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Closing Arguments in Willis Hearing; Polls on Presidential Race; Blizzard Conditions hit Western U.S.; Roland Gutierrez is Interviewed about a Border Deal; Clark Entering WNBA Draft. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired March 01, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:33:49]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just a few hours, CNN is going to take you live inside a courtroom in Georgia for closing arguments in Fulton County DA Fani Willis' -- the hearing to potentially disqualify her. The judge overseeing the Georgia election subversion case will then, after this, make a ruling that could significantly shake up proceedings moving forward against Donald Trump.

CNN legal analyst, and former U.S. attorney, Michael Moore joins us now for more on this.

What do you -- do you think, after all of this, and we'll listen for closing arguments today, Michael, that Fani Willis is in a better or worse position now than when this hearing -- when this whole thing began?

MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, good morning. I'm glad to be with you.

I think she's probably in a worse position than she was before. And while she received some praise for taking the stand and be it -- having a very active role in testimony there, I think, at the end of the day, once the testimony was questioned with phone records and cell tower data and that type of thing, it has cast her in a little bit different light. And so the court is going to do what judges always do, and that is looking at credibility of witnesses, make that determination, that assessment and - and we'll see.

[08:35:03]

Remember that the defendants have to show some financial benefit or gain. Whether or not they've met that threshold, I think will be the judge's question and he'll be looking for that -- that sort of -- that tie-in, tie up in the arguments today.

BOLDUAN: So, here's the thing just to remind folks is, this has nothing to do with Donald Trump's - the case against Donald Trump specifically as it relates to the election subversion case.

MOORE: That's correct.

BOLDUAN: But at the same time, it does have a lot to do with it. I mean, what does the culmination of what the judge is going to decide here, what do you think it really does mean for Donald Trump's case in Georgia?

MOORE: You know, I think really the defense has won some points just in bringing the motion. And that is they've drawn some of the aspects of the investigation and the prosecution case into question. It doesn't have any bearing on whether or not the indictment is solid at this point, whether or not there will be motions that the judge will deny later on about dismissing, or at least the judge will consider them later on certain parts of the indictment. He's ruled on certain things like that.

But this has cast the investigation and the prosecution itself into a little bit of a negative light. And so the question will be, was that financial benefit obtained? And some may argue that if the judge believes that the relationship between Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis began before his appointment, that the appointment and the subsequent length of the prosecution and the monies that - the significant amount of money, almost a million dollars between him and his law firm, that was paid for his work on the investigation was actually a benefit by allowing the DA to pay, you know, at the time her - her social acquaintance to send money to him and his law firm. And that may be an argument we hear today. I just don't -- I don't know how far they will go. But the crux of it will be, was there an actual conflict or has there been the appearance of a conflict or some impropriety that may call into question both the investigation and if there is a conviction at some point down the road, and I don't think it ever happens now before the election, but if there is a conviction at some point down the road, does the integrity of that conviction now be called into question?

BOLDUAN: Yes, one thing that this has already definitely accomplishes is a delay of some sort in terms of where this thing moves and how quickly it moves.

MOORE: Right.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you, Michael, as always. Thank you so much.

MOORE: All right.

BOLDUAN: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Super Tuesday is just days away. So, what are the lessons that the campaign should be taking as they head into that event from everything that's happened so far?

With us, as you can see, CNN's senior data reporter Harry Enten.

Harry, coming out of Michigan there was a lot of talk for 24 hours about the size of the uncommitted vote that people voted against President Biden in the Democratic primary. Do you see this as the giant deal that some do? HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: I do not, Mr. Berman, I do not.

All right, this is the uncommitted vote in Michigan primaries with an incumbent Democratic president on the ballot. Look, uncommitted got 13 percent. That's not nothing. But in 2012, where there was no big uncommitted campaign against that incumbent president, Barack Obama, uncommitted got 11 percent.

Now, I'm not a big mathematician, but 11 percent and 13 percent are pretty close together. Yes, there was high turnout for uncommitted this time around, but there was also high turnout for the incumbent president, Joe Biden, in what was really a primary in which we all knew he was going to win. So, the fact is, I don't see this as a very big deal.

BERMAN: It's good that our senior data reporter is admitting that he's not a very good mathematician. But be that as it may, a lot of people saw this result as President Biden having problems with the left in his party. Is that where his problem lies?

ENTEN: No, I do not believe its where it lies. All right, so, look, Biden versus Trump among Democrats. Look among very liberal. Look at this margin that Joe Biden has. Ninety-seven points. You can't get very much higher than 97 points. I guess 100 points would be higher. But he's right up near the edge.

Where is Joe Biden's problem among Democrats? Well, it's a little bit among those somewhat liberals at 87 points. But really where it is, it's among moderate Democrats. Look at this. This margin right here, 73 points. I look back in the polls back in 2020, those exit polls, a Pew research validated survey, and that margin was closer to 85. So, we've seen a double-digit decline among moderate Democrats. Biden's actually holding pretty gosh darn strong among very liberal Democrat.

BERMAN: What do you see an enthusiasm?

ENTEN: Yes, so the other thing is, all right, maybe they like Joe Biden but they're not necessarily going to turn out and maybe they're not going to turn out because of how they view his handling of the Gaza war. Extremely motivated to vote in 2024, look at this. This is before and after the Israel-Hamas war began. Among very liberal Democrats, 73 percent said they were extremely motivated to vote, versus all other Democrats, it was 58 percent. Now, after the Gaza war began, look at this, 73 percent. So, this number has stayed fairly steady. All other Democrats, again, fairly steady, but fewer of those other Democrats are extremely motivated to vote.

The other little note -- nugget I will put in there, where is Joe Biden's problem.

[08:40:02]

Again, in the middle, independents, Biden versus Trump margin. In 2020, Biden won him by 11. Look at where we are in an average of polls now. Trump plus three points. The fact of the matter is, John, Biden's problem is in the middle with independents and moderate Democrats. It's not on the left part of his party.

BERMAN: Harry Enten bring in the math. Thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Joining us now is CNN's senior political commentator, former special assistant to President George W. Bush, Scott Jennings, and CNN political commentator, the former South Carolina Democratic state representative, Bakari Sellers. I tried to say that as fast as possible so we can actually get to it.

Bakari, does Joe Biden have a problem with the left or the middle?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think he has a problem with either. I think one of the things we're going to see is that he has to listen to those hundred thousand voters who came out and casted a ballot of uncommitted. And he has to make sure that over the next few months he does what he can, particularly in the war in Gaza, to mitigate the deaths that have been caused over the last few months. And that's a very difficult challenge. The ceasefire or cessation of fire is something he and his administration have been working on for months. But that's a very real issue.

I think one of the things that we're focusing on this morning is Joe Biden and maybe (ph) weaknesses in the Democratic Party. But primary after primary, Donald Trump has gotten a third to 40 percent of individuals who come out and vote against him. I think that there is blinking red lights over there with Donald Trump, not as much with Joe Biden.

BERMAN: So, Scott, let's ask that a different way because historically it's been the Democratic Party that is seen as having the bigger and more unwieldy coalition. Is that still the case, or do the Republicans now, with the MAGA movement and clearly some more, quote/unquote, establishment Republicans still backing the likes of Nikki Haley, do they have a more complicated coalition?

SCOTT JENNINGS, SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I'm - I'm having trouble telling the Democrats and the Republicans apart when it comes to looking at these electoral coalitions. I think the people going in and out of each party is changing a lot and you've got a lot of working class voters, multi-racial working class coalition flowing into the Republican Party. You've got college educated, suburban, white-collar voters that have been flowing out of the Republican Party and sometimes voting Democrat. You've got tons of Hispanics coming towards Donald Trump. You even have African Americans coming towards Donald Trump. So, I think both parties, actually, John, are dealing with -- I don't know if unwieldy is the right word, but certainly shifting and drifting coalitions that's different than what we have been sort of analyzing for the last, you know, 20 or 30 years as it relates to presidential campaigns.

If I may respond to Bakari. Joe Biden has some problems. I don't know if he has problems on the left. Thats Bakari's department. But in the middle, he has problems. Immigration is a problem. Inflation is a problem. Just general economic anxiety is a problem. And Bakari knows it. And that's why Joe Biden's job approval numbers are so low because the middle of the country thinks he's failing and there's some nostalgia for the Trump economy that people think was good pre- pandemic.

BERMAN: Bakari, I feel like by the rules of this debate, you know, your name was invoked, so you get - you get a rebuttal here.

SELLERS: I just wanted to comment.

BOLDUAN: You - but 20 seconds.

SELLERS: Yes, I (INAUDIBLE). I reserve my time. I reserve my time.

No, I think that - that there are -- this is a - this is a different type of election. And I'd like to just talk about just the science of the politics for a moment. And I think Scott would agree with this. This is not a persuasion election. These two candidates are so entrenched, people have their opinions about Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Not much is going to move. And so when you ask a question like, does he have problems with the left or the center, I don't really think that matters because this is not a persuasion election. This is purely a geo (ph) TV race. It's whether or not individuals will be motivated to come out and vote for their respective candidates, or they'll vote for the couch.

So, whether or not he has a problem in the middle or the left may be squishy, I think it's decently moot. The question is whether or not he'll have the energy with those people and those base voters who are going to come out and vote for him because this is purely a geo (ph) TV or get out the vote election. It's not a persuasion election.

BOLDUAN: Let the record show, sadly, that Scott Jennings made fun of a question - a word you used, unwieldy is not a good word, and Bakari just made fun of my entire question right off the top.

BERMAN: Yes. We're bringing people together.

BOLDUAN: I'm just saying.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: We - we're you're - we're the problem.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: I get it now. I get it.

JENNINGS: Welcome to CNN. Welcome to CNN NEWS - welcome to CNN NEWS CENTRAL with Bakari and Scott. John Berman and Kate, you're out of here. Bakari and Scott, we're rewriting the whole thing.

BOLDUAN: Ratings bonanza.

SELLERS: I love it.

BOLDUAN: Bonanza. Let's take a - let's take a left turn here, on maybe a right turn.

Statements that parties make, it's not just who they pick for the top of the ticket. Sometimes the statements that parties make, at least traditionally, is who -- if they're in the minority, who they pick to do the rebuttal to the president's State of the Union Address

[08:45:02]

I'm interested, Scott, in your take on if -- when I say Alabama Senator Katie Britt, there might be a segment of the population who has no idea what I'm talking about. What do you think about the choice of Alabama Senator Katie - I - Barkari, reserve your damn (ph) time.

What do you think of the pick of Katie Britt, because she has -- starting to get a lot of attention.

JENNINGS: Oh, she -- well, first of all, some people have called her a rising star. She is a star. I mean Katie Britt was one of the greatest Senate recruits we had in the last cycle. The contrast she offers to Joe Biden is obvious, the youngest member of the Senate sort of rebutting this enfeebled old president. I mean I love the -- I love the visual contrast.

But the American people are getting ready to meet Katie Britt, and they're going to love Katie Britt. Republicans already know who she is. The senators love her. She's doing a great job for Alabama. So, Katie Britt, one to watch for a long time to come.

BERMAN: Bakari, ten seconds or less.

SELLERS: Yes, first of all, I'd add to Google and Wikipedia who Katie Britt was. I'm sorry. And I talk about this for a living. That's first.

And second, she's going to have to talk about IVF and what they've done in Alabama. And she's going to twist herself in a pretzel. They are trotting her out there because she's a young woman who I assume they believe can talk about this issue. But Republicans cannot get themselves out of this pretzel that they've created, this slippery slope that they've created themselves.

BERMAN: Scott Jennings, Bakari Sellers, it must be Friday. Thank you for sharing it with us.

BOLDUAN: I'm just glad you guys weren't in studio because there's some fighting words today.

BERMAN: You're not supposed to say that to them.

BOLDUAN: Even though both of them are quite a bit taller than me, even in flats, I'd come at you.

It's really good to see you guys, though. Maybe never again. It's good to see you.

We're going to move on to this.

The new school superintendent in Uvalde, Texas, speaking out about trying to put her community back together now after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary. What she says her community needs in this moment. We'll have an update on that.

And also, college basketball superstar Caitlin Clark, who starting the March -- starting March Madness a bit early with a very big announcement about her future.

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[08:51:37]

BERMAN: The western United States bracing for blizzard conditions as this huge snow storm sweeps across several states. It's expected to bring 12 feet -- feet of snow in some places.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is watching all of this.

It's a big one, Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, John, this is about as extreme as it gets in terms of winter weather across the United States. This has the potential to be a top ten snowmaker for the state of California. It could break 24 hours snowfall totals. This is not the weekend to bring your family to Lake Tahoe for a family ski trip. You will risk their lives. And, in fact, the National Weather Service using explicit language describing this snowstorm. You need to be prepared for several days without power.

So, the big question on everyone's mind, how much snow will we realistically receive? And we were going back and forth on whether or not we actually showed this graphic on TV, but some of the computer model show up to 12 feet of snow in the highest of elevations across the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.

Let's bring it down to where humans actually operate. Let's say Lake Tahoe level, roughly 6,000 feet, still possible, four to six feet of snowfall. That is crippling. And that will bring traffic to any -- well, any kind of transportation to a virtual standstill. And below 3,000 feet, still, one to four feet of snow possible.

Remember, this is not just a mountain top snowstorm. We're talking on the leeward side of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. I'm looking at you, Reno. You will feel major impacts from this. Latest information from the National Weather Service has hoisted a blizzard warning for eastern Nevada. (INAUDIBLE) busy satellite and radar at the moment, lighting up across the I-80 corridor through the Donner Pass. It will be impossible to travel across this area, disorienting at least. We could see snowdrifts as high as one story level buildings.

John.

BERMAN: You looking at me. I'm looking at you, Reno.

Derek Van Dam, thank you very much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, a grand jury is now weighing potential criminal charges for the police - for police officers who were involved in that failed response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary back in 2022. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed. And it took 77 minutes for police to move in and stop the killing in Uvalde, even after children, students, called 911 from inside the classrooms begging for help.

Well, now, the new Uvalde school superintendent, Ashley Chohlis, she spoke with CNN's Kaitlan, Collins about the road ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEY CHOHLIS, UVALDE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: Trying to bring hope to a community that has lost so much. I am - I'm honored, quite honestly, to be in the role. And I love working with the community. It's a beautiful community. And we are going to do everything that we can as a team. I work with a wonderful group of administrators and our goal is to present a beautiful plan to put the community back together through the kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, the border crisis is taking center stage in the 2024 presidential campaign. During dueling visits to Texas, both President Biden and Donald Trump tried to put the blame for the ongoing issue on each other.

With me now is Senator Roland Gutierrez, a state senator from Texas.

[08:55:03]

Senator, thank you so much for being with us.

What do you hear from your constituents? Obviously, illegal immigration is a big issue around the country. It's a particularly large issue in Texas what do they tell you when they come to you.

ROLAND GUTIERREZ (D), TEXAS STATE SENATE: Oh, thank you, John.

Well, I mean, first off, the people in Eagle Pass specifically want the Abbott's theater to stop. He's taken over the city park. The park where they have concert venues. The park where they gather. And they've -- the government has taken over for the last two years. It really is at the theatrical performance when, in fact, only a few hundred people crossed in Eagle Pass for the last several weeks.

We surely have an immigration problem on our southern border, but Congress needs to fix it. And the only way to fix it is through comprehensive immigration reform. I think that people know that. They know that Republicans have punted on this issue two weeks ago. So, the do-nothing Republicans absolutely need to get to work. They need to stop listening to Donald Trump and stop politicizing this issue. People are very frustrated about that.

BERMAN: Now, it's an oversimplification, but what do you say to Republicans -- because we get notes from them all the time who say, well, what about the fact that border crossings dropped under Donald Trump and rose under President Biden?

GUTIERREZ: Well, I'd say that's a lie, number one. Title 42, which was the stay in Mexico policy, actually put us in more danger and had more back-and-forth crossing. Because under Title 42 a migrant who crossed through the river, and would be sent back, was never registered, and their second entry is never an illegal re-entry. Under Title 8, which we re-impose last summer, my - the crossings slowed. And then there was an ebb, an increase. And the reason for that increase is because we had been seeing migrant patterns for the last 50 years. This is nothing new. But while we're talking about this so-called crisis, we're not talking about everything else that's happened in Texas, the loose Republican gun laws that killed those 19 kids in Uvalde, Texas, the reproductive freedoms that have been taken from women, the high health care that we have in Texas, some of the highest in the United States. I mean we are broken on so many issues, and Republicans are simply trying to change the narrative for sure.

But we can fix immigration if they'd only come to the table and do it.

BERMAN: This week, in the Senate -- you brought up reproductive freedom -- there was an effort by Democrat Tammy Duckworth from Illinois to pass a bill that would guarantee the rights of parents to seek IVF, in vitro fertilization, treatment. It was blocked by a Republican senator. If elected, what would you do?

GUTIERREZ: We've got to give reproductive freedom to women. We have to have them -- government should have no part in the health care decisions and the reproductive decisions between a woman and her doctor. As simple as that. We need to codify Roe and beyond. We need to eliminate the filibuster on this issue. And we also have to talk about expanding the Supreme Court. There's no real magic here. We got to nine in 1869 because there was nine circuits. There's 13 circuits now. So, we need to have a discussion about a court that's not bought and paid for, about a court that has transparency and ethics. I doubt that this court has anything to do with want our founding fathers actually envisioned in an independent judiciary.

BERMAN: Well, that's something that President Biden said he would not be in favor of, but I do understand what you are saying there.

Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez, thank you for being with us this morning. I appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, one thing that we know is that Caitlin Clark is an absolute boss and an absolute superstar. Now the rockstar basketball player has a - has made a big announcement. The Iowa Hawkeyes standout has declared that she will be entering the 2024 WNBA draft, ending her college career after breaking record after record after record in her college basketball career. CNN's Andy Scholes. He's joining us. He's got much more on this.

What does this -- is this a surprise, and what does this mean?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Not really a surprise, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SCHOLES: You know, because college athletes, they got that extra Covid year. You know, Caitlin Clark, she could have stayed for a fifth season at Iowa. But as the women's all-time leading scorer, you know, I'm sure she already feels like she's accomplished enough at the collegiate level. And in a post on Instagram yesterday, Clark said, "while this season is far from over and we have a lot more goals to achieve, it will be my last one at Iowa. I'm excited to be entering the 2024 WNBA draft."

Now, Clark will more than likely be heading to the Indiana Fever, who have the top pick in April's draft. Clark is going to play her final regular season home game on Sunday against Ohio State. She's just 18 points away from breaking the NCAA's all-time scoring record held by Pistol Pete Maravich.

And according to TickPick, Clark's home finale on Sunday, where she's going to break that record, is the most expensive ticket in women's college basketball history. The cheapest seat, it's going to cost you more than $500.

[09:00:03]

And Clark says she knows Sunday, that's going to be a big day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAITLIN CLARK, IOWA GUARD: Super special