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Soon, Day 2 of Testimony in Trump's Criminal Trial; FBI Notes, Trump Aide was Told He'd Be Pardoned in Second Term; Pro-Palestinian Protests Spread at Universities Nationwide. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 23, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Too many things about triggering words, but somehow gas the Jews, go back to Poland, all of that kind of stuff, well, that's complicated.

[07:00:06]

I don't think it's complicated.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's not complicated. That's horrific.

But when you're talking about how --

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: But you're saying that the Columbia shouldn't call the cops to get those folks out?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm not saying that they shouldn't. I'm saying that that has inflamed the situation. And that is -- I mean, I'm just talking about what the result has been.

Clearly, they are in a bind. Clearly, it is deeply problematic and they don't know what to do. But what we've seen is when they did that, the result has been this has spread and not been contained.

HUNT: So, unfortunately, Jonah, we don't have an hour. We do have to go. Thank you very much for that conversation, guys.

Thanks to all of you for joining us as well. I'm Kasie Hunt.

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

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Has Donald Trump already violated the gag order ten times? This morning, we'll find out as the judge is about to weigh in and Trump heads back to court.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Protests rock college campuses across the country. How universities and authorities look to calm the tensions that show no signs of slowing down.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And a ransomware attack at a major American healthcare company may have put your private information out in the open. We'll tell you what you need to know to try to protect your data now. I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate BOlduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: A warning, a fine, or a stint in jail? This morning, these are the penalty options Donald Trump could be facing as the judge overseeing his criminal trial is holding a hearing about the gag order that he put in place.

Donald Trump has been, at minimum, testing the limits of that gag order. And now, for the first time since this trial began, the judge is going to hear arguments and decide if Trump went further than that, possibly trampling all over that gag order.

The D.A. says they have ten examples of violations already. If the judge agrees, he then needs to decide what punishment Donald Trump should face. After that, the jury and the first witness, David Pecker, will be called back in.

Pecker is a key player in the alleged hush money scheme at the crux of Donald Trump's 34 criminal charges here.

CNN's Brynn Gingras is live outside court for us once again. Brynn, can you first walk us through this gag order hearing? What, what is expected could be happening?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate. Let's first remind the viewers what is that gag order, right? It was put in place at the end of March, essentially says that Donald Trump, as a defendant in this trial, cannot talk ill about any of the witnesses in this case, any of the jurors, family members of the prosecution, and also family members of the judge.

We have an idea of what will be argued in this hearing, which gets underway at 9:30 this morning court filings from the prosecution, and they have argued in court, like you said, that Trump has violated this gag order by verbally but also social media ten times.

Now, they're asking the judge to penalize Trump 1,000 for he's just fined for each time he violated that gag order. But they go a step further, essentially saying that, you know, also, he could face some jail time. So, we'll see what actually wins in court.

One other thing, prosecution wants the judge to remind Donald Trump, hey, you're the criminal defendant in this case. And that means, as a criminal defendant, you're subject to court supervision, again, possibly that jail time. Will we see that? We don't know.

But this is certainly something that is going to come up the very start of court. Trump and his defense team essentially said, you know, I have witnesses coming after me. I have no way to defend myself. One of those witnesses, well, not surprisingly, that feud has continued with his former fixer Michael Cohen.

Just yesterday, Trump was saying stuff about Michael Cohen after court ended. Michael Cohen responded in a tweet essentially saying that he, you know, had desperation attacks with his words. So, we'll see if that even plays into today's hearing. But that is what the gag order will sort of be covered and see how much, if any, Donald Trump has violated it, according to the judge.

BOLDUAN: And then after this, then they get back to the trial at hand and they get back to another witness, not Michael Cohen, the first witness in this case, which is David Pecker. He's back on the stand.

He was only briefly on the stand yesterday, Brynn. What did we learn then? How is it going to pick up now?

GINGRAS: Yes, you're right. So, they only got into a little bit of who David Pecker is for these jurors. He is that former publisher of the National Enquirer. He is on the stand under subpoena. His lawyer is also in that courtroom.

And what we essentially are going to learn is what the prosecution laid out for us in the opening statements, how David Pecker, according to them, is a co conspirator in this case scheme to sort of catch and kill stories that were defamatory to Donald Trump. And one of those stories, of course, is at the heart of this case, having to do with Stormy Daniels.

So, I imagine we will learn more about the stories that David Pecker would seek out as this former publisher of the National Enquirer and then crush in order to keep Donald Trump, you know, looking good in the limelight of the presidential election in 2016.

[07:05:14]

So I imagine we'll get very details of what his role is according to prosecutors in this entire alleged scheme. So, we'll be on the lookout for that. And that's all for now. It starts at about 11:00. That's when we expect jurors to return to the courtroom after they get through this gag order hearing first.

BOLDUAN: All right. Brynn, thank you very much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Also this morning, intriguing new details in Donald Trump's classified documents case. The stunning question being asked, was Trump's valet turned c- defendant, Walt Nauta, promised a pardon if he was caught lying to the FBI and charged for that? According to one witness, he was.

CNN Senior Crime And Justice Reporter Katelyn Polantz is joining us now. Katelyn, these are stunning details. Give us some sense of how significant this is.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Sara, we just don't know yet what the prosecutors and the FBI thought about this when they heard it from a witness in November of 2022. So, their FBI is investigating the collection and keeping of documents at Mar-a- Lago after the Trump presidency.

And they sit down with a witness who, according to these records that we received last night through the court, they're heavily redacted, the person who was speaking to the FBI is just called Person 16 in this record. And it's a record of that person's interview.

In the interview, they're talking about what they witnessed in the Trump White House. This person worked there, and then had a little bit of interaction with Trump afterwards about the records and says at one point to the FBI investigators, and it's in this court record now, that Walt Nauta, who became a co defendant of Trump and is a very close political aide of his, that he was told by the former president's people that this investigation was not going anywhere, that it was politically motivated, and, quote, much ado about nothing.

Walt Nauta was also told that even if he gets charged with lying to the FBI, the former president will pardon him in court in 2024.

We don't know what investigators did after that, how much investigation they may have done into this particular point that this witness spoke about and recalled to them. And we haven't gotten any explanation or comment from Nauta's attorney at this time. We're still working to see exactly what this means or even if it could come up in trial.

But these new details coming out in court, this is the sort of stuff that we could continue to learn about as records from the Mar-a-Lago investigation become more public, both through the court system, and then maybe even at a trial.

Another detail out there yesterday from these court records is that that investigation by the FBI was called Plasmic Echo. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much, Katelyn Polantz, for the new reporting this morning. I appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: Crisis on campus, colleges struggling to manage pro Palestinian demonstrations. Will it put graduation ceremonies in jeopardy?

In a major development in Baltimore, the city is suing the owner of the cargo ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

And air wars, the critical battle in political advertising. Who has a major edge heading into the summer?

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[07:10:00]

BERMAN: This morning, the unrest on college campuses is growing. Pro- Palestinian protests have erupted at universities from New York to California. At New York University, students and faculty were arrested overnight.

Yale saw 47 students arrested. They will now face probation and potential suspension from the university. Cal Polytechnic Institute, Humboldt, closed its campus after protesters overwhelmed one building.

CNN's Omar Jimenez is at Columbia here in New York, where this most recent wave of protests began. What's the scene there this morning? It looks quiet, I have to say, Omar.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no, it is quiet this morning. Really, the only signs that there are added tensions at all are the number of barricades that are put up in the caution tape outside the gates of the university, which is where we're standing right now.

This would be or essentially we've seen a week of what at times have been tense pro-Palestinian demonstrations, and it's part of why the university has now directed all of their classes to be hybrid through the rest of the semester with last day of classes is on Monday. But bottom line, they said as part of their statement that safety is their highest priority.

And, look, we're at the start of Passover week and one rabbi linked to the school, urged Jewish students to stay home over safety concerns, even though the campus well organization disagreed with keeping Jewish students home.

And we've seen protests come in multiple forms, some very much peaceful and in solidarity with Gaza, some very openly anti-Semitic and even violent messaging in nature as well. But in particular, there have been contrasts between on campus protests and those fueled by people off campus as well. In fact, organized organizers of the student protests have said their demonstrations, including a large encampment on one of the school's lawns that you may have seen videos of. They've been peaceful and distanced themselves from the non- student protesters, calling them, quote, inflammatory individuals who do not represent us.

[07:15:00]

Now, this all started last week when the university's president was testifying on Capitol Hill over anti-Semitism. That's when the encampment started here at Columbia, one that was created to urge the school to divest from corporations that profit from, and I'm quoting, Israeli apartheid, genocide and military occupation in Palestine.

A day later, the university sent in the police to clear out those protests ending and arrests and suspensions as well, a decision that is still being criticized by many on campus as well. In fact, yesterday we saw a number of professors and others walk out in solidarity with those students. And as you mentioned before coming to me, John, it has not just been here, it has been places across the country, Yale, MIT, Harvard, even out in California as well, John.

BERMAN: All right. Omar Jimenez outside the gates at Columbia, Omar, keep us posted. Thank you very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: An incompetent crew, significant maintenance failures and negligence, this is how the city of Baltimore is now describing the cargo ship company that crashed into the key bridge last month, and now the city is taking the owner to court.

And one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States scrambling to contain the damage this morning and disclosing hackers stole health and personal data of a substantial proportion of Americans from its systems.

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[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: All right. We've got live pictures for you, looking live pictures right here outside of Trump Tower where you're going to be getting familiar of seeing this every day, because right now, we're waiting for Donald Trump to depart his apartment once again to head to lower Manhattan to head back into the courtroom.

The question today is, did the former president repeatedly violate the gag order put in place by the judge? That's the question before they can even pick back up with the first witness in this criminal trial. We're going to be bringing you all of these live moments.

We're also watching this right now. The city of Baltimore is suing the owner and manager of the cargo ship that crashed into the Key Bridge last month. Monday, the city filed the lawsuit accusing them of negligence, alleging the ship was unseaworthy when it left port, and was staffed with a, quote, incompetent crew. Six people died in that catastrophe.

CNN's Gabe Cohen is in Washington following the very latest for us. Gabe, what is this city trying to do, wanting to get out of this lawsuit, and what do they say?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, it's going to be a lot of money. We don't know the exact amount at this point, but you can expect it is going to be many millions, if not billions of dollars.

And in this lawsuit that we're talking about here, the city of Baltimore is claiming that the owners and operators of the Dali ship were grossly, if not criminally negligent here.

Remember, the ship experienced some sort of issue that caused it to lose power and steering just before hitting the bridge the morning of March 26th. Federal investigators still trying to figure out exactly why it lost power, focusing in on the power system right now.

But at this point, the city is pointing to reports that the ship experienced a power issue even before it left the port of Baltimore, saying in this lawsuit that the power supply problem, whatever it was, was either not investigated or not fixed, and that the companies didn't properly maintain the engine, the vessels engine, its propulsion system, its steering and that the ship was not suitable for use.

As you mentioned, they also allege that the crew on board was incompetent, that the crew was inattentive to its duties, improperly trained, and that it failed to comply with navigation customs as it was making its way through the channel.

But bottom line here, Kate, the city is saying that these companies that own and operate the vessel were negligent and they have to pay up. And that is because there has been this massive economic impact to the Baltimore area. As they put it in this lawsuit, they say the economic engine of the region would grind to a halt on March 26th, 2024. We're talking about $70 billion in economic value, more than 20,000 jobs that are impacted here, according to the city, and they're going to be feeling it for weeks, if not many months more until they can clear and reopen the channel to cargo ship traffic.

And many officials, including the head of the port, Kate, have warned that consumers are going to start to feel this the longer that the port is basically shut down.

BOLDUAN: Gabe, thank you very much for the update. We're going to obviously follow this very closely. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Did Donald Trump repeatedly violate the judge's gag order? And if so, will he face fines, jail time or just warning? That is what Donald Trump is facing as he makes his way to a New York courthouse this morning. We're live outside that courthouse with the very latest also.

This game is crazy, the stunning NBA playoff comebacks and the incredible finish at the Knicks game was just the half of it. You got to see it.

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[07:25:00]

SIDNER: An alarming cyberattack may have put some Americans' private health information into the hands of hackers. UnitedHealth Group says health and personal information for, quote, a substantial portion of Americans may have been stolen. The company says it paid a ransom to the hackers to try and protect patient data.

CNN's Matt Egan is joining us now with the latest details.

So, they paid this ransom. But do we know what happened? Did that work? Did they get the information back? Is it safe?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Sarah, we don't know. But the fact that UnitedHealth is confirming to CNN that they did pay this ransom to hackers shows just how worried they were about the sensitive data on many Americans here.

Now, the company says that this is just a preliminary analysis, but these initial findings, they are startling. Because, listen, we know this attack in February did a lot of damage to the health care system, it paralyzed pharmacies, hurt doctor's offices, hospitals frustrated a lot of customers, a lot of patients out there.

Now, the company has this statement out there saying that the initial final links have said that they've found, quote, files containing protected health information or personally identifiable information, which could cover a substantial portion of people --

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