Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Today, Trump Heads to Florida Ahead of Arraignment; Soon, Miami Holds News Conference on Safety and Security Before Trump Court Appearance; Barr Says, Presenting Trump as Victim is Ridiculous. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired June 12, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: You are looking at brand new video just in right now. The barricades are blowing up in Miami as the city braces for the historic federal indictment of former President Donald Trump. Trump will leave New Jersey to head to Florida very soon within the next hour. We are awaiting his departure.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: And security intensifying as threats of possible violence outside the courthouse rise. The heated rhetoric now raising alarm among FBI officials. John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ukrainian counteroffensive now showing signs of success, leading perhaps to a new, unusual admission from Vladimir Putin. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: This hour, a defiant Donald Trump is expected to depart his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and travel to Miami, where he will become the first ever former president to be arraigned in federal court.

Trump will appear inside a Miami courthouse, the one you're seeing behind me there. That will happen tomorrow. And for the second time in less than two months, he will be placed under arrest, this time on 37 charges related to his handling of classified documents.

We're told security in South Florida is intensifying and Trump is stirring up his base, calling supporters to rally there and calling on them to financially support him as he does. A fundraising event is now scheduled right after his arraignment.

CNN National Correspondent Kristen Holmes is in Bedminster, New Jersey, where Donald Trump's team has been strategizing. I understand that's where they were when they got that phone call that he was being indicted. What are you learning this morning?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Sara. So, we've just learned from someone familiar with the president's travel that Walt Nauta, the aide who was indicted alongside Trump, will be traveling, or is expected to travel with the former president down to Florida when he goes for his court appearance. Now, once they get there, it is unclear what that will look like in terms of them leaving their Doral club, that's where Trump will be staying and heading over to the courthouse. But this is very significant for a number of reasons. There have been questions after Nauta was indicted whether or not he would stay by Trump's side, if he would try and cooperate in any way. But as of right now, it appears the two are sticking together. Again, he will be there with him, traveling down to Florida on this important day.

And as we have reported, we know that Trump is going to be staying at his Doral Resort. He's going to be meeting with his attorneys and discussing adding a lawyer to his legal team there in Florida. They need another Florida-based attorney. So, unclear where those conversations are, but, obviously, something they are all working on. They have that fundraiser that is coming up on Tuesday after he delivers remarks. They are trying to continue to ride this wave. That's how one aide described it to me.

And I do want to note one thing from this weekend. I think it was very important. It was the first time we actually heard this from the former president. He has been out there saying over and over again that this is good for him politically, that it helps his polls, it helps his fundraising. But this weekend, he said in an interview with Politico that he didn't want to be indicted, that he went his whole life without being indicted. And it was a glimpse into his mindset here.

This is clearly weighing on him. Even though he is a contender for 2024, even though he tries to put everything into political perspective, it is very clear that these legal battles that continue to mount, and particularly this federal indictment, is weighing on the former president.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much for that.

I want to now bring in Katelyn Polantz. She has been outside the court in Miami for several days. Katelyn, can you walk us through what will play out over the next day and also what you're seeing now? We were noticing new barricades, new video of the barricades kind of going up there as they're ramping up security.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Sara, there's certainly more people here around the Miami Federal Courthouse since that indictment on Friday of Donald Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta. But much of the activity will happen over the course of just a few hours tomorrow afternoon. So, that's when Trump and Walt Nauta are both scheduled. They're summoned to this court to appear before a magistrate judge. So, a judge that will take them through the initial proceedings of defendants after they're charged with a case like this by a grand jury.

And what will happen is Trump and Nauta very likely, if they're traveling together, they'll be brought into this federal courthouse without being seen very clearly. They won't have to walk in through the front door. They very likely will be brought in underground, taken up to that courtroom, and then they will appear before the judge. [10:05:05]

Now, this is not like the case in New York State where there are cameras and photographs of what happens in the building. We do have a sketch artist who's going to be able to sketch it, but there are no video recordings. There's no photography inside federal court buildings. And when you're in that sort of courtroom, this is a pretty big courtroom, to our understanding, but it still is a pretty confined space. It's a humbling space. It can be a theatrical space.

And this is when Donald Trump will be faced with those 37 counts he's indicted under, where he will have to face the judge, where he will learn what those counts are exactly, and then enter his not guilty plea, which is what we're fully expecting him to do tomorrow. Then he'll be processed in the system and will exit the court. It could be quite short, all of this happening tomorrow inside the courthouse, and then the real work kicks off, headed to trial, and the case goes before Judge Aileen Cannon to preside over that for the future. Sara?

SIDNER: And we should mention that's not unusual, high-profile defendants to be taken in in a secret way to get into a court. But it is unprecedented that this is a former president facing federal charges. That's never happened before. Thank you so much, Katelyn Polantz and also to Kristen Holmes there. Rahel?

SOLOMON: And, Sara, happening right now, law enforcement from multiple agencies really stepping up security in Miami ahead of former President Trump's appearance before a federal judge there tomorrow. Hours from now, we expect to hear from officials on their safety precautions.

CNN Correspondent Carlos Suarez also outside that court in Miami, So, Carlos, bring us a bit more color. What more are you seeing there?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, good morning. So, we are starting to see a growing number of uniformed officers outside of the federal courthouse. In the last hour or so, barricades have been put up along the perimeter of this building. And we're seeing a lot of these uniformed officers, some of them with canines going around the property.

The Miami Police Department is scheduled to give an update on its safety and security plan at a news conference here in downtown Miami later this afternoon. It is our understanding that all of the officers with the Miami Police Department have been told that they are on standby ahead of the former president's appearance here in downtown Miami tomorrow.

Now, law enforcement sources tell CNN that a group of FBI special agents have been assigned to a domestic terrorism squad, and their job right now is to identify any possible threats to this building here. We're told that they're also keeping a close eye on the Proud Boys because there was some conversation between some of the members of that group about traveling to Florida.

Now, over the weekend, the mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, he was asked about some of the preparations going into Tuesday. He talked about some of the issues that he hopes to provide a little bit more information on Fox News Sunday, and here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ (R-MIAMI, FL): We want to make sure that all our citizens know that they're going to be able to express their First Amendment rights, and at the same time, we're going to keep them safe, and we're going to make sure that there is no disorder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

C. SUAREZ: And as we head into Tuesday, it is still unclear exactly what area of downtown Miami some of these protesters that might come out here will be kept. There is an area to the south of this courthouse that has a bit of a clearing, and it's possible that any groups that might come out here in support of the former president might be kept there.

Again, in the last hour or so, we have seen barricades go up around this federal courthouse, and we are starting to see a lot more uniformed officers patrolling the property. Guys?

SOLOMON: Much more to come here. Carlos, keep us posted. Thank you. John?

BERMAN: All right. Thanks so much for help.

This morning, how strong is the case against Donald Trump? Trump's own former attorney general, Bill Barr calls it all very damning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BARR, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL UNDER TRUMP: If even half of it is true, then he's toast. I mean, 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)

BERMAN: All right. With us now if former Trump White House Lawyer Jim Schultz. Counselor, thank you very much for being with us this morning. Jim, what does Bill Barr see?

JIM SCHULTZ, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: Look, what we saw was a speaking indictment fulsome with facts devastating and compelling, if proven at trial, no doubt about it. This is a serious indictment. The FBI was definitely careful about how they handled this investigation, and I think it's going to be an uphill battle for the former president.

BERMAN: Jim, moments ago, we learned that Walt Nada, who is also in this indictment, will be charged with these crimes, is traveling with Donald Trump to Miami.

[10:10:05] Why is Trump keeping Nauta so close? What does this tell you?

SCHULTZ: Well, look, they're co-defendants in the case at this point in time, and Nauta has remained loyal. Certainly, he's traveling with the president. They probably have joint defense agreements between their attorneys and are going to -- so far, it looks like they're going to defend the case as a joint effort. So, no surprise that he's going to continue to stick with the president if they're going to continue to defend the case and he's not going to cooperate.

BERMAN: What would you advise Walt Nauta if you were representing him? Would you advise him that perhaps he should go his own way?

SCHULTZ: Look, his lawyers have to make their own judgments as to whether or not he goes his own way or not. And he has to make his own personal decisions because he knows the facts, as he knows them, the government knows the facts as they know them. And those are decisions that lawyers have to make, not outsiders that haven't been privy to what has gone on in the grand jury.

That being said, I think what we're going to see tomorrow is a very quick hearing. They would have the right to have the indictment read to them. They're going to waive that right, undoubtedly, and they're going to plead not guilty, both of them, and it will take a very short time tomorrow.

BERMAN: So I think lost in all the intensity over the last few days was an interview that our Jake Tapper did with Donald Trump's former -- one of his many former attorneys, Tim Parlatore, where he talked about his reaction to the indictment and what surprised him. I want you to listen to part of that, Jim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: What were you not aware of?

TIM PARLATORE, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: A lot of the specific allegations about moving boxes before the search that Evan did? There are things in here that I think, if they have backup for, are certainly problematic.

TAPPER: Like what?

PARLATORE: That whole discussion about, you know, talking to Walt, Walt moving the boxes up to the residents and everything, you know, that is potentially problematic, especially if backed up by video.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So this is a guy, Jim, who was representing Donald Trump until a few weeks ago, reading this indictment and saying, this is problematic, this new evidence we are seeing of Walt Nauta moving the boxes. Why do you think that hit him like that?

SCHULTZ: Well, what it does show is, if proven true, is that there was an effort to obstruct justice there, and that's key to one portion of their case. I think what you're going to see from the defense in this case after they plead not guilty is that, one, you're going to see the prosecution, one, say, we're ready to go to trial, right? We've got our case, we have our facts, we're ready to go to trial as soon as possible. Florida is seen as a rocket or Southern Florida is seen as a rocket docket jurisdiction, which means they stick to that and they move through the cases very quickly. They're going to move to discovery.

And what's going to happen in discovery is, under Rule 16, the prosecutors will have to turn over all evidence, including exculpatory evidence, meaning evidence that would be good for the defense in this case, over to the defense. That's something that they haven't seen thus far. And I'm sure they're going to look through that.

And I think the other thing that you're going to see out of the defense in this case is they're going to try to -- the affidavit of probable cause is what backed up that warrant when they did that search at Mar-a-Lago. I think you're going to see them challenge that affidavit of probable cause. I think it's an uphill battle, without a doubt. But what they're going to try to do is exclude evidence by and through motions, because it seems like the facts are really locked up here. And unless they start having some success at the motion level, excluding evidence, they have a real they have some real trouble ahead of them.

BERMAN: So, these arguments are going to be made before Judge Aileen Cannon, the federal judge, who, early on in this whole process, gave some favorable rulings, one big favorable ruling to Donald Trump. The Trump Team, how important is a delay here? If they can delay this past the election, if he wins, this is game over, right? He'll just pardon himself on January 20th.

SCHULTZ: I think there is little chance that this case gets delayed until after the election. I think that given the jurisdiction they're in, given the issues that are before them, the government is going to push forward that this is not a very complicated case. There's going to be other defenses that they're going to push forward in motions. One may be trying to exclude the testimony of Donald Trump's own lawyers.

If you remember, during the grand jury and in the indictment, some of the testimony came from Donald Trump's own lawyers. And the reason why they were able to testify is because the crime fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege applied there, according to the judge overseeing the grand jury. What the defense is going to try to do is say, look, that was out of bounds. Those were attorney-client privilege conversations, not subject to that.

[10:15:01]

Again, a really uphill battle from what we've seen indictment to win those types of motions.

BERMAN: Jim Schultz, thank you for helping us understand this. I really appreciate it. Sara? SIDNER: all right. The Republican presidential candidates are facing a revealing choice. Do they stick with the base, show Trump loyalty, while trying to offer another path, or sharply criticize the former president? Coming up, the response from the candidates.

Plus, finance company JPMorgan is settling a lawsuit brought by the victims of Jeffrey Epstein. The accusations they were leveling against the bank, that's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:20:00]

SIDNER: On our radar this morning, JPMorgan Chase has settled a class action lawsuit from Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse victims. They accused the bank of enabling Epstein's sex trafficking while he was a client of the bank.

In a statement, the bank and the victims' lawyer said that the settlement is in the best interest of all parties, saying, quote, especially the survive drivers who were the victims of Epstein's terrible abuse. The agreement is subject to court approval and the amount of the settlement not disclosed. Rahel?

SOLOMON: All right, Sara, thank you. And this morning, CNN has learned that FBI special agents across the country are working to identify any possible terrorism threats ahead of former President Trump's appearance in federal court tomorrow. That's according to several law enforcement sources who also say various groups like the Proud Boys are discussing plans to travel to Florida as Trump faces a second criminal indictment.

Now, the FBI has yet to find any indications of specific or credible threats, but prominent right wing figures have been using some pretty charged rhetoric in support of the former president. Here's former Arizona Gubernatorial Candidate Kari Lake at a Republican event in Georgia on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARI LAKE, FORMER REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We're at war, people.

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.

And I'm going to tell you, yes, most of us are card carrying members of the NRA.

That's not a threat. That's a public service announcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: CNN's Josh Campbell joins me now. Josh, you've been talking to your sources. What are they telling you? JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are scanning for threats across the country and their work made much more difficult by Republican political leaders whipping people up with this caustic language. You just heard there from Kari Lake essentially insinuating that members of the National Rifle Association stand ready to shoot senior Justice Department officials.

I want to show you another. This was a tweet that was put up that received widespread condemnation. This is from Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs. He says that we have now reached a war phase. Eye for an eye.

Now, his office later said that he wasn't actually literally talking about war. But in this post-January 6th environment, that is really difficult to understand. We know that words matter. We saw, for example, Rudy Giuliani outside the White House calling for trial by combat. Shortly thereafter, violent mobs stormed the U.S. Capitol.

So, this is this atmosphere that law enforcement is working in. I'm told that they are seeing what's being written online about these groups talking about possibly going down to Florida, as you mentioned right now, no specific credible threats. But one thing they're trying to do, because so many of these forums are closed off, is really focusing greater energy and resources on recruiting informants who could report on these extremists, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Josh, as you mentioned, the atmosphere, I think context is important here. Help us understand this online rhetoric coming at a time where the Department of Homeland Security had already been warning about potential political violence.

CAMPBELL: That's right. Even before former President Trump's federal indictment, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent this bulletin out across the country to law enforcement. They have analysts who scan the threat environment and advise law enforcement about what they're seeing.

I'll read you part of this bulletin. They say that the U.S. remains in a heightened threat environment in the coming months. Factors that could mobilize individuals to commit violence in include their perceptions of the 2024 general election cycle and legislative or judicial decisions.

Now, they don't specifically point to Trump's legal woes, but judicial decisions will be something to watch as these various trials and legal issues that he's facing continue. Of course, that concerning law enforcement across the country, because they're seeing these extremists talk about planning, talk about plotting. What they don't want to happen is for people to actually act on that. It's a very sensitive time that we're in, something that law enforcement is certainly paying attention to, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Absolutely. Josh Campbell, thank you. John?

BERMAN: Thanks, Rael. So, you heard former Attorney General Bill Barr call the case against Donald Trump up very damning. So, what about other Republicans? How the pitches being made by Trump's primary opponents might be shifting a bit this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

SIDNER: Welcome back to CNN News Central. Next hour, former President Donald Trump is expected to, of course, head to Miami, where he will appear before a federal judge tomorrow. You are looking at live pictures of the courthouse where he is set to be arraigned and to be arrested. Even though this is Donald Trump's second indictment, polling suggests his supporters standing by him.

CNN's Harry Enten joins us now to talk about what all of this means, especially because obviously there's a 2024 presidential election. The campaign has already started.

All right, give us the numbers here. What does this tell you about how this indictment has impacted people?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes. So, look, let's start off with a basic question. Should Trump have been charged for a crime for how we handle classified documents? This is a split that we've been seeing over and over and over again. So, you look overall, look, the plurality of Americans, 48 percent, say yes. You look at Republicans, though, look at that. Just 16 percent of them say yes. Look at the no com.

[10:30:00]

The vast majority of Republicans, 67 percent, believe that Trump should not have been charged as with a crime when it comes to his handling of the classified document.