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Trump Trial Resumes Today; Palestinians Flee Rafah; High Risk of Tornadoes for Oklahoma and Kansas; Boy Dies after Being Swept Away in Texas. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 06, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now Donald Trump is on his way to another day in court. The big question he does not know the answer to right now, who's going to take the stand next.

And blasts and smoke in Rafah. The Israeli military telling civilians to evacuate immediately as ceasefire talks have stalled. And the Biden administration saying that is all on Hamas.

And a tragedy is playing out in Texas. Horrible flooding that we are watching and news that a little boy is now dead after being swept away from his parents who were trying to get to safety. And there is more threat - threatening weather coming today.

I'm Kate Bolduan, with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This the CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump just left Trump Tower for court as his criminal hush money trial resumes in less than 30 minutes. The big question today, who will take the stand? Among the most notable witnesses who may be called, his former fixer and attorney, Michael Cohen, adult film star Stormy Daniels, and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal.

On Friday, Hope Hicks, who was one of Trump's closest and most trusted former aides, took the stand. She had dramatic testimony, briefly coming to a stop at one point when she began to cry during cross- examination.

Over the weekend, Trump hosted donors and potential vice presidential picks at the Republican National Committee's spring retreat. He also ramped up his attacks. Several attendees telling CNN he accused Democrats of running a gestapo administration.

CNN's Brynn Gingras is outside court and Kristen Holmes is in Washington.

Brynn, we're going to begin with you. Do we now know, or is there any clue, as to who the next witness might be?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, unfortunately not, Sara. But we will know in 30 minutes when court gets started. As you just said, the former president making his way down here to lower Manhattan for what will be the fourth week of this trial.

And like you said, there's some big witnesses left on the prosecution's roster, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal. Unclear who will be called next.

But what is clear is that we are getting closer and closer to the prosecution sort of making its case about whether or not Trump knew about these hush money payments prior to the 2016 election, and did it to influence that election. And that's what we saw a little bit of help from Hope Hicks when she took the stand, the former president's former spokesperson, who really played it out for the prosecution that Trump had an idea about that hush money payment. They got her to acknowledge that in 2018 when a "Wall Street Journal" article came out about that, that Trump told her that it was better that article was coming out then before the 2020 election, sort of signaling that he did have some idea about this.

She kind of also talked about Michael Cohen and how Michael Cohen made that payment and she knew that and she doesn't believe he would have done that out of the kindness of his own heart is how she said it on the stand, saying, "I didn't know Michael to be an especially charitable person or selfless person."

And then when it was time for cross-examination, as you stated, Sara, she got a bit emotional before the questioning even got started. She had to take a break from the witness box before they could resume. And in that questioning she acknowledged for the defense that Trump was, you know, he's a family man, she said, that he never really wanted to embarrass his family with this campaign, that he valued Melania Trump's opinion. Kind of painting a picture of this former president, who maybe took action not because of an election, but rather for the sake of his family. And she also took some jabs at Michael Cohen, who again will be one of the prosecution's star witnesses.

So, we will see how this court is going to play out today and into this week. This is really the first time in a little while that we've had a full week of testimony in this trial. So, it's going to be an eventful week. Again, a lot of people still waiting to be called to the witness box.

Sara.

SIDNER: OK, we understand that Donald Trump has arrived there. The motorcade arriving at court. Court starts in the next 20 or so minutes.

Thank you so much, Brynn.

We - let's go now to Kristen Holmes. We're going to go from the court to the campaign.

You've been able to obtain some audio recording from the speech that he made. What can you tell us that was said in there as he's also looking at his potential vice presidents.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara, that's right, I mean to say that this was profanity laced is really an understatement. At one point you could tell he was growing angry, talking about his legal issues. He called Jack Smith and f-ing a-hole in this 90 minutes long kind of rant. But, as you said, it wasn't all just about his legal issues.

Now, one thing he did say that I do want to point out before we move on to our speculation about vice president, is he did say that Democrats are running a gestapo administration. This is something he has said before. This is something he is due (ph) to rile up donors, to rile up his base. They think that this helps him.

But let's move on to the fund stuff right now because he's going to be in court all day. We'll talk about those potential vice presidential picks. He called many of them up on the stage. I think we have a list of some of those potential VP contenders that he called up. Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, Senator JD Vance, Governor Doug Burgum, Representative Elise Stefanik, Representative Byron Donalds, really complementing all of them for different specific aspects.

[09:05:12]

One, Marco Rubio, he actually said, your name is coming up a lot for vice president. Elise Stefanik, he said that after she had helped bring down or whatever her - aggression towards the Harvard president led to her resignation, she said - he said that people were mentioning her for vice president.

But again, this is all really just reading tea leaves and speculation at this point. Marco Rubio said over the weekend, I think, this would be true if you asked any of these candidates. They believe, at the end of the day, Donald Trump is the one who makes this decision.

And also, when you're talking about who he call to the stage and whether or not we should be reading into this, one person he called to the stage was a former Democratic governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, who, of course, had been in prison for several years until Donald Trump pardoned him. Now, he is a big Trump fan. So, again, can't read too much into who he brought into stage, but we still don't have a vice presidential candidate. We're told it's going to come before the convention. So, we should be reading as many hints, or looking for as many hints as we possibly can.

SIDNER: Very interesting. Kristen Holmes, thank you so much for that reporting and also to our Brynn Gingras.

Court is going to resume in just a few short minutes here.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, a huge blast this morning rocks parts of eastern Rafah after Israel warned civilians to get out now.

We have breaking whether news. Just a minute ago, the highest level warning for severe weather for a huge swaths for the country. We will tell you the areas that need to take cover.

And then Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal, Michael Cohen, who will take the stand this hour at the criminal trial of Donald Trump?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:11:28]

SIDNER: We want to get you to some breaking news right now. Just into us, Columbia University announcing it has canceled the university-wide commencement ceremony plan for next week. Instead, the university official says there will be smaller events and that security concerns are one of the main reasons for the decision, citing how difficult the past few weeks have been due to intense protests on campus. Columbia said it plans to share details in the coming days about a festive event on May 15th that would allow graduates to come together to celebrate.

Just a reminder that most of the students graduating from college this year did not get to walk for their high school graduations due to Covid.

John.

BERMAN: All right, we have some breaking news. We're just getting word that President Biden will be speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later today. This comes as the IDF has been dropping leaflets around Rafah in Gaza, warning people in one sector to evacuate. A ground invasion there could be imminent. Ceasefire and hostage negotiator appear to be at an impasse.

Let's get right to CNN's Jeremy Diamond, live in Jerusalem with the latest on what will be yet one more means of communication between these two leaders.

Jeremy.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no doubt about it, coming at a very critical moment, John, not only with those ceasefire negotiations stalled, but also as a result the Israeli military ordering thousands, tens of thousands of people in eastern Rafah to begin to evacuate that part of the city. This morning, before 9:00 a.m., thousands of leaflets were dropped on eastern Rafah, directing people to flee north to an area called al-Mawasi, which has been a designated humanitarian zone. One that has been expanded, the Israeli military says, in recent weeks with additional shelters, water, food being brought in, as well as field hospitals.

But 100,000 people currently live in that part of eastern Rafah that is being evacuated. And there are major questions at this stage about whether or not that humanitarian zone has sufficient shelter, food, and medicine for the number of individuals who are being directed to go there. Concerns being raised by humanitarian aid official about the adequacy of that area, but also concerns that wide-scale panic could be spreading in Rafah with people outside of that immediate eastern Rafah evacuation zone also beginning to head north.

We've already started to see people who did not receive those leaflets beginning to flee north out of concern for what may come next. There's no question that there is major fear and anxiety in Rafah at the moment as the Israeli military says that it is carrying out a limited scale operation, but one that make no question it is certainly setting the stage for Israeli tanks and troops to begin going into Rafah.

How quickly that could happen is still an open question. Whether it is a matter of hours, days, or weeks, the Israeli military simply will not say at this stage. But there's no question that it is all happening because of the state of those ceasefire negotiations. There had been considerable optimism this weekend that perhaps Egypt - this Egyptian framework, Hamas and Israel could perhaps agree to it. But now two Israeli sources telling me that these talks are at a standstill over Hamas' demand to end the war altogether as part of these talks. Something that the Israeli prime minister has said he simply will not agree to.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Jeremy Diamond, in Jerusalem. Jeremy, thank you very much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: We also have this breaking news coming in. The severe storm outlook for today has increased to its highest level for parts of central Oklahoma and Kansas.

[09:15:02]

This is really a huge area. The threat of - is also of multiple and intense tornadoes.

This is happening as Texas rivers remain at flood stage levels. That heavy rain over the weekend there displaced thousands of people and forced hundreds to call for rescue.

And we're also learning about a four-year-old boy who died in the floodwaters.

CNN's Rosa Flores is in Harris County, Texas, for us, and CNN's Derek Van Dam is in the Weather Center.

Derek, can you talk us through first - talk us through this new threat.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this threat, we always knew it was going to be a big day today, but just now, within the past 15 minutes, the Storm Prediction Center has increased this risk. It's identified the parameters, the location that they're most concerned about.

And anywhere you see this color coding here, this is the severe weather threat. But we're really going to focus in on central and southern Kansas, through Oklahoma. To put this into context, this is a level five of five, the highest risk of severe weather threat that the storm prediction center does issue. And it has been five years since Oklahoma has been included within this. It's been seven years since Kansas has been included in this. The last time a high-level risk was issued was over a year ago.

So, this is really saying something. I don't want to mince words today, but this is one of those days you want to have a safe place for a tornado shelter, perhaps underground, have a helmet available if you live along this I-35 corridor, perhaps I-40 as well, right through Oklahoma City. This is really ground zero for wording from the Storm Prediction Center, intense, long track tornados, very large, to giant- sized hail. That means the potential for baseball to softball-sized hail falling from in the sky, and damaging winds in excess of 80 miles per hour.

The timeframe, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. this evening, but nocturnal tornadoes are still possible. That means tornadoes after sunset. They're twice as dangerous and twice as lethal.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, Derek, thank you so much for tracking that for us.

Now, let's bring in Rosa Flores.

As I mentioned, Rosa, you're in Texas. Texas was hard hit this weekend. What are you seeing and hearing there this morning?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, I want to start with the death of that four-year-old boy, closer to Dallas. The mother of that child speaking to NBC DFW, sharing that the boy's name is Lucas Warren (ph). He's four-years-old. And this mom described the conditions. In essence they were driving through a storm. That were headed back home. And they were driving through a road that normally floods, but this mom says that there was no barricades so they kept on driving. But then their battery died from their vehicle. Water started going into their vehicle and this couple decided to get out of the vehicle with their son to try to get to safety. And then the mom told NBC DFW the following, quote, "and the current came up really high and just let go. And I didn't hear anything from him. I think he just went under.

And she went on to tell NBC DFW that rescuers arrived soon thereafter but, of course, it was too late. They recovered the body of this little boy hours later.

And, Kate, that tragedy happened near Dallas. I'm in Harris County, which is near Houston, and it's the same storm system. It just gives you an idea of the magnitude of this storm and how people across this state are dealing with that flooding.

We hopped on an air boat with the Harris County Sheriff's Office yesterday, and take a look at this video. Look at the water levels. And you can see that are - stop signs were at eye level while we were on this air boat. And first responders talked to us about some of the challenges they face when they try to rescue people and convince them to go to higher ground.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DEPUTY DARRELL BAILEY, HARRIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: We can tell them that we're primarily have is, it's just the elements that represent (ph) the warning, because you don't know what's in the water. Whether it's ants, whether it's snakes, whether it's - whether it's spiders. That's going to be the biggest challenge. But we do our bet to get out of the boat and get them into the boat the best possible we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: And, Kate, just to give you an idea of how quickly water recedes. You saw that video. We were on that air boat with those first responders. We were in this area where I'm standing right now. There was no water compared to that yesterday. And that was just less than 24 hours ago. You can see there's just some ponding in the background.

Back to you.

BOLDUAN: Yes, coming in so fast and leaving just as fast.

It's good to see you, Rosa. Thank you so much for bringing that reporting.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, we're going to live pictures now inside the New York City courthouse were testimony he will continue against Donald Trump where we can - in that hush money trial. We are waiting to find out who the next witness might be. Some of the main players in the alleged scheme have yet to testify.

Stay with us. This is CNN's special live coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:24:26]

SIDNER: All right, you're looking at live pictures just there outside the New York City courthouse where Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial will resume in just a few minutes here.

With us now, legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson, and CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers.

Thank you both for being here.

We do not know who the next witness is. Everybody's waiting. Nor does the defense. But I want to ask you about Hope Hicks. How damaging was her testimony with the things that she said, even though there was an olive branch as well?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, it was good for the prosecution. I mean she did a few things that were helpful. She gave us an inside the campaign perspective of "Access Hollywood" and the aftermath of all of that and what panic mode they were all in.

[09:25:07]

And she gave us kind of a sense of the shifting timeline of Trump's story, right? At first they - absolute denial. No affair. No payoff. Then it was, OK, well, no affair but there was a payoff. And then they said, well, there was a payoff by Michael Cohen, but Trump didn't know anything about it. And then they said, well, do you think that makes sense knowing Michael Cohen as you do. And she's like, yes, no, not so much.

So, they really kind of got to the - both the election conspiracy piece of it and started to get to the who was in the know with the reimbursement piece of it. They did not get with her the fraudulent financial documents part of the case, which is where they're going to need to turn next.

BERMAN: At some point they will need to get there for sure. Also at some point we expect, Joey, some of these what could be blockbuster witnesses, at least in terms of the frenzy it may cause. Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal.

Stormy Daniels, what does she provide to the case and what's the risk there for the prosecution? I get that it's sensational, but do they need it legally?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So, a couple of things. Let's remind everyone that the reason we don't know the next witnesses is because the prosecution does not trust the release of the information because Donald Trump may tweet about them. In a normal set of circumstances, right, prosecutors really cooperate with the defense and they tell you who they're going to call. So, the reason we're having the guest conversation is because of the gag order and the inability, right, of the president to follow it.

To the specifics of your question, I think Stormy Daniels, is she an essential witness? I don't think so. Now, having said that, I think not bringing her would be the glaring discrepancy. She's been talked about so much. You don't bring Stormy Daniels? Why not, right?

Now, she just knows that she had, of course, the story, of course backing up the affair. That's number one, right? Not critical here. Only critical in as much as she was going to out him as it related to the affair. She knows, of course, the $130,000 payment. She knows who she dealt with. So, I think she lays some very firm foundations.

Will she bury ultimately the president? No. Because you have to believe, at the end of the day, that there's this connection between Trump and the payout, right? And, of course, the defense is trying very hard to say, this is Michael Cohen gone amuck. He's rogue. He's out there doing it for his boss out of fealty. But I think she gives you a piece that's very important. And I think the jury wants to hear from her and, for symmetrical purposes, I think it's important.

BOLDUAN: And the way - and she basically said when - speaking - when it comes to Michael Cohen is, she did not know him to be a charitable person or do anything - you know, not a selfless, charitable person. And that speaks to the point that Joey was just talking about. But it also - it's another witness who - no one has had anything complimentary to say about Michael Cohen who has taken the stand and speaking about that. That - that adds up to what eventually when Michael Cohen takes the stand?

RODGERS: Listen, prosecutors are used to dealing with unsavory witnesses, right? You do it all the time, your cooperators, to say, look, then, they're a murderer, they're a rapist, they're a whatever, they 're a fraudster. You don't have to like them, but let us tell you why you should believe them. That's why they're setting up all these witness who are corroborating Michael Cohen in advance, so that when he gets on the stand and says, I did this, a jury says, oh, yes, we already heard about that from some other people.

So, you know, prosecutors, I think, are not concerned about the dislike-ability, if you will, of Michael Cohen. They just have to deal with it. And Michael Cohen, obviously, is going to have to deal with it on the stand.

SIDNER: I've got a two-part question for you, Joey. Who has been the most consequential witness that we have seen on the stand so far? And, is Michael Cohen the most consequential witness of all?

JACKSON: Wow, that's great. Well, I would say this, I think he is consequential. But to Jen's very good point, I think the prosecution is trying to make him not so consequential. Why? Because of all the witnesses that are proceeding him, that lay the foundation with respect to what he's going to testify to. And you're going to hear in closing arguments, yes, you savage (ph), Michael Cohen. You could talk about him lying before Congress. You can talk about him being a convicted felon. You could talk about whatever you want. But what you can't talk about is the fact that we've had a number of witness corroborate what he's going to say.

Who are they? We're going to start off with Mr. Pecker. How about him to lay the foundation for the catch and kill. He spoke to you about the case, the nature of the case, why they were doing this, the influence of the election. And let's pivot, now that we've gotten to Pecker, to this Davidson characters, why don't we, right? So -

BOLDUAN: I really hope that he talks like this in court.

SIDNER: He's prosecuting to me right now.

BOLDUAN: This is amazing.

SIDNER: Like, I feel this. I feel this.

JACKSON: So, I think, in answer to the question, right, what happens is, is that they are - that is prosecutors - by making Cohen as irrelevant, as relevant as he is, right, I think that by all these witnesses speaking to the issues he'll speak about, really build him up. And that's going to be the deal.

SIDNER: Interesting. BERMAN: Any - sorry, 34 counts all about a document of one kind or

another. You think this is the week that we will see these documents that are being used to charge these crimes?

RODGERS: We have to. We have to. I thought they were coming last week. But they're definitely coming this week. These are the charges. They have to get these documents into evidence and start explaining to the jury why they were fraudulent first, but more importantly why Trump is responsible for them.

BOLDUAN: Right.

[09:30:03]

BERMAN: Do you have that before or after Cohen? Do you get the documents in before -

RODGERS: Before. I think they've got to do it today.

BERMAN: All right, Jennifer -

JACKSON: Yes, soon.