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Johnson To Meet With Trump As Speaker Job In Jeopardy; 2 Trump Co-Defendants Try To Get Obstruction Charges Dropped; Sheriff: 18- Wheeler Crash At TX DPS Office Likely A "Criminal Act"; Rep. David Cook (R-AZ) Discusses About Repealing The Arizona Abortion Ban. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired April 12, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: The state's reversion to an 1860's era ban could be pivotal in a critical election year. We're following this high-profile trip and other major developing stories all coming up right here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Soon, former President Trump will hold a joint news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club with House Speaker Mike Johnson. And while Trump will make a public appearance with Johnson, a big question is, will he give the Speaker a public show of support?

Johnson is facing a serious challenge to his leadership. GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is still standing firm on her threat to force a vote to remove Johnson as Speaker. Trump and Johnson are expected to deliver remarks on, wait for it, election integrity. Remember, Johnson played a key role in Trump's efforts to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 Election.

We are told the two are planning to draw attention to alleged efforts to allow non-citizens to vote. We should note, currently, federal law bans non-citizens from voting in federal elections. If they do, which they often do not, they risk major fines up to a year in prison and deportation.

I want to bring in CNN's Melanie Zanona now from Capitol Hill. What more do we know about why Speaker Johnson feels that he needs to go to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring, Mel?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Yes, Brianna. This is a big moment for Speaker Johnson, given that his speakership is on the line right now. Now, this press conference on its surface is about elections, which is something Donald Trump obviously cares very deeply about. But Johnson is going down to Florida today with a much bigger mission in mind and that is to secure a critical lifeline from one of the most powerful figures in the party right now. And I think it's telling that this press conference was Johnson's idea, according to sources that we spoke to.

Now, Johnson would not say whether he explicitly has asked Donald Trump for his support amid this speakership battle.

But as Kristen Holmes and I reported, there have been allies to both Trump and Johnson who have encouraged Trump to either stay on the sidelines or to put out a public show of support, some sort of statement backing Johnson amid this potential battle. So we will be watching very closely to see how Trump interacts with Johnson on the stage and to see what he does say about the Speaker.

But at the same time here, the person agitating against Johnson is Marjorie Taylor Greene who is one of Donald Trump's closest allies on Capitol Hill and hanging over it all right now is the topic of Ukraine aid. That is something that Greene has warned Johnson against doing. He is still committed to trying to find a path forward and I am told that allies to Johnson have counseled him to keep Trump in the loop, try to get his buy-in for whatever they do, because there's a clear recognition here that Donald Trump has the power to not only make or break that legislation, but also make or break Johnson's speakership, Bri.

KEILAR: Yes, indeed. Mel, thank you so much.

Let's bring in CNN. Kristen Holmes, who is there in West Palm Beach.

Set the scene for us of this meeting, Kristen.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we actually just got walked in. Standing here, you can see kind of behind me what this is going to look like. One mic, but for both men, we are told. And again, the concept of this is "election integrity," something that Donald Trump loves to talk about.

I am told that both of these men will likely re-litigate the 2020 Election. But it's also about this idea of talking about non-citizens voting. Now, to be very clear, there is a federal ban already on non- citizens voting. You'll be fined. You could even be arrested. But they are going to be pushing this idea. Donald Trump himself has kind of made this a Republican rallying cry. He has said that Democrats actually want to have undocumented immigrants coming across the border to help them in the 2024 election.

Now, of course, there is nothing that proves that that is accurate, but it is something that they are raising alarm bells of. And it's not just Donald Trump, we have seen in various states, them actually, again, passing these kind of laws to bar non-citizens from voting. Already, there is a federal law in place.

And just a reminder, Donald Trump and Mike Johnson would only really be dealing with federal elections. Now, there is a little nuance here, because there are some states, some cities that do allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, including school board elections.

But after my last live hit with you guys, I did get a call from a senior advisor who had taken some issue with what I had to say. But one of the things that they pushed forward on with this conversation is they say they want to bar that from happening. They don't want this to actually happen.

So even though it's not happening, they don't want it to happen in the future. And this really goes to this key issue of immigration. Republicans have latched onto this. We know that it is a top issue for voters. And they are encouraging people or fear-stoking, really, to - about the issue of immigration, saying that they're going to, now, also link into crime, but now say that they're going to link them to elections.

So we will see what they have to say. Of course, we just heard from Mel our reporting on the fact that the Speaker race is really hovering over all of this.

[15:05:03]

And one thing I will note, just a reminder, Trump is very close to Marjorie Taylor Greene, so it's unlikely you're going to see him give some kind of full-throttle support. More likely, he'll just stay on the sidelines of this. But this is giving Johnson the opportunity to have some cover from Donald Trump getting to stand out there and talk about this issue that Donald Trump loves to talk about.

KEILAR: Yes. Well, look, if they don't want to happen what isn't happening, they are so in luck and yet, clearly, that's not what this is about. Kristen Holmes, thank you so much, live for us from West Palm Beach. Jessica?

DEAN: Also in Florida right now, Donald Trump's two co-defendants in the classified documents case are trying to get their obstruction charges dropped. They say they were unaware that they were allegedly moving around boxes that contain sensitive national security materials.

But Special Counsel Jack Smith claims they tried to help Trump hide those boxes from the feds. Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon will ultimately decide if these charges stand and it's something the former president's lawyers are certainly watching closely.

CNN's Evan Perez is at the federal courthouse there in Florida.

Evan, how is this playing out so far today?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, we're about an hour into this hearing that we expect to go on for another couple of hours. And right now, you have the lawyers for these two co- defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, both still currently employed by Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

And what the argument from these two - from the lawyers is, is that they did not know that there was an ongoing investigation or at least the government is not proving that they knew there was a - there was an ongoing investigation, and that they didn't know what was inside these boxes. These boxes, of course, it contained classified documents, according to the government, some of the highest, most sensitive classifications of documents that were contained in those documents.

And that, according to the government, according to prosecutors, they have on video evidence of them moving boxes multiple times, trying to, according to the government, trying to evade the FBI, which came to retrieve them. So, right now, John Irving, who is a lawyer for Mr. Oliveira, is getting some sharp questions from the judge. She's getting - she's pushing back a little bit on his argument that the government hasn't done enough to prove that there was obstruction. And she's pointing out that some of his arguments are better left for a jury, that he could make these arguments to a jury when you come to a trial.

So at least for - from the initial part of this hearing, it doesn't look like she's leaning in that direction. She also, though, was pressing the government to say, well, can you explain what in this indictment actually shows that they knew what was going on. And the government, I have to say, was having a little bit of a hard time. They said, essentially, that the fact that we charged it is the proof that we believe Mr. De Oliveira knew what was going on.

So, again, this hearing expected to go for another couple of hours. Donald Trump, as we talked about, is not here today. Jessica, Brianna?

DEAN: All right. Evan Perez outside the federal courthouse there in Florida for us. Thank you so much.

And let's bring in Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller now.

John, we now have the FBI transcript from Walt Nauta Nauta, one of these co-defendants, talking about what was in these boxes. What did he tell those agents?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, it's quite an extraordinary document. In the FBI, this is what we called a 302. It is basically the record of an interview conducted by agents, two agents of Walt Nauta, about the boxes, when the boxes were moved, did he know what they contained.

And Walt says he can - he thought they contained old newspaper clippings, personal records, hair spray, shampoo, personal items for Donald Trump. And he said that in the context of when they were leaving the White House in January after losing the election, that the moving process was pure chaos and that things were thrown together in a topsy-turvy way into different boxes and shipped to Mar-a-Lago and so on.

Part of the problem and Evan touched on this briefly, is, well, how did they know what Walt knew about what was in the boxes? But there's a telling piece. He's interviewed in May about the boxes, but it's also May where he's getting texts and enlisting others to start moving these boxes around.

Some of the boxes are given to one of Trump's lawyers. Some of the boxes are shifted from one storage area to another. Walt is titularly in charge of this. And when the FBI asks him in this 302, where the boxes were stored before they were in Trump's residence, whether they've been in a secure location. He says, "I wish I could tell you. I don't know. I honestly just don't know."

[15:10:02] And that is part of the bulwark of where they charge him with a 1001 violation or lying to federal officials in a - in an official investigation. Because when the boxes were in some of these storage areas and spilled out in pictures that were taken on Walt Nauta's phone, you could see markings of secret and top secret. So this is something they'd rather litigate in court than in a motion to dismiss.

DEAN: Yes. And you have to think based on what you just described, the prosecutors are going to try to poke holes in this account and try to prove he was not being truthful.

MILLER: Well, that's true. And I mean, this is part of a larger game and the development of a complex case against a major target, whether you're talking about Walt or De Oliveira, what the FBI strategy would have been was to either to get them to lie and then to force them to cooperate or to get them to tell the truth and get them to cooperate.

Both of them have stood by Donald Trump, that's how they became co- defendants in this case. And what they're trying to do now is get out of the case, essentially saying, look, we didn't know what was going on. We were just cogs in a big wheel and let Donald Trump go this alone.

Their other option is to ask to be severed from Trump and tried separately so that their defenses aren't tied together.

DEAN: All right. John Miller for us. Always great to see you, thank you so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: We're getting some new details on that breaking news out of Texas where we're told that there are multiple serious injuries after a tractor trailer crashed into a Department of Public Safety office northwest of Houston and there are signs that it was intentional. We have Rosa Flores joining us now from the town of Brenham where this happened.

Rosa, tell us what you're learning.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are - this is a very active scene, Brianna. We're expecting a press conference here shortly. But I want you to look over my shoulder so you can see exactly what's going on right now.

You can see that 18 wheeler. It has some sort of load in the back and it looks like it hit the building at about a 90 degree angle. That portion of the building that you see is missing. That is the entrance. That would be some glass doors, some glass windows that are now gone. You can see members of the police department there right in front of the building.

Now, traffic has slowed down a bit, a lot of rubbernecking here, a lot of curious drivers that are trying to see what is going on. I can tell you that crime scene tape has gone up. There are multiple agencies on site. I can see members of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Washington County Sheriff's Office and Brenham as well. We understand that there are several serious injuries. One individual was airlifted from the scene. We are still waiting to hear more information. Again, we're expecting a press conference here pretty soon from the Texas Department of Public Safety. We also know that one individual has been arrested. Unclear if that's the individual who was driving this truck. But according to Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers are investigating this at the moment.

We do not know the motive. We don't know exactly why this person decided to do this. But we do know that this is a Texas Department of Public Safety building, a driver's license office. And of course, this is a Friday. Unclear how many people were inside the building. But again, we are waiting for a press conference from the Texas Department of Public Safety and we're hoping to learn more then. Brianna?

KEILAR: Just awful. Rosa, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow this along with you. Thank you.

We have some breaking news. The President Biden just addressing what White House officials are calling a real and credible threat against Israel from Iran and its proxies. Here's what he said from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How imminent do you think an attack on Israel is from Iran, Mr. President?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want to get into secure information, but my expectation is sooner than later.

Thank you.

(Crosstalk)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, what is your message to Iran right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, what is your message to Iran in this moment?

BIDEN: Don't.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Or else what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are American personnel and assets at risk, Mr. President?

(Crosstalk)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, are American troops at risk as well?

BIDEN: We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will defend - help defend Israel. And Iran will not succeed.

Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What (INAUDIBLE) U.S. response, sir?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That is the President's message as the U.S. mobilizes American assets into the region as a deterrence to Iran in this. His message to Iran, "Don't."

We're going to stay on top of it. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:19:09]

DEAN: Just moments from now, Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to speak in Arizona, a new epicenter in the battle for abortion access. This week, the state's Supreme Court revived an abortion law from the 1800s that bans the procedure in all cases except to save the life of the mother. In remarks, Harris is expected to say the ban is "one of the biggest aftershocks yet" following the United States Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade. And she'll warn a second Trump term would look like more bans, more suffering, less freedom.

Former President Donald Trump who's long taken credit for overturning Roe, calls the ban, "inappropriate," and he's urging the Arizona's legislature to act immediately. But lawmakers in the Arizona house did try to do something. They put forward a motion to repeal the ban earlier this week, with Republicans blocking that effort, and then you see the chaos that erupted on the floor.

[15:20:04]

Joining us now is Arizona state representative David Cook. He's a Republican who supports repealing the ban. Thanks so much for being here and making time this afternoon. We really appreciate it. I just want to ask you first that you have said you're going to - you support repealing this ban.

In the past, you did support legislation back in 2022 that allowed it to stay in effect. So I'm curious, why did you change your mind?

REP. DAVID COOD (R-AR): Well, Jessica, thank you for having me on. It's not the fact that I changed my mind. The fact that the legislation we passed in 2022 didn't get us where we need to be at today, whether you talk about the court case of Roe v. Wade, this needs to be a state decision and I appreciate that.

So at the point in time, we passed what we believe was sensible legislation to go into effect, but we asked the Supreme Court to step in and say, okay, what is the ruling here, give us the definition of law. Our job is to make the laws and it's the judge's decision and their job to determine what that means. So now that we have the ruling, what you saw there last Wednesday, which - this is my eighth year - was the decorum was just terrible. We did not know - there wasn't 50 members on the floor, I would bet, that even knew what that bill was that they tried to motion to go to the board for a vote.

And I have long said, members should read the legislation before they vote on it. So what I did was I went ahead, and we stuck together as a caucus and we motion to recess and adjourn. And what I've said is we're going to have a plan. I've called on leadership to have a plan by Wednesday and how we move this forward and cooler heads can prevail.

DEAN: And I want to touch on what the plan is moving for, but I just want to follow up on that question first and ask you if this issue and these total bans like the one that we've seen in Arizona are becoming political losers for Republicans. Are you concerned as a Republican about your political viability?

COOK: Oh, absolutely. Because what I want to say is that if you're not even - if you're a woman in Arizona and you're not registered to vote, this issue, the - I don't find one woman that I've spoken to that wants the government telling them what to do. I've got constituents from all (INAUDIBLE) up to the age of in their 70s and 80s that have called and said you need to fix this for women.

Now, this issue doesn't affect them. It's not going to affect them, but it's the idea that we're telling women that these are the parameters when we have some of the smartest women in Arizona from school boards to elected county officials in cities and towns to the governor, to the attorney general. So what I'm saying is we can't say you can make all these great decisions that affect our lives, but you don't have the ability to make a decision that affects your own life as a woman.

DEAN: Right. And even though you have put in place legislation before that did put restrictions on that and did inform what they were allowed to do.

COOK: Yes. And what I'm saying is there's got to be a balance. There is middle ground here that I believe that is very achievable. And I think that you have extremes on one side and you have some extremes on the other side and cooler heads are going to prevail here.

And I want to just give a shout out to Donald Trump in taking the position of asking us to move quickly. Quickly when it comes to moving legislation is a bit takes us one week to repeal it and then a second week to get the policy put in place that we need for Arizonans that we can agree upon, then that is very quickly, especially in the state legislation.

DEAN: I would posit to you, though, that Donald Trump has also taken credit for overturning Roe v. Wade. That's something he really talks a lot about and is very proud of and that is why we're at this moment, though, isn't it? COOK: Well, he can take credit for appointing the justices, but it's the justices in which made those decisions. And so that's why I just said is that I want to thank him because they're colleagues in my own party. I'm 55 years old. I've been a Republican since I was 18. And there's colleagues in my own party at the state House that are kind of difficult for me to work with based on what the messaging President Trump says to them. And now I find myself again in line with what President Trump is saying.

And so I'm asking my Republican colleagues to cool down, let's have these much-needed discussions in a caucus, in a closed caucus, however it's going to work, for however many hours it's going to take to resolve this issue.

DEAN: He did say, though - the quote was, "I killed Roe v. Wade." So he is very proud of that. And he does personally take responsibility for it. Okay. So I'm hearing you say you want cooler heads to prevail, that you want to find a solution here. So what is a solution that is acceptable to you and that you think your Republican colleagues will accept as well?

[15:25:03]

COOK: Well, I think that we can start with repealing the 1800 law. As a rancher, at that point in time, women couldn't vote, slavery was still legal, Abraham Lincoln was running for his second term, his re- election. I mean, that's the time period in which this territorial law, we weren't even a state yet, was in fact enacted. We didn't have the medical technology. We didn't have this - and I'll go again, women did not even have the right to vote. I've got a long history and record of defending women and their rights and taking care of their health care, whether it's education, health care and I'm not going to stop here.

There is going to be solid ground and what we're going to start with is this territorial law needs to be repealed, and we need to move something forward, and I hope a bipartisan matter that we can all agree upon. And that may be even to the point of allowing the voters to determine not only if abortion is going to be legal in the state, because remember, that's what Roe versus Wade overturning was. It's going to be the state's decision when before it wasn't.

So we find ourselves in new waters here, in new territory here, but I want to assure the people of Arizona that we are going to find a solution for this as we move forward. And like I said, quickly, it's two weeks in government, especially the legislature, is very, very quickly.

DEAN: And just quickly before I let you go, just to pinpoint what do you think that that solution - what is a possible solution? Is it a certain amount of weeks? What does that look like?

COOK: Well, for me, you can go back to the legislation which we just discussed. Number one is the rights and protection of the life of the mother. And all of these decisions need to be made where they're at. The people that are closest to that decision with their clergy and their doctor.

These are - this is a horrific decision for any human being to make no matter what. Then we have to look onto the parts of rape or incest. We have to make provisions for those.

Then when you look at the weeks, I think that the majority of Arizonans and the people in this country go up to about 15 weeks, and that's the discussion we need to debate within our caucus.

DEAN: Yes.

COOK: And that's where I think we're going to have the middle ground that is found eventually. Did I support the 15-week ban? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Yes.

DEAN: All right. Arizona state representative David Cook, we have to leave it there. Thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it. We'll be right back.

COOK: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)