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Trump Heads to Miami; Trump to Meet with Legal Team; Massive Security Ahead of Trump Hearing; Prosecutors Face Challenges. Aired 9- 9:30a ET

Aired June 12, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:06]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, Donald Trump's plane on a tarmac in New Jersey waiting to take him to Florida where dozens of federal charges await him. It's an historic morning with major new developments in this unprecedented case.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Pressure also building within the Republican Party. New polling finds the indictment will likely not pose a threat to President Trump's 2024 run. What this now means for the future of the GOP and how his rivals are responding.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: And in Miami, security outside this federal courthouse only getting tighter. More police now being brought in as Trump calls on his supporters to gather. We are covering this major story and many more like only CNN can right now on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: The road to Miami and the surrender of the former president of the United States begins this morning. Very shortly Donald Trump will leave his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course, where he is accused of displaying sensitive national security documents to guests. He will then board his plane, that is waiting on the tarmac, at Newark Airport. He will head to Florida. We are awaiting his departure.

Trump will appear inside a Miami courthouse tomorrow and be placed under arrest on 37 charges relating to his handling of classified documents.

This morning security is tight and getting tighter. Trump is calling on supporters to rally. Today we are going to get an update from law enforcement as fears of mass protests and possible violence grows.

We're also getting new details of just how quick this trip to south Florida will be. After court Trump will fly back to New Jersey where he will speak at a fundraiser. He is vowing to stay in the presidential race even if convicted.

We have crews covering every angle, every development this morning.

Let's begin in Miami. CNN's Katelyn Polantz is there.

Katelyn, why don't you just set the scene of what's going on. KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, John,

the scene of the alleged crimes here is just along the Florida coast in Palm Beach. But we are in Miami, and that is where Donald Trump is going to have to go to make his first appearance in federal court facing this unprecedented indictment.

So, the way that this is going to play out is Donald Trump has to travel into the state of Florida. He's up in New Jersey. So, he's going to travel into Florida, into Miami, stay at his resort, get together (INAUDIBLE) so that they're going to be able to tell him, you know, what to expect in federal court, what's going to happen in this proceeding.

And then tomorrow he and his entourage, security that protects him, they will be coming to the courthouse. So we might not see him at all physically walk into the courthouse.

And once he's inside, then it's even more of a lockdown. This isn't like his case in New York state where there were cameras in the hallway watching him to go into the courtroom and then photographs of him in the courtroom itself. There will be nothing like that.

So, he will be appearing before a magistrate judge. Also, his co- defendant, Walt Nauta, is summoned to be here at that same time. They're going to be read the charges or told what they're charged with. So, the willful retention of documents for Donald Trump. And then for both of them, obstruction of justice. They're both accused of trying to obstruct the investigation by moving boxes around Mar-a-Lago so the feds wouldn't find them.

And then they'll get the opportunity to enter their pleas. We do expect them both to say that they are not guilty, even if there could be the possibility of a plea deal on the horizon or further along in this. And that will all be before a magistrate judge.

What will happen after that is what we'll really be watching for because that could be a pretty short proceeding, John. After that, that's when the federal district judge, Aileen Cannon, she'll come in and she'll help set a timeline and discuss a little bit more details about how this is also going to play out toward trial.

BERMAN: You say Aileen Cannon, the federal judge, will help set a timeline. People remember Aileen Cannon because she was the judge who gave somewhat favorable rulings to Donald Trump early on in this investigation that were overruled by an appeals court. When she sets the timing for this case, could we learn, for instance, if there might be a trial before a presidential election?

POLANTZ: Totally. And, John, it's quite plausible a trial would take place before the presidential election. That's a pretty long time for now in the clock of a court. But it -- the question is how close to the presidential election it will be. And you mentioned Judge Aileen Cannon, what she has done before in this. The thing that she was overturned on doing by the appeals court previously was she had decided to elongate the investigation. They said she couldn't do that. So, we are going to be watching to see what she does here, if she will agree with the Justice Department to make this a speedy trial.

[09:05:00]

BERMAN: Yes, that might be one of the most important things to watch tomorrow.

Katelyn Polantz, we are lucky to have you there. I expect we'll be talking quite a lot in the next few hours and days. Thank you.

Rahel.

SOLOMON: And, John, of course, no American has ever run for president while facing dozens of felonies. So, how exactly is Trump's team preparing to handle all of this?

CNN's Alayna Treene is in Bedminster, New Jersey, outside of Trump's national golf club, where his team has been strategizing.

Alayna, what more are we learning about Trump's plans for today?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Rahel.

So, we are just outside Donald Trump's golf club in Bedminster where he'll soon be leaving to head to Florida ahead of his appearance in court tomorrow. He'll be traveling just by here. And then we're told that once he's there he's going to be huddling with his Florida-based legal team to figure out his new strategy. That's after Donald Trump abruptly removed two of his attorneys, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, on Friday.

And we are told that he also spent the weekend calling more attorneys and that his attorney, who he just hired a couple months ago, Todd Blanche, will appear with him in court tomorrow.

Now, tonight, Donald Trump is expected to stay at his Dora Resort in Miami. And then immediately after his arraignment tomorrow afternoon he's going to be flying back to Bedminster where he'll host a fundraiser and speak publicly to the crowd there.

Now, Rahel, we have seen this playbook before. Donald Trump, when he was indicted in April in Manhattan, he left his - that arraignment and abruptly flew to Mar-a-Lago, where he took to a stage ahead of a crowd of his supporters and he railed against the charges and framed them as very political. And I'm told that we should expect similar remarks tomorrow night in Bedminster, Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right, Alayna Treene, live for us there in Bedminster. We'll check in with you throughout the morning. Alayna, thank you.

John.

BERMAN: So, this morning, Trump's opponents for the Republican nomination are weighing in on the indictment. And their comments range from condemnation to defense. On one end you have former New Jersey governor -- sorry, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson who said, quote, we don't need a commander in chief that disregards the nation's secrets.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who will appear in a CNN town hall tonight, said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The bigger issue for our country is, is this the type of conduct that we want from someone who wants to be president of the United States?

The facts that are laid out here are damning in terms of Donald Trump's conduct. And that's what, I think, we as a party should be looking at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So a shade less critical, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley called the indictment prosecutorial overreach, but she did add that it was time to move, quote, beyond the endless drama and distractions.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum said that if elected he would follow every rule related to the handling of classified documents. He claims voters don't want to spend their time talking about Trump's mishandling of documents.

Former Vice President Mike Pence said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE (R), FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We also need to hear the former president's defense. Then each of us can make our own judgment on whether this is the latest example of a Justice Department working in injustice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He also said that Attorney General Merrick Garland should, quote, stop hiding behind the special counsel.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis accused the DOJ of weaponizing federal law enforcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL) AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can't have one faction of society weaponizing the power of the state against factions that it doesn't like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: And on the other end, from Asa Hutchinson and Chris Christie, you have entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who flat out said he would pardon the former president if he is elected.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, law enforcement officials in Florida are ramping up, as you might imagine, security outside that Miami courthouse. Former President Trump will appear there before a federal judge tomorrow. In just a few hours, officials in Miami will hold a press conference on their security preparations.

With us now, CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller.

Good morning to you.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Good morning.

SIDNER: When you look at what we can expect, something struck me. Donald Trump put out on social media saying, see you in Miami. And it reminded me of another thing he said on January -- before the January 6th insurrection, it's going to be wild is what he said back then.

Is this a different message but same intention, to get people to come out and support him?

MILLER: Well, I know he wants to get people out. The flier for the rally, the formal flier, says peaceful rally. He was on the radio with Roger Stone. Roger Stone, you know, underscored that, but said peaceful, orderly and so on. So, there's a bit of a change in the message, which is probably the calculus that January 6th didn't do him a lot of good in terms of image. So, I think what they're saying they expect of people is, show up, we need the picture, we need the voice.

[09:10:00]

SIDNER: What does that mean to law enforcement?

MILLER: What it means to law enforcement is, they're looking at this in a 360-degree view. Not just what Donald Trump is saying about showing up, which is, what's going on in the chat rooms, what's the pitch and tone of the things that you're seeing on Discord and TikTok and so on, and what is the factor of the crowd becoming disorderly versus something by a lone wolf. And maybe not in Miami.

So, as Josh Campbell, from CNN, reported on Friday, the FBI's intelligence director put out a notice to 56 field office saying, ear to the ground, pulse your sources, watch the social media. The fusion centers across the country are looking at that, and what they're seeing is, you know, we're going to 1776 these MF's, you know, time to start loading magazines, this is civil war. So, they're concerned about those comments from individuals.

Now, in context, we saw that during and before and leading up to the New York indictment --

SIDNER: That's right.

MILLER: And nothing happened. But that was because of -- either because nothing happened or because there was very good security built around that.

SIDNER: Yes.

MILLER: Miami PD is there. Miami-Dade County is there. The Florida State Police are there. U.S. Marshals inside the courthouse. FBI scanning for threats. Secret Service protecting Trump. So, you're going to look at a big operation today.

SIDNER: I want to talk about some of the rhetoric that's been used. It really is a war-like rhetoric being used by Donald Trump, who called this the final battle. Two Arizona Republicans, Andy Biggs saying that we've now reached a war phase, and listen to this from Kari Lake, who failed to win the governorship in Arizona.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARI LAKE (R), FORMER ARIZONA GOV. CANDIDATE: If you want to get to President Trump, you're going to have to go through me and you're going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And then she mentioned that they were all members of the NRA. So that they have guns basically.

MILLER: Right.

SIDNER: How does law enforcement see this as a potential ginning up to the point where somebody, someone may take this in a very different way?

MILLER: I mean you look at it from an intelligence analyst standpoint, which is, where is the threat coming from? Does this individual have access to weapons? Has there been any planning or scoping out operationally to do something?

A lot of this is blowhards, puffery. But you have to remember, right after the Mar-a-Lago search warrant, an individual with an AR-15 assault weapon opened fire on an FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio, and then engaged in a shootout to his death with police. So, this kind of inflammatory talk in the words matter department from an intelligence standpoint is, it's not just the puffery. Somebody out there, somebody in multiples, is taking that very seriously. And we've seen that time and time again.

SIDNER: Yes, people act on it sometimes when they see all of this.

MILLER: Exactly.

SIDNER: I do want to lastly ask you, I know and have interviewed the former head of the Proud Boys, which is -- he's from Miami, he's from south Florida, and there are certainly -

MILLER: Enrique Tarrio.

SIDNER: Enrique Tarrio, who has been convicted now of seditious conspiracy, along with some of the other members. But there is a large contingent of Proud Boys there, other extremist groups. What's the calculation there for law enforcement?

MILLER: You know, the Proud Boys is an interesting group in that the leadership is going to jail, they're, you know, convicted. They've been - they're going to be sentenced to significant prison time. But it's a decentralized group.

SIDNER: Right.

MILLER: The Proud Boy chapters from state to state operate completely independently now. So, we have seen everything from Proud Boys showing up in full military gear with semi-automatic rifles at drag queen story hours for the purpose of intimidation. So, you know, when they make a call for other state chapters to join them in Miami, it's short notice. They don't create a big crowd, but they are of concern because of who they are and what they are.

SIDNER: All right, John Miller, always great to hear your analysis. Appreciate it.

MILLER: Thanks.

SIDNER: Rahel.

SOLOMON: And, Sara, with just one day to go until that Trump court appearance, all eyes are on prosecutors and the challenges they may face. Coming up, the tough road ahead for the special counsel.

Plus, Walt Nauta, an aide to Donald Trump, also indicted on six counts in the special counsel's investigation. He's accused of moving boxes of classified documents around the resort. So, who is the man who traveled with the former president from the White House to Mar-a-Lago?

And it's business as usual for President Biden, who is also being investigated for his handling of classified documents. How long will he stay silent?

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:18:52]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

Hours from now, Donald Trump leaves New Jersey ahead of his appearance in federal court in Miami tomorrow. Prosecutors are getting ready for some significant challenges as they begin trying the case against the former president.

Joining us now is former federal prosecutor Katie Cherkasky.

Katie, great to have you this morning.

So, let's start there with some of the challenges. A lot has been said about the judge at least tapped to initially oversee this case. That is Judge Aileen Cannon. She was appointed by Trump. She has already faced scrutiny for some past decisions that some have said were biased toward Trump.

In terms of how this impacts prosecutors, how much more challenging could that make this case for prosecutors?

KATIE CHERKASKY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, I think we have to look at any criminal case. The day that the indictment drops is really the strongest day for the prosecution. After that, defense counsel are going to be able to poke holes in the case, talk about witness credibility and find any sort of reasonable doubt that exists. And that's just on the facts and the law. And procedurally speaking, like you were mentioning the judge, the judge in the case does make a lot of very significant decisions about what evidence comes in, the timing of the case.

I think, realistically speaking, there's really no way this case gets to trial before the election. An that's just a normal trajectory for any federal case or any trial case, right?

[09:20:02]

So, I think that absolutely the judge can have an impact. The case does have challenges on both the legal side, factual side and on the procedural side in many ways, but that's in any prosecution really.

SOLOMON: In terms of the evidence we saw in the indictment, some of the questions that Trump asked his own counsel was ultimately included in indictment. And you say you found that really shocking. Why is that?

CHERKASKY: Well, I find it a bit odd that in the indictment some of the evidence that's been put forth by the prosecutors at this point is actually questions that Donald Trump posed to counsel that they're now using as evidence of some sort of obstruction or efforts to obstruct. And that really kind of hinges on the idea of an attorney/client privilege because when we're talking about Trump or any client, the attorneys are the ones who are obviously the experts on the law. A client should be able to ask their counsel questions about the scope of the law and what bounds that actually has. So, I'm interested by the fact that in the indictment itself, if you read the statements from Trump, they're really not statements at all. Many of them are actually questions that are posed. So, that does bring into the question how far the attorney/client privilege is going to be kind of implicated in all of this.

SOLOMON: I bet the question will be really interesting to see how much of the questions were pure questions versus suggestions.

That said, in terms of the attorney/client privilege, obviously pierced in this case, very unusual. How much -- how unusual, in fact, is that for prosecutors to have that type of evidence of those conversations between an attorney and his client, or her client?

CHERKASKY: Well, I think that there are some attorneys involved here who are concerned about their own liability, own culpability in this, and so they wanted to get ahead of that and say, look, I was doing what my client kind of directed me to do. But, again, that's really a legal question for the judge to look at. So, I don't think it's so clean cut. It's very -- it's very uncommon for the most part, but certainly there are situations where you can pierce that privilege. I still think that that's going to be a challenge for prosecutors ultimately. And maybe some of the attorneys have culpability on their own. I don't know that that necessarily implicates their client, especially attorneys who are certifying things that they didn't personally view or confirm themselves.

SOLOMON: Trump's former AG, Bill Barr, spoke yesterday. This has been making the rounds. I want to play for you the clip and then we can discuss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BARR, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL UNDER TRUMP: If even half of it is true, then he's toast. I mean it's a - it's a pretty -- it's a very detailed indictment and it's very, very damning. And this idea of presenting Trump as a victim here, a victim of a witch hunt, is ridiculous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: So, what is it exactly that makes this indictment so much different? Is it the shear amount of evidence, the photos that were included in the indictment, the transcripts, the recordings? I mean, what makes this indictment so damning, as many have said?

CHERKASKY: I think, in my mind, I don't really understand the conclusion that Bill Barr comes to, that it's incredibly damning. I think there are aspects of it that are more damning than others. But, again, a lot of this hinges on what the judge and -- determines is the state of the law with regard to the status of these documents.

And I think -- I have not yet heard how this case is legally distinct from the Clinton case or the Biden case because when we're talking about retention or wrongful retention of national defense information or classified information, that actually occurs at the time that the documents are removed. Returning them at the behest or request of investigators or federal agents does not make the crime not occur. So, in terms of --

SOLOMON: There's also the obstruction component of this, that there is no evidence of with -

CHERKASKY: Well, that's a separate issue altogether.

SOLOMON: Right.

CHERKASKY: And certainly that's very true. So, the obstruction issues are separate but the retention crimes occur at the time that they're actually removed. So, in my mind, I think that there's a big question in many people's mind about the selective prosecution of this but certainly there - there's a lot of people saying it is strong. So, we'll see what happens.

SOLOMON: Apparently a lot of questions.

Katie Cherkasky, great to have you. Thank you.

CHERKASKY: Thank you.

SOLOMON: John.

BERMAN: All right, thanks so much, Rahel.

The Syracuse Police chief says all 13 people who were either shot, stabbed or hit by cars at a block party over the weekend are expected to survive. The scene unfolded when around 200 people gathered for the party, promoted on social media. No suspects have been publicly identified, but given the number of people involved, the chief says the investigation will be lengthy.

Brittney Griner's WNBA team says they will be making adjustments when they travel to protect their players -- in order to protect their players' safety. This comes after Griner was harassed at the Dallas Airport by a man yelling about the prisoner swap that led to her release from a Russian prison. A source tells CNN it got so heated that the man was tackled and law enforcement was involved.

History made at the Tony Awards as J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell became the first openly nonbinary actors to take home trophies and there was also a surprise in the lead actor category. Sean Hayes won for his role in "Good Night, Oscar." This is his first Tony Award. Many of the night's winners also expressed support for the writers, who are engaged in the ongoing writers' strike.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, an unbelievable ending in the search for four children who disappeared after their plane crashed in the Amazon. They were found alive after 40 days in the jungle.

[09:25:02]

We have new details on how they survived.

Also, former President Trump not the only one headed to court. His aide, Walt Nauta, who was also indicted, is expected to appear before a judge tomorrow afternoon. So, who is the man accused of moving the boxes of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: One person we have not heard from on this indictment, President Biden. Not saying a word on the unprecedented federal indictment of former President Trump.

[09:30:02]

While Trump and his Republican allies have slammed the prosecution as a political witch hunt.