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Trump Facing 34 Felony Counts In Hush Money Scheme; Tornado Spawning Storm System Moving Across Central U.S.; Speaker McCarthy To Meet Taiwan President In California. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 05, 2023 - 9:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: When New York city wants to clamp down and make a kind of security situation, they can do it. So first of all, I think it was just hard but second of all what's the incentive right now. After seeing what happened to folks with January 6, I'm sure people don't feel as compelled to turn out in the streets.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: In the papers all over the country, every major paper, it's on the front, this photograph. It is a lot. Hey, thank you for joining us. We appreciate it. We'll see you tomorrow. CNN's News Central starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A weather emergency right now. Millions are under threat as multiple tornadoes touching down in the last few hours, causing huge paths of destruction. Police in Missouri are now reporting multiple injuries and multiple fatalities.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A preview of how nasty the legal battle could get. The former president unleashes on the judge, the charges, Democrats, even Republicans against him as he now faces 34 felony counts for falsifying business records.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: There's a new mayor in Chi Town. The promises Chicago's progressive 46 year old mayor elect is making for America's third largest city. Those major stories and more all coming in right here to CNN News Central.

BERMAN: So did he just create new legal problems for himself? Donald Trump pleads not guilty in court. Out of court, he lashes out at the prosecution and the judge hours after he was warned not to. Trump's next court appearance for allegedly falsifying business records is December 4, which of course is the cusp of the 2024 primary season.

Prosecutors say Trump sought to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election and was part of an unlawful plan to suppress negative information and deceive tax collectors. All that linked to hush money payments made to an adult film actress, a Playboy model and the doorman at Trump Tower.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALVIN BRAGG, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We have had available to the office additional evidence that was not in the office's possession prior to my time here. Text messages, emails, contemporaneous phone records, multiple witnesses, all of that will be as you saw in the fall, born out in a public courtroom in downtown Manhattan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: There is no gag order, but the judge overseeing the case has warned both sides to watch their behavior. And as we said, Trump pretty much ignored that request, blasting the same judge his family, the district attorney all during that Prime Time speech from Mar-a- Lago.

CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now live outside Mar-a-Lago. So Kristen, what now?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what now is that we wait to see how this plays into 2024. At least that's what Donald Trump's campaign is doing. They plan on making this incredibly political and as you mentioned, even with that warning from the judge, Trump got increasingly nasty and upped his rhetoric, he attacked the judge, the district attorney, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD J. TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The only crime that I've committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it. This fake case was brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election and it should be dropped immediately. I have a Trump hating judge with the Trump hating wife and family whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris, and now receives money from the Biden-Harris campaign and a lot of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And John, you know, these speeches have become an airing of grievances. That's what we've seen for the last several months. But this was obviously an unprecedented moment, he was reacting to being the first former or sitting U.S. president to be indicted and arraigned in a court of law.

And again, I am told that they are going to be using this for their 2024 campaign and he's not going to slow down, this rhetoric is not going to stop.

BERMAN: What about other political figures, Kristen, what are they saying this morning?

HOLMES: Well, John, that had really been the big question, right? We had heard all of these Republicans on Capitol Hill around the country coming out in a full throttle defense of the former president and they had not yet seen those charges. And so we're waiting to see what the reaction was going to be after that was unsealed yesterday.

And those Republicans, they are standing by him, listen to them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I think the entire thing is crap. He hates Trump.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): The person denigrating integrity, the integrity of our entire judicial system is Alvin Bragg, the Soros- funded political activist who is occupying the Manhattan DA 's office.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): This is selective prosecution. If I were President Trump, I take this always to the damn Supreme Court.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): No one should be above the law. But no one should be a target of the law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It actually helps Donald Trump become the 47th President of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:05:00]

HOLMES: And those were just some of the Republican voices we heard and I will also note that the former president surrounded himself with admirers as well as some of his staunchest allies on Capitol Hill last night after the speech. He was seen with Matt Gaetz. Marjorie Taylor Greene, as well as many of his admirers who are members of the Mar-a- Lago club.

Again, this is going to play a big role into 2024. And the question of course, remains how far is he going to take this, John?

BERMAN: Kristen Holmes for us in Mar-a-Lago. Kristen, please keep us posted on what else you hear? Kate?

BOLDUAN: That's what a lot of people are saying. Let's talk about what the - what needs to now be proven. In their indictment, prosecutors accused Trump of orchestrating a broader scheme of paying for people's silence. Hush money and also catching killed deals, buying damaging stories to keep them from going public and all of the 34 counts have to do with one case and are tied to these eight checks made out to Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen in 2017.

Now Cohen says that he helped arrange the hush money deal with adult film star Stormy Daniels. And in order to bump up what would be misdemeanors to become Class A felonies, the Manhattan DA has to show that Trump did all of this to further another crime, a crime which is not spelled out in the court documents but is likely tied to trying to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

Now to help paint that picture of intent and have a broader scheme, the indictment details two other hush money payments involving the National Enquirer. In the first the tabloid paid $30,000 to a former doorman at Trump Tower, who claimed that he had knowledge of Trump fathering a child outside of his marriage.

The Inquirer later learned that the man's claim was not true. A second deal involved a $150,000 payment to this woman, Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model who wanted to sell her story of her alleged relationship with Trump to The Enquirer, a story The Enquirer bought in order to kill. Sarah.

SIDNER: For more on all the legal implications and where the case could go in the future, Danya Perry is here. She is a former New York Deputy Attorney General and Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. All right, let's start with one of the big things that's missing in the indictment, or the statement of facts, which was I think was about 13 pages.

You know, we don't know what is the big overarching crime that makes these 34 counts of falsifying business records, a felony, because normally they're misdemeanors. Does the prosecution have to eventually tell everyone because there has to be a defense mounted, correct?

DANYA PERRY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Absolutely. Yes, I was a little surprised that the underlying or the predicate offenses were not spelled out so clearly, in the indictment or the statement of facts. Certainly there are allusions to it. And certainly DA Bragg made allusions to state campaign finance violations, federal violations of campaign finance law, as well as tax fraud.

But typically, that would be in the heart of the indictment itself, part of the charges. Exactly for the reason you said so that the defendant knows what he needs to answer. So what will happen is no doubt, his defense team and he has an excellent team, will ask for a bill of particulars.

They will make a motion, no sir, you need to tell us exactly which crimes you're accusing this defendant of as being the predicate offense. And there will be motion practice on this. And I would be shocked if the judge does not require the prosecutors to actually spell out, chapter and verse, which crimes are the predicate here.

SIDNER: You talked about the fact that some of this leads to tax fraud. You talked also about being surprised and what the judge has also what you expect him to say, right, going forward? One of the things he has already said is he has warned both counsels and in both groups, the prosecution and the defense to refrain from the vitriol that has already been spewed by Donald Trump himself on social media.

But it didn't appear that the defendant in this case Donald Trump listened. Because last night there was a plethora of vitriol and going after everyone and everything. What might the judge do because of that?

PERRY: I'm not sure if the comments last night will rise to the level where the judge actually imposes a gag order. If you know the worst case scenario, and one that we all dread, but if there - if there's any violence, then I think that's probably an instance where the judge would feel beholden to impose some limitations on - on speech.

And it's true as you point out, it's unusual but in both sides here we have some of the witnesses who've been very vocal, and that is not something that the prosecution here, I'm sure is overly excited about. And on the defense side, of course, and I know these lawyers very well. They're excellent. They are no doubt giving instruction to their client to keep quiet and reminding him that everything he says can be used against him.

[09:10:00]

The former president is one person who, the Miranda warnings or warning of counsel usually go unheeded. So he will do that, unless and until the judge tells him he can't and holds him in contempt if he continues to.

SIDNER: We've heard this judge is compassionate but also very tough and wants control of his courtroom and is very clear about that. Thank you so much for joining us, appreciate your legal analysis. Over to you, John.

BERMAN: Right. New this morning, we are getting a first look at some of the destruction after a quote, large and extremely dangerous tornado hit Missouri overnight. Officials there are saying there are multiple fatalities and injuries. We do have a look at some of the damage it left behind in Glen Ellyn and the danger is not over yet.

There are more than 85 million Americans facing the threat of severe storms from Detroit all the way to Texas. CNN's Derek Van Dam has been all over this, seems like week-long weather threat. And Derek, I understand there is an active threat at this very moment.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: That's right, John. This is a very dynamic severe weather setup. Not only do we have a tornado watch where I'm standing in Little Rock, but further north, there are severe storms across the Greater Chicago region. But I want to start with the skyline shot of downtown Chicago overlooking Lake Michigan. This is just moments ago, an incredible image to just show you the true force of the storms that are moving through as we speak.

That is a shelf cloud. That's the - you're looking at the backside of this line of powerful storms that brought 50 to 60 mile per hour winds and up to an inch in diameter hail. But if you look closely on maybe the water there, you can see the ripples there, but you could just see just how powerful the winds are that have just recently moved through downtown Chicago, causing ground stops at O'Hare, causing ground stops and delays at Midway as well.

Now I want to show you some of the first visuals we're getting out of the Missouri region. This is Southeast Missouri, just west of Cape Girardeau in the Glen Ellyn region where the fatalities and destruction from the long-lived, supercell thunderstorm that caused a tornado. You can see people cleaning up the damage within that area. We'll continue to highlight that region and get - pass along information as we get it to us but spending more time on Chicago, this is the more immediate threat of these as the storms race across the Great Lakes.

They'll move into my home state of Michigan, Grand Rapids, Holland, eventually into Detroit. You're under a new tornado watch, that's new information to pass along to you since the last time we spoke. And then as we head a little further south to where I'm located in Little Rock, Arkansas, Central Arkansas, you're under the gun as well because this area has more storms developing to our west. This is a very storm weary region.

As you can see the damage behind me remember that's from the long- lived supercell tornado that moves through on Friday evening. It's a storm battered region that does not want to see more tornadoes, John.

BERMAN: Derek, standby if you will for a minute. I want to bring in CNN's Adrienne Broaddus who is in Colona, Illinois, which I do understand it is - oh, wow, look at that behind you clearly an area that has been more than under threat. It was hit overnight. Adrienne, what are you seeing?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, the wind gusts peaked at 115 miles per hour. And you can see the damage behind me. I want to take our viewers on a little walk. This is a restaurant. It was closed at the time when the storm blew through. There were two employees however, inside of this gas station. they took cover in the bathroom which you can see the bathroom is still standing however, there's no roof here.

That strong storm lifted the roof and it jumped and landed over on the power lines, which are on the other side of this. You see the broken glass, the shattered windows, there's debris scattered throughout the neighborhood. And throughout town, folks are without power. The trip to get here from where we were would normally take about 20 minutes but it took longer because the lights are out.

So people who are out on the road exercising, using the four way stop. You see there was an RV here and a portion of that roof has landed on top of that RV. The good news, no reported injuries, no fatalities. But as you can see this storm ripped through and there will be a lot of cleanup. I'm going to send it back to you now, John.

BERMAN: Look at that. Adrienne, what is that on top of that RV? That is just amazing. That's just a twisted piece of construction. It's crazy.

BROADDUS: And there was some repair done here earlier to make sure it's safe so we are able to come here and show you this. But yes, when you take a look at the pictures, it's hard to believe some folks walked away without any injury. You can see the insulation of this building here again we're in a neighborhood or community, there are houses around in the neighborhood.

[09:15:00]

This is a Mexican restaurant. We spoke with a member of the Colona police department who says this is a place where people like to come and gather. But thankfully, nobody was here yesterday, when the storm passed through. This stretch of the roadway is closed. Even down here on the ground, you see the debris, I'll send it back to you.

BERMAN: Adrienne Broaddus for us in Colona, Illinois. Obviously, Adrienne, you and everyone else there stay safe. Those downed power lines. That is the main threat right now. Thanks so much, Adrienne. All right, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and John, this isn't - the threat isn't over yet. I mean, we're going to be following this throughout the next three hours. And also this ahead. New video just released shows the moment a police officer fatally shot a 17-year old.

What we're learning about this deadly attack is ahead plus for the first time the President of Taiwan is meeting a speaker of the house on U.S. soil. The warning now from China just ahead of this historic meeting, and new jobs numbers show employers slowed down on hiring last month. So what does this one mean for the economy? That's all ahead on CNN News Central.

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[09:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: On our radar this morning, a new report out just now shows the private sector added 145,000 jobs last month. That's below what economists were expecting and a considerable drop from February which could be a sign that the U.S. economy is headed toward a slowdown.

And $8.9 billion for baby powder. That is how much Johnson and Johnson says that it's willing to pay 1000s of plaintiffs over the next 25 years to settle allegations of the company's baby powder and other type of products caused cancer and the company is not admitting wrongdoing. The settlement must still be approved by a bankruptcy court.

And a historic high stakes meeting will be happening today between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwan's President. They'll be meeting at the Reagan Presidential Library in California amid rising tensions with China. John?

BERMAN: Chicago waking up with a new mayor elect this morning. CNN projects that Brandon Johnson has been elected to replace Lori Lightfoot. Johnson is a Cook County Commissioner and Teachers Union organizer who ran as a progressive.

In Tuesday's runoff, Johnson defeated fellow Democrat Paul Vallas who ran on a tough on crime agenda. CNN's Omar Jimenez has been following this race for us and look, this was a race that Democrats around the country were watching to get a sense of the direction the party may be headed.

OMAR JIMINEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, on one side you had - it was almost a battle of democratic ideologies. You had Brandon Johnson, a little bit more progressive. Paul Vallas, little bit more on the moderate side. So as you mentioned, Democrats looking at where are the residents of the big city going to fall here.

Now how he actually got it done. This was a runoff election. So in the previous election, when they beat out the incumbent mayor, Lori Lightfoot, there's a big opportunity here for Johnson and his opponent, Paul Vallas because Lightfoot took almost all or I should say a lot of the black neighborhoods on the south and west sides of the city.

Congressman Jesus Chuy Garcia took a lot out of the Latino neighborhoods. So those were all significant votes that were up for grabs, and Johnson took just about every single ward that Lightfoot did. So you see that probably played an impact into this. Now, though, comes a tough part.

How do you actually lead Chicago and he spoke a little bit about this last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON JOHNSON, CHICAGO MAYOR ELECT (D): I value you. And I want to hear from you. I want to work with you. And I'll be the mayor for you too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMINEZ: And that's him talking to those that didn't vote for him, including the police union, who of course endorsed his opponent, Paul Vallas.

BERMAN: It is one of the hardest jobs in the country being a big city mayor in Chicago and I think Chicago maybe sometimes even more so. Omar, all kinds of messages from Democrats overnight. If there's one thing they are waking up happy about this morning, it's the Supreme Court race in Wisconsin, what happened and why is that so important?

JIMINEZ: Well, for starters, the Midwest was busy when it came to elections yesterday. But yes, in this race for Supreme Court, this really has major implications for the future of legal challenges to the state's abortion ban. And this was a conservative dominated bench for a decade.

And you see the results here on the screen, Janet Protasiewicz's substantial win over Dan Kelly, and after - with this conservative majority on the bench, you had one judge retire, so that created this opportunity, and she of course capitalized on it. There is a specific challenge to that abortion ban that went into effect in 1849. But then was reinstated after Roe V. Wade fell.

And then outside of that it was a key - politically, I should say, it was a key measure for voters on where their enthusiasm is on abortion nearly a year after Roe V. Wade fell. And so that may give some clues to where we end up heading into the next presidential cycle as well for again, where these Democratic voters.

BERMAN: Look, races in Wisconsin are decided by hundreds of votes usually or single 1000s. This was a big margin. You don't see margins like this in Wisconsin. Look at that.

JIMINEZ: Not at all.

BERMAN: I mean, that's like 175,000 votes right there. That is not what we're used to in that state. Omar Jimenez, I guess the Big 10, Big 10 election.

JIMINEZ: Big 10, yes, exactly.

BERMAN: Thanks so much, appreciate it. Sarah?

SIDNER: Who murdered three teenage friends in Florida? Investigators are searching for answers, including whether they were targeted. And Ukrainian President Zelensky is in neighboring Poland today to meet with the Polish president. It's his first official visit since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. Details on that meeting next.

[09:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: New video out of Missouri shows the destructive force of a large and extremely dangerous tornado that touched down in Missouri overnight. Now officials say there are multiple fatalities and injuries. It is one of at least 10 tornadoes reported in three states.

We also heard reports of hail, the size of grapefruits. The danger continues as severe weather threatens 85 million Americans nationwide. Kate.

BOLDUAN: This just in to CNN. The FBI and DOJ have opened a civil rights investigation into the fatal police shooting of a 17-year old. Now police in Washington DC, they've released the disturbing body camera video of that shooting.