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Trump Classified Docs Trial Set For May 2024; Legendary Singer Tony Bennett Dead At 96. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired July 21, 2023 - 11:00   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: As we await a possible third indictment of former President Trump, we now know when jury selection will begin in his classified documents case. How the timeline will coincide with his presidential run.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Murdered at the killer's home while his family was out of town. That is now what investigators are looking into with new evidence taken from the residence of the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer.

SOLOMON: Also, the world is mourning legendary crooner Tony Bennett. He died this morning at the age of 96. We'll take a look back at his iconic career.

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SOLOMON: A trial date for the classified documents case against Donald Trump now on the books. The judge says May 24th, 2024 will be the date, which essentially split the difference between the timelines that both sides wanted. Special Counsel Jack Smith wanted a lot sooner. Trump wanted a lot later. He wanted after the election. CNN senior law legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid leads us off this hour. So Paula tell us how the judge got to this date. I mean, what did she say?

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LAW LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, I was in court on Tuesday down in Florida when all of this was being argued back and forth. And it's clear, right now the central conflict in this case is about timing. Defense attorneys argued that it would be quote, unfair to hold this trial before the 2024 election, and they insisted that it was too early to even set a date.

But on the other side of the room, prosecutors insisted they wanted a quote, speedy trial. They were asking for a December trial date. And they said, look, it doesn't matter if Trump is the candidate, they believe he should be treated like any other important busy person, and this should proceed swiftly. So here, the judge, like you said, she basically split the difference. She set a trial date for May 2024. But it is highly likely that that is probably going to slide, why, well also included in her order is a very detailed schedule of everything the lawyers need to do between now and the trial.

Rahel, there are over 30 individual items that are listed in that schedule. And it is likely as in any case that a few of those are probably going to be delayed, and you have one deadline slide then they all slide a few more. And then you start to get into a really critical period in the months and weeks ahead of the election. And it's unclear if even the Justice Department would want to hold a criminal trial if someone who is expected to be the Republican candidate for the presidency, so close to the election.

Historically, they have sort of tried to mostly err on the side of caution, not taking action that could impact the outcome of an election. While the trial date is of course up to the judge, the larger question of whether they want to hold a trial if this gets delayed into August, September, October, DOJ would need to weigh in there. And if that is something that they tried to do, you can bet the Trump attorneys would try to appeal that likely all the way to the Supreme Court.

SOLOMON: Wow. So a lot more to come here. Paula Reid live for us in Washington, thank you. So the day could change but for now, May 24th, 2024.

BOLDUAN: There's one step in a long process that very clearly. Let's get over to CNN Alayna Treene who's in Bridgewater, New Jersey. This is just outside Donald Trump's Bedminster Club. Alayna, have you heard anything from Trump's team since this date has now been set? This has been a very big question.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: It has been, Kate. And, yes, I've spoken with a Trump advisor who told me that they're actually feeling very good about this ruling. They want to push back that trial date as long as possible. And given that it starts in mid-May, that she offered a two week period for when they expect that trial could be, that's in the middle of primary election season.

And that's something of course that Donald Trump and his team want to avoid. But they do think that given that it's being pushed to then and not coming sooner, they think they have a better shot now at potentially pushing this until after the election. Of course, that's what Donald Trump and his team has been pushing for this judge to do. They argue that these charges in the indictment is political interference, election interference is what we keep hearing the former president call this.

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And they think that the most -- the best way to make this the most fair would be to hold it after the 2024 election. And their argument as of now is, if it's pushed to this May date, they can potentially push it farther back and ultimately get to that goal of holding it after the 2024 presidential election, Kate. BOLDUAN: Again, I guess there's still more questions, even though now we have an answer on what the trial date is, at least at this moment. Thank you Alayna. Rahel?

SOLOMON: Yes, at least for now, Kate. Thank you.

And let's keep the conversation going now with CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen. Norm, great to see you. Thanks for being on the program. So let's start there. I mean, late May 2024, what do you think about that timeline?

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Rahel, I think that is an eminently reasonable timeline to get this take case to trial. It is going to be incumbent upon the Department of Justice to attempt to comply with all of its obligations that the judge has laid out in this very detailed schedule. So they provide no excuse to kick the can further down the road. And we'll see how Trump's attorneys do with it as well. But you should be able to get this case to trial by May of 2024.

SOLOMON: Norm, help me understand, are we likely to see a delay in when this starts because of everything that's involved here, or it's set for May 2024, we can reasonably expect that it will begin in May 2024?

EISEN: Well, I think that there will be at least two trials of Donald Trump in this period. We know that there's going to be a March 2024 trial that has been set by Judge Merchan in the Manhattan case for document falsification to cover up alleged 2016 election interference.

If this trial date slips, which it certainly could, Jack Smith, like a chess player, has already started to make another move. And that is he's signaled in his target letter that he's going to bring charges most likely in the District of Columbia for 2020 election interference. So if the Mar-a-Lago documents case slips, he's going to be pushing for that other case to go before the likely before the Republican convention in July 2024.

So I do think we'll see a serious effort at, at least two criminal trials of Donald Trump, totally unprecedented in a political season.

SOLOMON: Norm with so many cases, and with more looming investigations, of course, there's still Fulton County, there's still whatever happens with this election interference Grand Jury, help me understand what takes precedent in terms of the calendar, does one court defer to another? I mean, how does that work? Because I think the timing of all of this is really curious a lot of people.

EISEN: Well, there's no formal coordination. These are four completely different courts, assuming that the two cases that are on file are joined by the Federal and State cases that seem to be looming for the 2020 alleged election interference. But what will happen is there's a little bit of first in first out. Judge Merchan in Manhattan has that March 2024 trial date. He's signaled he's going to hang on to that. That's a simple case about document falsification that should be able to go. And then probably what we'll see is the Jack Smith federal election interference case, will get a trial date over the course of the next year if he follows through on his target letter. So that'll be kind of trailing the Mar-a-Lago case. If the Mar-a-Lago documents case goes to trial, I don't think we're going to see in the course of the next 12 months, three trials, if Fani Willis brings her Georgia State election interference case, that is reported to be possibly a very large sweeping case on how the election interference nationally hit Georgia, that will likely wait for 2025.

And Rahel, it's important to note that unlike the federal cases, if Trump wins, he could try to pardon himself. He could order DOJ to drop them. The state cases are not subject to his pardon power. So that Georgia case really can wait for 2025 as kind of an insurance policy for those who believe there should be judicial accountability for the alleged election interference.

SOLOMON: Norm Eisen and I have a feeling we will be talking to you plenty over the months to come and perhaps years to come, if not longer. Norm Eisen, great to see you. Thank you. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, legendary singer Tony Bennett has passed away. His life, his music, his fight, his valiant fight against Alzheimer's disease and his extraordinary legacy, that is ahead.

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Plus, there is new information coming into us about the investigation into the Gilgo Beach murders. Where investigators are now focused and think the suspect committed these murders.

And the brother of rapper Tupac Shakur is speaking out after a potential break in the decades' long unsolved murder of his brother. His take on the status of this mystery. We'll be right back.

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BOLDUAN: The music world mourning today after wowing crowds and audiences all over the world for more than seven decades, Tony Bennett has passed away. The legendary singer known for timeless classics, like Rags To Riches and I Left My Heart In San Francisco.

SOLOMON: Now more recently, Bennett found a musical partner in Lady Gaga with the duo collaborating on two albums together.

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SOLOMON: CNN's Stephanie Elam joins us now from Los Angeles. Stephanie, good morning to you. So tell us how Tony is being remembered this morning. STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, there's so much love in the world for Tony Bennett, Kate and Rahel. And when you look at just those performances of that iconic voice, the way that he had those little chuckles that was sometimes show up in his songs. He was beloved for the music that he left the world. And you know, it's so funny because he was known for I Left My Heart In San Francisco. But you know, he was a New York native, and he thought that that was just going to be a song that he'd sing when performing in San Francisco first time, it turned out to be a massive part of his legacy, the song that he's known for.

As someone who grew up in the Bay Area, I always thought it was kind of cool for just us locals when he found out the whole world love that song too. But he had such a massive catalog. The man won 19 Grammys plus a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy, let alone two Emmys as well. And he said that his focus was really to just focus on the classic to perform for the entire family.

And there was a time where that wasn't in favor. People weren't feeling his music as much. But then he came back when MTV had a special with him and then performing with Lady Gaga. All of this helping to just create a very long legacy for a man who even after having Alzheimer's in 1996, being diagnosed with it, still continued to perform.

His wife saying that once the music would start, he would just kick right back in and he was the old Tony Bennett once again, performing those songs even performing with Lady Gaga for his 95th birthday, those turning out to be his final performances there. But beyond the fact that he was just a wonderful musician, it's also important to remember that this was a man who fought in World War II and then was so moved by what was happening with the Civil Rights Movement here in the United States.

And in 1965, he was marching in Selma with Martin Luther King Jr. and Harry Belafonte. You can see him there in those pictures. He was also an acclaimed painter as well. So when you look at Tony Bennett's full life, the man lived enough lives for several people all in one life. And the one thing he said that he wanted to be known for, was being a nice person.

SOLOMON: Well, that is everything. Stephanie Elam, just incredible to learn about his and fully appreciate his legacy and his impact on the stage, but also off the stage of. Stephanie Elam, thank you.

BOLDUAN: Let's talk more about Tony Bennett and his life, his extraordinary life and work and legacy. Joining us now by phone is Grammy Award winning musician and producer Emilio Estefan. Emilio, can you hear us?

EMILIO ESTEFAN, GRAMMY-WINNING MUSICIAN AND PRODUCER: Yes, yes.

BOLDUAN: Oh, it's so good to hear your voice once again. You've had the opportunity over the years to work with Tony Bennett a handful of times. What are you thinking now on this day as we now start to celebrate the life of such an extraordinary man? ESTEFAN: Well, I mean, we're so sad, I mean, everything that he's done. He was incredible. But knowing him being so humble, the contribution, I'm so lucky because I have even a Grammy nomination with him. And then he won the Grammy. And he left me a painting for me and Gloria that we have in our home, is one of our price.

But you know what I love about this incredible talent, when I say talent because, you know, nobody says someone like him. He was so humble, so nice. I mean when I work with him the opening of the other side and that I produce the opening of the museum, you know, he was always ready to please everybody up.

And listen, we live a short time realistic in the world. And, you know, when you leave such a beautiful legacy of the family, I love the relationship he has with his family, what he's done. So for me, it's a matter of price. You know, in my career, as I say one of the highlights of my career it was to work with Mr. Bennett.

SOLOMON: And Emilio, I mean, you must have worked with so many people over your illustrious career. I mean, how rare is it do you think to work with someone who has had the type of catalog, the type of longevity as Tony but also someone who is now being remembered as being a nice guy in the music business, how rare is that?

ESTEFAN: You know, to me was like an incredible thing because they work with Carlos Vives, I work with (inaudible), I work with Ricky Martin, that so many people that I worked in whole life of course Gloria, they represent we don't have everything. The thing is when you go and then try to see him and meet him to talk about this song, how it's going to be. I mean, you expect -- you get a bit of a nervous even, you know, we won Grammys and everything.

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But you know something, I wanted to play respect to him because you know something, somebody that we admire, but he was so humble. He said, anything you want me, let's do it. And you know, when you have this kind of energy in the studio, you create great music. I think what he does all his life. That's why he has such a great connection. I think we lost a treasure, a treasure of the world for America, but you know, global, he said that they loved him so much.

And you know something, I'm so sorry, when you hear this kind of news, it's a day that you never going to forget in your life. And I was blessed to, you know, to be working with him, it was privilege for me. And then into Gloria, Gloria adored him. I mean, we got so many great times, so many laugh with me and Gloria with him.

And reality, I just want to say that I'm so sorry. I mean he's done especially to his family. He told me they love him so much. They have such a great relationship, you know? So like I say, it's unbelievable. The amount of work that he's done, how many his -- how many Grammys about how much love. To me in the long run is the love that you leave to your fans. And he did that.

Absolutely how much America liked him, but how much the global all over the world loves Tony Bennett.

BOLDUAN: You know the joy of performance is something that we hear people often use to describe Tony Bennett and what they see when he's on stage and just his joy of being up there to perform and share his gift. And I have to say that's absolutely what I feel like every time I leave a conversation with you, Emilio, I feel like we've feeling that's a very similar joy I would probably just suspect when I every conversation I've had with you about your work and with Gloria.

What does that mean to have that joy of performance to be able to share that with the world? And what that has meant when what Tony Bennett has meant for music?

ESTEFAN: You know, I think it's about energy. When you connect with people and you have, you know, I mean, this country is about dreams and even also that we're immigrants, we never expect to have someone says global. But to us is, you know, that means they were staying with people and you touch somebody's life and he touched so many lives, including my life as a producer, like I work I have, you know, I won so many Grammys. And I've done so many great productions on the Olympics, Super Bowl Sunday, so many other things.

But you know, sometimes, I mean, I hope the family realize how much we're going to miss him. But you know, he's leaving a legacy of his music, his sound, his personality, his energy to the world. And he's a role model to a lot of us because, you know, it's nice to be famous, but it's nice to be a good person, all good person like Tony Bennett.

So to me, like I say, it's one of my highlights is definitely working with him. And having one of the, you know, nomination for the Grammys to have his names attached to my family is a dream come true. It does represent America, that represents Tony Bennett. People that work and leave a legacy and love and music forever.

And you know, I'm so sad today. But today is a day or two of celebration of a beautiful life, beautiful family. And I'm so glad you guys are doing this for him because, you know, he deserved this more than that. And thank you so much for doing this incredible things that you're doing for him and his family.

BOLDUAN: Emilio, thank you so much for coming on. An extraordinary life and thanks for sharing your experiences with him.

ESTEFAN: Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

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BOLDUAN: Thank you. Thank you so much. All right, we'll be right back.

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BOLDUAN: A man accused of living a double life. A New York architect is now charged in connection with the Gilgo Beach killings. Investigators are now looking into whether suspect, Rex Heuermann, lured his victims to his own home, killing them there before leaving their remains on Long Island's Gilgo Beach. That beach just six miles from his house.

A source involved with the investigation says the disappearances coincided with the travel schedule of Heuermann's wife and family coordinating with times he stayed behind while his family left town. CNN's John Miller has much more on this. He's joining us now. John, this is a fascinating but I'm just still struck so many years later, and now it feels like all of these details are starting to come together. How would investigators begin to piece this theory together about the home and the residents?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, it starts with two things. One, in the four cases he suspected and three of which he's charged in, you see at the time they disappear, his family is away from the house. He's there by himself.

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