Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Kevin Spacey Found Not Guilty in Sexual Assault Trial; Hunter Biden at Federal Court to Plead Guilty to Tax Charges; Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) Makes Most Direct Impeachment Threat Against President Biden. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 26, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: I want to bring in CNN's Salma Abadelaziz. She joins us now from London. Salma, this verdict coming up a short time ago, what else are you learning?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just moments ago, Rahel, and this has been a riveting case that has taken the jury nearly four weeks to hear what has been astounding evidence with Kevin Spacey defending himself against 12 charges that were brought forward by four men. Those were later dropped down to nine offenses. I'm speaking about very serious charges here, three counts of indecent assault, one count of sexual assault, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, one count of causing a person to engage sexual, penetrative activity without consent. He has now been found not guilty of all of those charges, Rahel.

This will, of course, be welcomed by Kevin Spacey and his lawyers. He has said throughout this trial that he welcomes his day in court. He welcomes the opportunity to defend himself. But, again, we are talking about very serious allegations that date back to the early 2000s and 2010s, a period in which Kevin Spacey was the artistic director of the Old Vick Theater here in London.

The prosecutor, of course, bringing forward these accusations of by these four men who had been at the time aged in their 20s and 30s described Kevin Spacey as a sexual bully, saying he delighted in making others feel powerless.

Of course, Kevin Spacey hit back in court, yes, I was a big flirt and a promiscuous person and went on to describe the encounters as simply romantic, fun, flirtatious and, again, denying all those charges, now, again, found innocent of all 12 of those charges. This will be huge for Kevin Spacey, who has said he hopes to be found innocent and he hopes to get his award-winning career back.

SOLOMON: Salma, as you say, this was a four-week process, a four-week trial. Remind us of who testified of the alleged victims and what we knew about the relationship between these alleged victims, Spacey now being found not guilty, but the relationship between these people and Spacey?

ABDELAZIZ: Now, the rules will not allow me to name those victims, Rahel, and that's very, very important. We are not going to identify them in any way. Again, these are alleged victims of sexual assault, so they absolutely cannot be identified by us. But these are four people who knew Kevin Spacey well. One of them was a driver who alleged that Kevin Spacey at one point, while sitting in his vehicle, grabbed his penis with such force that he screamed out in pain. This was an allegation dating back nearly 20 years ago.

Another was a young actor also who was aspiring to learn, to have Kevin Spacey as a mentor. He described being drugged by Kevin Spacey. That was his allegation against this award-winning actor and said that oral sex was performed on him without his consent.

Again, these are just absolutely horrifying and riveting tales. The prosecutor in this case brought these cases to life, brought them to a juror of 12. What the issue is, of course, when you're looking at these cases is that this jury needed to find Kevin Spacey guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. And that seems to be the conclusion, of course, with them now finding him not guilty of any of these charges, that that was not the case, dating back to these charges.

Again, some of them nearly 20 years old, very little physical evidence there. It really became a matter of he said-he said in court with the prosecutor trying to paint the picture of a powerful actor in a great position of influence. Of course, Kevin Spacey, as the artistic director of the Old Victor -- of the Old Vick, rather, who tried to take advantage of that position.

Kevin Spacey and his lawyers hit back on that, saying that was absolutely not the case. Yes, he was a flirtatious person, yes, he was a person engaged in the youth scene here in London, but that he never, as he says, never engaged in anything untoward with these men.

SOLOMON: That conclusion coming down, that verdict coming down moments ago. Salma Abdelaziz, we so appreciate you bringing it out to us. Thank you. John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. At this moment, Hunter Biden is inside a federal courthouse where he is expected to plead guilty to two federal tax misdemeanors. He arrived just a short time ago. Court filings indicate Biden will plead guilty for not paying taxes on time. He also struck a deal with prosecutors to resolve felony gun charge.

This probe began in 2018 and examined allegations of money laundering, foreign lobbying and other potential charges throughout its course.

With us now, CNN's Evan Perez and Sara Murray. Evan, first, to you, tell us what are we expecting to see really over the next several minutes, if not already having begun?

[10:05:00]

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We expect that the hearing is getting under way right now there at the federal courthouse in Wilmington. This is a five-year investigation. And in the end, what prosecutors are agreeing to as part of this deal with Hunter Biden is that he's pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts related to his taxes, not paying them on time in 2017 and 2018.

As part of this investigation, investigators also found that he had purchased a gun during a time that Hunter Biden says he was addicted to drugs and, therefore, making that purchase an illegal purchase. So, as part of that, he is going to agree to abide by certain conditions and at the end of which if he satisfies them and if the court is satisfied, the federal government will get rid of this felony gun charge.

It's something that obviously -- this is a case, obviously, that has now become highly politicized. It's just a matter of where you think the politicization comes from. If you talk to Republicans, they believe that this investigation was politicized by people inside the Justice Department. Now, of course, they are making this the center of their effort to go after the current sitting president.

What we expect, though, at the end of this, John, is that the prosecution is going to suggest that Hunter Biden serve no prison time as a result of this.

Now, there's a very bizarre little sideshow that happened just in the last 24 hours where the federal judge who's overseeing this, a Trump appointee, by the way, she is very angry apparently that a member of Hunter Biden's legal team may have said something that caused a filing by Republicans to be taken down. So, we expect that that's going to be part of this court hearing as well, John.

BERMAN: Thank you very much, Evan. Do stand by. Sara Murray, that's a good segue to you here, because one of the things that's been unusual here, this is a plea agreement going before a federal judge being handled in the judiciary Congress. There are committees of Congress trying to weigh in here before the judge signs off on this. What's going on there and what else does Congress have cooking when it comes to Hunter Biden?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. The Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee basically wrote to the judge and said, please consider sort of the political ramifications around this case. Consider what we've heard from IRS whistleblowers saying that there was political interference in this case. So, that is certainly an interesting move, but it fits with the political strategy we've seen from these House Republicans, which is that even if this signals the end of Hunter Biden's legal problems, it's not going to signal the end of the political headaches for Hunter Biden or for Joe Biden or for the rest of the Biden family.

I mean, one thing that Republicans want is they want to get testimony from David Weiss, the U.S. attorney overseeing this probe. He said he would agree to testify in September or October. They want to know essentially what the avenues of investigation he covered included. They want him to answer more directly than he has in some of his letters so far about some of these allegations of political interference. And it's clear that this sort of fodder around the Biden family business dealings is building a potential campaign for Joe Biden impeachment.

We've heard some of the most pointed words from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on this so far. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): If more of this continues to unravel, it rises to the level of an impeachment inquiry.

What that simply provides is that the American public has a right to know. And this allows Congress to get the information, to be able to know the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Now, Republicans haven't been able to prove that Joe Biden benefited off of his son's business dealings, that he was involved at all in his son's business dealings, but it's clear they're still trying, and they believe impeachment may be another mechanism for them to do so, John.

BERMAN: All right. Sara Murray, thank you so much. Evan and Sara, please, again, keep us posted because this is all developing before our eyes. They are behind closed doors in that federal courthouse right now.

In the meantime, with us, CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig, former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Counselor, the expectation is, is that the judge will sign off on this plea agreement, probation for two tax charges. Do judges always sign off, federal judges, on plea agreements?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Almost always, but not always always. So, it is up to the judge to decide whether he or she, in this case, she wants to accept the plea agreement. But 99 point something percent of the time when you go in front of a court and you say, we, the prosecution, have agreed with the defense, everyone is on board, this is going to be the deal, a judge will accept the plea and then move forward with sentencing at some point later.

Why could a judge perhaps reject a deal, to maybe anticipate your next question?

BERMAN: Yes, you're asking my follow here.

HONIG: We're on the same wavelength here. First of all, could be the judge is not convinced that the person is actually guilty. So, the judge is going to listen very carefully to what Hunter Biden says.

[10:10:02]

And if the judge doesn't think the person has fully admitted to a crime, she cannot accept the guilty plea.

Another possibility is if a judge thinks that a plea is simply inadequate. I had one very close call in my career where a judge thought that we as prosecutors were being too lenient with the defendant, and the judge put us through the wringer and made noises like he was not going to accept it. He did, ultimately. But the important thing here is the judge has the final say on whether in this case, she accepts it.

BERMAN: How much influence would this letter from the House Ways and Means Committee to this federal judge have? How unusual is that?

HONIG: Little to no influence, I think. It's not really the judge's concern here whether politicians think that there's some other universe of fact. Really, the judge needs to constrain herself here to the charges as they're laid out in the charging instrument, in this case, it's called an information, not an indictment, because the parties have agreed to it, and to whether the person is actually guilty. And then, finally, bigger picture to whether this is a reasonable and appropriate outcome within very broad parameters.

BERMAN: All right. Sara outlined what is happening inside Congress. Hunter Biden, if this is all agreed to, will be under probation, be on probation for some time. The prosecutor has also said things that make one wonder about whether or not there are still any other criminal investigations still going on. What's possible to continue on there?

HONIG: Yes. So, this is sort of a standard thing that prosecutors say. Any prosecutor will say that any investigation is ongoing up until the moment when the sentence is done and the appeal is done. But this is the question that the whistleblowers have been raising. The claim made by the IRS agents who worked on this case is that there were certain investigative avenues that were unduly, prematurely headed off, that they were told, you cannot look down that avenue.

And so David Weiss, the U.S. attorney Trump appointed, who's been in charge of this case, has now agreed that he will testify sometime in the fall. And that will be the key question for him.

BERMAN: What else? I mean, what else will David Weiss be asked about and how much will he be willing to say? Will he just open all of his books in the investigation?

HONIG: So, I think he's going to have to be careful, and I think he will be careful. I do not think he will get into the nuances of this investigation, which witnesses did you speak to, what investigative tactics did you use, did you seek a search warrant, that kind of thing.

But I think he can answer the following questions. One, how did this take five years? I've not heard a reasonable answer for that from anybody. And just for the record, there's no way this case should have taken anything close to five years.

Another big question is, did you, David Weiss, have complete control over this case or were there others pulling the strings? He has already said in a letter, I had complete control. But that's a little bit of a distinct question from, in your capacity as the person who had complete control, did you shut down any lines of inquiry, that's where the rubber meets the road.

BERMAN: Giving them guidelines, maybe a roadmap of how to ask the questions.

HONIG: Free to use it.

BERMAN: Elie Honig, thank you very much.

HONIG: Thanks, John. All right.

BERMAN: Rahel?

SOLOMON: Well, in a dramatic court filing overnight, former Trump Attorney Rudy Giuliani is conceding that he did make defamatory statements about two Georgia election workers after the 2020 presidential election.

The new details are connected to a lawsuit that Giuliani is facing. It was filed by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. And they claim that he made false allegations against them in an effort to undermine Georgia's election.

Giuliani now saying that he does not deny Moss and Freeman's accusations that he smeared them after the election.

I want to bring in CNN Senior Crime and Justice Reporter Katelyn Polantz, to help us understand, Katelyn, what Giuliani did concede and what he didn't exactly concede.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, Rahel. Well, he is trying to contain the legal risk that he has. So, Rudy Giuliani has been sued by these two Georgia election workers for statements he made about them after the 2020 election.

Let's start by listening a little bit to what he was saying about them, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who were in Georgia working in the vote counting in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER TRUMP LAWYER: Ruby Freeman and Shaye Freeman Moss and one other gentleman quite obviously, surreptitiously passing around USB ports as if they are vials of heroin or cocaine.

I mean, it's obvious to anyone who's a criminal investigator or prosecutor they are engaged in surreptitious, illegal activity again that day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: So, Rudy Giuliani now is coming and saying that he does concede that he made those statements, that those statements are false and that they can be defamatory now that they are suing. But he's trying to contain it to just this lawsuit. He obviously is facing a lot of different legal risks around the country, in Georgia, nationally, with the federal criminal investigation.

So, we don't know exactly how what he's saying in this lawsuit today is going to factor into that. And also, Rahel, he is trying to still find a way to eke out some sort of win or at least something that doesn't hurt him too badly in this law lawsuit.

One of the things that he wants to say is that he shouldn't be held liable for the damages that these women suffered or that they say that they will suffer, meaning he won't have to necessarily pay them if he is able to convince the judge of that.

[10:15:08]

He also wants to try and claim that what he was saying after the election is protected speech, so opinion largely more so than fact.

But here is what those women had to say, according to their House deposition when Congress investigated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBY FREEMAN, FORMER GEORGIA ELECTION WORKER: I've lost my name and I've lost my reputation, I've lost my sense of security, all because a group of people, starting with number 45, and his ally, Rudy Giuliani, decided to scapegoat me and my daughter, Shaye.

WANDREA SHAYE MOSS, FORMER GEORGIA ELECTION WORKER: I don't want to go anywhere. I second guess everything that I do. It's affecting my life in a major way, in every way, all because of lies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: So, we still have to see how the judge in this lawsuit is going to respond to what Giuliani is now saying here and what happens in the criminal investigation and other investigations. But we just did get a statement from their lawyer, from Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss' lawyer, calling what Giuliani is saying now a major milestone in their fight for justice. Rahel?

SOLOMON: Katelyn Polantz live for us there, thank you, Katelyn. John?

BERMAN: All right. Some terrifying moments just outside of our window here the CNN headquarters. This crane collapses at a construction site. You're looking at the aftermath now. It was really absolutely terrifying when the crane itself collapsed. We have live reporting from the scene.

Exclusive new details on the condition of Trevor Reed, the former U.S. Marine injured in Ukraine, new information about how he's doing.

And he is accused in a string of brutal killings. Now, investigators have finished a search of the Gilgo Beach murderer suspect's home. We'll tell you what they found.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:20:00]

SOLOMON: We are learning new developments this morning after a crane collapse in New York City. Take a look at this video. It really just shows the terrifying moment the structure collapses, striking a nearby building before then dropping to the street below. Fire officials say that six people were hurt in this incident, four civilians, two firefighters, all suffering minor, non-life threatening injuries.

I want to go now to CNN's Brynn Gingras. She's been on the scene with new developments. So, Brynn, what more are you learning? What's the newest here?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're getting a lot of details from the workers who were there watching as this crane collapsed, Rahel. I'm going to get out of the way so we can zoom in and you can see where that crane landed in the middle of Tenth Avenue here in midtown Manhattan. And you can see the debris just scattered all across this ground and also onto the side of this building that these workers were working on.

And we have exclusive video from one of those workers who was working on the same level as where that crane was positioned. We've learned from authorities that, at that moment, the crane was trying to bring up about 16 tons of concrete that was going to be poured. And then it appears to be some sort of issue, they believe, the workers, mechanical failure of some sort.

I want you to hear from that worker about what he describes happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD PAZ, IRON WORKER INSTALLING STEEL: I actually saw it smoking and told the guys, that's not a good sign. My foreman asked me if I had ever seen that before. I told him, yes, it's not an issue if they put it out.

And like I said, the crane operator did exit the cabin because what happens is the computer system shuts down, letting him know there's an issue. So, when he came out of the cabin, he did try to extinguish it, but when it started flaming and they got to a point where he couldn't, he only had the option of exiting the crane and coming down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: And that worker actually telling me they felt the building rumble as that crane was coming down.

And there was a bit of a stampede from workers as they were trying to escape that building. That worker actually telling me, he told his coworker, the best thing to do is just stay still. Nothing's going to happen to this building.

I want to move over here just really quickly before I send it back to you, Rahel, because you can see the firefighters here, they've got this drone position down here. We saw it just go up in the air taking a look at that high level of this crane, doing their investigation along with the Department of Buildings here on the scene. But this is an area that is shut down now because of this investigation. The fire is out at that crane, but as you mentioned, six injuries. And I got to tell you, talking to the guys that work here, it really is a miracle that there weren't more injuries particularly at the hour that this happens and how busy this section of Manhattan is. Rahel?

SOLOMON: Absolutely. And with everything that was involved, it is really incredible that there were only six injuries, again, minor, non-life threatening injuries.

Brynn Gingras live for us there, thank you, Brynn. John?

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, a CNN exclusive, we have learned that former Marine Trevor Reed is expected to make a full recovery after being wounded while fighting in Ukraine. Reed was detained in Russia in 2019. He was released last year as part of a prisoner swap.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand joins us now from the Pentagon with this exclusive. Natasha?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, John. So, a source tells our colleague, Jake Tapper, that former Marine Trevor Reed is expected to make a full recovery after fighting in Ukraine and being injured on the battlefield there.

Now, we are learning a little bit more about how this played out. He was apparently wounded by shrapnel and he was taken to a hospital in Kyiv and then later transported out of the country by two NGOs, MediCare Hubs Kyiv, which is a German NGO, and FRIDA Ukraine, which is an Israeli NGO.

[10:25:10]

Now, the source close to Reed also told our Jake Tapper that Reed actually first went to Ukraine back in November of 2022, and he was motivated to fight alongside Ukrainian forces because of what he experienced when he was in Russian captivity.

Now, recall that Reed was detained by the Russians, wrongfully detained, according to the U.S., and he was released as part of a prisoner swap in April of 2022. So, he went back recently to fight with the Ukrainians, and he and his unit had apparently been taking back some land around that Eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut when he was injured.

Now, again, he is expected to make a full recovery, and the source did say that he eventually does want to tell his story. But right now, the family is simply asking for privacy while he does recover from his injuries. John?

BERMAN: Really extraordinary development, the fact that he went back to Ukraine really in a way as revenge for what had happened to him inside Russia, expected to make a full recovery. Natasha Bertrand, please keep us posted. Thank you very much. Rahel? SOLOMON: Well, coming up, lots of evidence, that's what authorities say was found after a search of the Gilgo Beach suspect's home. We'll have the latest on the investigation when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:00]