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Arizona Supreme Court Revives Civil War-era Abortion Ban; Zelenskyy Says, Speed Up Weapons Aid so Ukraine Can Break Putin's Backbone; Ex-Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg to be Sentenced for Perjury. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 10, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

FMR. SEN. DOUG JONES (D-AL): -- the gavel of the speaker of the House of Representatives.

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All right, thank you all very much for a great conversation today. I really appreciate having you here at the table. Thanks to all of you for joining us.

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Don't go anywhere. CNN News Central starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The most draconian ban in the country, that is what Arizona's governor is saying about the abortion decision coming down from her state's Supreme Court, a Civil war-era law now back in effect. So, what happens now?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Moments ago, Ukrainian Leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy's response to a reported peace plan from Donald Trump in Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, what Zelenskyy just told CNN.

BOLDUAN : And the hottest item at Costco right now? Not the famous $5 rotisserie chicken, but gold bars. They're flying off the shelves. What's driving this new gold rush?

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman. Sara is out today. This is CNN News Central.

So, if the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe versus Wade wiped out 50 years of precedent, the Arizona Supreme Court just topped that, dusting off a relic, taking the state back to a Civil war-era abortion ban, an abortion ban that is on pause for at least the next 14 days as the appeals process plays out.

But the law is so old that Arizona was not even a state when it was written 160 years ago. And remember, women weren't even allowed to vote at that time.

What this ban says is there is only an exception to have an abortion when the life of the mother is in danger, no exceptions for rape or incest. If the ban is upheld in 14 days, it would join then 14 other states with similar measures.

Abortion rights was already a central election issue, as we've discussed, and Arizona, a battleground state, very clearly just raised the stakes now. Democrats are moving on this quickly, hoping to further harness the voter backlash Donald Trump and other Republicans have faced at the ballot box over their abortion stance.

In November, voters in 11 states could have initiatives securing abortion rights on the ballot, including in Florida, where Donald Trump has not only registered to vote, but will also be campaigning today.

CNN's Alayna Treene has much more on this. And, Alayna, before Trump heads to Florida, he heads to Georgia. What are you hearing from those around Donald Trump about this Arizona ruling?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, Kate, it's pretty remarkable, the timing of this, because just one day after he gave that statement and clarified that he believes this should be left to the states, that abortion should be decided by voters in each state, this Arizona ruling dropped, and it really showed how Democrats are going to be using strict abortion laws state by state and blaming them on Donald Trump.

And I did speak with some of Donald Trump's advisers yesterday, and they defended his position. They said, look, this is something that we are leaning into. We believe that voters in each state should have the right to decide their own abortion laws. But I think they also recognize the politics of this.

Part of the reason he took this position was because he believed it was the most politically safe option. They recognize how vulnerable Republicans are and former President Trump specifically on this issue. And I think Arizona is a great example of how difficult it's going to continue to be for the former president to navigate this issue despite coming out and saying, I'm ceding this to the states.

Now, I do want to read for you a statement we got from a Trump campaign spokesperson, again, defending his statement and his decision to punt this to the state. She said, quote, President Trump could not have been more clear. These are decisions for people of each state to make.

Now, I do just want to also give you some sense of what he's doing this week and how it kind of ties into this abortion discussion. He is kicking off another series of fundraisers this week. As you mentioned, Kate, he is heading to Atlanta for a fundraiser today. He also has another one back in Florida this evening. He has another fundraiser this weekend in Pennsylvania.

And I think the thing that I found really interesting is part of some of the people who have been in Donald Trump's ear talking to him about abortion about been donors.

[07:05:03]

He's been doing these fundraising hits over a multiple series of weeks. He's held many events over the past several weeks and kind of has forgone a lot of campaign stops to hold these big high-dollar fundraisers to try and close the money gap with President Joe Biden's campaign.

But a lot of these donors as well, particularly those who have a ton of money, the ones that Donald Trump is currently courting, are people who are more socially liberal but also fiscally conservative. And some of these people, I think, have been in his ear as well and appreciate given his position of handing this to the states.

And so I think that's something to keep in mind as he continues to travel the country and continues to try and raise money. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Let's see what see what if any reaction we get from the former president and when he when he's in Georgia and Florida today.

It's good to see, Alayna. Thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: Look, the timing is extraordinary. Monday, Donald Trump says it should be left up to the states. Tuesday, the state Supreme Court in Arizona says 1800s.

This morning, President Biden is calling the Arizona ruling cruel dangerous and extreme. Let's go to the White House. CNN's Arlette Saenz is there.

What are the White House plans for the rest of the week on this, Arlette?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, Biden's campaign advisers really believe that this ruling from Arizona's Supreme Court will simply amplify the abortion rights debate that they've been trying to push throughout the campaign. Democrats have been hopeful that the issue of abortion will serve as a galvanizing force for voters heading into November's election. And that is also now in play in a crucial battleground state like Arizona.

President Biden was very quick to slam this decision yesterday. He released a statement saying, quote, millions of Arizonans will soon live under an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban, which fails to protect women even when their health is at risk or in tragic cases of rape or incest.

He added, this ruling is a result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to ripping away women's freedoms. Vice President Harris, who has served as the key voice on issues relating to abortion, also condemned the ruling and specifically laid blame on former President Donald Trump.

That is something that we expect the campaign to continue to stress day in and day out, pointing to Trump's appointment of Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade.

Now, Harris, for her part, will be traveling to Tucson, Arizona, right into the middle of this debate on Friday. And it comes as campaign advisers that I have spoken to throughout the past few months have had their eyes on Arizona and abortion. Because there is a ballot initiative that was mentioned earlier that would protect the right to an abortion -- restore the right to an abortion.

There are efforts to try to get that on the ballot heading into November's election. And campaign advisers have told me they believe that that could be an organizing force for their voters. And so it's one thing that they'll be pushing heading into this election.

But it's clear that the Biden campaign has placed a lot of emphasis and a strategy when it comes to pushing abortion rights at a time where you've seen these state bans and you've seen former President Donald Trump taking credit for the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

BERMAN: Arlette, President Biden has made new comments about the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. What has he said?

SAENZ: Yes, these really are noteworthy comments from President Biden. He taped an interview with Univision last week, where he offered some of the sharpest criticism yet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strategy and campaign in Gaza.

Now, this interview was taped less than 48 hours after that Israeli strike on a world central kitchen convoy that killed seven aid workers. And the president specifically was asked in this interview whether he believes that Netanyahu was doing things, taking these strategies in order to protect his own political future.

This is what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think what he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree with his approach. I think it's outrageous that those three vehicles were hit by drones and taken out on a highway where it wasn't like it was along the shore, wasn't like there was a convoy moving in, et cetera.

So, what I'm calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: And these comments just really add to the sharpened criticism, increasing criticism that we've seen from President Biden as he's taken issue with Israel's campaign when it comes to the civilian death toll and also getting humanitarian aid into that war-torn enclave. It's really just the latest fault line in the relationship between the two leaders as the U.S. has expressed their frustration, especially since that World Central Kitchen strike.

[07:10:02]

BERMAN: Arlette Saenz signs at the White House, Arlette, thank you very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Ukraine's president, President Zelenskyy, is speaking to CNN. Why he now says he will listen to Trump's ideas on how to end the war with Russia.

Donald Trump's former CFO facing a second stint in prison now. He'll learn today how much time he's going to spend behind bars for lying under oath.

And the White House setting new rules to protect the nation's drinking water from those so-called forever chemicals. We have details.

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[07:15:00]

BERMAN: Moments ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to CNN. He is at an economic conference in Greece. He talked about a number of subjects, including recent reports of a kind of peace plan from Donald Trump, where Ukraine would cede territory to Russia in exchange for peace.

Our Frederik Pleitgen spoke to him. Fred, run down what he said.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, John. And, of course, all of this comes with renewed Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian territory. In fact, this morning, the Russians hitting the port town of Odessa and that after hitting the town of Kharkiv with massive missile barrages over the past couple of days.

So, I did ask the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, about the fact that he has now, for the first time apparently, said that if Ukraine does not get new weapons packages from the United States, with all of that still held up in Congress, that Ukraine could lose the war.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We are at war and the enemy is serious, but let's be realist, and not pessimist. Let's be realist. Now the situation is stabilized. Once we have weapons and concrete political steps from our partners, we will break Putin's backbone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So, Volodymyr Zelenskyy there saying that if Ukraine does get those weapons from the U.S., they do have every chance to win.

But one of the other things that he also said is that Ukraine needs a different quality of weapons. Of course, one of the things that the Ukrainians have been talking about is saying they need longer distance weapons, like, for instance, those ATACMS missiles, more F-16s, that some of the U.S.'s partners are giving, but the U.S. has not yet said that it will give. Volodymyr Zelenskyy essentially saying, don't be afraid of Russia, give Ukraine the weapons it needs to win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: I understand that this is not easy and everybody is thinking about oneself and we are grateful to all our partners. But what we have now is not sufficient. If we want to truly prevail over Putin, if nobody wants Putin to drag the war, the world into Third World War.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Of course, John, one of the things that's also a big topic here is those reports of President Trump allegedly saying that he would force Ukraine into a peace deal with Russia that would force Ukraine to cede territory to Russia. I asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy about that as well, and his answer was actually very careful. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: First and foremost, those signals were on certain media platforms. I haven't heard that directly from Trump. His ideas, in detail, I did not have an opportunity to discuss them with him and to discuss his ideas on how to end the war.

If I have such opportunity, I will, with pleasure, listen to them, and then we can discuss the topic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So, as you can see there, John, the Ukrainians right now, under immense pressure on the front lines, nevertheless, the Ukrainian president remaining determined as he addressed the Delphi Economic Forum here in Greece. John?

BERMAN: All right. Thanks to Fred for that. Interesting how careful Zelenskyy was when speaking about Donald Trump.

A brokenhearted family wants answers after a young man is killed in a hail of bullets. It all started because he was not wearing his seatbelts.

And we are standing by to learn the fate of six former police officers who pled guilty to torturing and assaulting a black man.

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[07:20:00] BOLDUAN: So, the Trump Organization's ex-CFO is preparing now for another stint in prison. In a few hours, Allen Weisselberg is expected to be sentenced to five months in jail for lying under oath. Last month, Weisselberg accepted a deal and pleaded guilty to perjury charges.

This is all related to the federal civil fraud case that Donald Trump lost. Weisselberg admitted to lying during two depositions when New York's attorney general asked about Trump's New York apartment and the apartment being overvalued.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz has much more on this. She's joining us now. So, Katelyn, what is going to happen today?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, this is a sentencing. So, Allen Weisselberg will appear before a judge. This is the second time he has been through the court system like this. He pleaded guilty before to tax fraud charges and served 100 days in jail.

This time, he had testified at the civil fraud trial against Donald Trump and his businesses about the inflated wealth or assets that Donald Trump and the Trump Organization had at that time. And also, whenever the New York Attorney General's Office was investigating Donald Trump's worth for that civil case, that lawsuit that they brought against him, he lied multiple times.

He lied about how and when he knew the size of a triplex apartment that Donald Trump had. The apartment they were telling people was 30,000 square feet, when, in fact, he knew earlier that it was 10,000 square feet.

So, ultimately, in this plea deal that he cut with prosecutors in Manhattan, Allen Weisselberg admitted and pleaded guilty to two felony counts of perjury, so lying twice in depositions related to that triplex apartment, depositions he did back in 2020.

So, he is going to go before the judge today. The prosecutors are recommending no more than five months in jail for him because he's quite old, 76.

All of this doesn't put him in a position to testify at Donald Trump's upcoming hush money trial but it does turn the focus back to the man who was the top financial person at the Trump Organization for many years in a very precarious moment for the former president and his reputation as a businessman.

[07:25:29]

Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Katelyn, thank you so much. Let's see how that plays out today.

Real life gold rush is happening. Forget the $1.50 hot dogs, why Costco is selling out of gold bars. And for the first time, the EPA is imposing limits on chemicals found in drinking water. We have more on that.

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[07:30:00]