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CNN International: Opening Statements to Begin in Trump's First Criminal Trial; Ukraine Welcomes U.S. Aid Package; Police to be Present During Passover at Columbia; Destruction in Nuseirat Refugee Camp After Israeli Operation; IDF Intelligence Chief Resigns Over October 7 Attacks. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 22, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are expected to begin Monday morning in New York City. The prosecutors will be telling the jury their side of the story for the very first time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The protests could very easily escalate. In general, the campus feels extremely hostile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not a welcoming environment. I think it's a very difficult time for a lot of Jewish students.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sends a message of motivation for us Ukrainians that we are not alone. It sends also a very important signal to Putin's Russia that you're not going to win this war.

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ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Max Foster. It is Monday, April the 22nd, 9 a.m. here in London and 4 a.m. in New York, where in just a few hours, Donald Trump's historic hush money trial is set to get underway.

That's when opening statements will be heard. Now that a jury has been sworn in, after those statements, lawyers for the prosecution and defense will each present their cases in that order as well. A reminder of the charges that Trump faces.

34 counts of falsifying business records. That's a Class E felony in New York. Each count is punishable by up to four years in prison.

Trump denies any wrongdoing and is pleaded not guilty. CNN's Marshall Cohen gives us a closer look at the several of the potential witnesses who could be called to the stand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Well, it's finally here. Opening statements are expected to begin Monday morning in New York City in former President Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial. This is, of course, the very first time in American history that a former president is standing trial for alleged crimes.

This is all about a cover-up in 2016. Donald Trump paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star, to prevent her from going public with allegations of an affair. He denies the affair. The alleged crime, the prosecutor's theory of this case, is all about the falsification of business records at the Trump Organization.

How Trump Org paid back Michael Cohen, Trump's attorney at the time, paid him back for that hush money payment. According to the prosecutors, the Trump Organization and Donald Trump at the head falsified business records, falsely suggesting that those were routine legal retainers and legal services, when really it was a hush money payment intended to prevent the voters from learning about Stormy Daniels' allegations. It's a novel legal theory that will be tested and under the microscope for perhaps the next six weeks.

That's how long we're expecting things to go. Opening statements are Monday and eventually we will get into witness testimony and there is a big cast of characters that are expected to swear, to tell the truth in front of the jury. Michael Cohen himself, in many ways, is the star witness of this case.

His credibility will be crucial. There's also Stormy Daniels. She is expected to tell her side of the story.

There's also Hope Hicks, a Trump 2016 campaign official. Karen McDougal, who is another woman who alleged an affair with Donald Trump. And then there's also David Pecker.

He was involved with the National Enquirer, the tabloid that is central to this alleged scheme. According to the indictment, Pecker and Cohen and Trump met shortly after Trump announced his campaign in 2015 and they all agreed, according to the prosecutors, that they would, quote-unquote, catch and kill negative stories about Trump. Basically paying people off, buying their silence, agreeing to purchase the rights to their story and burying it so that the voters would never learn of those allegations.

And the voters did not actually learn about the alleged Stormy Daniels affair until after the election, after Trump had made his way to the White House. That's what we're expecting from opening statements. The prosecutors will be telling the jury their side of the story for the very first time.

And of course, Trump's defense attorneys have their own opportunity as well. It all starts New York City Monday morning.

Marshall Cohen, CNN, Washington.

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[04:05:02]

FOSTER: Let's get a deeper look at the people deciding this case. As Marshall mentioned, you've got 12 jurors, 7 men and 5 women, as well as 6 alternates. From what we know, there's a fairly wide variety of educational and professional backgrounds.

There are two lawyers, an investment banker who follows Trump on Truth Social, a speech therapist and a physical therapist, amongst others, and a woman who says Trump seems, quote, very selfish. Joseph Tully is a criminal defense attorney joining us now from San Francisco. Thank you so much for joining us.

What did you make of the jury selection and will it hold?

JOSEPH TULLY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I do think that the trial will quickly descend into a lot of chaos. Circus is a term that I think will apply. Jury selection is very random.

It can be a science. It can be an art. The best jury, people who select juries are artists.

So I think the fact that we can definitely point to the fact that there are professionals on there. There are two attorneys, as you mentioned, and there are, you know, professional money managers who have experience with accountants and may be amenable and open to Trump's defense of a technical defense.

FOSTER: It's going to be interesting today, isn't it? Because we do get the opening statements, if I'm right, from both sides.

TULLY: Definitely. And while the opening statements are a roadmap, with a case like this, where both sides have so much at stake and it's such a high visibility trial, you can bet that these openings are very, very well thought out and very planned out. And we'll get to see and hear from both sides.

There's no sense in holding back at opening in this case. I think both sides are going to throw as much of their case out there to the public as possible. Everybody's heard the expression, the first impression is the most important. And that's what an opening statement is for a case.

FOSTER: Very clear charges laid against him. Perhaps it's easier for the prosecution to lay out their opening argument and harder for the defense, who's going to have to go through a series of complex arguments, presumably, to try to undermine all of those charges that are there.

TULLY: I think certainly the government has a sort of connect the dots approach or paint by numbers. The law is there. Their argument, their case tends to be more stale, more dry, more legally based.

The defense has a bigger canvas to play with, so to speak, more colors, bigger palette. And it will be important for them. Lawyers have to convey ideas and information, make it succinct and yet relatable. So, yes, it's a little bit harder for the defense, but they have to do it. And I anticipate that they will do a good job in this case of putting forth the defense in a relatable manner.

FOSTER: Because of the fame of the defendant, so much focus is going to be on him and his reactions. Is that something that they're going to really have to consider in this trial, when quite often the focus in the courtroom will be purely on the lawyers?

TULLY: Certainly, yes. And normally speaking, as a defense attorney, you tell your client that they should just be a potted plant. Just sit there and don't do anything to bring attention to yourself.

In this case, I don't think that type of advice will work on Donald Trump. However, I think they do need to stick to their defense, focus on the facts that are favorable to them. And really they'll have to argue their case in a Manhattan jury that will definitely be very anti-Trump.

They'll have to at least make their argument neutral. Listen, even if you don't like Trump, you have to acknowledge facts A, B and C. And that supports the defense.

FOSTER: OK, Joseph Tully, it's going to be a fascinating day. Thank you so much for joining us and giving us your preview.

Do watch CNN's special coverage of the Trump hush money trial today, 9 a.m. in New York. That's 2 p.m. here in London.

Now, a crucial $95 billion foreign aid package heads to the U.S. Senate this week after the House approved it on Saturday. It includes $61 billion for Ukraine. And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging the U.S. to send weapons to the front lines as soon as possible.

He says the country is preparing for a potential major Russian offensive in the coming months. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has details on how the White House is reacting.

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PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The United States Senate is expected to take up the national security bills passed by the House over the weekend.

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The White House applauding that move saying that these bills were necessary and these funds to Ukraine are urgently needed.

The president in a statement saying, quote: I urge the Senate to quickly send this package to my desk so that I can sign it into law.

Going on to say: We can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs. Now, of course, this was a win for the White House this weekend,

especially after months of asking Congress to pass additional funding for Ukraine. Noting over the last few days that it is a pivotal moment and with U.S. officials warning that Ukraine could lose the war by the end of the year if they didn't get that aid.

But now they are on track to get that necessary assistance not only to Ukraine, but also to Israel, among other national security priorities. Defense Secretary Austin saying also over the weekend, the package would, quote, surge life-saving security assistance to Ukraine, support Israel and increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Now, of course, there are steps that still need to play out in this process, but it is expected to pass the Senate, then go to the president's desk for signature, putting an end to a month's long fight by the White House to get these funds to Ukraine.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.

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FOSTER: Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is under fire from some members of his own party after he helped pass the foreign aid package. But now Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling for his resignation.

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REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Johnson has betrayed America. He's betrayed Republican voters. Under his leadership, he's passed the Democrat agenda, passed the Biden administration's policies and fully funded them.

We're going to fight in Congress to do everything we can to stop this type of unipartite leadership. Mike Johnson's speakership is over. He needs to do the right thing to resign and allow us to move forward in a controlled process.

If he doesn't do so, he will be vacated.

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FOSTER: Well, Greene is one of at least three Republicans who say they will support a move to oust Johnson. But more moderate lawmakers say his job is safe.

Here's Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez's response earlier.

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REP. TONY GONZALES (R-TX): He will survive. Look, the House is a rough and rowdy place, but Mike Johnson is going to be just fine.

I served 20 years in the military. It's my absolute honor to be in Congress. But I served with some real scumbags. Members, members are tired. We're exhausted. It has been a brutal Congress, but we're also dug in. You know, for some reason, these fringe people think as if they have the high ground. They do not.

I assure you, the rank and file members that normally are kind of easygoing, you know, doing the right thing, put their head down, they vote yes or no, but they're not public about it. Those days are over. The fight is here.

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FOSTER: Columbia University tightening security for Passover amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests on campus. The university says police will be present during those celebrations in the hours ahead. And campus's public safety will provide walking escorts as well.

Meanwhile, the White House is condemning any calls for violence or physical intimidation.

But the pro-Palestinian groups at Columbia University say, quote: We've been peaceful. We follow in the footsteps of the civil rights and anti-war movements in our quest for liberation.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul posted on X that while the First Amendment protects the right to protest, students have a right to learn in an environment free from harassment or violence.

She added that threatening Jewish students is anti-Semitism. Here's what some of those students are saying.

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SOPHIE AMSTEIN, BARNARD COLLEGE: I consider myself a very brave person, but I won't deny that I've been physically intimidated and harassed. And so I want to say, like, safe is a mindset. I feel safe when I'm around my Jewish peers who create a safe space. But in general, the campus feels extremely hostile.

LILY ZUCKERMAN, BARNARD COLLEGE: I feel reasonably safe. I have since October 7th. I do think that the protests could very easily escalate.

BEN SOLOMON, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: I've felt like this is not a welcoming environment. I think it's a very difficult time for a lot of Jewish students.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, Palestinians are speaking out as they try to salvage what's left of their life before the war began.

We've just learned of the first Israeli senior military figure to resign over the Hamas attacks on October 7th. Details ahead.

Plus, the U.S. is one step closer to banning the Chinese-owned app TikTok. We'll go live to Beijing to find out how China is reacting to that move. And later, a construction project in Norway seeks to lower the

country's carbon emissions, but at the risk of disrupting land use by Indigenous people and native reindeer. We'll look at the tough decisions that come with some efforts to solve climate change.

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FOSTER: A new development out of Israel this hour, where the head of the Israel Defense Forces' military intelligence branch has resigned. The IDF says this follows his, quote, leadership responsibility for the Hamas attacks on October 7th. And it marks the first senior military figure to resign over those attacks.

Meanwhile, the fate of those hostages who remain captive in Gaza was the focus of a meeting of the Israeli War Cabinet on Sunday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pledging an increase in both military and political pressure on Hamas in an effort to free the hostages still being held.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): On this Seder night, our hostages in Hamas captivity stand before our eyes. Their suffering and the suffering of their families break our hearts and only strengthen our determination to return them.

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FOSTER: In the West Bank, mourners gathered for the funeral of 14 Palestinians that the health ministry says were killed during an Israeli military offensive.

At the Nur Shams refugee camp, the Israel Defense Forces say 10 terrorists were killed and 8 wanted suspects arrested in that operation. That's now ended. Palestinians in central Gaza digging through rubble and debris days after Israeli forces ended military operations in the area of one refugee camp.

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Many there now searching for personal belongings and mementos of their life before the war began. CNN's Nic Robertson reports.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Like so many layers of paper, Palestinian homes pancaked. Nuseirat refugee neighborhood in central Gaza demolished during a week-long IDF raid.

Is this what threatens the Israeli army? Wedding dress store owner Mohamed Azra asks. This was his store before the attack, he says. He opened it a year ago.

I've put all my blood, sweat and tears and money into building this business, he says. Now there is nothing. This is an indescribable feeling. The push of one button and they ended our lives.

The IDF destruction here as Iran attacked Israel and the world worried about regional escalation. Israel's war in Gaza, though, not missing an ugly beat.

This mother pulling her children's schoolbooks from the rubble, clinging to memories, bravely bitter about those the Israeli military claims to target.

I hate Hamas first and foremost, she says. Don't cut my words, keep rolling. They brought this on us. This is not jihad. This is not resistance. Go resist at the border. Don't resist between the buildings and the people. They're destroying the people.

Meanwhile, in Rafah, where the IDF says Hamas brigades are still hiding, strikes continue and despite U.S. pressure, still no publicized plan of how to protect the 1.2 million Palestinians living there ahead of an expected Israeli assault.

At a Rafah morgue, wrapped in a single large body bag, an uncle brings the remains of several children who were among 12 of his relatives killed overnight.

They were children, Hatem Abu Jamous says, the youngest three, four years old. May God take revenge for them on Israel.

No one cares. Their aunt, Suzan Abu Touha, says. The Israelis are committing massacres while the world watches. Look at what they've done. We can't find whole bodies, only bits of them.

More than 34,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza now, according to the health ministry, irrespective of who they blame, all here, feeling helpless to hold back the seemingly inevitable IDF offensive in Rafah.

ROBERTSON: Over the past week, the IDF calling up two reserve brigades for operational activities in Rafah. And on Thursday, two senior Israeli officials briefed President Biden's national security advisor on their planning, which until now at least has not satisfied the White House that civilians will be safe.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Jerusalem.

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FOSTER: And Nada is here. What intelligence are we getting on whether or not Rafah will be -- there'll be a ground operation there soon?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well look, for weeks now, the Israeli government, Prime Minister Netanyahu have said that the plans, the military plans have been operationally approved. They are also waiting for the right timing on the IDF's front.

But of course, there has been that growing international condemnation and warnings that we've seen. Just last week, G7 leaders issued a joint statement condemning any plans to go into Rafah as a ground operation. And of course, there has been that concern expressed by the Biden administration as well.

And we heard last week from the U.S. national security advisor, Jake Sullivan. He convened a meeting with Israeli officials. And while the Biden administration has said that it stands in support of Israel attempting to target Hamas militants in those southern cities, including Rafah, it cannot support any sort of operation that does not protect the lives of civilians.

And of course, for weeks now, the Biden administration has been calling for credible plans to be provided for the safe evacuation of civilians and of course, protection of civilians.

That said, we have heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has repeatedly asserted that the IDF will act on its own accord, that while they have listened to the concerns of their international allies, it is up to Israel to make its own decisions with regards to its plans for an operation.

[04:25:00]

And of course, Netanyahu has been clear. He plans to keep pushing ahead until, in his words, there is a full victory in the eyes of the IDF, meaning the total destruction of Hamas.

But of course, this is a huge point of concern. We're talking about more than a million people still concentrated in the southern border city. Rafah, of course, a key gateway still for aid to get in via the Egyptian crossing.

And what we are beginning to see now is while there hasn't been an official evacuation of civilians, many are taking it upon themselves to evacuate themselves. So they are fleeing Rafah and moving into parts of central and northern Gaza, or at least attempting to. And we're talking about areas that have been completely destroyed, where their homes have been turned to rubble.

There is no safe shelter, areas where airstrikes are still ongoing and areas where many aid groups, including U.N. agencies, have said they are still struggling to get humanitarian aid in. So this is a huge point of concern on multiple fronts. And we're hearing those repeated warnings for the IDF not to go into Rafah on the ground.

But again, important to remember that while we haven't seen a full- scale ground operation just yet, we are seeing airstrikes already in Rafah, as we are in other parts of Gaza as well.

FOSTER: And we had this resignation as well, didn't we, from Israeli military intelligence. Obviously, it's widely accepted now that there was a military, well, an intelligence failure ahead of the October 7th attack.

The question being, why did it take so long for someone to go? And is this enough?

BASHIR: Well, look, there has been growing criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu. That is certainly where those anti-government protests have been focused. And in fact, we heard from the IDF's intelligence branch months ago, admitting to those intelligence failures.

That admission came just a few weeks after October 7th. We heard at the time also from the head of Shin Bet, also acknowledging intelligence failures at the time, said in a statement that despite a series of actions that were carried out by the IDF and intelligence branches, they were not able to create sufficient warnings that would allow the attack by Hamas to be thwarted at the time.

Now, of course, we're seeing the resignation of Major General Aharon Haliva, who is the head of the IDF's intelligence branch. He's someone who has been within this branch for over 30 years. So it is a significant resignation.

But again, there is still that growing criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu, growing discontent with his government and their handling, not only of the October 7th attack, but also, of course, the handling of the operation to rescue hostages from within Gaza.

FOSTER: OK, Nada, thank you.

Now, many Ukrainians are breathing a sigh of relief after the U.S. House approved a crucial aid package. Just ahead, how Russia's reacting to that news.