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Charges on Trump Investigation to be Decided by Fulton County DA Fani Willis This Summer; Company Related to GOP Megadonor had Business Before Supreme Court; Russia's War on Ukraine; Russian Attack on Ukrainian Museum Resulted in Two Fatalities and 10 Injuries; Russian-Occupied Region of Ukraine Sent Dozens of Children to Belarus; After Fatal Theft-Related Accident, Two Chicago Teens Given Misdemeanor Charges; Politico Reports Florida Surgeon General Altered COVID-19 Vaccine Analysis. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 25, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CHIEF BUSINESS CORSSPONDENT AND CNN ANCHOR, EARLY START: And so, we'll be watching that. There'll be another round that they're hoping to have done at the last round of jobs cuts over there at Disney. And Disney is also restructuring, also trying to reduce some levels of management, and also trying to put content in a direct line with the finances of the company. So, really changing the way the prior CEO, Bob Chapek, had structured the company. So, a big deal over there.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: Tough times for certain companies.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: Even as the overall economy still seems to be adding jobs.

ROMANS: That's right.

BERMAN: Christine Romans, thank you very much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

BERMAN: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: From imminent to this summer, the district attorney investigating Former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia has now revealed when she plans to announce whether or not she will bring charges. In a letter to a local -- to local law enforcement, she brought to their attention, "The need for heightened security and preparedness ahead of the pending announcement."

CNN's Katelyn Polantz has more on this. She's joining us now. Katelyn, what more are you learning about? What's behind this delay?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Kate, there is two pieces of this. One, where the District Attorney, Fani Willis, in Georgie is being very public about what's going on here. She's saying that this timeline for expected charges decisions, it's going to be the back half of the summer. They would be announced between July 11th and September 1st. And that is because she is writing the letters to local law enforcement to make sure they have time to prepare.

That is one of the reasons why this seems to be kicked out so much further than what was initially expected by the D.A.'s office whenever they were saying there were imminent charges coming. There is a security concern here. In her letter she's saying that there could be a significant public reaction to the charges as they are announced. And she also mentions that they could -- there could be violence beyond what would be protected speech and protests. And so, that is one side of it.

The other piece of it is that there is a lot still happening behind the scenes in this investigation. We know that special grand jury did a very significant amount of work. Bringing in lots of witnesses, making recommendations, but even then, the district attorney's office has gotten cooperators, this is according to a reporting that came in this morning from my colleague Sara Murray. And Sara's reporting is that not only are they signing up cooperators, they are also bringing in additional evidence that the prosecutors are going to need to look through and see if that would become any part of these cases.

But Kate, all in all, this isn't a simple matter. We know that from the grand jury, the special grand jury report as it made its conclusions, that included more than a dozen charges. Potentially a dozen people charged in this, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes. It's great to see you, Katelyn. Thanks for that background. Super interesting.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: There is new reporting this morning, previously undisclosed ties between a Republican donor and Supreme Court Justine Clarence Thomas. CNN is learning that a company related to Harlan Crow did have business before the court in 2004 even though Thomas previously said Crow did not.

CNN's Ariane de Vogue is following all the twists and turns of this story. Ariane, what can you tell us now? This is a new and important detail.

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Right. And it puts the Supreme Court right back in the political spotlight, the place that it does not like it to be. And it all relates back to those "ProPublica" stories from a few weeks ago where Clarence -- it was revealed that Clarence Thomas had accepted these lavish trips and gifts from a mega GOP donor, Harlan Crow. And the fact that Clarence Thomas hadn't disclosed them on his financial disclosures.

And back then, Thomas released a statement and he said, early in my tenure at the court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and other on the judiciary and was advised that that sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends who did not have business before the court was not reportable. But what we are learning now is that a business related to Crow in fact did have business before the court. It was being sued by a firm, the firm wanted the Supreme Court to take up the appeal, and the Supreme Court ultimately didn't step in.

So now, this morning, spokespeople for Harlan Crow said, look, Crow, himself, wasn't directly involved in this related company. There was no direct involvement. But still, Sara, it points out more of a spotlight of the ethics problems at the Supreme Court and it gives us more information about the relationship between these two men.

SIDNER: Yes, and there is a key Democratic Senator, Ron Wyden, who is looking into whether the luxury trips Crow took Thomas on and real estate deal between the two should have been disclosed on tax filings. What information is the senator asking for?

DE VOGUE: Right. So, now you have this powerful Democrat, and he is asking Crow for a full accounting of all of the gifts.

[10:35:00]

He is questioning whether Crow, himself, complied with federal tax law. So, that is a new interesting way that Congress is getting in and this doesn't have to do with Thomas' financial disclosures. It has to do what -- with what Crow himself disclosed.

And you know, there are conservatives who say that all of these stories are coming up because Democrats don't like the direction of the Supreme Court and they are going after Clarence Thomas. But other people say that the reason there is a new cascade of stories is the fact that the Supreme Court itself does not have an ethics code that applies directly to the justices. And that's the bigger question, and that's why we are seeing all of these new stories and real pressure now at the Supreme Court to adopt an ethics code.

SIDNER: Ariane de Vogue, always with lots of good details. Thank you so much for joining us.

John.

BERMAN: Yes, I don't this people know there's no ethics code there.

SIDNER: Yes.

BERMAN: Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is accusing Russia of doing everything to destroy Ukraine completely. This follows a deadly missile strike on a museum. Coming up.

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[10:40:00]

BOLDUAN: Here are some of the big headlines coming into "CNN News Central" from around the world. Officials from Kenya have now exhumed at least 89 bodies from mass graves in an 800-acre forest. They're all thought to be followers of a Christian cult which allegedly persuaded them to starve them to reach heaven. 34 people were rescued in this. The leader of the cult has been arrested and police fear there are still more bodies to be found.

Venezuelan Opposition Leader, Juan Guaido, has arrived in Miami after alleging that he was forced to leave Colombia due to threats made against him and his family by the Maduro regime. Guaido's trip to Colombia was in breach of a travel ban imposed by the country's Supreme Court in January 2019 preventing him from leaving Venezuela. So far, Venezuelan authorities have not commented.

And then there is this back at the White House. From the centerpieces to the menu, the White House says that the U.S.-South Korea alliance will be on full display at tomorrow's state dinner. Guests are going to be served traditionally American dishes with distinctly Korean flavors. Courses are said to include braised beef short ribs on butter bean grits, Maryland crab cakes, and a deconstructed banana split with lemon bar ice cream, which I am very interested. I'm waiting and pausing and it's not coming up, but I'm interested to see what that looks like.

John.

BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Kate.

New this morning, at least two people have been killed, 10 other injured after a Russian missile strike on a museum in eastern Ukraine, it happened near Kharkiv which is Ukraine's second most populous city. This, as Ukrainian forces say they are achieving what they call impressive results against Russian forces near Kherson, that is towards the southern part of the country.

CNN Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is following all of this from Zaporizhzhia. Nick, the latest on these results that the Ukrainians say they are achieving in the south?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is the culmination of three days of reported activity between areas held by Ukraine, on one side of the river on Kherson, and then areas held Russia on the other side. Now, about 72 hours ago, analysts started suggesting the possibility that Ukrainian forces have crossed over the river and were attacking the Russians on the other side.

Ukrainian military officials, as they often do, try to quash that. They're very keen on keeping Ukrainian movements around this counteroffensive quiet. But today, said that they had managed to achieve, "Impress results". Taking out Russian artillery positions along that area.

Now, many analysts are saying, why if Ukraine's counteroffensive is imminent, would it focus its efforts on crossing a river? Very hard thing to do at the best of times to try and attack the Russians. But they have continually made these comments. And today, in fact, we've seen Russians try and post their own video, suggesting they're fully in control of strategic things along that riverbank and even air strike video showing massive firepower being used.

So, what does all of this mean? Well, most likely, in fact, we're seeing the Ukrainians pressure the Russians in this area to perhaps distract them, to perhaps draw their forces across to try and bolster their positions there because we may be seeing attempts, at some point, in the near future by Ukraine to push down south. Potentially cutting off the Crimean Peninsula held by Russian occupiers in 2014 from the rest of occupied Ukraine and the Russian mainland. That's the big strategic goal. And this talk may be part of the prelude to that. John.

BERMAN: So, Nick, not far from where you are in Zaporizhzhia, there is a Russian occupied area. And there are reports now that kids are being taken from that area, Ukrainian children, and being sent to Belarus, in the north. What are we learning about that?

WALSH: Yes, this is, I think to many Ukrainians, potentially reminiscent to what was seen months earlier. And what we're learning today is that in Vasylivka, not far from where I'm standing, essentially, the first Russian held town in occupied Ukraine to the south of where I'm standing. We're right in the crosshairs of this counteroffensive.

[10:45:00]

Although, a video was posted of Ukrainian children being offered a two-week holiday in Belarus, that's an ally of Russia and a route they take very circuitous would be through to Russia.

Now, on the surface, Russian officials are just saying they're moving them away from the front line to safety. But many of the Ukrainian officials, and indeed, war crimes indictment from The Hague against Russian President Vladimir Putin has pointed at how these supposed trips to safety have led to Ukrainian children being, essentially, held for months. Deported, says Ukraine. Unclear what will happen to this 43. But these scenes, I'm sure, eerily reminiscent to many who observed the thousands of Ukrainian children in what they called forced deportations in the past months. John.

BERMAN: All right. And of course, those forced deportations of children being called a war crime. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much for your reporting.

Sara.

SIDNER: A new report says, Florida surgeon general altered a COVID vaccine analysis last years. Details on that ahead.

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[10:50:00]

SIDNER: Two Chicago teenagers have been charged in connection to a crash that killed this six-month-old baby. Police say, the teens were in a stolen car that slammed into the pickup truck that was carrying little Cristian Uvidia. The teens have been charged with misdemeanors. But the family and some community activists say, that it is absolutely not enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNELISSE RIVERA, BABY NEPHEW KILLED: The funeral director, he suggested that we put balloons, because those will be the only balloons that he'll ever receive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: CNN's Adrienne Broaddus joins us now from Chicago. What is the family saying about these charges that have just been put forth?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, this is a family that is devastated. One family member said, as the charges stand now, it sends a message to those who loved Cristian that his life didn't matter, their words and not ours. So, what are the charges? Let's take a look. We're talking about two teens, a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old, both teens are males and they have been charged with one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass to a vehicle. This, after police say, the vehicle they were traveling in was stolen.

Take a look at this surveillance video. The surveillance video captures how fast these teens were traveling when they crashed into that pickup truck carrying six-month-old Cristian, his mom, and his two sisters. And now, members of the community are standing in the gap calling for additional charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW HOLMES, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: The charges does not fit the crime. My message is to the state's attorney and to anybody else that has hands on this case. What are you looking at? What are you feeling? How about first-degree murder? How about reckless homicide?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROADDUS: I reached out to the state's attorney's office, they told me they cannot comment on this case at this time. Chicago police tell us, the investigation is ongoing. And as they sort this all out, Cristian's family is preparing his funeral. And I can't help but to think, children are supposed to live longer than their parents, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, and you can see the result of that crash, how horrible. And that sweet two-year-old. I appreciate it. Adrienne there live for us there in Chicago.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: This morning, there's a serious accusation coming to light against Florida's top doctor. "Politico" is reporting that the state's Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo changed the results of a state-sponsored COVID vaccine study to suggest that some vaccines posed a higher risk for young men than they actually did. Ladapo's changes, or his accused of, has made it seem like the risk for cardiac death was higher than it was, this coming from "Politico." CNN's Elizabeth Cohen is following stories for us and has much more on it. Elizabeth, what does the CDC say about this risk kind of question? And also, what exactly is Ladapo accused of doing?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, the CDC says that these cardiac events after having an mRNA vaccine, like Pfizer and Moderna, that they are rare mostly among young men, teenagers, and young adult men, they are rare. And that these men recover very quickly.

And the CDC is clear about this. They give lots of data. And they go on to say, look, the benefits of getting the COVID vaccine, because as we know, COVID kills people. COVID can make people very, very sick even if they're young. The benefits far outweigh the downsides. But throughout the pandemic, the conservatives really point to this and said, see, we told you vaccines are bad.

So, let's take a look at what "Politico" is saying Dr. Ladapo did. He -- they say, that he deleted a statement that said increased risk of cardiac-related deaths is no longer significant. So, he deleted that. And he added this, he added a statement saying, mRNA vaccines maybe driving increase risk of cardiac-related deaths. So, there aren't deaths associated with this. Really, what this is about is people kind of sick, a little bit sick and recovering quickly. Kate.

BOLDUAN: What is this surgeon general saying in response to this?

COHEN: So, the surgeon general put out on a statement. He said that -- and this is the surgeon general of the State of Florida, the public has been the recipient of biased data and interpretations since the beginning of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine campaign. I have never been afraid of disagreement with peers or the media. Kate.

[10:55:00]

BOLDUAN: Much more to come. Elizabeth, thank you for bringing us that.

John.

BERMAN: All right. Thank so much, Kate.

The suspect accused of killing Cash App founder, Bob Lee, will be arraigned today, this as we learn about another disturbing incident involving the suspect.

President Biden announces his 2024 re-election plans. What we're learning about what the campaign is going to look like.

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BERMAN: President Biden announces he is all-in for 2024. He says he wants to finish the job and would like four more years to do it. Are voters all-in, too?

[11:00:00]