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Trump Defiant After Arrest and Arraignment on 37 Charges; Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) Vows to Block Biden's DOJ Nominees; Fulton County Sheriff Sent Teams to Miami, New York City to Prepare for Possible Trump Indictment in Georgia. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired June 14, 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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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: The twice arrested, twice impeached former president defiant after his arrest and appearance in federal court on 37 charges. We have new details about what's next for Trump.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Bud Light has lost its top spot as the brand deals with backlash to its partnership with a transgender influencer.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: The Beatles are back. They are releasing one final song, which will include new tracks from John Lennon, except it's an artificial intelligence version of Lennon. Paul McCartney is calling the A.I. twist scary but exciting. We're following these stories and many more right here on CNN News Central.

SOLOMON: This morning, the fallout, the fundraising and the continuation of flat out lies after the first ever federal arrest and arraignment of a former U.S. president, America witnessing history and two strikingly different versions of Donald Trump.

In court, a silent scowl as he sat and 37 federal charges were read. Moments later, back on the campaign trail, all smiles as the current 2024 GOP frontrunner carried on with campaigning, hugging supporters and trashing the legal jeopardy he is under.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz was inside the courtroom yesterday in Miami. Katelyn, I mean, what do we know? What's next here?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, what is next is there will be another moment where Donald Trump's co- defendant, Walt Nauta, is going to be having to enter a plea of not guilty. He didn't do that yesterday, though, the former president did himself.

And then the next thing that happens after that is the Justice Department is going to provide a list to Donald Trump and his attorneys, as well as to Walt Nauta and his attorney, where they will learn who they are restricted from speaking about the case with. So right now, Trump cannot speak about this case with Walt Nauta, even though the two men are traveling together, because Walt Nauta works with him. There will be other people, witnesses, potential victims in this case that will be added to that list. They will be getting that list.

But with this case, as it goes on, one of the things that's so interesting about it is that in any criminal case, people are told when they're put under arrest that what they say publicly could be used against them in the court of law. And Donald Trump has seemed to not had any inhibition so far about talking about this case publicly. Here's one of the things he said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: As president, the law that applies to this case is not the Espionage Act, but very simply the Presidential Records Act, which is not even mentioned in this ridiculous 44-page indictment. Under the Presidential Records Act, which is civil, not criminal, I had every right to have these documents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: So, what Donald Trump is repeating, there is a legal argument, that's, one, something that is very clear that his legal team will make, but it will be up to the judge. And the way the Justice Department has brought this case is that they have focused, that this is not about him being president, this is about the documents themselves being kept somewhere outside of the protection of the federal government, national security records. And whether he was authorized to possess them or not, that just isn't part of what the law is here, the criminal law that Trump is charged with.

And so there are going to be statements like that that could become potentially part of this case moving forward, especially if Trump continues to acknowledge that he knew he had these documents and he kept them.

SOLOMON: Katelyn Polantz, great to have you. Thank you.

John, as you know, I mean, so many questions. One, you have to wonder if he's consulting with his legal team before he's making these comments publicly. But as Katelyn, mentioned, that ruling that he cannot speak to Walt Nauta privately, directly about this case, how is that going to be enforced? So many questions.

BERMAN: Yes, two things. One, he may be not talking to Walt Nauta, but he's certainly talking about the case near him. I'm giving a speech here. Walt Nauta is over there. And then, of course, political arguments, not always legal ones, so we'll have to see how they line up.

So, this morning, Republicans on Capitol Hill are vowing to retaliate eight against the Justice Department for the indictment against Donald Trump. Republican Senator J.D. Vance from Ohio says he plans to hold up President Biden's judicial nominations indefinitely.

[10:05:00]

He says he wants Attorney General Merrick Garland to commit to a new policy on prosecutions in what Vance calls, quote, politically motivated law.

CNN's Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is up on Capitol Hill. Manu, what are you hearing up there this morning?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, some of Donald Trump's staunchest supporters coming to his defense, trying to use the levers of power to retaliate against the Justice Department. You're seeing it both in the House and the Senate side, in the House side, efforts to try to restrict funding. There're some discussions going on about whether they can do that through the appropriations process to go after the Justice Department. And on the Senate side, Senator J.D. Vance announcing that he would plan place a hold, something that any senator can do on any nomination, planning to do that on all Justice Department nominees other than ones who are nominated to the U.S. Marshal Services.

And in talking to both Vance and Durbin yesterday, Dick Durban, who is the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, it's clear that the standoff may persist for some time as Democrats say that they're ready to battle it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH): I think I want some policy, some commitment from the Attorney General that he's going to do prosecutions and he's going to do politically motivated law in a much different way. We don't know exactly what that is. I'm sure, eventually, we'll talk to folks at the Department of Justice about what they'd be willing to do. But right now, I don't expect Merrick Garland to change course, and I expect this hold to be in place indefinitely.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): If you are in favor of law enforcement and the administration of justice, then not filling vacancies of judges doesn't help at all.

It's very transparent that this is a political reaction to the arraignment of the former president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now, at the moment, J.D. Vance's hold only applies to two pending nominees. One who is a ?U.?S. attorney proposed to serve in Mississippi, another one to lead the Department of Justice's office Against Violence against Women Prevention, that domestic violence office, the nominee to lead that office.

So, it depends how long this persists. If he decides to continue this effort to hold on to these nominations, if more nominations come down, it could slow down the process in the Senate. So, it's going to take some time for all this to play out, John.

BERMAN: So J.D. Vance is doing this for judiciary nominees. Tommy Tuberville has been at a certain version of this for some time with Defense Department nominees. What's the latest from there?

RAJU: Yes, that's right, more than a couple of hundred at the moment and growing, 250 or so nominations. So, more significant what Tommy Tuberville has been doing, the senator from Alabama, saying that he would not relent on promotions, military promotions, people who are proposed by the president to move up within the ranks of the military services, often people being nominated to be generals.

He wants a change to the Pentagon's policy over abortions, saying that the Pentagon policy needs to be changed all together in paying for individuals who leave the state to try to get abortion services. That is something that the Pentagon is not willing to do at the moment. So, at the moment, that is causing a real concern, not just among Democrats but Republicans too, about the national security preparedness of the country if these key nominations can't get filled. John?

BERMAN: Manu Raju, thank you so much for the update. We will talk to you again soon. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Joining us now, CNN Anchor and Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash. You have your brand new show. I am so, so proud of you. I love it. But I want to ask you some really fun questions here, ones that I know that you know the answers to.

All right, so Trump seems to be going back to the same old playbook where he is rallying his supporters by attack, attack, attack, and deny, deny, deny. Can you tell me what your takeaway was from what he said after this historic arrest and indictment on federal charges?

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it is kind of amazing how at odds his political playbook seems to be with his legal defense, Sara. Listening to him talk very openly about the fact that he, of course, did have those documents, he's not denying that, and trying to explain why he had those documents. This seems to me to be a dream for Jack Smith and his and his team who are trying to prosecute this case.

The other thing, just going back to Manu's excellent reporting, it's kind of remarkable to hear J.D. Vance say out loud that he knows that this tactic that he's trying to use to hold up judicial nominees is not going to change Merrick Garland's mind. So, he's admitting publicly that it is just for politics. If he was doing this in a way that he really thought he would get a result, that might be one thing, but he's saying he doesn't expect a result, which is translated as this is a political move.

SIDNER: Well, it's revenge and retaliation if you look at it on its face, correct?

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I want to talk to you about some of the Republican presidential candidates and what they have said after this indictment. One of them seems to have softened on her rhetoric at this time, that and talking about, of course, Nikki Haley. I want to let you listen to what she said she would do if, in fact, this went to trial and, ultimately, Trump was found guilty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You when you look at a pardon, the issue is less about guilt and more about what's good for the country. And I think it would be terrible for the country to have a former president in prison for years because of a documents case. That's something you've seen in a third world country. I saw that at the United Nations. So, I would be inclined in favor of a pardon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Do you think her reaction is just simply a sign of she's afraid of the base and doesn't want to come out strong? These documents, according to the indictment, were nuclear. They were about nuclear capabilities. They were really, really sensitive material that could hurt people in the field as well.

BASH: It's a sign of how incredibly tricky most of these candidates, not all, but most of these candidates running against Donald Trump believe this to be, which on its face is kind of remarkable because Chris Christie made the case two nights ago to Anderson Cooper in CNN's town hall. Like, if you are running against him, if you are his political competitor for the nomination, why would you not make arguments against him? Never mind the legal part of this, just on the politics of it. But it's not the way it is in Donald Trump's Republican Party, which it still is, which is why you hear Nikki Haley maybe the prime example of somebody who is trying to feel her way.

You can almost sort of her walking through the field looking at where the political landmines are with every one of these statements and knowing what we know about the Republican electorate, it's maybe kind of understandable. Not if you're somebody like although Chris Christie or Asa Hutchinson who say, this is done, we're done. We should not have a nominee, never mind a president who was accused of doing such things and admits that he took these documents and held onto them.

SIDNER: I am curious when it comes to Republican lawmakers and the leadership, if, once again, you're hearing something different privately than we have been seeing publicly, which is a lot of people that are showing support, at least from House Republicans.

BASH: A lot showing support. If you listen very carefully, there are very few. I would say Jim Jordan, the House Judiciary chairman, maybe take him out. He's in his own category with a few others. But for the most part, there is a lot of sidestepping the substance of this and just talking about the politics of this.

And so in many of these cases, what you're not hearing is more revealing than what you're hearing. And that kind of gives you the answer to your question, Sara, about what they really think about these charges.

SIDNER: Yes, Senate Republican leadership not saying anything at this point in time, very, very interesting. Thank you so much, Dana Bash.

BASH: It's so good to be with you.

SIDNER: Always, my friend. All right, and you can catch Dana on Inside Politics with Dana Bash today at noon right here on CNN. Rahel?

SOLOMON: All right, Sara. Well, Trump's legal battles and troubles not limited to what's unfolding in Miami and New York. Still on the horizon, Trump's potential legal battle in Fulton County, Georgia. How the sheriff there is preparing for what could be ahead.

And an update on the Virginia teacher still recovering after being shot by her six-year-old student, what we are learning about her future months after the shooting.

Plus, a changing landscape as wildfire season begins, that wildfire danger that we see every year out west. Well, that it may actually pop up thousands of miles to the east. Why experts say the summer threat is moving.

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BERMAN: Overnight, the sheriff of Fulton County, Georgia, told CNN that his office sent teams to the federal courthouse Miami yesterday and to Donald Trump's previous court appearance in New York. The sheriff making that move in preparation, it seems, of a possible indictment there in Georgia. CNN has reported that Trump is likely to find out by the end of summer whether the D.A. in Fulton County, Fani Willis, will charge him over his alleged attempts to steal 2020 election in Georgia.

CNN's Sara Murray is here now with the details. Pretty interesting that Fulton County getting its ducks in a row here.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is interesting. I mean, you can see here all of the different legal troubles that Donald Trump is facing. But I think one of the most pressing is this criminal investigation that's been going on in Fulton County. And it's interesting that they did send law enforcement representatives to both New York and Miami to essentially try to make their own security plan. I mean, they are bracing for a potential Trump indictment to be announced maybe in August, maybe we'll see multiple defendants.

And, look, they want to keep Donald Trump, any potential defendants that she may decide to bring charges against, safe, but they also want to keep the D.A. and her team safe. We saw a lot of security even when they were picking the special grand jury back in May of 2022, because they are just so concerned about the security posture surrounding this case, John.

BERMAN: Of course, Georgia would be after a case brought in Florida, the federal case, after the case brought here in New York. Then, of course, there is this other federal investigation with Jack Smith, the special counsel, still very much pressing on, including some new witnesses that have been spotted at the courthouse in D.C.

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MURRAY: That's right. I mean, while Donald Trump was dealing with his whole arraignment in federal court in Miami, there were witnesses that were showing up at court in Washington, D.C. to appear before the grand jury investigating January 6 there. One of those is Michael McDonald, who is the chairman of the Republican Party in Nevada. He was someone who was called as a witness by the House Select Committee investigating January 6. He pleaded the Fifth a number of times about his communications with Trump advisers. So, this is still moving ahead.

BERMAN: It shows a sprawling investigation, to say the least. Sara Murray, great to see you. Thank you very much. Rahel?

SOLOMON: All right, John. Thank you.

And joining us now is former Watergate Prosecutor Nick Akerman. Nick, good morning. Great to have you here.

NICK AKERMAN, FORMER WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: Yes, great to be here.

SOLOMON: So, let's start with the fact that we heard from Trump last night clearly defiant. Does that give you any sense of what the possible strategy for his defense team might be? Because it doesn't sound like he's denying it.

AKERMAN: He can't deny it. It's impossible. He had the stuff. It was seized on his property. In terms of a defense for his actual trial, none of this makes any sense. This can't possibly be a defense to try and get up and say Hillary did it, that the Department of Justice --

SOLOMON: selective enforcement.

AKERMAN: Right. Selective enforcement is such a hard, hard motion to make. I can't even remember a situation where that was ever granted.

SOLOMON: Well, speaking of motion, so what happens now? Historic indictment, historic arraignment, what happens now?

AKERMAN: Well, what happens procedurally is the government has to produce all of its discovery documents. For example, one item that the defense does not have is the actual search warrant that was executed, the affidavit underlying that search warrant.

So, one of the things they're going to do is they're going to take that search warrant and say, well, there's not probable cause, and try and make a motion based on that. My guess is that there's tons of probable cause in that affidavit, and that that's going to be just a complete losing motion.

SOLOMON: Do they -- for the defense, do they revisit the fact that attorney-client privilege was pierced here? Do they circle back to that?

AKERMAN: Oh, I'm sure they will, but that's also a big loser. I mean, the purpose of the attorney-client privilege is if I'm your attorney and you're my client, you want to be able to get all of the facts from your client, have complete confidence that when you're talking about is in confidence. It doesn't apply when you're using your attorney to commit a crime like he did here and had his butler there take 30 boxes of documents, move them out of the storage area where the lawyer was reviewing documents so he couldn't produce those, it just doesn't apply when you're using somebody as an attorney to commit a crime.

SOLOMON: Well, let's talk about the butler, the valet, Walt Nauta, of course, who we have seen over the last 24 hours, still very close to the President. This ruling from the judge that Walt Nauta and the president, former president not speak directly about the case. How is something like that enforced when we can all see they're still very close?

AKERMAN: Yes, it's not. I mean, even in the real world, and practically speaking, each of these people will have an attorney. There's going to be what's known as a joint defense agreement, which means that the attorneys can properly speak to each other about strategy, about the case and consult with their lawyers with their clients at the same time. So, it's a standard warning that's put in all of these post-indictment warnings, but I really don't think it's that meaningful here.

SOLOMON: How challenging does it become when the president -- former president, continues to speak publicly as he has? How challenging is it for his defense team when anything you say can and will be used against you, I mean, in terms of the actual defense? I mean, it has to make it more challenging, even in terms of finding a jury that's not impartial.

AKERMAN: First of all, everything he says can be used as evidence in the case, and he's continued to do that. He did it at the CNN town hall. He did it last night. They're going to take all of those statements because he's made so many contradictory statements about what he did. They're just going to take those little snippets and they're going to play it for the jury. They're all admissible as admissions by Donald Trump.

Now, with respect to the jury pool, I think what people have to realize is that they're going to be able to find a jury that's fair and impartial. You'd be shocked at how many people are out there that really don't know a lot about this case. We saw it in spades with the forelady of the grand jury in Georgia who said she knew nothing about what was going on before she became forelady. That's not atypical. In my experience, I've done lots of trials, lots of jury selection, not atypical.

SOLOMON: I think if we get there, that's going to be a fascinating part of all of this. Nick Akerman, great to have you, thank you.

AKERMAN: Great to be here. Thank you.

SOLOMON: Sara?

SIDNER: Coming up, America's top selling beer is no longer an American brand.

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Bud Light has been dethroned. The likely reason Americans have found a new favorite.

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SIDNER: Here is what's on our radar, special prosecutors investigating the deadly shooting on the set of the movie Rust say the film's Armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was likely hung over when she inserted a live bullet into a gun.

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The brief, filed in response to a motion to dismiss the indictment, said that witnesses will testify Gutierrez was drinking heavily and smoking.