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Parents Of Wounded American Israeli Hostage React To Newly Uncovered Video Of His Kidnapping; Ex-Trump Attorney Jenna Ellis Pleads Guilty In Georgia Election Case; Michael Cohen Takes Stand In Trump's Civil Fraud Trial; Deadly Violence And Growing Tension In The West Bank. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 24, 2023 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:39]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: During an interview last week, I spoke to the parents of an American -- a 23-year American named Hersh Goldberg- Polin. He's believed to be a hostage right now in Gaza. Hersh's dad and mother, John and Rachel told me that Hersh's arm had been partially blown off by Hamas gunman as he fled the Nova Music Festival. Eyewitnesses told me that Hersh was put into a truck by gunmen and driven off.

But when we did the interview more than a week ago, they had no video of their son. And during that live interview on television, I realized while talking to them when they showed a picture of Hersh, that I'd actually seen Hersh, and I actually had video of him on my phone. It had been shown to me by soldier at the music festival. And with permission of that soldier, I recorded it off his phone, but I'd never released it publicly. I've been in touch with the family a lot this past week, and they now would like everyone to see this video. It's a video I sent them immediately after I interviewed them. They want you to see it. So they want you to know what happened to their child and the fate of other wounded hostages. We blurred out some parts of it. But we want to warn you, it's disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar.

ANDERSON (voice-over): "God is great," the gunman shouts, recording on his phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Hurry, come! We have a prisoner. A prisoner!

COOPER (voice-over): He checks a car, looking for anyone else hiding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): You mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

COOPER (voice-over): Other gunmen shout as they bring survivors from the shelter. "Come, come," they yell. "Load them."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Load, load, load them. Come on! COOPER (voice-over): That's Hersh on the right with another hostage. His left hand and part of his arm is blown off. The bone sticks out. The other hostage appears wounded, as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Bring them from within. Yalla, keep loading them. Load them. Load, load.

COOPER (voice-over): Another wounded hostage is dragged by his hair and tossed into the truck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Keep loading, we'll show you! Load them, load them!

COOPER (voice-over): A fourth man is thrown on top of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Bring them. Come on, bring the one from there.

COOPER: When I sent the video to you, what was your initial --?

JOHN POLIN, SON ABDUCTED BY HAMAS AT MUSIC FESTIVAL: First of all, it's a crazy sequence of events that we talked to you through a computer screen, and then get a phone call from you saying, I have a video of your son.

COOPER: I didn't want to say it on live television.

RACHEL GOLDBERG, SON ABDUCTED BY HAMAS AT MUSIC FESTIVAL: Which we so appreciated.

COOPER: Of course.

GOLDBERG: The way everything that has unfolded, the gentleness that you used, because at the end of the day, you're a journalist, and journalists want a story. And that could have been dealt with in many other ways that were not kind and gentle.

POLIN: As horrible as it is as a parent, to see your kid under gunpoint, being pushed, with one arm. The composure with which he's walking on his own legs, pulling himself with his one weak hand. Gave me a real dose of strength that he's handling a horrible situation, and he's doing it with composure.

GOLDBERG: And they were saying, he walked out calmly, which he did, but I think it was from shock.

COOPER (voice-over): They have this photo taken inside the shelter, before Hamas gunmen throwing grenades inside. Rachel says as many as 29 people were crammed together. That's Hersh, and this is his friend Aner Shapira.

GOLDBERG: So Hersh and Aner went to the festival together. They've known each other since they were kids.

Aner was by the door, and Aner, by everyone's account who we spoke to, as they were throwing in grenades, he would keep picking them up and throwing them out. Picking them up and throwing them out. All these witnesses said there were 11 grenades thrown in. He threw out eight.

COOPER (voice-over): Rachel says eight people survived and avoided capture by hiding under the blown-up bodies of the dead, but Aner Shapira didn't make it out alive.

GOLDBERG: They identified him with DNA, but in his hand, he was holding a grenade. His dead body had a grenade in it, in his hand.

COOPER: That's incredible.

GOLDBERG: He's the real hero. Those eight people, and even the people who walked out and are now in Gaza, it's because of Aner.

COOPER: How are you able to get through each day?

GOLDBERG: I personally feel like we have to keep running to the end of the earth to save him.

[15:35:00]

And we have to try to go, believing that somehow, he got treatment and he's there. And he's in pain, and he's suffering, but he's alive, and he's there.

COOPER: What do you want people to know about Hersh?

GOLDBERG: He's just a super-curious kid, and this wanderlust that he developed when he was, you know, six or seven years old, has been his life, you know, obsession. Always asking for maps, and globes, and atlases for his bar mitzvah.

Really, you know, these last few years, he's saved every penny to go on this trip that he has a ticket for on December 27. He was going to go to India and then all points East.

COOPER (voice-over): They often go down to see their son's room.

COOPER: Is this Hersh's room?

GOLDBERG: This is Hersh's room. This is also our -- it's a steel door because it's our --

COOPER: Safe room.

GOLDBERG: -- bomb shelter, yeah.

COOPER (voice-over): You can feel him here close, his globe, his books and mementos. It's all just as he left them. Rachel did make his bed however she wants it ready for when he returns.

GOLDBERG: We have a porch that's facing South and I went out Friday night and I was like screaming to him. Because Friday night, you know, we bless our children traditionally in Jewish homes. You bless your children on Friday night. So I was screaming that it's a traditional blessing from the Bible. And so I was screaming the blessing to him with my hands up. I usually put my hands on his head when he's home -- so.

COOPER: What does the blessing say?

GOLDBERG: It says may God bless you and keep you. May God -- may God's face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May God's countenance be lifted -- lifted up toward you and give you peace.

COOPER (voice-over): Rachel and John were just on the cover of Time magazine. They're trying to get the world to pay attention to the plight of the hostages, particularly those like Hersh who have serious wounds or medical issues.

GOLDBERG: There's no playbook for this, that we know of, of the game daily. Is he alive? Is he getting treatment? Did he die 15 days ago?

Like, we're on the head of a pin. And every direction you fall is a bad direction. So a lot of how we get through the day, when you asked that before, is we're trying to balance on the head of the pin and just get everything done with the hope that he'll come home to us alive. And he'll go on that trip with one hand.

COOPER (voice-over): Anderson Cooper, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:05]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: New developments in two court cases, both with former President Trump front and center. In Georgia, Jenna Ellis becoming the latest Trump attorney to flip in the Georgia election subversion case. She tearfully pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting false statements.

And then in New York, former Trump lawyer and so-called fixer, Michael Cohen, took the stand in the former president's civil fraud trial, testifying against his former boss.

So much to discuss. Let's do that now with former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. All right, Renato. So Trump was actually there in person as Cohen was directly implicating him in the inflation of asset valuations. How crucial was this testimony from Cohen?

RENATO MARIOTTI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Oh, it was really important. You know, the judge already found that there was fraud here. But ultimately, you know, part of the core of the -- of the case that the AG is bringing, the Attorney general is bringing in New York, it comes down to Michael Cohen and others testifying that the valuations were inflated. That essentially Trump was giving two separate valuations. He would -- he would have them low, for example when needed for tax purposes and high to lenders. And that's the core of the case from the New York AG. And I don't expect that case to end up very well for Trump and the Trump Organization.

KEILAR: I want to listen to what Michael Cohen said outside of the courthouse just a short time ago. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, DONALD TRUMP'S FORMER ATTORNEY: This is not about Donald Trump versus Michael Cohen or Michael Cohen versus Donald Trump. This is about accountability, plain and simple, and we leave it up to Judge Engoron in order to make all the determinations on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: But in a way, this is about Michael Cohen versus Donald Trump when it comes to believability or credibility. So who wins out on that in court, in your opinion?

MARIOTTI: Wow, that's difficult. Neither are particularly truthful, but I have to say, you know, ultimately here Michael Cohen is backed up by the documents. And I think that's really the key point here. Is that, you know, at the end of the day, it's very challenging when you're a business person submitting two different valuations to two different people and for the exact same property. And you're saying -- you can't say they're both accurate. And so I think, you know, Trump has put himself in a position where even somebody has been convicted of lying to Congress is going to appear more credible to the judge.

KEILAR: In the Georgia election subversion case, Jenna Ellis became the third former Trump lawyer to flip. She joins Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesbro in pleading guilty. How is this case looking against Trump now?

MARIOTTI: Well, you know, Trump was always going to try to blame the attorneys, Brianna. He is always going to say that, essentially, hey, these attorneys were giving me advice. This couldn't have been illegal because I was following the advice from lawyers. Now you have three different lawyers who have all pleaded guilty.

[15:45:00]

I would not be surprised if more lawyers that have been indicted in this case plead guilty. And I think that that's going to be make, you know, make things more difficult for Trump. Ultimately, they're going to be, you know, witnesses for Fani Willis. They're going to be saying that they understood that they were committing crimes and they took part in that. And ultimately, this whole scheme was a, you know, fraudulent scheme to overturn the election, not appropriate legal advice.

KEILAR: I know you saw what was really a pretty extraordinary appearance by Jenna Ellis in court this morning. She made a statement, a tearful one as I mentioned. Let's listen to part of that so we can discuss it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNA ELLIS, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: I endeavored to represent my client to the best of my ability. I relied on others, including lawyers with many more years of experience than I to provide me with true and reliable information. What I did not do, but should have done, your honor, was to make sure that the facts, the other lawyers alleged to be true, were in fact true.

In the frenetic pace of attempting to raise challenges to the election in several states, including Georgia, I failed to do my due diligence. I believe in and I value election integrity. If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post election challenges. I look back on this full experience with deep remorse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I wonder what you think about that. This isn't someone who's, you know, in their mid 20s. When January 6th happened, when all of the election aversion stuff was happening in in late 2020, early 2021, you know, she'd been out of law school for almost a decade. And she's talking about sort of blaming those with more experience around her. Do you buy it?

MARIOTTI: No, I have to say, Brianna, I -- when I was a federal prosecutor, actually indicted and convicted an attorney. And I have never in my life spoken personally with an attorney who's more dishonest than Jenna Ellis. She is a very incredible and somebody I don't take very seriously at all and really does not have much ability as a lawyer. She was somebody who saw the opportunity to make a name for herself, to get her name out there. And I think she glommed onto this representation of Trump. But she was obviously over her head and was repeating things that were false on this network and elsewhere.

And so it's hard for me to feel much remorse here. And I really see some careful parsing of her words there. Where as you point out, she's trying to blame others. She's trying to say that she didn't do her due diligence. She didn't care at all about the truth. She was willing to repeat falsehoods. And, you know, being convicted felon is frankly par for the course when you're willing to do that as a lawyer.

KEILAR: Renato, thank you so much. Obviously, so much going on and we always appreciate having you here to discuss it, thanks.

MARIOTTI: Yes.

KEILAR: CNN special live coverage of Israel a War continues after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:20]

KEILAR: Tensions remain high in the occupied West Bank, where violence also continues to flare.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: According to the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health, 95 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,800 have been injured in the West Bank since October 7th.

CNN Sara Sidner joins us now, live from Jerusalem. And Sara, you spent some time in the West Bank talking to people there. What did they share with?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We talked to both Palestinians and Jewish settlers. You know, Jewish settler presence in the West Bank has always been fraught. They are deemed illegal, the settlements by international law. But the events of October 7th have really put the folks in these settlements on a war footing. It's also put Palestinians in this place of extreme fear.

You mentioned the number of people who have been killed since October 7th. That number more than 90 people, 90 Palestinians in particular. Some of those deaths are at the hands of settlers. Some of those deaths at the hands of Israeli Security Forces who say they have been going in and raiding different parts of the West Bank looking for actors who they consider terrorists. And so as this goes on that sense of fear and danger is definitely growing in the West Bank.

We did go into one of the settlements where we talked to some of the local families there. And in one case, as in several cases, actually, you saw the husbands decide to, you know, stop doing the job that they're doing on a daily basis because of the emergency and because of what happened on October 7th and re-enlist in the armed forces. And doing that to patrol their own neighborhoods in their full uniforms with their semiautomatic or automatic weapons. They are in this war footing. They are in this sort of stance of fearing that they might be next, that there might be something coming through their fortified areas.

As for the Palestinians, I mean, there is video that has been published in the last couple of weeks showing in one case settlers going up to Palestinian homes and shooting at the homes, arguing with people, screaming at them, throwing rocks. We're also seeing a very disturbing video of a Palestinian who was shot in the stomach at point blank range after a confrontation happened. The man appeared to be unarmed. We are told that he is critically injured, but he was taken to the hospital with those wounds and did not die at the scene.

[15:55:00]

But there is definitely this sense that there is a whole new level of fear, a whole new level of violence that is unfolding in the West Bank as everyone is watching the terror that is happening to the families in Gaza from the air strikes and the terror that happened when Hamas came over the border and killed dozens and dozens and dozens of unarmed civilians in their homes. This is a scenario that a lot of people fear because there are so many things that can blow up. We have seen this place -- we've seen a second intifada, the first intifada and there is there's just a fear that this is going to get worse long before it gets better.

SANCHEZ: Sara, we only have about 15 seconds. Did anyone you talked to express hope for some kind of peace settlement?

SIDNER: That's an easy one. I can do that in five seconds. No. At this point that is broken. We heard that from both sides. They just don't see how that's going to happen anytime soon -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Sara Sidner, from Jerusalem.

Thank you so much for joining CNN NEWS CENTRAL today. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts after a short break.