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Trump's First Criminal Trial's Opening Statements Starts Tomorrow; House Passes $95 Billion Aid Package; Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) is Interviewed About the Aid Bill Being Passed by Congress. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired April 21, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[16:59:50]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: You're in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Alex Marquardt in Washington. Thank you so much for joining us on this Sunday. We are just hours away from an unprecedented moment in American history, the first ever criminal trial of a former president.

Tomorrow, opening statements in Donald Trump's New York hush money case are set to begin after an appeals court judge denied Trump's latest motion to delay the proceedings. And now the jury is ready to decide Trump's fate. There are 12 jurors and six alternates. They were sworn in following a dramatic day of jury selection.

Let's get straight to CNN's Marshall Cohen who joins me here on set. So, Marshall, this is a big day for the country, a big day in history. A lot of it, this will all be happening behind closed doors with no cameras in the courtroom. But what can we expect?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN Reporter: We won't see anything. We won't hear anything. We'll be totally reliant on our colleagues in the room. They can provide real time updates in writing and sketches, of course. Look, it's been a long time coming. Here we are. Donald Trump faces 34 felony counts. These are state charges.

He can't pardon himself if he is ultimately convicted. And the theory of the case is falsification of business records. It's all about that hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, how they use the ledger of the Trump organization to funnel that money to Michael Cohen after the fact. And the prosecutors say that it was essentially a cover up cooking the books.

MARQUARDT: So, a lot of the names, a lot of the people who are involved in this trial are quite familiar to anybody who's been following Trump's travails for the past few years. Who are the major players? And do we know anything about the witnesses and how they'll be called?

COHEN: The major players, Alex, is a throwback to 2016. Yes, we are in 2024 now looking forward to the next election. But this is all about two elections ago. Michael Cohen, the longtime fixer for Donald Trump, who is now one of Trump's biggest enemies. He's a lead witness for the prosecution.

MARQUARDT: No love lost there. Start.

COHEN: Yeah. They hate each other at this point. And Stormy Daniels, of course, also expected to take the stand. She's the one who alleges the affair, which Donald Trump denies. There's also Hope Hicks. She was a campaign official in 2016. Part of that behind-the-scenes scramble. Remember the "Access Hollywood" tape?

MARQUARDT: Right. Right.

COHEN: When that came out, the campaign was terrified that more stuff would come out. That's what triggered the payment to Stormy Daniels.

MARQUARDT: That was right before the election.

COHEN: Right before, I think it was the last week of October.

MARQUARDT: It was that close, yeah.

COHEN: Just a few days before. There's also a man named David Pecker. He ran National Enquirer. The prosecutors alleged in their indictment that he and Donald Trump met in 2015 and agreed that Pecker would catch and kill any negative stories like Stormy Daniels, like another woman who alleged an affair. Karen McDougal purchased the rights to the story, bury it, make sure that the voters would never see it.

MARQUARDT: I think one of the most incredible things about this is that Donald Trump has to be in court. You know, he is standing as a former president is not getting him out of that. So, what do we expect in terms of the timeline and how much Trump is going to have to be in court?

MARQUARDT: So, four days a week. I think they have breaks on Wednesdays. So, Donald Trump is required to be there. Like you said, this is how it goes for anybody who is standing trial on a criminal charge. In this respect, Trump is just like any other citizen. That means he won't be on the campaign trail and they are expecting this to last perhaps six weeks. That gets us through April, through May, into June.

MARQUARDT: And he has been complaining about the fact that while President Biden gets to be out of the campaign trail, he will not be there. He will be stuck in that courtroom. Marshall Cohen, we know you will be following every twist and turn in this trial. Thank you so much for joining us. Of course. See you in just a little bit.

Let's talk more about this unprecedented moment with CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen and Michael Moore, a former U.S. attorney. Thank you both for joining us on the eve of this incredible moment. Norm, I want to start with you. You've been up against Donald Trump before. You advised the House Democrats on how to go after Trump in that first impeachment trial. You've even written a book about how to prosecute Trump. What is your sense of this moment and how massive it is for the country?

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's both something that we've never had before as a nation, a criminal prosecution of a former president and the most ordinary of events, thousands -- tens of thousands of criminal defendants going through the motions. I'll be in court every day, including for CNN Opinion. And I was there last week, Alex, and what I saw was this juxtaposition between the extraordinary and historic event of Donald Trump in the dock.

As you know, I've litigated against him before. We looked at these identical allegations in the first impeachment, but also the ordinariness, jurors being called, jurors being questioned, the usual rules, evidentiary motions.

[17:04:56]

And that juxtaposition is one of the things that will define this trial as we go forward, together with a battle.

Every trial is a battle of two ideas. This one, the prosecution says criminal election interference in 2016. They're trying to describe it as a very important democracy matter. Donald Trump will say, ah, it's just some wrong bookkeeping entries and a personal peccadillo. Embarrassing, not a crime.

MARQUARDT: And the jury has now been set, 12 jurors plus the six alternates, Michael. You were a U.S. attorney for several years. Given your experience, what are you going to be listening for during those opening arguments tomorrow?

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: Yeah, well, I'm glad to be with both of you. You know, this opening statement is really a time to connect with the jury. And what you don't want to do as a lawyer is over promise or oversell your case, because at the end of the day, that gives the other side the chance to say, well, Mr. Smith told you he could prove this, but he's not done that.

So, I really think they'll be trying to bait the trap a little bit to keep the jurors interested. I think they'll try to give a roadmap for what their evidence will be. And they may talk some about some expected defenses that they may hear or are expected to hear, at least from witnesses for the defense, if in fact they put on witnesses.

So, it's not going to be -- it's not evidence. Juries are told this is not evidence, but they do listen to it to try to have some relationship, I think, with the lawyers. And it's a good tool for a lawyer to try to develop that relationship early on so that as things happen in the trial, that jury looks to that lawyer because they trust him or her moving forward.

MARQUARDT: And in terms of the witnesses, Norm, just heard Marshall there laying out some of the bigger names who could be called. But the prosecutors so far have refused to reveal this witness list with the defense. They have cited Trump's previous tweets about witnesses as their pretext there.

Judge Merchan is saying that he won't force them to hand it over. Do you think the judge made the right move there when it comes to the witnesses? EISEN: I think the judge has been very cautious. I think the

prosecutors will get the name of the first witness tonight. This will be a test.

MARQUARDT: Tonight.

EISEN: This will be a test. Very likely. This will be a test, Alex, of, you know, will there be an immediate pivot to attacking whoever that witness would be? There has been public reporting that it will be David Pecker, the publisher of the National Enquirer. That's who I would call when I was preparing last week.

That's the first witness I would call. Because coming out of those opening statements where you say what you will prove, you've got to grab that jury by the lapels. The way they are going to prove this case is to say there was an agreement to make these payments to influence the election.

How do we know that? Because starting in Trump Tower in 2015, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump and David Pecker at the National Enquirer agreed to a catch and kill scheme. And when the Stormy -- to influence the election, to avoid bad stories. And when the Stormy Daniels thing came along in October 2016, it was just another step in that the unfolding of that agreement. So that is, if true, a good place to start with Pecker because he gives you another witness and a dramatic opening scene for your trial.

MARQUARDT: And starts to set it up with that full arc, that full narrative. Michael, in terms of the jury and the pressure that they may be feeling, we've already heard some concerns from some of them about being exposed. We can certainly imagine there could be some security concerns. Do you think that the judge will end up making the decision to sequester the jury?

MOORE: He could. I mean, I think it would just depend on how far things go astray as they move forward. I mean, no juror likes to be in this situation. I mean, you think about their everyday folks. This is not big, except for the lawyers, maybe on the jury that we have two on this jury.

You know, this is not how they make their living. This is what they do every day. Lawyers forget that we may be comfortable in a courtroom that jurors are not. And certainly, when they're under this type of pressure in this type of case. I mean, you'd have to do much to realize the import of the case that they were going to be hearing, especially when they're talking about weeks of trial going forward.

So, if somebody starts putting out, you know, addresses, if they start revealing identities, if there are things that they can point to in social media, those are the kind of things that I think the judge may, in fact, say, look, you know, just to keep the trial clean, we're going to sequester the jury.

He has seemed to be averse to doing that. And I think that's smart, frankly, in this kind of case thus far. But if things get too out of hand, he certainly has that option. [17:09:59]

MARQUARDT: Norm, the former president has said that he would consider testifying himself. If you were the former president's attorneys, what would you be telling him?

EISEN: I would tell him if you do that, I'm quitting. I would throw my body in front of the speeding train because it's a terrible idea.

MARQUARDT: Why?

EISEN: Donald Trump cannot open his mouth without risking a lie. "The Washington Post" found over 31,000 lies during dependency of his presidency. He's standing there coming out of court every day saying the most outrageous, inaccurate and false things just a few feet away from where we reporters and analysts are sitting and watching.

So, I think it's extremely perilous that Donald Trump makes his own case worse, compromises himself in front of the jury. That's in the liability phase. That's in terms of held guilty or not. But then there's a sentencing that will come after that if he is held guilty. And the one thing judges hate more than anything else is when a defendant gets on the stand and lies to them and their juries.

So, it considerably worsens his peril at sentencing, which I think is already significant. I have a piece in "The New York Times" today saying he could face a risk of getting a jail sentence here. If he testifies, he makes that a lot more likely.

MARQUARDT: A lot easier for the prosecution. Norm Eisen, Michael Moore, thank you both for previewing what is going to be an extraordinary few weeks ahead. And a note, as Norm mentioned, he's going to be in the courtroom every single day. And he's been providing a legal expert's take on those developments for CNN Opinion. That starts tomorrow with the opening statement so look for that on CNN.com. Thank you both for joining me this evening.

We will have special coverage of those opening statements in former President Trump's criminal hush money trial. That starts at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. You can watch right here on CNN or stream it on Max.

Still ahead, President Joe Biden is urging the Senate to pass a critical foreign aid bill and to do so quickly as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is warning that his troops need weapons and they need them now. We are live in Kyiv with more on how this aid is expected to help in their fight against Russia. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

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MARQUARDT: President Joe Biden is now urging the Senate to move quickly and pass the massive $96 billion foreign aid package that finally cleared the House of Representatives yesterday after months of delays. Senators will have to come back from recess this week to vote on the package before the president can sign it. Once it has Biden's signature, it will green light $61 billion for Ukraine, much of it in desperately needed military aid alongside billions more in aid to Israel and allies in Asia, particularly Taiwan.

For what this means to Ukraine, let's turn to CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen, who is in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Fred, Ukrainian officials that we have both been speaking with for months now have been very worried that this aid might have never have come.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, they certainly have been. And right now, they're saying that this aid really can't come fast enough, Alex, because of the situation on the battlefield, but also because the Ukrainians say they're running so low on a lot of the ammunitions that they need.

And quite frankly, the U.S. can provide very quickly. First and foremost is, of course, artillery ammunition. The Ukrainians are saying that one of the reasons they're having so many problems holding the Russians up, especially in the south and the east of the countries, because they simply can't fire at them from a fairly long distance using those Western artillery guns because they simply don't have enough shells to do so.

The other big thing that we've been hearing, especially from the president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and again, he said it today, they need quickly is air defense missiles as well. Of course, we know that the Russians have really escalated their attacks on the front lines using their air force, but then also missile and rocket attacks at Ukrainian cities and Ukrainian energy infrastructure. And the Ukrainians are saying they badly need to replenish the arsenal of air defense missiles.

And finally, one of the things that also Volodymyr Zelensky talked at length about today was those longer-range attack missiles that the Ukrainians say they desperately need. And, of course, for instance, Senator Mark Warner saying he hopes that they could be coming to Ukraine fairly quickly as part of this package.

Now, here in Kyiv today, I was able to speak to Wladimir Klitschko, who, of course, is the former world heavyweight boxing champion, but also still very much involved in the defense of this country. Here's what he said on why this aid is so important. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO, BROTHER OF KYIV'S MAYOR: There's a great potential to change the front line so we can in Ukraine defend us better. It sends also a very important signal to Putin's Russia that you're not going to win this war, this senseless war that has been started over two and a half years ago, almost two and a half years ago. It sends a message of motivation for us Ukrainians that we are not alone. It did send also for Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. in these critical moments to stand together and make this decision together to protect democracy in this world. (END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:19:59]

PLEITGEN: So that's Wladimir Klitschko there, Alex. And if to underline all of that today, more bad news for the Ukrainians on the front lines. The Russians saying that they took a village near the key town of Chasov Yar. Of course, both you and I have been to Chasov Yar in the past, and just a couple of months ago, that town was well away from the front line. Well, now that's exactly where the fighting is, and that's exactly one of those places that the Russians want to take, Alex.

MARQUARDT: Yeah, right, near that city of Bakhmut that Ukraine fought so long to defend. Fred Pleitgen back in Kyiv. Thank you so much for that reporting.

Joining us now is Democratic Congressman John Garamendi of California. He's a senior member of the House Senate Armed Services Committee. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us. How are you now feeling after voting on these foreign aid packages yesterday? You voted in favor of funding for Ukraine in the Indo-Pacific, but against the Israel funding.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Well, I am very, very pleased about the Ukraine funding. This is a long, long time coming. The president six months ago asked that that money be made available for Ukraine, and the dithering that went on with Speaker Johnson and the Republicans was almost tragic for the success of the Ukraine.

Now, going forward, as you just heard, it's not only the munitions, but it is the psychological support that comes from this particular funding source. Now, the package had four different elements. Three of those four elements, Ukraine, Taiwan, the Pacific, as well as dealing with Russian assets and TikTok, I voted for those.

I did not vote for the assistance for Israel because of the way in which Israel has been conducting the war in Gaza. I fully support Israel; I think they have a right to defend themselves. But we've had 34,000 people killed -- Palestinians killed in Gaza, half of which are children. And there's no indication that Netanyahu will change his tactics.

So going forward, I am very, very happy that the Senate will take up this bill on Tuesday and hopefully the president will sign it immediately thereafter. I know in the conversations I've had with the military that the munitions are near the Ukraine border right now.

MARQUARDT: Congressman, as you know, Speaker Johnson had previously opposed Ukrainian funding, and my colleagues are reporting that the speaker got a briefing from the director of the CIA, Bill Burns. And, quote, "Johnson became increasingly convinced that the fate of Western democracy was on his shoulders."

Now, you're on the Armed Services Committee. I know you can't get into classified details, but what is so startling about that intelligence that Johnson would have seen about what Russia and others may do that Johnson became so convinced he had to bring these packages to a vote?

GARAMENDI: Well, the good news is it took a highly classified intelligence briefing for him to actually understand what's going on in the world. The information that he received may have been some detail, but the general issue of what Putin intends to do has been known for two and a half years.

Putin made it very clear when he began his invasion two and a half years ago that he intended to subjugate Ukraine, prevent it from becoming a Western-oriented country and certainly never become part of NATO. And he also said that it is his goal to reestablish the power of the Soviet Union. In other words, the Warsaw Pact.

Well, thank you, Speaker Johnson, that finally you understood what is happening. And yes, indeed, it is a very critical issue. Ukraine falls and Russia is at the doorstep of Eastern European NATO countries and they will put extraordinary -- Russia will put extraordinary pressure on those countries and do everything they can to break up the European Union and the NATO alliance. So, good. Well, we did just after six and a half months, we got it done.

MARQUARDT: Well, one of the things that might be --

GARAMENDI: -- go ahead.

MARQUARDT: Sorry, congressman. One of the things that might be going to Ukraine now are these attack on these longer-range missiles that are made by the U.S. Senator Mark Warner said that he expects those to be heading to Ukraine and soon. The Ukrainians have been asking for them, begging them for a very long time. What practical impact do you think that that weaponry may have on the front lines?

GARAMENDI: Well, certainly any weapon, any munition is going to be extremely important now, because basically Ukraine doesn't have the munitions. It's a five to one advantage on artillery that Russia currently has. So, the attack comes, they're longer range, they are precision guided missiles.

[17:24:59]

And they will be able to disrupt the supply lines that Russia presently is using to send its troops and munitions into what is their Western front. So, yes, they're going to be an important piece of it. But just as important are the air defense systems. And those too will be forthcoming.

MARQUARDT: Yeah. Yeah, there's a lot of weaponry that Ukraine needs and that they will be very, very happy to get as a result of this new aid package. Congressman John Garamendi of California, thank you very much for joining us.

GARAMENDI: Thank you.

MARQUARDT: Still ahead, Jewish communities get ready to celebrate Passover. Why the FBI is concerned about violent threats against the Jewish community. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:29:59]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Passover begins on Monday evening at sundown. And as the Jewish holiday gets closer, the FBI is saying that it's on high alert for threats against the Jewish community. According to the ADL, the Anti-Defamation League, there were 8,800 reported antisemitic incidents last year in the U.S., including harassment, assault, and vandalism. That is the highest since it started tracking data 45 years ago.

National correspondent Camila Bernal joins us now from Beverly Hills. Camila, you've been speaking with rabbis about this horrifying trend. What do they say is happening?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alex, they say they're seeing more and more of these incidents and they say, you know, they're worried, they're concerned, and they're sad not just about their safety but also the fact that this is a holiday where they know that there are hostages still in Israel.

And so, everyone I talk to has told me that it is going to be a very difficult holiday, but despite that, they're willing and trying to open their doors to continue these traditions and to have a joyful Passover.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH HRONSKY, RABBI OF TEMPLE BETH HILLEL: (INAUDIBLE).

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE).

HRONSKY: Yeah, roll it down.

BERNAL (voice-over): These are the Passover preparations at the Hronsky's.

HRONSKY: We got your blue waves.

BERNAL (voice-over): As a mother and a rabbi.

HRONSKY: Some people call them labor (ph) people. We call them Israelites.

BERNAL (voice-over): Sarah Hronsky knows this year, the holiday will be different.

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE).

BERNAL (voice-over): Not only are many leaving empty seats at the table.

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE) cup. These are for the hostages.

HRONSKY: We have (INAUDIBLE) somewhere. BERNAL (voice-over): But those celebrating are also being told to be on alert.

HRONSKY: Threats are every day. They're all the time and they're very, very real.

BERNAL (voice-over): According to the FBI, anti-Jewish hate crime cases tripled in the wake of the October 7th attack, and they are currently on alert for threats ahead of Passover.

NOAH FARKAS, RABBI, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF JEWISH FEDERATION LOS ANGELES: We put out an alert to congregations, to schools, to organizations, agencies, anywhere where Jews gather for us to be a little bit more vigilant this year.

BERNAL (voice-over): Rabbi Noah Farkas is the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation Los Angeles. While he's also preparing for the seder, the organization he leads is recommending people know who they invite into their homes, keep outdoor lights on, and report any incident or crime.

FARKAS: One of the saddest things about being a Jew in America today is that we have to pay for private security to express our First Amendment right.

BERNAL (voice-over): For large gatherings, cameras and extra security have become the norm.

EITAN BAZAZ, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, DAVID SHIELD SECURITY: In recent years and especially since October 7, the demand for our services increased at least like 300 to 400%.

BERNAL (voice-over): The increase, says Eitan Bazaz with David Shield Security, is in part because of protests, campus threats, and Middle East tensions, causing angst in the U.S.

UNKNOWN: Happy to help you.

BERNAL (voice-over): In 2023, almost 9,000 antisemitic incidents have been tracked in the U.S., the highest number of incidents reported since the Anti-Defamation League began tracking them in the 1970s.

HRONSKY: It has increased phenomenally in a way that we can't even count anymore the hundreds of percentage points that it has increased.

BERNAL: What have you seen?

HRONSKY: I'll give you an example. Today, a woman drove by my synagogue filming and shouting antisemitic slurs.

BERNAL (voice-over): But despite the threats, the worry, the sadness --

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE).

BERNAL (voice-over): -- there will also be joy. HRONSKY: Grounding and having a seder and being celebration of your roots and your core and your heritage, this is a sign that we, too, will get through to the other side.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL (on camera): And the FBI director said that his remarks about safety were not intended to stir alarm, but he did note that it is a time to remain vigilant. And everybody that I spoke to told me, look, it's the little things, it's keeping that porch light on, it's making sure that you're familiar with the people that are coming into your house. They told me, yes, open the doors to your home for people to come and enjoy this, but just make sure that you are familiar with the people coming, and hopefully, you know, you won't have any incidents this holiday. That's what they're hoping for, Alex.

MARQUARDT: All right, Camila Bernal in Beverly Hills, thank you very much for that report. And with those tensions running high during this war in Gaza, Jewish communities across the country are working to increase security and awareness, especially at those large gatherings.

Let's bring in Juliette Kayyem, CNN's senior national security analyst and a former assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. Juliette, thank you so much for being with us on this really, really important topic.

The FBI director, Chris Wray, he says that hate crime investigations against Jews have tripled since the October 7th Hamas attack and the war that has followed. What is your sense of this threat level against the Jewish communities, particularly as we approach Passover?

[17:35:00]

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, there is no doubt that it is higher, exceptionally higher, that the antisemitism has grown in leaps and bounds. Just this is -- and what I mean by antisemitism, it is hatred towards Jewish people, targeted attacks towards the Jewish community for being Jewish. So, we can put the politics of this to the side that there is real antisemitism out there that is not just -- that is about physical harm and physical threats to the Jewish community.

The numbers you hear can range extensively. So, I want to go by the FBI numbers because various groups sometimes lumped in a lot of other behavior. But the FBI numbers show us that and how we -- the United States government defines antisemitic hate crimes three times greater, as you said. And it's just -- it's -- it's shocking, it is horrible, and we have to focus on that because it is physical harm to the Jewish community simply for being Jewish. And they're -- you know -- and this is the -- you know, the -- this is Passover.

MARQUARDT: And Juliette, there has been this flashpoint in the past few days at Columbia University in New York.

KAYYEM: Yeah. MARQUARDT: An Orthodox rabbi who is associated with the university, he sent a message to Jewish students, Orthodox Jewish students, telling them that the campus is not safe and that they should go home immediately until it is. But then we heard from the Hillel Center of Barnard and Columbia University saying that students should stay.

KAYYEM: Yeah.

MARQUARDT: What's your take?

KAYYEM: Of course. Of course. I mean, I was -- I have strong feelings about this. I think that the conservative Orthodox rabbi got ahead of the intelligence, got ahead of what the university is clearly trying to do. There's no -- they're basically trying to stop all of these.

So -- so we have to have productive safety and security measures that don't go terrifying everyone. It was -- I'm going to be honest with you, it is outrageous. I was thrilled that Hillel, the largest Jewish organization for Columbia and Barnard, came out and said, no. I mean, that this is -- you have a group of students and within that group, a percentage is discussing it is hostile, has hatred. No one is defending that. The university needs all of you.

I want to step to take a step back here because we're entering graduation season. All universities need proper engagement with student organizations about what is considered safe and unsafe protests. They need to get stronger on access controls to these colleges and universities and set the rules of appropriate conduct where there are legitimate disagreements about a very difficult issue in the Middle East.

And that -- that's not rock science. We can do this now. But the idea that -- that -- that we're just going to throw up our hands and say all Jewish kids leave Columbia, it was -- it's not fair. I mean, honestly, I was really pleased that Hillel sort of quashed it.

MARQUARDT: Juliette Kayyem, of course, we are wishing all of our Jewish friends --

KAYYEM: Yes.

MARQUARDT: -- a very happy and safe Passover in the coming days. Hopefully, everything goes off without any kind of incident. We appreciate your --

KAYYEM: Yes.

MARQUARDT: -- expertise and your thoughts on this subject.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

MARQUARDT: Thank you for joining us today. Still ahead, Vice President Kamala Harris is taking on more of an active role in the campaign after a rocky start in the White House. How she's emerging as the Biden campaign's lead prosecutor on top issues here in the "CNN Newsroom." Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:00]

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MARQUARDT: Vice President Kamala Harris is carving out her role for the 2024 presidential campaign as the lead prosecutor for Joe Biden. She's taking on issues the Democrats believe will play front and center with voters when they head to the polls in November.

We're joined now by CNN senior reporter Isaac Dovere to discuss Harris's rough start earlier on at the White House, but now kind of hitting her stride on the campaign trail. You've been out there on the campaign trail. You have new reporting. What have you -- what have you been hearing and seeing?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, look, I was in Arizona and California and Nevada with her in the last couple of days, and what you see out of Harris is a much looser, more directed, more energized in the way of going about things. She is very clearly relishing, going like the old prosecutor taking on Donald Trump, making the case directly against him.

For example, it was her idea to start talking about how Trump was directly responsible for the Arizona abortion ban being upheld, that that's the law there, her putting the blame directly on him, calling that and other Trump abortion bans.

You see this very different mode out of her. And when I asked her about it, we were sitting down in Las Vegas on Monday, she said, indeed, that being out on the campaign trail, she finds it very liberating. That's how she feels about it, that it's getting out there and talking to people, but just being out in the mix in a way that is really different from what her first couple of years on the job have been.

MARQUARDT: You mentioned abortion. Among the other big issues that she has been tackling are guns and Gaza. To what extent are you finding her connecting not just with Democratic voters but those who might be a bit more on the fence?

DOVERE: Well, look, the Biden campaign has this strange paradox (ph).

[17:45:00]

There are definitely voters who still don't like Kamala Harris and don't like the prospect of her potentially ascending to the presidency should Joe Biden win a second term and something happened to him.

But then there are swaths of voters that clearly are connecting more to her on guns, as you mentioned, on abortion. They like her a little bit more on Gaza than the president. Nobody is very happy about what's going on in Israel and Gaza at the moment.

But on student loan relief, on all of those things, that she is the messenger that people seem to want to hear from more in key groups, younger people, Black voters, Latino voters. One of the points that was made to me is that for Latino voters, gun control, especially post-Uvalde, it has been a very important issue and is registering in a real way, and that is something the Biden campaign is hoping that she will continue to be speaking out on.

MARQUARDT: And when you wrote about her taking on this prosecutorial role, you said that she has found the chance to go on attack against Trump -- quote -- "very liberating." Do you think that's because she came from that -- that line of work? She was the California attorney general.

DOVERE: She was a district attorney. She was attorney general. That's how she thinks. I've spent a lot of time with her over the years when she ran for president herself in 2019. She talked about being a prosecutor for president. And you see some of that coming back. She says now, you know, I like facts, I was a prosecutor, I want to -- let's talk about the facts, let's talk about the logic of how these things happen here. That's what she said to me in the interview.

But the other thing here that is going on is that she feels like there is this goal now that she has and it makes it easier to think about things. Remember, the vice presidency has been a tough fit for her in some ways because it is this amorphous role. What is the vice president? The job doesn't really require anything other than waking up every morning and making sure that the president is still able to do his job. Well, she has done that.

But fitting in the other ways, it has been a little bit tougher. This is, go to these people, get them on board, get them to connect, make sure that you're building up toward November, and in her mind, hopefully, that that leads to her and Joe Biden being reelected to a second term.

MARQUARDT: It really has been a fascinating evolution. Thank you so much for that reporting.

DOVERE: Thank you.

MARQUARDT: I appreciate it. And still ahead, music and the environment meet in a new CNN original film. We hear from nominated DJ and environmental toxicologist Jayda G about blue carbon, nature's secret weapon in the fight against the climate crisis. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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MARQUARDT: Tonight, in the new CNN film, "Blue Carbon: Nature's Hidden Power," viewers follow Grammy-nominated DJ and environmental toxicologist Jayda G on her journey to discover a new ally in the fight against climate change. CNN's chief climate correspondent Bill Weir spoke with her ahead of the release. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jayda Guy is not your average scientist, though it started that way.

JAYDA GUY, DJ, ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGIST: I got my undergrad in biology and ecology and my masters in environmental toxicology.

WEIR: And what did you think you wanted to do with your life?

GUY: Oh, gosh. I want to be a professor, like I want to go the full academic route.

WEIR: And then the clubs got you? What happened?

GUY: Yeah, I took a hard right turn and changed my life.

WEIR (voice-over): Music was the other love of her life. And when she began making it as DJ Jayda G, a whole new career took off.

She worked with megastars and booked gigs and festivals, all while finishing her masters on the effects of toxins on killer whales. The two loves merge in her film "Blue Carbon," an immersive journey through the watery landscapes that serve as massive allies in fighting the climate crisis.

GUY: So blue carbon is basically these ecosystems that are amazing at pulling carbon out of the atmosphere and putting it deep into the ground.

You're saying this is blue carbon.

UNKNOWN: This is blue carbon. So, yeah, it's not blue. It's brown. But -- but it is blue carbon.

GUY: They're like 10 times better at it than the Amazon rainforest, for example. Those ecosystems are mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes. We were taking field recordings throughout the whole film, then I took all those field recordings and made a song out of it, essentially, and you get to hear that song at the end of the film.

(Voice-over): I want to make a new anthem for nature by recording the sounds of coastal habitats that we don't value enough.

WEIR: Do you play these in festivals?

GUY: Yeah, yeah.

WEIR: How do you connect your music audience with what you care about as a biologist, as an ecologist?

GUY: Incorporating those sounds automatically gives me something to talk about because people really care and they're interested.

WEIR: There's you, Jayda G, the DJ persona, but then there's Jayda the biologist, and that's a paradox at times -- GUY: Yeah.

WEIR: -- given the footprint, the energy use at festivals and all of that.

GUY: It definitely is a paradox, like I'm a touring DJ, I have to fly to my gigs, and so I have a big carbon footprint. And then there's this other part of me that's the environmentalist and has studied in nature for so many years. How I reconcile that is by using my platform to talk about climate change and the environment.

And also, I want to lead as an example that we all have that paradox within ourselves. We all live on this planet. We all have things that we do, whether we're conscious of it or not, that hurt the environment just by existing in this society. And we're always kind of at odds, and that's okay. We can still be at paradox and still want to help and save the environment.

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WEIR: Right. And maybe instead of getting defensive, say maybe there's a better way to fill this want or need --

GUY: Exactly.

WEIR: -- in a way that's better for all life.

GUY: Exactly. When we bring down the defensiveness, it really opens everything up to have more discussions and, you know, solutions.

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MARQUARDT: And be sure to tune in tonight at 9 p.m. CNN Films presents "Blue Carbon: Nature's Hidden Power." We'll be right back.

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