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Court Resumes Tomorrow With Ivanka Trump Testimony; Trump To Skip Third GOP Debate, Holding Rally In Florida Instead; Jewish Man's Death At Dueling Rallies Being Investigated As Homicide; Education Dept: Schools Could Lose Federal Funding Over Campus Hate; Armed Man Arrested Near U.S. Capitol; Lebron James: Son Bronny Could Return To USC Court Soon. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired November 07, 2023 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:32:24]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Just one day after his historic and chaotic testimony in the civil fraud trial against him, Donald Trump is again hitting the campaign trail.

This, as his daughter, Ivanka, prepares to take the witness stand tomorrow. The attorney general's office in New York says it will rest its case after her testimony.

The former president spent hours in court yesterday. And his performance signaling what's to come as his legal problems and the race for 2024 collide.

Let's take you to West Palm Beach now with CNN's Kristen Holmes, who's been covering the Trump campaign.

Kristen, Trump is set to hold a rally tomorrow. He's trying to counterprogram that third Republican presidential debate.

Obviously, some contentious moments on the witness stand yesterday. Have you heard from his team about what we might expect? Is that testimony going to come up tomorrow night?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, that remains to be seen. We know Donald Trump isn't one to mince words, and likely he is going to bring it up because he is still very angry about it.

But one of the things we've been really reporting on is how it's going to look when Donald Trump is bouncing between these trials and the campaign trail. And you're really getting a firsthand look at that right now.

Not only did Donald Trump appear all day in court in his own civil trial, he also then came home to Mar-a-Lago and made calls on behalf of two candidates for governor, one in Kentucky, one in Mississippi, at tele-rallies, to try and support these candidates that he has endorsed. Now, this is going to become less and less manageable. The thing to

keep in mind here is we really haven't gotten to the point in the trials in which Donald Trump is forced to appear every day.

That is going to look a lot different when he's trying to also run a 2024 presidential campaign.

But I do want to get to that event tomorrow night in Hialeah, actually where you're from, Boris. So if you want your family to stop by, I can say hi to them.

But it's just down the road from the RNC debate in Miami. And the reason why this is so interesting is because it's clearly, and according to many Republican operatives I've spoken to, a slap in the face to the RNC.

And now they've taken it a step further. They used to have the first two debates, some of Donald Trump's top advisers still at the debate, still there in the spin room afterwards, talking to reporters.

Now they're doing something different. They are having their own spin room with Donald Trump's surrogates in Hialeah after the rally.

Now, of course, for anyone who knows what a spin room is they're trying to spin you on the fact their candidate did the best. So a little bit confusing there how exactly it's going to work since it's only a candidate for one person, a rally for one person and it's their candidate.

[14:35:01]

But it is going to show you that they are just trying to take control of this entire race. They are essentially pretending that he is already the nominee.

And that has been their argument for why it is that the RNC should stop holding these debates, because he has such a big lead on the other candidates.

But again, when we talk about this, there was a chance that his testimony yesterday could have spilled over into tomorrow before that event. But we're just getting closer and closer into a situation in which he will be juggling a litany of trials with the campaign trail.

SANCHEZ: And, Kristen, quickly, after several failed attempts to avoid the witness stand, Ivanka Trump testifying tomorrow. She's going to be answering questions from prosecutors.

Has the Trump team told you anything about her upcoming testimony?

HOLMES: No, they're really not talking about it. It's not surprising. Donald Trump really did not want to be involving his children, particularly Ivanka. As you'll remember, she stepped away from any kind of politics after he left office.

She and her husband, Jared Kushner, live in Miami. They don't work in politics. And really, for all intents and purposes, are not around Donald Trump very much.

And that is how many people around Ivanka have said they want to keep it. So we have not heard that.

But I have heard from sources close to Donald Trump who said he's been particularly angry that his children have been involved in this case, that they are taking the stand.

Of course, they will be watching to see what happens tomorrow.

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes, hope you enjoy your time in the city of progress. Hialeah, Florida. Thanks so much.

Let's get some perspective now from CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Elliot Williams.

Elliot, let's start with Ivanka Trump taking the stand. What are prosecutors trying to accomplish with her?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Sure. Now, to be clear, she was a defendant in the case initially but they ultimately, for statute of limitations issues, because the claims against her were pretty old, so they had to take her out. So she is appearing as a witness.

Now, I say all that to make the note that she certainly has information about the functions of the Trump Organization.

And what prosecutors are trying to get at in this case in general is who knew what about how the Trump Organization kept its files, valued properties, kept its bookkeeping and so on.

So she may have something to say, even if she's not one of the people who's personally held responsible in the end.

SANCHEZ: On the question of what we might hear Trump say tomorrow night, it's almost certain he's going to say something about his testimony at this campaign rally.

We've seen him over and over again transparently challenge the gag order that's against him. He's already been fined $15,000.

Do you see a path where Judge Engoron perhaps pursues some other avenue to try to restrain the former president?

WILLIAMS: I don't think you really have another avenue to restrain the former president. You can just keep fining him.

And this is the problem with gag orders. There's a really fine line between what an individual can say and what they can't. And particularly a candidate for office.

So for instance, if he were to say, "I am innocent and assert my innocence," and frankly even "the whole system's aligned against me," you could probably get away with that. Now, if you say I'm innocent, the system's aligned against me, and the

judge is a Socialist who kicks puppies, that's probably going to cross the line.

Now, there's grayer areas than that. But any court is going to have to use a scalpel, not a hatchet to carve up statements that step up to but not over the line. He will probably do that. It's been his sort of M.O. beforehand. And I think may do that again.

SANCHEZ: He's had some words about the judge, about the clerk --

WILLIAMS: Right.

SANCHEZ: -- the A.G. We should point out, no evidence Judge Engoron is a Socialist who kicks puppies. That is yet to be proven.

(LAUGHTER)

WILLIAMS: Right:

SANCHEZ: When it comes to the other cases Donald Trump is facing, do you think, that prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, or the classified documents case in south Florida or here in D.C. with the election subversion case, do you think they're watching that, perhaps considering how they might approach potential Trump testimony?

WILLIAMS: That's important. Because, number one, this is a civil case. The one in New York City. He can be made to testify in a civil case.

Prosecutors in criminal cases can't call him to testify. Now, his attorneys might do so. And even if he does, it's generally not in a defendant's interest to testify because he can step in it and get himself into trouble.

The reason why he testified in this case, he really kind of had to, Boris, because of the fact that the judge had already found that there was fraud in the case. They've largely already lost.

It was sort of a bit of a Hail Mary, you had to put the defendant on the stand to just try to talk himself out of trouble. Doesn't look like he did yesterday. But that's really the only card they had in their hand.

SANCHEZ: Elliot Williams, appreciate the expertise.

WILLIAMS: Thank you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much.

When we come back, a CNN exclusive. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says that federal funds are at stake for schools if they don't combat anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. We have details on that in just minutes.

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[14:44:07]

SANCHEZ: The death of a Jewish man at dueling protests in southern California is being investigated as a homicide. And 69-year-old Paul Kessler suffered a head injury on Sunday. And bystander video shows Kessler laying on the ground bleeding.

Officials say he fell backward during a physical altercation with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator.

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JIM FRYHOFF, SHERIFF, VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: The sergeant contacted the victim, identified as 69-year-old Paul Kessler, a Thousand Oaks resident, who was lying on the ground. Mr. Kessler was conscious and responsive. The sergeant observed what he saw was bleeding from the head and mouth.

On November 6th, at approximately 2:43 a.m., the sheriff's communication center received a call from the hospital staff in reference to the earlier incident involving Mr. Kessler.

At 2:53, a patrol deputy and sergeant arrived at the hospital and we're told that Mr. Kessler had succumbed to his injuries.

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[14:45:03]

SANCHEZ: The Ventura County Sheriff's Office says the events leading up to his fall are still being investigated. So far, the 50-year-old suspect has not been arrested and is cooperating with investigators.

As we're seeing an increase in threats, the Department of Education is warning schools their federal funding is at risk if they fail to combat anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on their campuses.

We want to bring in CNN's Rene Marsh.

Because, Rene, you sat down with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. What were his thoughts on the rate of incidents like these getting higher?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first off, Boris, very urgent messaging coming from the Department of Education.

And when I sat down with the secretary yesterday, he had a clear message both for Jewish students and Muslim students, and that message was, and I'm quoting, "I've got your back."

But to this new letter that went out to both K through 12, colleges and universities, this letter is from the Civil Rights Office within the Department of Education.

And it says, and I'm quoting, that "They have a legal responsibility under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide all students a school environment free from discrimination." And adding on to that, if these schools are not able to do that, they could very well risk losing their federal funding.

And here's the secretary on that point.

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MARSH: How aggressively will the Department of Education pursue actually pulling funding in these scenarios?

MIGUEL CARDONA, EDUCATION SECRETARY: Withholding federal dollars is in our toolbox. That wouldn't be the first thing that I would do. I would want to provide support for these universities, provide guidance.

And if there are egregious acts, I want to make sure we're investigating them. Ultimately, if we have to withhold dollars for a campus refusing to comply, we would.

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MARSH: All right. Well, the secretary also saying that they've actually seen an uptick in the number of complaints that they've received at the department, eight to nine, but they expect that number is going to continue to rise.

SANCHEZ: And, Rene, I understand the secretary also told you that he was going to go to Capitol Hill to seek more funding to try to expedite some of these hate incident investigations.

But obviously, Capitol Hill is a bit of a dumpster fire right now, isn't it?

(LAUGHTER)

MARSH: To say the least.

That's right. So yesterday, he sent a letter to the Speaker of the House Johnson and asked for increased funding for the Office of Civil Rights because they do see that they will need that increased funding in order to expedite some of these hate investigations.

I did check with the Department of Ed. They say that the speaker's office has acknowledged receiving the request but no additional information on when that could come through -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: It's obviously a challenge to keep campuses safe.

Rene Marsh, such an important story. Thank you so much for doing it for us.

MARSH: Sure.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

So police just gave an update on an armed man they arrested near the U.S. capitol. We want to take you straight to CNN's Melanie Zanona, who's been

tracking this for us.

Melanie, what are we learning about the suspect?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Yes, a scary moment here on Capitol Hill not too long ago. The Capitol Police said their officers were alerted to a man who was walking in a nearby Senate park and holding a gun.

The officers then said they located the suspect, saw him walking with his gun pointed down, walking away. They told him to stop and put his gun down. He did not. So the officers tasered him and then took him into custody.

Police Chief Tom Manger says they are probably going to be charging him with possession of a firearm on capitol property.

And he also revealed a little bit more about the suspect. They said he's a 21-year-old male and that his driver's license said he was from Atlanta, Georgia. They also said that he was a registered sex offender.

But it's unclear what he was doing here or what his intentions were. And the investigation is still ongoing.

Here's a little bit more of what the police chief had to say at a press conference.

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J. THOMAS MANGER, CHIEF, U.S. CAPITOL HILL POLICE DEPARTMENT: He just -- he remained facing forward and had another officer who -- plainclothes officer who was at the corner. He was walking toward that officer.

And -- but there were a group of officers behind him. One officer with a taser. The other officer stopped, allowed the other officer with a taser to go up behind him, and he was shot with the taser. Again, fell and dropped the gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZANONA: The police chief also said that the suspect left behind a bag, that they have searched the bag and found nothing suspicious. But the investigation is still ongoing.

But this really comes at a time of heightened awareness on Capitol Hill right now because there's a rise of anti-Semitism, rise of Islamophobic behavior. And so a lot of the capitol community was very concerned when they heard this information.

But the police said they responded quickly and that there is no longer a threat and the investigation is still ongoing -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: I'm glad that no one was hurt. Melanie Zanona, thank you so much.

So still to come on NEWS CENTRAL, LeBron James says his son, Bronny, may return to the court soon if he clears medical tests. We have details when we come back.

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[14:44:30]

SANCHEZ: Basketball superstar, LeBron James, just revealing his son, Bronny, could be cleared to return to the hardwood to play hoops with the USC Trojans later this month.

It comes, of course, after the young James suffered a cardiac arrest in July and underwent heart surgery.

Let's bring in CNN sports anchor, Coy Wire.

So, Coy, what else did LeBron have to say about Bronny's health?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: How are you doing, Boris? Things are looking up. Bronny, highly touted recruit, comes out of high school top 20 by ESPN. He didn't have much time with USC there on the court before he suffered that cardiac arrest during a team workout.

He was at USC's opener yesterday, on the sidelines still recovering after that successful heart surgery that the James family said was likely a congenital heart defect, a birth defect.

But listen, it looks like LeBron says that Bronny is going to be on the court sooner than later.

[14:55:00]

Here's more of what LeBron had to say about it yesterday.

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LEBRON JAMES, NBA PRO BASKETBALL PLAYER: Every week, he gets to do more and more and more. We have a big moment at the end of the month to see how we can continue to go forward. If he's cleared, then we'll be not too along away from him being on the floor and back with his teammates and playing in game situations.

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WIRE: Bronny is just 19 years old and dad, LeBron, is 38. He said he's dedicating this entire season to Bronny. And he maintains, Boris, that one of his goals is to be playing long enough to be out there on the court at the same time in the NBA with Bronny.

SANCHEZ: That would be something to see. Look forward to seeing Bronny get back on the court.

Coy Wire, thanks so much for the update. WIRE: Right.

SANCHEZ: So it's Election Day in the United States. Our teams are fanned out across the country covering some key races. We're going to break them down. We're back in just a few minutes.

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