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CNN International: Biden Resumes Campaign Schedule as Trump Sits in Court; Trump in Court for Gag Order Hearing; Israel Conducts 25 Airstrikes in Gaza Over Past 24 Hours; Five Drown Trying to Cross English Channel in a Small Boat; Pro-Palestinian Protests Spread at Universities Nationwide; U.S. Senate Takes Up House-passed Foreign Aid Package Today; Russia Ramps Up Attacks as Ukraine Awaits U.S. Aid; Tabloid Publisher David Pecker Testifies in Alleged Catch and Kill Scheme; British Royal Family Releases New Photos of Prince Louis; Documents Suggest U.S. Companies May Have Unknowingly Outsourced Animation Work to North Korea. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired April 23, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:20]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello everyone, welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom." Just ahead this hour, a busy morning for former U.S. President Donald Trump. He is facing a gag order hearing before testimony in his hush money trial resumes. We will have details for you.

Also growing unrest, universities in the United States struggle to deal with pro-Palestinian demonstrations. And her royal birthday, Prince Louis celebrates turning six while royal-watchers are taking an extra close look at this brand new photo.

Donald Trump's comments and his social media postings will be a major topic of conversation in a Manhattan courtroom about an hour and a half from now. The judge in his hush money trial is holding a hearing to consider whether Trump has violated a gag order. Prosecutors say Trump's comments and social media posts about Michael Cohen, one of the key witnesses in the case, should be punished. They want the judge to fine Trump $1,000 per offense and threaten to throw him in jail if he does not stop these attacks. Let's go to CNN's senior crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz for more.

Hello, Katelyn. So in terms of this gag order hearing, what do we expect there?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Amara, this is a hearing where Donald Trump has to show up at 9:30 today and appear before the judge, and may be held in contempt of court. What that means still remains to be seen. The prosecutors in this case are telling the judge that they believe Donald Trump has violated a gag order placed on him where he is not allowed to speak publicly outside of court about jurors in the case, about witnesses in the case, about court staff, and others. And in this situation, the prosecutors want Trump to be fined $1,000 for every time he has violated that gag order imposed by the judge. The gag order is there to protect the proceedings and protect the jury and the witnesses and others working on this case as it moves through trial, to keep that court very protected as its own environment where the jurors can look at the case fairly and the evidence is able to be presented fairly. The prosecutors say though that Trump has made at least seven statements as of last week in the course of over three days, April 15th, 16th, and 17th, where he has posted on his campaign website and also on Truth Social about witnesses and other things he should not have been talking about outside of the courtroom.

We'll see how the judge reacts. Trump had a little bit more to say even yesterday, as he exited court, about one witness in this case, Michael Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The things he got in trouble for were things that had nothing to do with me. He got in trouble. He went to jail. This had nothing to do with me. This has to do with the taxicab company that he owned. And when are they going to look at all the lies that Cohen did in the last trial? He got caught lying in the last trial. So he got caught lying, pure lying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: So he is talking about Michael Cohen there, a very expected witness in this case, very likely to be called to the stand to testify against Donald Trump. We'll see if the judge wants to talk about those comments or even factor them in as he weighs what to do to either sanction or potentially hold Donald Trump in contempt of court today at this hearing before the jury comes in at 11?

WALKER: Yeah, that'll be interesting to watch. Obviously, Michael Cohen was Trump's fixer, a loyal follower really of Trump. No longer speaking to each other, obviously, because he has turned on him. Also David Pecker, someone who was once close to Trump and now he is testifying for the prosecution. He will take the stand again today. What have we heard from him so far and what do we expect?

POLANTZ: Yeah. Amara, testifying for the prosecution, but apparently said hello to the defense team where Donald Trump was sitting as he exited the courtroom yesterday. But David Pecker, as the former Chairman of American Media Incorporated, the publisher of the "National Enquirer." He is on the stand because he can provide the ark of what Donald Trump wanted to do and how he wanted to silence women who may have negative stories about him. In 2016, "National Enquirer" did pay one person to acquire the life rights of her story where she alleged an affair against Donald Trump, (inaudible) $150,000.

[08:05:00]

POLANTZ: That woman is named Karen McDougal. She is also likely to testify in this case. That information was kept buried in 2016. David Pecker, yesterday, when he spoke to the jury, answering the prosecutors questions, it was only about 25 minutes, so we didn't get a lot out of him. He'll be back today to answer more questions. But so far, he has talked about who he is and why he would know things, how much control he had over these stories about celebrities as of 2016.

WALKER: Katelyn Polantz, always great to have you. Thanks so much, Katelyn. So that gag order hearing begins in just over an hour from now. Let's talk more about what we expect today with CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson. Joey, always great to see you. So, let's talk about now this gag order hearing in terms of how -- what kind of, I guess, arguments will we hear from the prosecution?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah. Amara, good to be with you. I think what we will hear is that he violated, that is the former president, a specific gag order which precluded, prevented, prohibited him from speaking about certain things, namely witnesses, namely the jury, less so I think he has cooled off a bit in terms of family members, but the prosecution is concerned and they should be. You know, it is one thing to have an election and certainly people in a democracy can decide their leaders. It is another thing to have rhetoric that can put people in danger and we are (ph) just such an entrenched aside (ph) different points of view, so it is important to know, Amara, when we speak about the gag order, the context is the protection and preservation not only of the process, but the safety of witnesses.

And so the prosecutors want to hold Mr. Trump accountable for violating the order. I think what we could expect today is accountability. I think that prosecutors will lay out the specific instances in which they believe Trump violated the order. They will ask the judge, as they noted, to fine Mr. Trump $4,000, the maximum permitted under New York State law for the violations of those orders. And the judge has a number of options with respect to either, A, admonishing Mr. Trump and saying, hey, just don't do that again; B, imposing fines and see the most drastic step would be jail time, but it is very serious. It is the first test of this judge to control the temperament and the tenor of this trial. And so, the judge has to do something, Amara, to get teeth to that order. Otherwise, Mr. Trump will continue to violate it with no consequences.

WALKER: Another verbal warning of don't do that again doesn't have much teeth, right? I mean, do you anticipate that he'll either take that second or third option?

JACKSON: I really do. I think that certainly, Amara, and a great point you make, it doesn't have much teeth, but does a fine have much teeth at all? Right. We know that this person who already the New York State Attorney General got a judgment of $350 million, right, $0.5 billion when you count everything up. You have the $83 million in terms of E. Jean Carroll, the defamation. He is uninhibited, unimpeded. He just speaks away. So, does money have an impact on him? Potentially not.

And so, the question really is, does the judge enter into that third step, which is jail. Now in saying that, the judge certainly, he has the option up to 30 days under the statute. I don't expect that to happen. Will he put Mr. Trump in for a few hours maybe to make his point clear? That is even (inaudible) maybe Trump wants that for political reasons, but I think the judge needs to do something. Otherwise, there is no incentive for Mr. Trump to obey and otherwise be guided by an order. It just becomes a piece of paper and that's problematic.

WALKER: Yeah. I mean, what a challenge before Judge Merchan, right, to get Trump to comply with this gag order. Let's take a step back, Joey, if you will, and focus on these opening statements that we heard yesterday on both sides. Obviously, the prosecution is saying this is all about election interference and an illegal cover up. The defense basically feigning ignorance for Trump, saying that he had no idea about these payments that are considered a falsifying business records, even though he signed some of these checks. What did you think in terms of did one side have a stronger opening statement?

JACKSON: Well, you know what, Amara, I think the prosecution has an advantage because there is 34 counts and that is significant. What does that mean? It means that the jury, if they found Mr. Trump guilty on any one of those counts, gets a victory. And so clearly, the prosecution attempting to indicate that this was about a conspiracy (ph), people conspiring, acting collectively and together as a criminal enterprise in order to engage in a cover up and fraud.

Now, conspiracy is not something that is charged. I think a prosecution was providing context, also the prosecution going into the purpose, the nature of the reason, the basis for them doing it, pride (ph) as they provided their roadmap that you see there, but the realities are as they really, the prosecution needed to bring it home that this was something that would benefit Trump and Trump's prospects.

[08:10:00]

JACKSON: So how could he not know? The defense, of course, I think used what they had and that is that, look, he is aloof. He doesn't understand the intricacies, or certainly wasn't engaged. That is Mr. Trump with the bookkeeping of this matter, in terms of the election, he was in an election in 2016 as he is now. He has a right not to interfere with, but certainly to promote his agenda as it relates to moving forward. I think it is a tough case to make, but as we look at pay (ph) road map with respect to saying I knew nothing about it, when and where you began, Amara, he signed the checks.

So what were you signing a check for? And I think that is why Mr. Pecker is so pivotal. They'll go into, the prosecution will, the nature of the meeting with Mr. Pecker, the design of catch and kill. We can get stories that how (ph) Mr. Trump buried them, get stories that promote Mr. Trump, put it out there, and I think Mr. Pecker tells the story to bring you into the narrative of why Trump wanted this to begin with, and he wasn't ignorant, he was the mastermind. So will say the prosecution, the jury will ultimately decide who is right and who is wrong.

WALKER: So what will you be -- I mean, because David Pecker is a fascinating witness in the sense that he is giving us light into this alleged scheme, right, of how to prop up a presidential candidate that he obviously favored versus his opponents and, of course, killing these stories that might hurt Trump. Why is he such an important witness that he would go first and what do you think will be laid out today?

JACKSON: I think quite a bit, Amara. To your question, I think what he does is give context and perspective. He really tells the story. This is someone who was close to the president. He had a motive and (inaudible) agreement which means he is not being prosecuted but he could speak to the issue of whether they met, him and Mr. Trump. What was the nature of those conversations? Was he trying to gain an advantage through his conversations with you? What was the nature of your role, Mr. Pecker, with respect to what you were intending to do?

Did there come a time where you were involved with a person by the name of Stormy Daniels? And at that time by involved (ph) with, I mean, was there (inaudible) suppressor story? How did that operate? What was your involvement in that? What do you know about any payments as it relates to Stormy Daniels? What do you know about the nature of your relationship in general? Was this broader (ph) designed to assist Mr. Trump in his election, right, while hurting his opponents?

So he gives a lot of context, a lot of perspective. At the end of the day, of course, the prosecution is going to be about, right, their friends (ph). Do you see the math? The prosecution is going to be about he is reliable witness, but don't just rely on Mr. Pecker, don't just rely on Cohen, don't just rely on Stormy Daniels, rely on the hard evidence and that's why I pivot back to a check signed by Donald J. Trump.

Who was it to? Mr. Cohen. What was it for? To kill that story. Why did they do it? To boost his election prospects. And there you go, you have your falsifying business records for the purpose of concealing or engaging in other type of illegal activities. That gets in that conviction. That of course is what the prosecution wants to do, whether they are able to do it will depend upon the compelling nature or lack thereof of the witnesses, Amara, moving forward.

WALKER: It will be interesting as you say, though to see that heart evidence, that paper trail. Joey Jackson, as always, good to have you. Appreciate the time.

JACKSON: Always.

WALKER: We will have much more on Donald Trump's hush money trial later this hour. And I will speak to a senior political reporter from "The Wall Street Journal" about how the trial might be impacting the race for the White House. That is still to come, so stick around for that.

All right, let's turn now to the Israel-Hamas war and the IDF says its fighter jets struck 25 targets over the past 24 hours, including this eight-story building in Gaza City. Israel says it is part of its continuing counterterrorism activity. This as the U.S. State Department's annual report on human rights raises sharp concerns about the conflict in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shared the details on Monday and the report cites extensive and well publicized cases of killings, abductions and sexual violence by Hamas and other groups during the October 7 attacks on Israel.

But it also includes reports of systemic torture and inhumane treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israel, as well as the forced disappearance of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza. Blinken says the report draws on a wide variety of sources, including government officials, victims of abuse, international organizations and the media. Gaza Civil Defense workers have uncovered a mass grave with nearly 300 bodies at a hospital in Khan Younis. CNN's Nada Bashir has the story and we warn you that some of the videos in her report are graphic.

[08:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the last ten days, this mother has returned to Gaza's Nasser Hospital searching desperately for the body of her 24-year-old daughter, Kolthar (ph). She had been buried at this makeshift graveside in January. Now, her body is missing.

The Israelis turned the hospital upside down she says. They dug up all the dead bodies and move them around.

These other shrouded corpses of those retrieved from a newly discovered mass grave in Khan Younis, nearly 300 bodies have so far been recovered according to Gaza's Civil Defense. But the search is still ongoing.

This is a crime against humanity, Dr. (Inaudible) says. How could the Israeli Occupation Forces dig up these graves and mishandle the bodies of our martyrs? In some cases, they even opened and removed the bodies from their bags, even though their names have been marked on them.

Many of the bodies recovered here were buried by relatives or medics on the hospital's grounds in January as a temporary measure. Israel's relentless bombardment of the southern city making it too difficult to carry out a traditional burial. Following the IDF's withdrawal from Khan Younis, families returned in hope of finally laying their loved ones to rest, only to find that their bodies had been exhumed by the Israeli military, according to Civil Defense officials, and discarded in this nearby mass grave.

I still haven't found my son, Khalil's body, this father says. We had buried him over there, but we can't find him anymore. We just want to give him a dignified burial.

According to Gaza's Civil Defense Chief, some bodies have been discovered with their hands tied together, an indication he says that these may be the victims of alleged field executions, though CNN is unable to verify such claims and cannot confirm the causes of death among the bodies being unearthed. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment, without response. But this would not be the first time graves have been disturbed by the Israeli military. The IDF previously acknowledging that its forces have exhumed graves in Gaza in order to carry out DNA tests to identify potential hostages. This man points to the palm tree beside which his brother, Ala (ph) had been buried. Two weeks on, and his body has still not been found.

Under international humanitarian law, graves must, in times of war, be respected, properly maintained and marked, so they may always be found. But in Gaza, the Palestinian people have been robbed of their dignity even in death.

Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Still to come, pro-Palestinian protests sweep across U.S. college campuses, dozens of students have been arrested overnight. We will have a live report from Columbia University, which has -- which was forced to cancel in-person classes. Plus the U.S. Senate expected to vote today on a foreign aid package that includes billions of dollars of help for Ukraine. We will have a report on what Russia is saying about it all.

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[08:20:50]

WALKER: Officials say five people, including a child, have drowned while trying to cross the English Channel from France in a small boat. The British Home Secretary James Cleverly says the Channel deaths, in his words, have to stop. The drownings come just hours after the U.K. Parliament passed the government's controversial Rwanda Bill. It paves the way for the U.K. to start deporting migrants to Rwanda who are deemed to be in Britain illegally.

Unrest is growing across college campuses in the U.S. Pro-Palestinian protests have erupted at universities from Connecticut to California. Police arrested a number of people at New York University Monday. Officials say there were intimidating chants and several anti-Semitic incidents that were for reported. At Yale, dozens of students were arrested after police tried clear the campus. The university says those arrested could be put on probation or suspended.

Also, on the West Coast, the California Polytechnic Institute in Arcata closed its campus after protesters occupied a building. Let's bring in CNN's Omar Jimenez, who is live at Columbia University in New York, were the most recent wave of protests began.

Hi there, Omar, tell us just the mood there. What you are feeling and also what you are seeing there on the ground.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Right now, this morning, things are quiet. I mean, really the only signs at this moment that there are heightened tensions are just the amount of barricades, the caution tapes that is out. Of course, there is security outside the gates of Columbia University, which is where we are standing right now. But of course, we have seen over the course of the past week, what at times have been tense pro-Palestinian protests, some coming in the form of very peaceful and in solidarity with Gaza, others though, at times, anti-Semitic and even violent in their messaging in nature.

But in particular that contrast has been from the campus -- from the students -- from the protests, I should say, that have originated from those on-campus versus those fueled from off-campus, especially organizers of student protests have tried to distance themselves from those coming from off-campus saying that those individuals are inflammatory and do not represent what is being put forward here. Now, of course, yes, there have been protests that have stemmed to campuses across the country here in the northeast, like Yale, even New York University, NYU further down in Manhattan here, where students and professors were arrested after NYU called in the police department to clear out essentially the Plaza were protesters gathered.

But all the way to the West Coast as well, you mentioned some of those schools, Cal Poly, we have seen also protests in the Midwest, at University of Michigan, all around, this pro-Palestinian movement wave that, of course, started here at the very least, this most recent wave seem to stem from last week when Columbia University's president testified in front of the U.S. House in D.C. around how they are handling anti-Semitism that also coincided when we saw encampments begin by students here at Columbia to protest and encourage Columbia University you to divest from corporations they say support Israeli apartheid and genocide.

And so that is the crux of where everything began over this past week and what we have seen escalate over this past week from here, at Columbia, to places all across the country, Amara.

WALKER: And what are we expecting today and the next few hours in terms of more protests, is that expected?

JIMENEZ: Well, we've seen no signs that protests are slowing down. In fact, here at Columbia University, the school has now made everyone go hybrid, has turned all their classes hybrid through the end of the semester, which is just Monday. But the reasoning is because they say they are doing it out of safety concerns, that safety is their number one priority.

[08:25:00]

JIMENEZ: As of right now, on Columbia's campus, that encampment is still occupied by students. We got an aerial view a little bit earlier today and so those protests are continuing live as of this moment, but the question becomes, once we get into the afternoon and evening hours, how the mix of potentially non-student protestors and those that have been going from place to place mix with some of those student protesters and faculty, because I'll tell you a day after the Columbia University president testified, this was last week, there were those encampments here at Columbia.

The University called in the NYPD to clear out some of those protesters. And so that meant students were arrested and it prompted a walkout of faculty yesterday in support those students, asking them to clear their arrest records. So there had been a number of different responses on many different sides here, Amara, and that will likely continue into today as well. WALKER: I guess, remarkable events that we continue to see in college campuses. Omar Jimenez, really appreciate your reporting there from New York. Thank you.

In the coming hours, the U.S. Senate is expected to hold procedural votes on a foreign aid package that includes roughly $61 billion for Ukraine. It was approved on Saturday by the House of Representatives. And if passed by the Senate, U.S. President Joe Biden has promised to sign it. Ukraine, which desperately needs western weapons as its military is struggling to contain Russia's invasion, has praised the House's passage of the legislation over the weekend.

But the Kremlin also had a message. It says the new aid won't change anything on the battlefield. But as CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports, Ukrainian see the renewed U.S. support as a sign of hope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Russian troops advancing in a heavy firefight in eastern Ukraine. This video from Russian military TV claiming to show Ukrainian soldiers having to surrender. Ukraine's howitzers often unable to support their frontline units, severely lacking 155- millimeter artillery shells. But now, they hope that will change. We will defend ourselves and counter attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: [Foreign Language].

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Kremlin-controlled media seething after the House passed the Ukraine aid bill, while praising Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for trying to derail it.

OLGA SKABEEVA, RUSSIAN TV ANCHOR (through translator): Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene who New York Post already dressed in a huge shank ahead (ph) with a star, officially putting her in the ranks of Kremlin agents, called Speaker Johnson a Democrat elected by Ukraine.

Greene also said that Johnson betrayed not only Republicans, but the whole of the U.S.A. Nonetheless, the U.S. military aid will be bigger this year compared to the past years. And of course, there is nothing good in that.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Russia's foreign minister going even further, threatening nuclear confrontation.

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Westerners are teetering dangerously on the brink of a direct military clash between nuclear powers, fraught with catastrophic consequences, particularly that it is the troika (ph) of western nuclear states that are among key sponsors of the criminal Kyiv regime.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Ukraine is in desperate need of lots of artillery ammo. Kyiv says badly outgunned by Vladimir Putin's forces. But also air defense missiles with Russia drastically escalating its missile and drone campaign against Ukraine cities and power plants. Ukraine's president saying he is grateful for the aid, but the weapons need to come fast.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The time between political decisions and inflicting real defeats on the enemy at the front, between the approval of the aid package and providing the strength to our guys, this should be reduced to a minimum.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): And the Ukrainians hope U.S. aid will arrive quickly and change the tune on the battlefield, allowing Kyiv's forces to stop further Russian advances.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Still to come, a criminal conspiracy and a cover up or nothing to see here, Donald Trump is on his way to New York courthouse for another day of testimony and the criminal hush money trial against him. We will have a look at day one of testimony. Plus the British royal family celebrates the birthday of young Prince Louis. We'll have the details from London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:32:20]

WALKER: Day two of testimony and Donald Trump's historic New York criminal trial is about to get underway. Donald Trump is on his way to a Manhattan courthouse for a hearing to determine whether the former U.S. president repeatedly violated his gag order. Under the order, Trump is forbidden to talk about any witnesses, members of the jury, prosecutors, or court staff, and their family members. Now, once the trial resumes, once the jury arrives, they've been instructed to arrive at 11:00 a.m., it is about less than three hours from now, David Pecker, the former publisher of the "National Enquirer" is expected to be back on the stand. CNN's Kara Scannell has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

TRUMP: I think it went very well.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prosecutors open their case, saying it all boils down to a conspiracy and cover up that Trump orchestrated a scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election and covered it up by lying in his business records. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo saying it was election fraud, pure and simple. Trump attorney Todd Blanche argued the former president is innocent. Blanche also claimed there is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election.

In his remarks, Colangelo, a lead prosecutor on the case, said the alleged crimes began at an August 2015 meeting between Trump, Michael Cohen, and ex-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, the first witness to testify in the trial on Monday. Colangelo said the three formed a conspiracy at that meeting to influence the presidential election by concealing negative information about Mr. Trump in order to help them get elected.

The prosecution said Pecker agreed to help by damaging information on Trump to make it go away, a move known as catch-and-kill. At the center of the case, a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels just week peaks before election day in 2016. The prosecution said a sexual infidelity, especially with a porn star, on the heels of the access Hollywood tape would have been devastating to his campaign.

So at Trump's direction, Cohen negotiated the deal to buy Daniels' story to prevent it from becoming public before the election. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. Prosecutors said Trump did not want to write the check himself, so Cohen put up the money. Colangelo argued Trump, Cohen and former Trump organization CFO Allen Weisselberg agreed Cohen would be paid back in monthly installments through fake invoices to the Trump organization. In a nod to Cohen's past credit ability issues, prosecutor said key witnesses like Cohen have made mistakes in the past and encourage the jury to keep an open mind and carefully evaluate all of the evidence that corroborates Michael Cohen's testimony.

[08:35:00]

SCANNELL (voice-over): Then it was Trumps attorney's turn. Blanche said the D.A.'s office should never have brought this case. He said the prosecution story is not true and the jury will find plenty of reasonable doubt. He pivoted to paint Trump as a husband and father, saying he is a person just like you and just like me. Trump's team suggested the payments Trump made to Cohen were not a payback for funds paid to Stormy Daniels, but instead payments to his personal attorney. Trump defended himself against these charges after court on Monday.

TRUMP: He puts in an invoice, or whatever, a bill and they pay (inaudible) legal expense. I got indicted for that.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Blanche shifted blame to Cohen, saying the reality is Mr. Trump is not on the hook, is not criminally responsible for something Mr. Cohen may have done years after the fact. Blanche said the prosecution's outline of a supposed catch-and-kill deal with Pecker was not a scheme, but completely irrelevant and not illegal. In the afternoon as Pecker briefly took the stand, he did not look at Trump, but Trump looked directly at him as he testified.

Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: All right. And happening now, you see Trump's motorcade is arriving at the Manhattan Criminal Court there. This is just before -- a little less than an hour before court is to resume. CNN's Brynn Gingras is joining me now live from outside the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York.

Hey there, Brynn. So court resumes at 9:30, less than an hour from now, the jury doesn't arrive until an hour-and-a-half after that. So that first hour-and-a-half or so, will be Judge Merchan holding this gag order hearing. What do we expect from that?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. It is like what you kind of laid out for the viewers, Amara, essentially reminding, again viewers that at the end of March, this gag order was placed on Donald Trump, essentially saying he couldn't talk disparagingly about how members of the court staff, their family members, the jurors, also witnesses. And in a filing just last week, the prosecution says Donald Trump has violated this ten times and they'd like that he be fined $1,000 for all the times the judge finds that he might have done that.

They also in their filing have said that they want the court to remind Trump that he is a criminal defendant in this case, and that means that he is subject to court's supervision. So they are basically saying, hey, you are a criminal defendant. If you violate these gag orders, you could also possibly go to jail. So they want that to be said in the open court.

Now, Trump from his defense team essentially said, all these times that he has posted on social media, these tweets that come into question, this is the only way that he can actually defend himself, especially against particular witnesses who they say like Michael Cohen, that is a main witness in this trial and Trump has gone on social media against him, and they say that it has nothing to do with this trial. This has to do with his campaign.

But these are the arguments that are going to come up during that gag hearing. So we'll see how the judge -- what the judge decides possibly by the end of it, before that jury gets here at 11 o'clock this morning.

WALKER: Brynn Gingras, thank you so much. Molly Ball is a senior political correspondent for "The Wall Street Journal," and she is joining me now live from Arlington, Virginia. Molly, good to see you.

OK, so let's talk about this gag order hearing because, as you heard Brynn say there, his -- Trump's defense has been, well, look, these attacks against the people that he is banned from attacking, like the prosecutor or jurors, or witnesses, i.e., Michael Cohen, this is all a part of his political campaign. So, I would imagine Judge Merchan is going to have a hard time compelling Trump to comply with his gag order.

MOLLY BALL, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, that's what the potential fines and punishments are for. I think Judge Merchan faces a very difficult situation with this very unique defendant. We saw that play out over the course of the jury selection process last week, where trying to apply the law in a neutral way to show that our system treats everyone equally and no one is above the law, that sounds good in theory, but it is very difficult when you are dealing with someone who is so unusual, who is a former president, who is a current presidential nominee, that poses a lot of challenges.

So in other cases, in Trump's civil cases earlier for this year, we saw that he did face fines for violating orders. That is certainly a possibility again in this case. Judge Merchan trying to show that he is being evenhanded here, that he is not being overly punitive to Trump, but that he is not also giving him any kind of special treatment. So he is going to have to decide how to apply the law in this case and whether applying some sort of fine for each instant of these alleged violations of the gag order is a suitable penalty in this case.

[08:40:00]

WALKER: I am curious to know, Molly, as a political journalist, what were the takeaways for you after the first day of these opening statements and the first witness, the publisher, the former publisher of the "National Enquirer," David Pecker taking the stand?

BALL: Well, I think a couple of things. I think first of all, it is obviously just such an unprecedented scene. And I think this is the defining scene of this presidential campaign. Never before have we had a presidential nominee who was simultaneously a criminal defendant. And that is really going to have ripple effects throughout the campaign as the candidates continue to make their political arguments against one another. You know, as you said before, Trump trying to make the case that because he is making an argument in the court of public opinion as part of his political campaign, that that is somehow separate from the legal requirements of being a defendant. But they are intertwined. They are one and the same.

And so, I think the other takeaway from yesterday as David Pecker began to take the stand and we expect him to come back on the stand today and continue to testify, for so many Americans, this is raising those memories of the 2016 campaign. This story was intertwined with the 2016 campaign. It reminds people of sort of all the tawdry scandals of that time. And so I think for a lot of people, it is going to really refresh their memories about the things Donald Trump was accused of at that time, whether for better or worse. Maybe for some people, this is a reminder of the ways that he has always been in his telling victimized by the legal system. For a lot of other people, it may be a reminder of the constant cloud of scandal that has seemed to surround him throughout his presidency and his political career.

WALKER: Molly Ball, we'll leave it there. Thank you so much for joining us. And watch CNN's special coverage of the Trump hush money trial that gets underway in about 20 minutes at 9:00 a.m. in New York, 2:00 p.m. in London.

The British royal family has released a new picture of Prince Louis to celebrate his sixth birthday. Look at that smile. Royal source says the picture was taken recently at Windsor by his mother Catherine, the Princess of Wales, and that it is unedited. The past few months have been an eventful period for the royal family to say the least with the Princess and King Charles each announcing that they had been diagnosed with cancer. Let's bring in CNN's Max Foster, who is live for us in London.

I mean, that brings me such a big smile just to look at that adorable face. What has the reaction been to that photo, especially since I feel like a lot of people there in the U.K. need a pick me up from a lot of this negative news surrounding the royal family.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so I think there's two levels of interest here. First of all, lovely picture. He is after all fourth in line to the British throne, so it is quite a big deal. It was taken, as you say, in Windsor just recently, but the other area of interest is the way it was released. So normally, we, the media, would have got a picture like this the day before, so we could prepare our coverage. That wasn't the case this time. And that goes back to the last picture that they released which was, of course, famously edited, caused a real stink really amongst the media, but also amongst the public who felt that they weren't being entirely honest. There is a bit of a cover up there, all sorts of conspiracy theories emerge.

So what they did this time was simply released this picture taken by Kate, who is recovering or is being treated for cancer, and put it straight onto their social media accounts. I think they're taking control of their content. I think they're taking control of their narrative a bit more here, and they are also trying to be as open and honest, but that will go into (ph) these pictures, so they can avoid those conspiracy theories. But I think there is some toing and froing, Amara, about whether or not they'd release a picture at all because of Kate's condition, but they wanted to because the social media were filling up with well-wishes for Louis this morning and they wanted to thank everyone for that.

WALKER: Yeah. And any word on Kate Middleton? I know if there was a word, you would have been reporting on it. But obviously, a lot of people are noticing her absence and it just seems that the concern for Princess Kate and her condition is growing.

FOSTER: Yeah. Well, the background to this photo really is that Kate has got cancer. So, there was a debate about whether or not they should release the picture in that context. But they release a picture every birthday, so it would have caused a lot of chatter if they hadn't released one, broken that pattern. She took the picture, so she is well enough to do that. She is also well enough to have a discussion about whether or not this photo should be released. So think nothing negative to read here.

It seems pretty positive and they'd be telling us if she had taken a turn for the worse. So, I think we can be hopeful.

WALKER: We will always remain hopeful. Max Foster, it is great to see you in London. Thank you.

FOSTER: Thank you, Amara.

WALKER: We'll be right back.

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[08:47:08]

WALKER: U.S. researchers have discovered a trove of documents inside a computer server housed in North Korea, evidence in those files suggest U.S. studios unknowingly outsourced animation work for popular cartoons to those in enemy territory. Alex Marquardt has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Invincible is a popular animated show streaming on Amazon Prime with a third season on the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your power has got to be due any day now, son.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): It is based on a comic book about a superhero teen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't ready before.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): While its main character is all American, some animation in the new season may come from one of America's biggest foes, North Korea. Martyn Williams is a North Korea Analyst at the Stimson Center.

MARTYN WILLIAMS, SENIOR FELLOW, STIMSON CENTER: I'll show you what we found.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): He shows us what was inside a recently discovered North Korean internet server.

WILLIAMS: There is a bunch of working files in here.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Files including sketches and video from North Korea, which resemble the animation from two shows produced and streamed by American companies. Amazon's "Invincible," and another coming soon called "Iyanu: Child of Wonder" set to stream on Max, which along with CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. There is no evidence that the studios knew that any proprietary work was on a North Korean server.

WILLIAMS: That's some stage in this production process, these files appear to be being worked on by the North Koreans.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): There is a clip of Iyanu, which hasn't been released yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, me, spare your life.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Williams says a lot of American production work is outsourced, particularly to China, where it could then be subcontracted to North Koreans without the American company's awareness.

WILLIAMS: It is very common, numerous Chinese companies have been sanctioned by the U.S. for working with North Korea not just in animation, but in other areas as well.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): A draft of one animation has Chinese instructions translated into Korean. There is also this production sheet in English for Invincible.

MARQUARDT: Is there any evidence at the American studios knew about this?

WILLIAMS: We didn't find any evidence that they had any direct knowledge of any of this. We found the names of some animations. We found the names of some U.S. companies, but nothing that concretely tied that back to the U.S. companies.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Using North Korean labor would be a violation of U.S. sanctions. Max and the producer of Iyanu, Lion Forge Entertainment declined to comment. Unique Studios, which co-created the graphic novel series, did not respond. Skybound Entertainment, which produces Invincible, told CNN it never approved outsourcing and would investigate.

WILLIAMS: It is just something that's very difficult to kind of figure out who you are working with, because once the stuff is getting outsourced, once stuff starts moving through the system, actually finding out who the person is at the other side of the keyboard is very, very difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT (on camera): The U.S. government does give American companies advice and guidance on what to look out for, how to do their due diligence to make sure they know who they are working with but that can be a lot of extra work which is difficult, especially for small companies, the kind that may need to outsource animation and programming work.

[08:50:13]

MARQUARDT (on camera): And it is high stakes for these companies because the Treasury Department can file lawsuits if the sanctions are violated.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

WALKER: Alex, thank you. The plan was called catch-and-kill. The aim was to top potentially harmful stories about Donald Trump from getting out. Will any of those secrets come out later in court? We'll take a look.

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WALKER: All right, just a few minutes ago, Trump's motorcade arrived at the Manhattan Criminal Court, where the day's legal drama will play out once again. There will be a hearing on the gag order in the case in about a half an hour, and then testimony will resume. Returning to the stand for the second day will be David Pecker, the former publisher of the "National Enquirer." Brian Todd has more now on the so-called catch-and-kill plan the two reportedly hatched.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 72 year-old David Pecker told the court on Monday that when he was President and CEO of American Media Incorporated, which published the "National Enquirer," he "had the final say on which stories would get published, and on the celebrity side of the magazine industry, at least on the tabloids side, we used checkbook journalism." And he said they paid for stories. That practice was just part of what prosecutors say were plans between Pecker, Donald Trump and Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen to pay women who alleged they had affairs with Trump to keep quiet.

GENE ROSSI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Why Mr. Pecker is important is he can talk about the plan to execute the scheme and this is also important. This election interference case doesn't involve just Stormy Daniels, it involves Karen McDougal.

TODD (voice-over): Karen McDougal is a former Playboy model who the New Yorker Magazine first reported had an affair with Trump. Prosecutors say Pecker and the Enquirer were part of a scheme to pay McDougal and Stormy Daniels for their stories about their alleged affairs with Trump, and then to bury those stories.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, NPR: So it is called catch-and- kill as an approach, stories and episodes that might be incredibly embarrassing or damaging to Donald Trump as he ran for president might be acquired by the National Enquirer and never see the light of day.

TODD (voice-over): Trump has denied having affairs with both McDougal and Daniels. Prosecutors have given David Pecker immunity in exchange for his testimony. His former company, American Media has signed a non-prosecution agreement with prosecutors. Born in Bronx, Pecker didn't start his career with the tabloids, but was gradually drawn to that world.

FOLKENFLIK: You know, on paper, David Pecker might not seem as though he was a person who was destined to be testifying in court trial involving details that are quite as (inaudible) as this. He had come up I believe as an accountant, but he saw an opportunity he thought in tabloid news with American Media to really capitalize on America's thirst for gossip and celebrity focus.

TODD (voice-over): One former employee of Pecker's has told CNN, Pecker is known for taking care of his friends and that Donald Trump was definitely in that category.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pecker and Trump have been friends since magazines really ruled the roost in New York City in the '90s. You got to remember David Pecker launched "George" magazine with JFK Jr. So at that time, when Trump was on the rise as a real estate mogul in New York City, logically, he went after a media owner who is going to help advance his career. The two hit it off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:55:00]

TODD (on camera): Analysts say former President Trump's lawyers could try to tear down David Pecker's credibility by simply calling attention to the kinds of sorted stories that his tabloids would run. But right now, it is not clear exactly what strategy Trump's lawyers will use to deal with Pecker's testimony.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

WALKER: All right. That is our time. Thank you so much for joining me here on "CNN Newsroom." I am Amara Walker and of course, CNN's special coverage of Donald Trump's hush money trial is up next with Erica Hill in New York and Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. Stay with CNN.

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