Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump Classified Docs Trial Set For May 2024; DeSantis Pushes Legal Action Against Bud Light Parent Company; Beloved Singer Tony Bennett Dead At 96. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired July 21, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: A federal judge setting the date with neither side really getting what they wanted. Former President Donald Trump's classified documents case is headed to trial in May, despite Trump's push to delay it. We have more details ahead.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And another round of Russian strikes in Odessa. Ukraine's saying Moscow is targeting their grain supply to stop them from being able to export it. And it's adding to fears that the global food supply is at risk. We'll have more on that just ahead.

And the world is saying goodbye to a music legend. Tony Bennett has died at the age of 96. We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: A trial date has been set in former President Donald Trump's classified documents case, right in the middle of the GOP primary calendar. And now, Trump's lawyers are telling CNN they think they'll be able to delay the trial even beyond the presidential election. Today, a federal judge ordering the trial to start in May of next year. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for May 14 and then the expected trial date is later in the month.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us now live. Katelyn, it seems like Judge Aileen Cannon didn't give either the special counsel or Trump's legal team exactly what they wanted.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME & JUSTICE REPORTER: No. She did what she explains she thinks she needs to do to make sure this is a fair trial, but also that it remains on track so they can work through all of the legal issues around this. Especially the ones related to national security, which can get quite complicated. So, she has laid out a full calendar.

Things can change in court but right now, she's saying she wants this trial to be at the end of May of next year. And so they don't have an exact date. It's in a window. It can start in essentially the last two weeks of May.

We think it'll be a five-week or a little bit more long for a trial. We don't know how jury selection will factor into that either. That could be quite complicated.

But this is going to be a really busy first half of the year for Donald Trump not just as a candidate for the Republican nomination but in court. He has a civil lawsuit trial set in the beginning of the year. And then he has two criminal trials, almost back to back.

One starting at the end of March in New York State related to hush money in his business records. And then this one at the end of May. And you know, as criminal defendants, typically they're expected to show up before a jury. We're going to have to see exactly how that all unfolds and if this trial dates sticks.

SANCHEZ: Not to mention the potential for more indictments in Fulton County in Georgia and the special counsel's investigation of election interference in 2020. And on that note, we're learning that the special counsel wants to interview more potential witnesses.

POLANTZ: Yes. Another wrinkle of how we understand this Justice Department investigation. The special counsel's office, right, they have this case they're taking a trial in Florida. That's the document's case.

They do know that they have already -- you know they're continuing to do stuff there. There could be other people indicted. And then also in this January 6 investigation, Trump is aware that he's likely to be indicted.

But then too, we're learning that they are scheduling interviews with lawyers or people who were around the legal teams working for Donald Trump trying to overturn the election for essentially next month. So, Bernie Kerik, who was working very closely with Rudy Giuliani. He has been scheduling. They're asking for documents from him. And then the special counsel's office wants to interview a former Trump lawyer as well, next month.

And so, how that factors into what this case is against Donald Trump? Is it the same case? Is it a related but different case? Is -- are there multiple parts of this investigation that will sort of come at us at waves? We're just going to have to wait and see.

SANCHEZ: Easy and -- easy to say that this is going to be a primary process unlike any we've ever seen.

POLANTZ: That's true.

SANCHEZ: Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: Well, earlier this week, Vladimir Putin let that deal lapse that allowed Ukraine to safely export grain through the Black Sea. And in the days since, his forces have relentlessly targeted Odessa, the port city that is vital to that shipping corridor. Some 70 missiles had been fired at the region destroying more than 60,000 tons of grain stores and threatening the global food supply as well.

And that's not the only troubling development this week. Russia may be getting military aid from China. Here's NEWS CENTRAL'S own Jim Sciutto speaking to a top French advisor at the Aspen Institute.

[14:05:03]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Just quickly. Has the West seen any evidence that China has armed Russia in any way in the war in Ukraine?

EMMANUEL BONNE, ADVISER TO FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: Well, yes. There are indications that they are doing things we would prefer them not to do.

SCIUTTO: They're delivering weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine?

BONNE: Well, kind of military equipment. They -- I mean, as far as we know, some of the delivering massively military capacities to Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Oren Liebermann is live at the Pentagon with a little more on this for us. Oren, how concerned are Western allies about China's role right now?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, the China-Russia relationship is something both the U.S. and U.S. allies have monitored very closely. Not only since earlier this year when the U.S. warned that China was moving closer to potentially providing military aid or lethal aid to Russia but even before that, it was one of the big questions ever since this war started. What role would China have, and would they be willing to provide Russia with military equipment with lethal aid?

The interviewee there with our colleague Jim Sciutto said they had provided dual -- some sort of dual-use equipment, as well as equipment like body armor. Now, the U.S. hasn't gotten quite so far in saying that, but this is clearly an issue the U.S. is watching.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken who was in Beijing last month brought this up with the Chinese officials he met with. He said he was given the Chinese assurance that they would not provide lethal aid to Russia. An assurance that he believed them and was in line with a repeated statement they have made.

The bigger question and one Blinken pushed China to be more vigilant on was whether Chinese companies that deal with Russian companies had provided any sort of crucial assistance or technology or aid that could then be used in Russia's aggression against Ukraine. So, the broader issue is clearly something the U.S. is monitoring very closely, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Oren Liebermann, live for us at the Pentagon, thank you for that report. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Let's broaden this out now with Ian Bremmer. He's the president of the Eurasia Group and GZERO Media. Ian, thanks so much for being with us.

IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT, EURASIA GROUP & GZERO MEDIA: Sure.

SANCHEZ: We'll get to the question of China's involvement in Ukraine in a moment. But first, I want to ask you about the volatile situation in the Black Sea and news that the CIA director is calling out Russia the potential for a false flag attack in which they would attack civilian craft, and then blame it on Ukraine. What would Russia get from doing that?

BREMMER: Well, we've seen on many occasions the Americans putting out intelligence both to embarrass the Russians and also to prevent potential attacks from taking place. So, that's why Director Burns is saying what he's saying right now. But, of course, the Russians are running out of offensive military capabilities right now.

They've got troops that are badly trained. They are defending territory that is taken relatively well. But they're also nearing the end of their rotation, which means either Putin has to keep them there when their families are expecting them to come back home, or in the fall, another 200 -- 250,000 have to be called up.

These are a horrible, you know, sort of options for Putin. And almost everything that he's tried to accomplish in this war has not gone the way he's wanted. So, as that continues, the potential for asymmetric warfare, of course, goes up.

SANCHEZ: I also want to ask you about the attacks on Odessa. Russia targeting that region recently in response to Ukraine's targeting of the Kerch Bridge. The counteroffensive for Ukraine has gone slower than anticipated.

BREMMER: Yes.

SANCHEZ: And Putin has come out and said that he believes the West is disappointed by this. Do you think that's the case?

BREMMER: I think the West is disappointed that more territory hasn't been taken. But let's keep in mind that the Ukrainians haven't used most of the troops they have in positions that are fully trained and well-equipped because they don't want to take massive casualties. Especially until they get suitable levels of ammunition both ground as well as anti-air to be able to be more effective in that counter- offensive.

It's been about six weeks so far. The Ukrainians have taken between 10 and 15 kilometers of land across the frontlines. They're still in the so-called security buffer, the security zone. They're not breaching any of the three lines of Russian defense that they have.

And I think that if you had spoken with any NATO leaders before the counteroffensive had started, they would have hoped that the Ukrainians would be in a stronger position by now. But it was very clear from the NATO alliance meeting last week that the level of support for Ukraine, the military support, the diplomatic support, the economic support continues to be as strong from the alliance as it has been right on the first day of Russian invasion.

[14:10:04]

SANCHEZ: Right. That has now -- not wavered. So, let's talk about support on Russia's side because the top French official that my co- anchor, Jim Sciutto was just speaking to, revealed that he believes China is sending military equipment to Ukraine or rather to Russia to help in the war against Ukraine. That's something that Beijing previously said they would not do.

BREMMER: They said that they were not sending lethal assistance. My best understanding from NATO and from the United States directly as that continues to be the view. What we heard from the French is talking about some dual-use materials, potentially including body armor, how are the Chinese going to describe that and will the Americans be willing to press?

I mean, it was true that when Tony Blinken met with the Chinese earlier in this year, I believe it was back in February, and he read them the Riot Act on the intelligence the U.S. had that China was intending to send lethal aid to the Russians, not be tolerated and that direct sanctions against China would be imposed if the Chinese went ahead. They weren't happy that the Americans were so blunt, and they certainly weren't happy the Americans then made that public together with the UK and NATO. But the message hit its mark. And the Chinese have been very cautious and careful.

Let's be -- let's see how the Americans respond to exactly what it is that we believe that the Chinese are sending. Certainly, so far in the war, the Russians' warfighting has not been improved by what they've been getting from China. I think that we can say.

SANCHEZ: Right. And, Ian, while we have you, we want to ask about something that is complicating. The already fraught relationship between the United States and China. It's these Chinese-based hackers that apparently infiltrated the e-mails of several top U.S. officials, including the U.S. Ambassador to China. That complicates the process of trying to mend the relationship. What should the U.S. do in response?

BREMMER: Oh, I'm going to complicate it that it's become public. I mean, I'm sure you're aware the Americans engaged in all sorts of espionage against China as well. They are an adversary, and there is intelligence collection. That's what the Americans do. It's what the Chinese do. I mean, anyone with a robust national security apparatus will do that.

The problem here for the Americans are twofold. First, the fact that Chinese didn't just try but were successful, which means that American cyber defenses are not adequate to the job to protecting even Cabinet Secretaries with very sensitive information. That's number one. Though, it's not clear that any classified information was actually breached. It seems that what we've heard so far is that it hasn't been.

And then secondly, the fact that it's a very politicized environment. And in a politicized environment, anything that looks bad in the relationship is going to lead to a lot of pressure for Biden to take strong steps against the Chinese. You know, you're never going to hear anyone saying, oh, why don't we open up to the Chinese? Why don't we try to play nice with the Chinese?

Instead, we're in an election cycle right now where you gain if you're willing to take a big shot at him. We saw that with the balloon incident and we're seeing that today with the hack. So I mean, clearly this is one to be managed, but I wouldn't -- I wouldn't blare headlines around it.

SANCHEZ: Ian Bremmer, thanks so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us.

BREMMER: Yes, my pleasure. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Brianna?

KEILAR: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has launched another volley in his culture war. He is calling on state officials to consider legal action against Bud Light. We're going to explain why. Just ahead.

And another Kennedy coming out publicly to slam RFK Jr. saying the family legacy is about more than Camelot and conspiracy theories. We'll have more on that next.

And then later, blockbuster Barbie. We'll have the details on one of the biggest movies of this summer. You're watching CNN NEWS CENTRAL. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:17:49]

KEILAR: Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is ratcheting up his culture war against Bud Light. He is going after the beer maker's parent company urging the state pension fund to take legal action for decisions the Bud Light made that DeSantis believes may have jeopardized Florida's pension fund. This is all related of course to Bud Light's controversial marketing partnership with transgender social media influencer, Dylan Mulvaney. Sales of Bud Light plummeted in the wake of that deal and sparked a boycott among some conservatives.

CNN's Steve Contorno is here to explain this to us. So, Steve, what is DeSantis's endgame here?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Brianna, DeSantis is suggesting that shareholders in AB InBev should have some sort of recourse for the company's decisions that led to this fall in the share price of the company and also the decline in Bud Light sales. And Florida is a shareholder in Bud Light -- or excuse me, in AB InBev. In fact, it has about $46 million worth of the company's stock.

And he has said that all options should be on the table for the state in pursuing legal recourse against AB InBev. He talked about one of those options in an interview last night on Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We're going to be launching an inquiry about Bud Light and InBev. And it could be something that leads to a derivative lawsuit filed on behalf of the shareholders of the Florida pension fund. Because at the end of the day, there's got to be penalties for when you put business aside to focus on your social agenda at the expense of hardworking people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, I should point out that while $46 million is a lot of money, it's a drop in the bucket for the state's pension fund. There are about $235 million -- billion dollars worth of investments there. I should also note, Brianna, that DeSantis was encouraging this boycott in the company, even as the state held a significant amount of the company's stock.

KEILAR: That is a very good point. So, how is the parent company responding to this?

[14:20:01]

CONTORNO: Well, Brianna, they've been very cautious in navigating this political landmine. And as you can imagine the statement they provided to us today continues that trend. They say.

"Anheuser-Busch InBev takes our responsibility to our shareholders, employees, distributors, and customers seriously. We are focused on driving long-term sustainable growth for them by optimizing our business and providing consumers products to enjoy for any occasion."

Now, InBev has tried to move on from this controversy. It is in launched a new marketing campaign that is more of a traditional advertisement you might see from a beer manufacturer. But here, we've seen Republicans like Governor DeSantis may not be ready to give up on that cultural war just yet.

KEILAR: Yes, trying to stay clearly out of the fray with that statement. Steve, thank you for that report. Boris?

SANCHEZ: A Kennedy family feud is erupting right in front of the American public. Jack Schlossberg, the cousin of Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. and President John F. Kennedy's only grandson says he is endorsing Joe Biden for president. But that's not all he's saying. Schlossberg is also blasting his cousin's recent controversial remarks about vaccines and COVID-19.

CNN's Eva McKend is here with more on this. So, Eva, tell us more about this family feud.

EVA MCKEND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, this is Caroline Kennedy's son. She is currently serving as the ambassador to Australia. And listen.

When you listen to these remarks from the grandson, it essentially seems as though he's concerned about reputational damage for the whole family. He says that the Kennedys should be known for public service, for courage, for civil rights, not for these conspiracy theories.

He says President John F. Kennedy is my grandfather. And this legacy is important. Let's take a listen, Boris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK SCHLOSSBERG, COUSIN OF ROBERT KENNEDY JR./GRANDSON OF JFK: I've listened to him. I know him. I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president. What I do know is his candidacy is an embarrassment. Let's not be distracted again by somebody's vanity project.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: Now, RFK Jr. did acknowledge from the outset of his campaign that some of his family members did not approve of his bid, but that he loved them all the same.

SANCHEZ: They actually in the past put out an op-ed talking about some of his dangerous rhetoric. So, Jack isn't the only one coming forward?

MCKEND: No, he doesn't want -- they -- many of them do not want to be associated with this. You know, in recent days, Kennedy has made further alarming comments suggesting that certain races were inoculated from the virus -- from the COVID vaccine. And then in response to that, you had family members like -- now, Joe Kennedy's saying it was hurtful and wrong, and Kerry Kennedy's saying that the comments were deplorable.

But, you know, the reason why we are all watching this is this is perhaps America's most famous family. And you have one of them running for president. And many of those in the family disapproving of this entire bid.

SANCHEZ: And also because polling has shown that he's doing better than a lot of people expected. And we actually --

MCKEND: That's right.

SANCHEZ: We actually just got an update into CNN, a Super PAC that's backing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign raised five million dollars, yesterday during Kennedy's high-profile Capitol Hill testimony. And that was some really kind of uncomfortable testimony before Capitol Hill with lawmakers grilling him.

MCKEND: It sure was. And it was the Democrats actually grilling Kennedy.

SANCHEZ: Right.

MCKEND: But yes, Boris, you're correct. He's at 14 percent in the polls. That's the latest Quinnipiac poll. He still has a high bar and taking on the incumbent president, President Biden in the Democratic primary but his message seems to be resonating, at least with some Americans.

SANCHEZ: And we should point out. Multiple times yesterday he claimed that he never said things that he's on tape saying that we've heard before. Eva McKend, thanks so much for walking us through that. Briana.

KEILAR: From Elton John to Billy Joel, the music world is mourning the loss of Tony Bennett. We'll have more on his legacy and how it transcended his work just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:28:42]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BENNETT, SINGER: I left my heart in San Francisco.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Today, America mourns the passing of an icon and an era. Beloved crooner Tony Bennett died this morning at the age of 96. His silky smooth voice entertained generations of fans, including Frank Sinatra. In 1965, he called Bennett the best singer in the business.

Joining me now is Entertainment Journalist Brian Balthazar. Brian, it's a sad day, but what a full life Tony Bennett lived. And his career spanned decades -- eight decades and inspired so many people. How are you reflecting on his life today?

BRIAN BALTHAZAR, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: You know, I -- it's an amazing life, as you say. And you know, we think about a lot of artists who kind of depart from their genre and who then have an album of standards. But he was all about the standards in the American Songbook from the very beginning.

And I think his love of the music comes through in his voice. And I think that's part of the reason he's had the longevity he has. I have to say on a personal note, I was fortunate enough to have the great thrill of being a guest at a lunch of his where there were seven of us at a table including him and his wife.

And then later, I worked on a segment with him and Lady Gaga. And both times he was genuine, warm, sincere kind. All of the things that come across in his interviews and his performances.