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Today, Surrenders to Face Federal Charges; Ramped-Up Security in Miami for Trump Arraignment. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired June 13, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Today, we will witness a first in American history. We are following the development this hour as former U. S. President and current 2024 frontrunner Donald Trump suit enters this courthouse and becomes the first ever former president to be federally arraigned.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump's legal team now preparing their defense. Why the strategy might be delay, delay, delay.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Meantime, right now, busloads of Trump supporters are preparing to leave for Miami and rally outside court. The security ramped up as officials track new threats. Every angle of this historic day coming to you now on CNN News Central.

SIDNER: Right now, all eyes are on former President Trump's resort in Doral, Florida, as well as this federal court in Miami. Very soon, Donald J. Trump will be under arrest, the first and only former president to ever face federal charges.

This morning, we're learning new details about Trump's legal team. Todd Blanche and Chris Kise are expected to represent the former president today.

We also just learned last night Trump ended up having dinner with his co-defendant, Walt Nauta, along with their attorneys. Sources say a number of senior political advisers were also at the table at his Doral resort.

Here's how we expect today's event to play out. The former president will arrive at the court by car. It's a quick drive, about 12 miles. Sources say he'll be taken under the building and will enter from there, largely avoiding cameras and the press when he actually walks in.

His appearance is scheduled for 03:00 P.M. Eastern today. But once he's inside that building, Trump will be officially under arrest. It is expected that he will be fingerprinted. However, we're hearing that he will not have a mug shot taken and no cameras are allowed in federal court. That is the rule.

The former president has maintained his innocence, and we do expect him to plead not guilty to all 37 counts being brought against him.

Let's get right to CNN Senior Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid, who is outside the court in Miami. It doesn't look like a lot of things have changed since earlier today. What are you seeing now?

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now there's a lot of media. There are a few people milling about. We even have some roosters wandering around. But that's just about the most excitement we've seen so far. But that could all change in a few hours when former President Trump is expected to travel from his Doral golf club here to federal court in downtown Miami to surrender.

Now, as you noted, he's going to travel here by car. He'll head into a garage under the federal court building behind me, so it's unlikely that we will see him. But, Sara, once he's inside the building, he is under arrest, and he will be processed more or less like any other defendant.

As you noted, he will be fingerprinted, but he will not get a mug shot. And part of the reason is because mug shots are used to identify people, usually if they go on the lamp. Former President Trump is arguably one of the most famous in the world, so they really don't need that here.

But then the hearing will get underway before a magistrate judge. The charges that have been filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith and other prosecutors will be read to Trump, and he will have the opportunity to enter a plea.

Now, he previewed what he's going to say on a radio show. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The judge is going to ask you tomorrow, how do you plead? Are you going to say anything beyond not guilty? Are you going to make a statement in court tomorrow?

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: No, I doubt. I'll just say not guilty. I didn't do anything wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Well, today in the hearing, the former president will be represented by Todd Blanche and former Florida Solicitor General Chris Kise. And we know they are trying to bring on additional attorneys to the legal team after the departures of pretty much every defense attorney who has represented Trump in this investigation so far.

Now, it may take them a little while, Sara, to really get the team all together. The former president has had difficulty in the past retaining lawyers, but this is of course the case of a lifetime.

SIDNER: Paula Reid, thank you so much for those updates outside the federal court, where at 03:00 P.M., the former President will be arraigned. Rahel? SOLOMON: And, Sara, after court, we know the President is heading back to New Jersey and straight back to campaigning. He is, of course, the current 2024 GOP frontrunner.

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CNN's Kristen Holmes is live in Bridgewater. That's near Trump's Golf club where a major fundraising event is in the works. But, first, Kristen, you have new reporting about the president and his aide, Walt Nauta. What can you tell us?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rahel. We have learned that last night, Trump ate dinner with his co-defendant, Walt Nauta, and both of their teams of attorneys, along with some of Trump's advisers. This is interesting, again, because, as we have noted, there were a lot of questions as to what exactly their relationship would look like after Walt was named as a co-defendant. And, clearly, they are in lockstep as of now.

The other thing to watch today as they appear together at the courthouse, we know that in New York, Walt was there in a body man capacity for Trump. He was behind him at all times. We saw that on camera. He's not going to be there. And there is no one playing that role today. So, this is an interesting dynamic.

The other thing to watch for is the interaction between Walt Nauta and the former president tonight at Bedminster. Is Trump going to talk about Nauta at all? Is Nauta going to make any kind of remarks? Is he going to be seen at the club? Right now, that is still unknown. Rahel?

SOLOMON: A lot of questions, for sure, and a lot to watch tonight. Kristen Holmes live for us in Bridgewater, Kristen, thank you. John?

BERMAN: All right. Joining us now to talk about Donald Trump's legal strategy, CNN's Laura Coates, our chief legal analyst, and former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman.

Laura, Walt Nauta, flew with Donald Trump to Florida, ate with Donald Trump last night in Florida. Donald Trump seems to be wrapping him in a bear hug, a physically and metaphorical bear hug. Why?

LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Because Jack Smith wrapped them both into one indictment. They are now considered co-defendants. I would expect them to continue to communicate. There's the joint defense agreement there's, the idea of why should they actually have to distance themselves.

As co-defendants, are going to have counsel who will work together, decide what the defenses should be, how to present an actual trial. He will have a separate attorney, but under a similar defense team. The reason this is so significant, of course, is because people talk about the expectation to flip this particular person.

I hear a lot about this notion of flipping someone, as if you always have to try to get the biggest fish in the pond. But it's essential to think about the indictment. It says Trump employee number two as well, to corroborate sometimes what they have about Walt Nauta.

And, remember, the fact that they are conspirators allegedly, having them together on the same indictment does not preclude them from having any correspondence from here on out, and the judge won't order them to be separate.

BERMAN: If you're Walt Nauta, do you want to be tied to Donald Trump quite like this? There's a little bit of a power disparity.

NICK AKERMAN, FORMER ASSISTANT SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: Yes, no question about it. I mean, Walt Nauta ought to be cooperating. He ought to take a guilty plea and he ought to testify against Donald Trump. But, obviously, the reason why Trump's got his arms around him is he doesn't want to let this guy go because the last thing he wants is for Walt Nauta to go in and take a guilty plea and testify against him.

BERMAN: How much of a handicap is it for federal prosecutors if they don't separate the two? Because Walt Nauta, if he were cooperating, could testify to what did Donald Trump tell you?

AKERMAN: Well, it's absolutely key that they be together. Walt Nauta had to either be a cooperating witness who took a guilty plea or had to be a defendant in this case. That's why the case is in Florida, because they didn't have venue over Walt Nauta. He wasn't aware of the grand jury subpoena. He wasn't aware of what the Archives was doing. Donald Trump was.

So, under a Supreme Court ruling, they could not have brought Walt Nada in the District of Columbia. So, it's very important that Walt Nauta be there because he's really the albatross around Trump's neck.

COATES: And remember, of course, a conspiracy requires the meeting of mind, some sort of an agreement, an overt act in furtherance of that discussion. So, leaving one party out of a conspiracy feels a little bit like the job undone.

Also, the reason you want to have joint trials, if you are the court, it's a matter of efficiency of the process. I'm not going to use the court's resources and panel new jurors. Can you imagine the voir dire already of this process about trying to get an impartial group of jurors who can be impartial in this instance and have the same witnesses, same presentation of evidence, all because you prefer something different? There has to be a reason to separate the two for the courts.

Now, they can move for it. The actual defense can move for that, but they might not ever want to.

BERMAN: If Donald Trump is elected president, Nick, one might rightly assume he would pardon himself, whether or not this case has already gone to trial or not, isn't it. In the Trump team's interest to just delay this as much as they possibly can? And how successful will they be in that effort?

AKERMAN: Well, I think that is in their interest. I agree with you. [10:10:00]

But if I were Jack Smith, I'd be appearing before Judge Cannon the first day. I'd say we turned over all the documents, all the discovery and we want to have a motion schedule set so that in 45 days, the defendants have to file their motions. We'll respond in 15 days and we're ready to go to trial in four months, and as the judge has set down a trial date. That's what ought to happen here and there's a good chance it will. This is a simple case. There is not a lot to it. I mean, there is no reason for any kind of delay.

BERMAN: Laura?

COATES: And if that happens, even in a rocket docket jurisdiction, that would mean that's pretty ambitious, but it would mean that you're before the Alvin Bragg Manhattan D.A. trial in March, it would also suggest that they do have that sense of control and thinking that they're very persuasive.

But you do have issues, including the attorney-client privilege. That's going to be litigated. The motions practice will be litigated. These aren't necessarily slam dunks for the defense to raise them, but they're going to try to raise these with an eye towards saying, let's stretch it out. We'd like to have more information. We want to figure out if they're going to allege misconduct by the prosecutors.

They don't have winning arguments, according to what we know right now, but they may want to delay because Trump has said he can fundraise off this. The idea of a political witch hunt might be advantageous. And we're talking about the court of law. He'll be talking about the court of public opinion.

BERMAN: Who decides? One person.

AKERMAN: The judge, absolutely. Judge Cannon will decide that. And there's no reason to believe that she won't move this along expeditiously. I know there's been a lot of criticism out there because she's a Trump appointee. She screwed up on her rulings with respect to the special master, but she has an excellent background.

She was confirmed by a bipartisan group of the Senate. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. She worked for a reputable law firm afterwards, served time in the U.S. Attorney's Office, and has a reputation as being tough on criminal defendants.

There's no reason to believe that after she was reversed by the 11th Circuit and instructed that Donald Trump is not to be treated any differently than any other defendant who's a criminal defendant in the United States. I think she's learned her lesson, and the odds are with everybody's eyes on her, she's going to do a good job.

And at the end of the day, the best person to try Donald Trump, if he's convicted, is a Trump appointee, because that will tamp down all of this concern about politicization of the judiciary, of the DOJ. I think it's really important that Judge Cannon continue in this case and do her job. COATES: I'm not yet convinced, but I'm happy to trust and verify.

BERMAN: Interesting points. Her first big decision will be on that timing, which could be crucial, to say the least. Sara?

SIDNER: Laura Coates, trust and verify, something we can all remember.

All right, Miami's Police chief is confident his officers will be able to handle any security issues surrounding Donald Trump's court appearance. Up next, details on the last minute security preps and the potential threats law enforcement could be facing.

And as Trump faces one legal challenge today, several others still in motion. We're tracking all of his pending cases. That is also ahead.

Plus, nine people have been injured in a mass shooting in Denver as crowds gather to celebrate the Nuggets' first NBA championship. Three people in critical condition at this hour. What police are saying about the case, ahead.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. This morning, security measures have ramped up in Miami around the federal courthouse. That's ahead of former President Trump's arraignment, and now just a few hours. Take a look. These are live pictures outside where you can see what appears to be right now press but there have been major concerns about the lack of barriers around the building as large crowds of Trump supporters are expected. That said, the police chief of Miami says the city is ready.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz outside the federal courthouse in Miami. Shimon, walk us through what you're seeing out there.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, at this point you would think or we would expect to see some kind of fencing or barriers as we've seen in other situations. But let me show you here, Rahel, what police here from the Federal Protective Services have done. Instead of placing the barriers and sort of the metal fencing that we have come to see at many of these of things, we're seeing the police using their vehicles as barriers around the entrance of the courthouse. That is the entrance into the federal courthouse.

It will be up on the 13th floor where the former president will make his appearance. Once he gets inside, he's expected to go to a different floor first, where he's going to get processed, and then he will go up to the 13th floor. But this is the security situation here and how the Miami Police and the Federal Law enforcement has decided to protect this area.

I also want to show you the other side from our drone. We have a drone up over the area and where you can see the other side of the courthouse. That is the street that leads into the garage, the underground garage where it's possible the former president will enter. You could see on that side as well, there isn't a whole lot of police presence at this point. We're not seeing any of the barriers. We're seeing more of the cars, vehicles, police vehicles that are being used for security purposes are acting as barriers.

And then I want to just take you back out on this side on North Miami Avenue here. You could see it's getting crowded. We're hours away, but there are a lot of Trump supporters, some people who are protesting against the former president out here.

[10:20:01]

You could see this confrontation here. So, that's what we're seeing out here. It's kind of becoming like this media-like, this circus-like atmosphere.

And then out here on this street, this is the other side of North Miami Avenue, where we have seen many of the former president's supporters drive up and down with vehicles with, with flags, Trump flags, American flags driving up and down.

But this is the atmosphere out here just hours away from the former president here, appearing for his arraignment and his arrest. And that's essentially it. Look, we've seen police officers on bikes riding through.

But the thing is that's a little concerning for law enforcement officials that I've talked to is that there is really no separation between the groups, the supporters of the former president and those who are protesting him, and sort of like none of those metal barriers that we have seen in other situations.

SOLOMON: Well, Shimon, you say that some of your law enforcement sources say it's concerning. Does that surprise you that we're not seeing any barriers put up just yet?

PROKUPECZ: Yes. I mean, I am surprised because I was in Manhattan when he appeared there, where Donald Trump appeared when he was arrested a couple of months ago, completely different situation. You had metal barriers placed all around the courthouse. You had the street that the former president was driving into and eventually walked, completely blocked off. We're not seeing any of that in this situation. It's very open and people are just allowed to go as if almost nothing is going on here, which is a little shocking to me.

SOLOMON: Shimon, we still have about five hours. We know that there are busloads of Trump supporters that are expected from Orlando. Any sense from the sources you're talking to about how large some of those crowds may get out there?

PROKUPECZ: They don't have a sense on exactly what the crowd size will be. They know that there are a lot of people on social media, other chatter urging supporters to come out here. So, that is what's concerning them. They are anticipating a lot of people. They don't know if that's actually going to happen. The Miami chief police, who said that there's nothing to fear, that they are ready, they are prepared to handle up to at least 50,000 people. He said, yes, today. So, we'll see how this goes.

SOLOMON: Shimon, it's really great to have you on the scene there providing that show and tell the perspective you provided. Initially, it looked like there were a lot of press, but help me understand, from what you can see, is there more press at this point than actual Trump supporters or critics? Walk me through what you're seeing, really?

PROKUPECZ: Yes. So let me show you here, overhead here. You can see this is where the majority of the Trump supporters have gathered. There are a couple of people who are protesters, and you could see there are some confrontations, just people kind of voicing their opinion. It's peaceful, but they're going back and forth. And then you could see the media -- I just want to quickly show you, Rahel, this is kind of where the media has camped out. But, yes, no, certainly there's more media out here at this point than anything else.

SOLOMON: Well, certainly a few more hours before that scheduled appearance at 03:00 P.M. Shimon, great to have you. We're going to stay in close contact for you. Please keep us posted if anything changes. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Joining us now for more on today's security preparations is a person that knows all about it, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. He is also a senior CNN law enforcement analysts.

We just heard from Shimon Prokupecz that there is no separation between those who are there to support Donald Trump and those who are standing there against him and believe that he should be jailed. What does that tell you? There is also, he said no separation with fences to the courthouse. There are just police cars, a. Couple of them that were seeing that. What does that tell you about security?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: So, a couple of things, Sara, that are concerning to me. The first one is just the ability to prohibit the crowd from getting too close to the federal courthouse. Typically, that's done with larger interlocking barriers, either those bicycle racks that we see we saw on the on January 6, or sometimes larger fencing. And the thing about using those is because they are connected together and they make one long chain, the crowd has to slow down to try to disassemble that, if it's even possible to get past it.

What you're seeing there with the use of the vehicles, it's a show of force. But a large, determined crowd can pretty easily and quickly walk right past those vehicles. And it's unlikely that they would ever use the vehicles, move them around in a way to confront protesters physically, because that would be really a dangerous thing to do.

[10:25:00]

So, prohibiting the crowd from getting to the courthouse is one thing. The second thing that really concerns me there is this idea that the crowd is completely intermingled. We saw -- there's numerous examples you can point to. Probably the most visceral is the protests in Charlottesville over the Unite the Right rally several years ago. When you have two sides of a crowd that are emotionally charged, extremely polarized and prone to getting beginning with kind of shouting matches and then personal altercations, and that can go really anywhere from there, it is essential to keep those sides separate as much as you can. You do that by designating specific areas for different groups to express their First Amendment rights. The fact that we haven't done that here yet is really concerning to me.

Now, if the crowd stays small, maybe this whole thing never turns into a problem. But as the numbers grow and with reports like chartered buses coming in from Orlando, I would be very concerned right now if I were running this security operation.

SIDNER: I do want to mention we are looking at live pictures and you're seeing some of the crowd. It is, at this point small. There has certainly been some arguing, but just verbal arguing between a couple of different people on their thoughts.

But I do want to ask you because you mentioned January 6th and you mentioned some of the things that were done then, a lot of people look at that and say a lot of things were missed. Have we learned a lesson? I mean, when you're looking at this, there's no separation between those who are for and against him and there's very little separation between folks in the federal courthouse, as we mentioned. Have lessons been learned since January 6th?

MCCABE: Well, unfortunately, we have a really spotty record on that count, right? So, I think here in D.C. and particularly on the Capitol grounds, I think they have learned some lessons. We saw that when security measures were enacted after January 6th for other large events. They brought in large fencing that cannot be penetrated by a crowd, additional National Guard troops as needed, other law enforcement folks. So, lessons were learned here on the site.

How well those lessons have been learned across the country at different sensitive sites, that is a really big question. Because we know, Sara, that the threat posed by protests that turn violent, particularly those that are set off by the presence of domestic violent extremists, that can happen anywhere. The nation's capital is not the only site, the only kind of sensitive site for that sort of activity. We've seen all sorts of armed protests take place in different statehouses across the country. We've certainly seen acts of domestic terrorism take place all over the country.

So, this is really a litmus test of how well someplace like a southern city, large, major metropolitan area like Miami, how well have they been watching what happened on January 6th and the way law enforcement has changed their perspective.

SIDNER: I can tell you from being at dozens of protests that especially Black Lives Matter protests, there's a very different scene outside this court than there were of other courts where people were protesting. We will have to wait and see because there are things we can't see as well, as you well know.

Thank you so much, Andrew McCabe. I appreciate that. John?

BERMAN: Obviously, we are watching that very closely. In the meantime, new reporting that Donald Trump is pushing his legal team to be more aggressive against Department of Justice prosecutors. What exactly does that mean?

Our special live coverage continues right after this.

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