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Trump Must Pay Half A Billion Dollars In March To Satisfy Court Losses; Biden's State of the Union Health Care Promises; Independent Investigation Clears Police of Blame, Sparks Outrage. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired March 08, 2024 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL)
[07:33:35]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, a U.S. Army sergeant who prosecutors say aspired to be a real-life Jason Bourne is accused of giving sensitive information on advanced weapons systems to China, all for $42,000 -- 42,000. Officials say 24-year-old Korbein Schultz shared classified information about hypersonic missiles and the F-22 fighter jet with a foreign national claiming to live in Hong Kong.
His indictment comes days after federal prosecutors charged a retired Army lieutenant colonel with sharing information about the war in Ukraine on a foreign dating site.
New satellite images reveal the chaos happening right now in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. There was a breach at the Caribbean Court Services terminal, which is crucial for importing food to the island. This is happening as violence in the country escalates and the government has extended its state of emergency. Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in the past few days adding to the more than 300,000 already displaced by gang violence.
Ninety-two-year-old media mogul Rupert Murdoch is set to marry again, this time to Elena Zhukova, a 67-year-old retired scientist. The couple plans to tie the knot at Murdoch's California estate. This is Murdoch's sixth engagement with four previous marriages. We wish them a lifetime of happiness.
A new CDC report finds nearly 11,000 children have been rushed to E.R. after accidentally taking melatonin because most of them think the gummies are candy. More than half the accidental ingestions involve children between three and five years old. Melatonin is a hormone many use as a sleep aid -- Kate.
[07:35:07]
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah. Clearly, melatonin is not something we need on this morning shift at this point.
The cost of Donald Trump's legal problems and courtroom losses is catching up, and quickly. We have new reporting this morning on when President Trump needs to come up with about half a billion dollars to cover his losses.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz has more reporting on this. Katelyn, what are the new deadlines now?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Kate, the courts have spoken and now that Donald Trump has lost these lawsuits he owes a lot of money very soon. These deadlines are in March.
So let's get to the details.
March 11 -- that's this upcoming Monday. That's when Donald Trump is going to have to post $83.3 million in his defamation case that he lost against E. Jean Carroll.
There is also a deadline upcoming for him to post $454 million. That's in the New York attorney general's civil fraud lawsuit against him that he lost. That is due March 25, the same day that he goes on criminal trial for falsifying business records in New York.
Those deadlines are approaching so fast, even while Donald Trump is appealing. Because the way the system works, Kate, is that even when you're appealing you have to put the money up as bond. And so, not only is he going to be having to put those -- that amount of money up pretty soon, by those deadlines, there also could be additional amounts added to it because of percentages extra you have to put up when you're posting bond, as well as interest.
BOLDUAN: Talking one -- another case that we're obviously continuing to follow. There are developments in Trump's criminal case out of Florida. What's happening?
POLANTZ: Well, the Justice Department is hitting back against things that Donald Trump is trying to argue to get the case dismissed. Two of their main arguments yesterday in court filings to Judge Aileen Cannon, overseeing that classified documents case, is that prosecutors say do not let Donald Trump be above the law.
His argument is that because he took these records out of the White House and took them to Mar-a-Lago they should be able to be his. And the Justice Department says he should be able to be held accountable for taking national security records that should not have been at Mar- a-Lago after the presidency.
They also are arguing that in one of his arguments where he says he should be immune because he was president when he took those documents after the White House, the Justice Department says that is a frivolous argument.
And while he has appealed issues about presidential immunity in his other case related to January 6, this is so frivolous in this Mar-a- Lago case. He should not be able to stop the clock if he continues appeals questions about presidential immunity in this Mar-a-Lago case.
Everyone should be headed to trial. That's the Justice Department's position. But we're going to see everybody in court next Thursday to start
arguing some of these things in a little bit more detail with Judge Cannon.
BOLDUAN: Interesting.
It's great to see you, Katelyn. Thanks for bringing it all to us -- Sara.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Today, another flashpoint between President Biden and Republicans is glaringly obvious after the SOTU speech -- health care.
And another off-script State of the Union moment. The president called out Republicans for supporting tax-era tax cuts -- Trump-era tax cuts at the expense of Social Security and Medicare. One of the president's promises of the night, drive down the rising cost of health care and expand efforts to lower prescription drug prices.
Joining us now, CNN's Meg Tirrell. What more did the president say? This got heated and there was a lot of back-and-forth.
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Sara, prescription drug prices are incredibly important to people in the United States and the president has been rolling out a lot of initiatives on this, but they haven't really been getting a lot of traction or even awareness from many voters.
Here's how he started his section of the speech focused on this issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's now a time to go further and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for 500 different drugs over the next decade. Starting next year, the same law caps total prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $200 -- $2,000 a year, even for expensive cancer drugs that cost $10,000, $12,000, $15,000. And I want to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TIRRELL: So those are some of the new initiatives -- the expanded initiatives that President Biden talked about in this speech last night.
You know, we've heard a lot about $35.00 insulin. That is something the Inflation Reduction Act put into place for seniors starting at the beginning of last year. He talked about trying to expand that to everybody with commercial insurance. That is already something that, under pressure, the drug companies have put in place after the IRA did that for seniors.
Interestingly, though, one of the most seismic shifts for drug pricing that we've really seen in decades has been the ability of Medicare to negotiate on any drug prices. The Inflation Reduction Act put that into place to start with just 10 drugs and they're doing that now. But President Biden, in that speech, saying he wants to increase that to 50 drugs per year.
[07:40:08]
He also talked about expanding a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs, which will go into effect for people in Medicare. He talked about expanding that to everybody with commercial insurance.
Guys, these are things that would need Congress to get through and there's little chance of that necessarily happening anytime soon. But this really ratchets up the pressure on this space that we hear from people in the United States is a really important issue, but they don't actually recognize what the Inflation Reduction Act does on that.
SIDNER: Meg Tirrell, thank you so much for explaining all of that -- John.
BERMAN: So, President Biden did not shy away from what some people look at as one of his biggest electoral weaknesses right now -- his age. Biden addressed it heading into last night's -- he actually addressed it in last night's address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: And I've been told I'm too old. Whether young or old, I've always been known -- I've always known what endures. I've known our north star. The very idea of Americans -- that we're all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.
My fellow Americans, the issue facing our nation isn't how old we are, it's how old are our ideas. Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are the oldest of ideas. But you can't lead America with ancient ideas. It can only take us back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: With us now, CNN senior political commentator Ana Navarro, and former deputy press secretary for President Obama, Bill Burton.
Bill, long time no see. Does this speech --
BILL BURTON, FORMER DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY FOR OBAMA WHITE HOUSE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SKDKNICKERBOCKER: Hey, John.
BERMAN: -- from President Biden last night, which many people are calling fiery -- does this answer all the questions and concerns that have been out there, particularly for some Democratic voters, about the president's age?
BURTON: Look, people have had a lot of questions about President Biden, whether it's about his age or ability, et cetera. But I think he put those to rest last night. I think it was fiery. It was forceful. He showed the American people just how hard he is going to fight for them with a very clear vision for what issues he's going to fight on, whether it's health care, our national security, immigration. He took on all the hard questions last night and he came out on top.
BERMAN: How do you make it lasting, though, Bill? If you -- if he did do all those things how do you make it last past just one night?
BURTON: Well, you know, most Americans didn't watch last night's speech. They'll get vibes from it from the news coverage, et cetera. But what the White House is planning on doing is they're making this speech not just a one-night event but a months long event.
And for as forceful as he was in the House chamber last night, he's going to be even more forceful out on the campaign trail. He's going out there. He's hitting some of the most important battleground states in these coming weeks. And I think you're going to see a new tone, a new contrast, and a president who is ready to be president for four more years.
BERMAN: So, Ana, I had asked you beforehand -- and we reached out to you -- and I was curious what you thought would be the moment that had the most lasting impact perhaps from the State of the Union. And you said the immigration moment -- parts of it.
I just want to play some of that now. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: We can fight about fixing the border or we can fix it. I'm ready to fix it. That bipartisan bill that would hire 1,500 more security agents and officers. One hundred more immigration judges to help tackle the backload of too many cases. Four thousand three hundred more asylum officers and new policies so they can resolve cases in six months instead of six years now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So, you didn't see -- right at the end there, you saw James Lankford, the Republican senator from Oklahoma who helped write that bipartisan --
ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right.
BERMAN: -- bill, nodding yes, it's true what the president has said.
Ana, why --
NAVARRO: And a very conservative Republican senator from Oklahoma.
BERMAN: OK. So why do you think this is going to last? Why do you think this moment matters going forward?
NAVARRO: Because it's supposed to be his weakest issue, right? It's a -- it's a policy issue that's got all of America, Democrats and Republicans, concerned. We're all seeing what's going on in the border. And he is calling Republicans on their -- you know, he's calling the
bluff on Republicans. He's saying to them I did this. We had an agreement that did this, did this, did this. He knew every point. And he was calling them out and fact-checking them on the spot.
And he also -- you know, Republicans came in weaponizing Lakyn Riley, right, the young woman in Georgia who was tragically killed by an undocumented immigrant. And they thought they were going to rattle him with that. They were wearing these buttons.
And Marjorie Taylor Greene had this moment -- this -- you know, where she handed him the button. And you know what? He used it. And he looked up in the stands and he offered condolences to her parents and he talked about how he knew what it was like to lose children.
It was the strongest moment of this speech for Joe Biden on what's supposed to be his weakest policy argument. And I'm talking in a speech which was full --
[07:45:03]
BERMAN: Um-hum.
NAVARRO: -- of strong moments for Joe Biden.
In part, I think Republicans dug their own grave by creating this narrative and by creating these lowest of expectations, right? So if he went out there and he didn't stumble it was a good night. But he did far more than that. This was far, far from that narrative of the -- of the -- of a bumbling old man who can't string a coherent thought together. This guy knew what he was doing. He was calling out Republicans in their face -- to their face.
BERMAN: So calling out Republicans and sort of giving Democrats a lot of what they wanted.
What about the Nikki Haley voter? If President Biden is targeting Nikki Haley voters going forward, what do you think that they saw that they liked, or not?
NAVARRO: Listen, first, I'm not sure there's such a thing as a Nikki Haley voter. I think what there are are anti-Trump voters. I don't know how many of the people that were voting for Nikki were for -- voting for her or voting as a protest --
BERMAN: Um-hum.
NAVARRO: -- to -- against Trump.
I think he spoke to them for the full first 30 minutes of that speech. I was like, OK, when is he going to tell us that the union is strong? He spent the first 30 minutes talking about Ukraine.
BERMAN: You were waiting on pins and needles for that.
NAVARRO: Yes. I was, like, did he forget to tell us that there was -- the -- you know, that our union is strong? No, he spent 30 minutes laying out the groundwork on Ukraine.
He was quoting Ronald Reagan, for God's sakes. He sounded like a neocon Republican. He had Republicans clapping. I saw Mitt Romney up clapping when -- you know --
BERMAN: All right.
NAVARRO: -- when it came to foreign policy.
BERMAN: So, Bill Burton, what about Democrats? We're just getting word from the Biden-Harris campaign they had their biggest fundraising two hours to date. Like, between 9:00 and 11:00, they brought in a lot of cash here.
What do Democrats need to stay energized, Bill?
BURTON: Well, I think they need to see Joe Biden out on the campaign trail. And I think that what we saw last night is an example of what we're going to get.
And on the Nikki Haley voter question, if you look at that New York Times poll, two-thirds of Nikki Haley's supporters actually supported Joe Biden in 2020. Only nine percent supported Donald Trump. And so, it actually was a real moment of consolidation for President Biden in terms of, like, getting those voters and bringing them on. I predict that his numbers will go up in the polls, particularly since Nikki Haley is out of the race, because he gave those Nikki Haley supporters something that they could really hold onto and support.
BERMAN: It's interesting, Bill.
NAVARRO: And listen, I'm pretty sure also that part of that fundraising last night was, yes, Joe Biden hit it out of the ballpark.
But then you had a Republican response that was cra-cra-crazy, disturbing. Had people scared. I mean, that lady looked like she was possessed at times. She looked happy at times. She was on the verge of tears. She went through every emotion in the spectrum. It was like watching Cybil and the multiple personalities.
And so, I am sure a lot of people picked up the phone and said, OK, this man is sane and these people are insane.
BERMAN: That was Republican Sen. Katie Britt from Alabama who delivered the Republican response to the delight of many Republicans.
NAVARRO: She made Marco Rubio and Bobby Jindal look like statesmen in their -- in their responses, she was that bad.
BERMAN: I'm going to -- I'm going to put you down as not liking the Republican response last night.
Ana Navarro, Bill Burton, thank you both very much -- Sara.
BURTON: Thanks, John.
SIDNER: You know, Ana never tells us how she really feels about things. She's so subtle. All right.
Kicked out of Congress but hoping for a comeback? Republican George Santos says he's making another bid for office.
And outrage in Uvalde, Texas after an independent investigation clears police from blame in the response to that mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. We'll have more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMBERLY MATA-RUBIO, DAUGHTER LEXI KILLED IN ROBB ELEMENTARY MASS SHOOTING: You said that it was best -- that there was no way to go in. It was for their safety. It was not for the safety of children. How dare you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[07:53:27]
BOLDUAN: The families of the victims of the Uvalde school massacre left in shock once again, furious after an independent report put no blame on the local police response to the 2022 tragedy at Robb Elementary School. The report found, quote, "Even though there were many failures," it went on to say "Uvalde police acted in good faith and did not violate policy."
After releasing the report, the investigator walked out of the City Council meeting without taking questions, leading to even more anger -- watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATA-RUBIO: Where did he go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bring him back (PH).
MATA-RUBIO: Bring him back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has left the building.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did he go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He gave his report and he left.
MATA-RUBIO: Bring him back!
HECTOR LEUVANA, UVALDE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: I'm sorry, but I don't accept this report without further explanation and you all shouldn't either.
ERNEST "CHIP" W. KING III, UVALDE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: And I've been sitting here. I've been shaking for the last hour, I'm so pissed off at what happened today. And I know you guys are and I'm hearing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And remember, it took 77 minutes for law enforcement to stop the killing, even as children were calling 911 from inside the classrooms pleading for help. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed.
CNN's Shimon Prokupecz -- he was at this council meeting we were just playing a little bit of. He's joining now. And Shimon, you were able to speak to the investigator that left the room we were just talking about afterward. What did he say?
[07:55:00]
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, we got a chance to speak to him. He didn't want to talk to us. He didn't want to take questions from the families. It was so difficult to sit in that City Council hearing and listen to him explain his findings. Just the coldness of it. The lack of empathy for the families.
And you could hear the pain there in Kim Rubio's voice -- "Bring him back!" Because he had the nerve to get up and just leave without the families having an opportunity to speak to him. This was the first time they have ever met this man.
At the end of the City Council hearing, he did -- he came back to the room and then he left again. And so, we went outside because we want to know how he came to these findings that are so different from every other investigation. That are so different from every other law enforcement official who has said there were complete failures here on every level.
So we went outside. We followed him. We tried to ask him some questions about it. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROKUPECZ: Do you feel the pain of these families in what happened here today, or you're just not going to answer our questions?
JESSE PRADO, INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR: I'm not going to answer at this point, OK?
PROKUPECZ: Why not?
PRADO: Because I'm not done with what --
PROKUPECZ: This is your opportunity to speak to us.
PRADO: I'm not done with the job on their side. I'm done with the report but they still have some questions that they need to ask, so I'll wait for them.
PROKUPECZ: Well, you left. You left and you wouldn't answer their questions. You left. You left.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Prado? PROKUPECZ: Do you disagree with what the Department of Justice said?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PROKUPECZ: So you see there, obviously refusing to answer any questions. He's saying that he's going to come back at some point but that's not entirely clear if that's even going to happen.
The families, though, did get a chance to speak though. More of the family members stood there. Take a listen to one of the family members.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FELICHA MARTINEZ, SON XAVIER KILLED IN UVALDE SHOOTING: My son survived the 77 minutes fighting for his life. He was transferred by ambulance to Hondo. For another hour and a half, he was trying to come home to me and his dad and his family, but he didn't make it. Help us get change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PROKUPECZ: And, Kate, just the pain throughout this hearing was so visible. It was so hard to sit through and listen to these families. This caught them by surprise. It was the first time they were hearing the findings of this report.
Now, there's another City Council hearing scheduled for Tuesday where the families will be back, and we'll see what happens. But for the families, just when they think they could get past some of this -- that they can have some sort of closure, you see what happens yet again. And now, just the pain and the feelings of just the disrespect and the lack of empathy for this community continues.
BOLDUAN: And just how many more times do they have to have their hearts just ripped out of their chests like we're seeing on display in these council meetings?
Shimon, thank you for being there. Thank you -- Sara.
SIDNER: All right, now to Florida. We don't welcome mayhem. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urging spring-breakers to mind their manners, which has rarely been done. The governor dispatching 140 state troopers across Florida as popular destinations like Miami Beach are boosting security measures and telling people not to show up if they're going to be wild.
CNN's Carlos Suarez is there and joins me now. There is a new campaign going on that's on social media for Miami Beach itself basically telling spring-breakers we don't want you. I don't think I've ever seen that before in the state of Florida, which makes a lot of money off of tourism. What's going on there?
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's exactly right, Sara. Good morning. So, the City of Miami Beach really is making things difficult if not pretty impossible for folks to come out and enjoy spring break. Barriers, like the ones here beside me, have gone up across parts of the City of Miami Beach, including famed Ocean Drive. All of this is in an effort to try to discourage folks from coming out.
As you noted, last week, the City of Miami Beach released this video "Breaking Up With Spring Break." The video, which went viral, featured actors talking about this toxic relationship between the City of Miami Beach and spring-breakers. The actors said it wasn't a healthy relationship and it was a relationship that had to come to an end.
The video also reminded folks of what things were like out here this time last year when several large crowds took over parts of Miami Beach, including Ocean Drive here that ended in back-to-back shootings. And as a result of that violence, the City of Miami Beach had to declare a state of emergency and they enacted a curfew.
And so, going into this year's spring break, city officials implemented a number of new security measures, including these curfews, limiting beach restrictions, as well as the closure of several parking garages.
Sara, the mood out here is one of some hesitation about how the next couple of weeks are going to play out.
