, 968 million people. That's almost three times the population of the U.S., or you can add up the United States, the European Union and Russia combined, and you still wouldn't reach the number of eligible voters here in India, a massive country with a population of 1.4 billion people, a lot of them voting and many of them voting today.
Phase one here in India of a seven-phase electoral process wraps up in about 15 minutes or so. That's when the last poll is closed. And we were at a polling site here in India's most populous state earlier today, and we consistently saw long lines throughout the day. It's really extraordinary when you think about how India actually orchestrates this incredibly complex ordeal of getting these electronic voting machines within two kilometers of every single eligible voter here in India. Sometimes, it means literally climbing mountains, climbing up the Himalayas, traversing through remote, bumpy roads, abandoned forests, remote deserts, even crossing rivers on foot. That's how they get these voting machines within two kilometers of every single person who decides to cast their ballot in this election.
And the last election back in 2019 had a record high turnout here in India of 67 percent. Some are estimating that this election could be even bigger. It's certainly going -- expected to be even more expensive than the last election in India, which was almost $9 billion, the cost of the vote here in India, even surpassing the hugely expensive presidential elections in the United States. So, big money being spent by candidates on the campaign trail, and a lot of expectations as to who is going to come out on top.
But, I can't talk about that on the air, Fred, for another 13 minutes because of reporting restrictions that are in place here in India that prevent us from talking while the voting is taking place about who is ahead in the polls. That, by the way, is just one sign of the crackdown on press freedoms that has been continuing under this current Modi administration, which has already been in power for 10 years with two terms. India's ranking on the World Press Freedom Index has dropped consistently from 141st place when he started back in 2014 to now 160th place out of 180 countries today, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Oh my Gosh. That's extraordinary. I mean, equally extraordinary, seeing those images of people climbing hillsides and slippery mountain sides. I mean, that just underscores the importance of the vote and what people are willing to do to make sure they do that.
Will Ripley, thank you so much.
All right. Many people in Kenya are struggling to get healthcare right now as a doctor strike continues for a fifth week. The doctors are protesting over harsh working conditions and demanding better pay. It's causing severe disruption across the country's healthcare system, with many patients left unattended and in desperate need of medical assistance.
CNN's Larry Madowo has this report from Nairobi.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands of doctors in Kenya have been on strike for over a month now, leaving many people struggling to find healthcare. Public healthcare doctors are asking the government to honor a collective bargaining agreement set back in 2017. But, talks are at a standstill. The Kenyan Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union is demanding better wages, better work conditions, and health insurance for its members.
MADOWO: The government says it cannot afford what you're asking for, that we have to live within our means. What's your response to that?
DR. DAUJI BHIMJI ATELLAH, SECRETARY GENERAL, KENYA MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS, PHARMACISTS & DENTISTS UNION: It's not about affordability. It's about priority. You can see that healthcare is essential when you don't budget for it, as we see it. That's why doctors are out to show that they need to be actually factored and they need to be budgeted for. That is for payment of salaries for those who are (inaudible) who need to be posted as per the agreement, not to be reduced, and also to pay for the doctors who actually work here because we have doctors who work under salaries delayed for up to six months.
MADOWO: Public health facilities across Kenya have been paralyzed by the doctors' strike.
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But, there is no shortage of private hospitals, if you can afford it. But, for those who don't have the money, it's a matter of life and death. JANE AKOT, MOTHER OF CANCER PATIENT (Interpreted): We were meant to
see the doctor today because she cannot swallow any food. The doctor was supposed to perform a procedure on her so that she can be able to eat. But, we got sent back and asked to come tomorrow at midday because there were no doctors available today. We should try again tomorrow to see if we shall find any.
MADOWO (voice-over): Hundreds of doctors and medical students have taken part in demonstrations in the Kenyan capital to show support for the strike. Last month, The Kenyan Health Ministry assigned interns to various healthcare facilities nationwide to address the growing need for healthcare, and urge doctors to end their strike and resume work.
MADOWO: For how long can you keep this strike going?
ATELLAH: It is doctors who are tired, who feel like there is nothing they're losing by being in the hospitals when the only thing we can do is to supervise deaths of patients. Therefore, we can go as long as it takes. Most of the instances, doctors from the hospitals, they don't have the emergency drugs. So, you end up losing a patient that otherwise will have saved.
MADOWO (voice-over): Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
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WHITFIELD: Still to come, Taylor Swift has released a new mega album. We'll tell you why the mega pop star has once again made history
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WHITFIELD: All right. Millions of fans all over the world are celebrating the release of Taylor Swift's new mega album.
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The "Tortured Poets Department" is the 11th studio album for the pop megastar, who is still on her world tour. But, shortly after the release of the 16-song album, Swift announced that there was another one coming, the additional "TTPD: The Anthology".
CNN's CNN Elizabeth Wagmeister has more on. Taylor Swift making history once again from Los Angeles.
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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Now, Taylor Swift's album is out in the world, but just hours before, she released the "Tortured Poets Department", her 11 studio album. We're right here at the grove in Los Angeles where behind me you can see this Spotify pop-up, which is an open air library of sorts, a library filled with what clues into Taylor Swift's new album. Her fans, who of course are known as the Swifties, were here lining up for hours, just trying to grasp on to any clue, any Easter egg that might give them some indication of what was to come in Taylor's new album. Now, we spoke to fans, some of them came out from Connecticut, from
Vermont. We have students who skipped class, and they were telling us all about their plans for their listening party. They said they are making Taylor Swift-themed cocktails. They have their friends coming over to listen to the entire album before they go to sleep. And this is just another point of proof of the cultural phenomenon that is Taylor Swift.
Just when you think she is the biggest star in the world because she is, she ups the ante and does it again. Now, Taylor, of course, is still in the midst of her Eras Tour. So, now fans are wondering, will she incorporate the new music from this album into the tour? While she most certainly will, and it remains to be seen, will she change the set list? Will she do it as a surprise song?
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We don't know. But, one thing is for certain, the fans will be buying those tickets. They will be going on tour. This is Taylor's world, and we are just living in it. Back to you.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Elizabeth. That's right. We're all in world.
All right. Checking in once more on our top stories, Donald Trump's motorcade has arrived at the courthouse in Lower Manhattan. 12 jurors have been seated in his hush money trial, and the court is trying to get a few more alternates seated today. Opening statements in the case just might be Monday.
And an update on a story that we've been following this hour out of Paris. Police say the suspect has exited the Iranian diplomatic building and he is being checked by the police. Earlier, police cordoned off the area after a man was spotted entering the consulate, supposedly carrying a grenade or explosive vest.
Thank you so much for being with me in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Connect the World with Eleni Giokos and Erica Hill is up next.
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