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Trump's Trial Schedule?; Interview With Rep. Mike Quigley (D- IL); Republicans Lose New York Congressional Race. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired February 14, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:01:17]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Moments ago, House Speaker Mike Johnson doing damage control after Republicans lost a House special election. Where he is now pointing his finger for blame.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: Also, Donald Trump forced to choose as his legal cases collide, the porn star hush money case or the disqualification hearing for the Georgia DA, all while we continue to wait for a verdict in the civil fraud case and also the response from Jack Smith to the Supreme Court on Biden's -- on Trump's immunity claim.

The wild week that is for the Trump legal team that is just beginning.

BERMAN: The fans already out in full force. The Kansas City victory parade kicks off shortly. Is Taylor Swift going to be there?

Sara and Kate are out. I'm John Berman with Rahel Solomon. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SOLOMON: All right, moments ago, House Speaker Mike Johnson reacting after Republicans lost a special election in New York to fill the seat left vacant when George Santos was kicked out of Congress, Johnson downplaying the loss that further shrinks his party's majority.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): The result last night is not something, in my view, that Democrats should celebrate too much. Think about what happened there.

They spent about $15 million to win a seat that President Biden won by eight points. They won it by less than eight points. Their candidate ran like a Republican. He sounded like a Republican talking about the border and immigration, because everybody knows that's the top issue.

That is in no way a bellwether of what's going to happen this fall. We are absolutely convinced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: This as the Senate's $95 billion aid package appears stalled in the House, the White House now putting pressure on House Republicans to take up the measure.

We have live team coverage for you this morning. CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the White House.

Let's actually begin with CNN's Manu Raju on Capitol Hill.

Manu, you were inside of that room for the press conference. You have been talking to leaders as well. What are you hearing?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

And I did ask Mike Johnson about the issue of the border, which would played so prominently in that New York special election. The Democratic candidate there, Tom Suozzi, was getting absolutely hammered on this issue. He -- late in the campaign, though, he seized upon the fact that Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House, opposed the bipartisan border security deal that was cut in the United States.

Ultimately, Johnson's opposition to this plan led Senate Republicans to kill that measure when it came before them. Suozzi essentially blamed Republicans for that and tried to campaign on the decision by the speaker to kill it.

I asked him if he mishandled that issue, if it caused them -- gave Democrats something to campaign on. He downplayed that. He dismissed it. He said that was not the reason why.

But that is not necessarily what members of Congress within his own conference are telling me. Some of them believe that the -- all of the -- the inability of the Republicans to put together a governing agenda has been a big reason for their failure here.

Others are concerned about the fact that George Santos was expelled, even though it was supported by a two-thirds majority in the United States House after those damning allegations came out about his conduct, criminal allegations, as well as his House Ethics Committee probe. Enough of them -- a lot of those members said he should not have been expelled, and that is the reason why they kicked him out.

One of the reasons why he was expelled, New York Republican freshmen, the same ones who will be vulnerable in the fall. I talked to several of them this morning. They defended their handling of all of this as well, saying that that is not the reason why they lost, instead saying that the Democratic candidate there, Tom Suozzi, is simply an experienced politician who spent a lot of money, ran like a Republican on the issue of the border.

[11:05:12]

And that was enough for him to carry the day, so a lot of finger- pointing, a lot of uncertainty about what this all means. But one thing is clear here, Rahel. The Republican majority is in peril in the fall, and Republicans are now trying to figure out how to prevent it from flipping to the Democrats.

SOLOMON: Yes, that majority down by one, even slimmer now. Manu Raju live from Capitol Hill.

Manu, thanks so much.

Let's get to Arlette now, who's at the White House.

Arlette, talk to us about what the White House is doing to try to get this aid package passed.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, we have really seen President Biden embracing the bully pulpit, as he urges House Republicans to take up this foreign aid package, the president really laying this out in stark terms, saying that it's not just about getting aid to Ukraine on the battlefield, but also protecting America's national security interests.

The president arguing that not passing this aid would simply play into Vladimir Putin's hands and have wider repercussions beyond just Ukraine. Earlier today, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that it's time for House Speaker Mike Johnson to put up a vote, to show some leadership, and be up to the moment.

And, yesterday, President Biden had a pretty stark warning for Republicans as they right now are not planning to vote on this measure. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable: History is watching. History is watching. History is watching. Failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: The big question is what the White House will do now, as the House speaker so far has shown resistance to bringing this up for a vote.

We know the Democrats are huddling to see if there might be a path forward, a potential work-around the House speaker. You also have Republicans who are suggesting that they could rewrite portions of the foreign aid bill.

But what's also been interesting to note in the last 24 hours is President Biden's ramped-up rhetoric against former President Donald Trump, specifically his suggestions relating to encouraging Russia to do whatever it wants to countries that do not meet their NATO obligations.

The president in the past week has really leaned into trying to paint the Republican Party as beholden to Trump, not just on Ukraine aid, but also on the border and immigration, something we saw play out last night in that New York special election. The president has made clear that he plans to make that case day in

and day out heading into November's election, hoping voters will take notice.

SOLOMON: All right, Arlette Saenz live at the White House.

Arlette, thanks so much -- John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, Congressman Mike Quigley, a Democrat from Illinois and co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus.

I'm going to get to Ukraine in just a moment, Congressman.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson just a short time ago was talking about the special election out in Long Island, which added one Democratic member to the House conference there. He somehow suggested that the win by Tom Suozzi was a sign of weakness. What do you make of his assessment?

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Yes, that's what people say when they lose. It's whatever it takes to not be too embarrassed.

I think you have to look beyond just that special election to the recent elections in Ohio and Wisconsin. I think the fact that the economy is very strong and the fact that, when choice is on the ballot, Democrats win all will add to this.

And I do think the fact that Speaker Johnson shot down the opportunities to address the issue he said was so important, we had opportunities. The secretary and the president have asked for thousands of more border guards and changes in asylum policy, only, I think, under orders from candidate Trump that Speaker Johnson shot down.

BERMAN: You think Democrats should run on that issue, the fact that Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson discouraged the Senate from passing that compromise measure?

QUIGLEY: I think you give the American public the credit it deserves. They can figure this out.

And they understand that there are issues, but they can clearly see that there were opportunities to address it, and that the Republicans who ask for these things, Republicans who wrote the bill voted against their own bill in the Senate.

So I think you give them credit. But as we remember, it's the economy, stupid, right? That was the line we always learned from. I think the fact that this is an extraordinarily strong economy and, again, the issue of choice that are out there, I think those are all factors in the American people leaning Democratic.

BERMAN: All right, and this is all connected to foreign aid, specifically aid to Ukraine. There's this $95 billion foreign aid package the Senate passed, which includes $60 billion for Ukraine, that House Speaker Mike Johnson more or less directly says will not get to the House floor as is.

What can you do about that?

QUIGLEY: Look, obviously we're talking about a discharge petition, and it gets down to, are there enough patriots out there who recognize what -- the words of General Milley and Secretary Austin, right, that, if we don't get to the House, and gets down to are there enough patriots out there who recognize what the words of General Milley and Secretary Austin, right, that if we don't stand up to Putin's aggression, we face doubling our defense budget and inviting more bloodshed.

[11:10:18]

And, of course, remembering that the battle in Ukraine is the reasons we fought the Second World War. It's why we formed the United Nations. It's why we formed NATO. So, I think there's probably a hundred or so Republicans who are steadfast in favor of that. I'd like to think there's enough of them that we can work with.

And I'd like to think Speaker Johnson will recognize, as narrow as this is, if we're going to govern, we're going to have to work together. And there's more that unites us than divides us.

BERMAN: So our audience knows, a discharge petition is a way that you can get things on the House floor without House leadership. It requires a majority of House members basically signing on.

Do you think you have every Democratic member willing to sign on to a discharge petition? You said it will take enough patriots. There are Democratic members who may not be willing to sign a discharge petition that has aid to Israel in it.

QUIGLEY: Look, when I got here, the first bit of advice I got was everything that gets done here gets done in the middle.

So we may lose a few members. I can't count on that one way or another on the left and the far right. There's nothing I can do about that. But I do recognize, when there was a stand-alone provision on Ukraine, it passed overwhelmingly.

And we recognize that Israel is our staunchest ally in the Middle East. It is the only democratic -- democracy in the region. And there is extraordinary amounts of humanitarian aid for those in Gaza. And I do appreciate the president's diplomatic efforts to get the hostages released in a short-term cease-fire.

I think most Democrats recognize that and understand this has to happen for both reasons.

BERMAN: You did say, though, that the discharge petition depends on having enough patriots. Democrats who do not sign on, would you then question their patriotism?

QUIGLEY: Look, I'm talking about those who -- the people who aren't patriots who vote against that which they know is right in their hearts.

If they believe one stance or another, that's another thing. But I'm talking about the Republicans who know supporting Ukraine and Israel is the right thing to do, and they vote against that which they believe. I believe people who don't vote that way are not patriots.

You need to vote what that which you believe is the right thing to do.

BERMAN: The foreign aid bill received 70 votes in the Senate, a bipartisan measure, including 22 Republicans. At this point, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere in the House of Representatives.

Congressman Mike Quigley, co-chair of the Ukraine Caucus in the House, thanks so much for being with us today.

QUIGLEY: Thank you.

BERMAN: Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right, Donald Trump will be in a New York City courtroom tomorrow, the criminal case involving hush money to a porn star, as a decision looms that could cripple his business empire.

Plus, the day everything hit the fan. Brian Laundrie's parents describe their son and when their son told them that his fiancee, Gabby Petito, was gone.

And Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce breaking his silence, addressing that viral moment from the Super Bowl. We will discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:18:10]

BERMAN: All right, just in, does anything say I love you more than a fund-raising e-mail based on the litany of criminal charges against you?

So, Donald Trump just set out a fund-raising pitch that reads, "Dear Melania, I love you. Even after every single indictment, arrest and witch-hunt, you never left my side."

By those standards, there is a lot to stand beside this week, tomorrow, two court hearings, Friday a ruling that could cost him $370 million, as well as his New York business license. And any day now, the Supreme Court could receive a response from Jack Smith involving the issue of presidential immunity.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz following it all this Valentine's Day -- Katelyn.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: John, this boils down into three buckets. There are six different issues at play, four criminal cases and two issues related to very serious lawsuits that Donald Trump faces. But it boils down to fallout over Donald Trump's business practices in

the state of New York. He has that criminal hearing tomorrow before the judge. They're going to talk about trial date. They're going to be talking about going to trial. Trump's likely to be there.

There's also a decision in his civil fraud case in New York coming from Judge Arthur Engoron on the penalties that Trump and his business will face for inflating his worth, his financial statements. That's the fallout over his business plans. Then there's protection around the presidency.

There's that big legal question hanging over Donald Trump and his criminal case in federal court in D.C. That's what's before the Supreme Court right now. We're going to be waiting for a special counsel response to Trump's attempts to keep his case paused, keep this presidential immunity question before the Supreme Court to try and get answers on that and avoid going to trial very quickly.

[11:20:01]

So we will wait to see what the Supreme Court does there. And then the third bucket, John, there's a lot of questions about the progression to trial for Donald Trump. That's the hearing tomorrow and Friday in Georgia with the DA's office looking at the ethics and the possibility of those prosecutors staying on or having to leave that case.

And, of course, the Mar-a-Lago documents criminal case, that continues on as well, hearings earlier this week under seal, filings coming up, the progression to trial. It all marches on. There will be a trial in March as of now related to the criminal case in New York. But a lot of things can move and change.

It's going to be day by day -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, look, we're used to a drip, drip, drip with all these legal cases, the next few days kind of a fire hydrant. Stuff will happen, important developments on the way.

Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much for being here -- Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right, John, and let's discuss all of this now with CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams.

Elliot, good to see you.

Let's start in Georgia. I mean, there's a lot there. Depending on who you're talking to, there's questions about whether there's a "there" there. What is this going to come down to? What are the big issues here?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There's one big issue. Was there an explicit financial conflict?

Now, what the matter started with is a personal relationship, an intimate relationship between the district attorney, Fani Willis, and someone senior in her office. Now, obviously, there's potential ethical questions there about the appropriateness of that type of relationship.

What the judge is assessing is, is there a conflict of interest based on the fact that her office paid this individual's law firm for services? That's what they're going to be picking apart. And it's messy and it's complicated, because you're going to have to cut up, number one, where the personal relationship ends and where the financial conflict might begin.

And that's just a legal question that the judge is going to have to sort out with evidence and testimony tomorrow.

SOLOMON: Elliot, there's a question about testimony, whether we see Fani Willis testify, what is that going to hinge on? What is that sort of going to be determined by?

WILLIAMS: You know, I -- it's hard to say.

It's a -- were I advising this witness, I would say, look, this is a personal relationship that fits within the ethical rules set by Georgia and on this office. That's the argument that she would make. And any financial -- there's no financial benefit. You would be asking a prosecutor to -- or you're asking an individual to sort of account for every dollar that is spent on a person in an intimate relationship.

That's the argument that she would make. Like I said, it's going to be complicated, both legally and actuarially, where did the dollars go, who was spent on -- who they were spent on and how?

SOLOMON: Well, Elliot, what would you say the biggest sort of concern here is?

Is it that this client who is bringing this up was infringed upon in some way...

WILLIAMS: Yes.

SOLOMON: ... was negatively impacted in some way, or is it the optics of...

WILLIAMS: Yes.

SOLOMON: ... potentially two prosecutors misbehaving?

WILLIAMS: That's a very important question, and probably the central one, is, what is the appearance of impropriety?

Even if the judge finds that there's no specific conflict of interest, that a person did not have a direct dollar benefit with respect to the work they were doing for an office, how does it look, both to the public that elected the district attorney, but also the court, jurors and anyone else connected?

In many respects, in courts, it's the appearance that is as bad as -- or as troubling or as even problematic legally as the actual conflict, and that's the sort of thorny legal, ethical, and, frankly, personal question the court's going to have to sort out here.

SOLOMON: Elliot, for the New York civil case, the fraud case, before this most recent trial, there had already been a determination from the judge that broad fraud had occurred.

And so this stage in terms of determining the appropriate amount of damages, what are you expecting? I mean, what do you see here? What do you think is likely?

WILLIAMS: Well, I think a very large dollar amount is likely, based on, number one, as you said, Rahel, the fact that fraud was already found, so the court is, in effect, just deciding on the damages, number two, any other remedies that the court does impose, such as revocation of business licenses or other restrictions on the business that the Trump Organization can engage in.

But most importantly, it was clear that the Trump team had gotten under the judge's skin throughout the trial. Judges are human beings and are subject to act -- not necessarily acting out. He has -- the judge has to substantiate anything he puts on paper, but if the judge is bothered by your conduct, that can affect how the judge rules, and if it's a question of a close call.

And so those are all things that might factor into the judge's ultimate decision.

SOLOMON: Yes, important to point out that there was no jury in this trial, so the judge carries a lot of weight in what this ultimate decision will be.

WILLIAMS: Yes. Yes.

SOLOMON: Elliot Williams, great to have you. Thanks so much -- John.

BERMAN: A Cabinet secretary is impeached, Democrats pick up a seat in the House, and Nikki Haley rips Donald Trump, and all of that was before breakfast.

[11:25:08]

Chaos in a Texas emergency room after a car slams into the building. We have the dramatic video.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

A seat flip in the House makes the GOP margin of power even thinner. Democrat Tom Suozzi won the special election to take the seat vacated by disgraced New York Representative George Santos.