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Justice Department: Boeing Breached Safety Agreement After Fatal 737 Crashes; Defense Grills Cohen In Explosive, Profanity-Laced Cross-Examination; Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) On Provision Of $28 Billion In Foreign Military Financing For Ukraine. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired May 15, 2024 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: That they misled investigators on that Boeing -- the changes that Boeing made to the 737 MAX 8. Now the Justice Department says that Boeing violated that agreement.

And U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor oversaw that agreement in the first place. In a court filing Tuesday, he said if Boeing violated that agreement "For failing to fulfil completely the terms of and obligations under the deferred prosecution agreement, Boeing is subject to prosecution by the United States for any federal criminal violation of which the United States has knowledge."

The Justice Department says it has not yet determined how it will proceed and Boeing now has about a month to respond.

This is something being celebrated by the 737 MAX 8 victims' families, calling it a positive step and a long time coming.

But remember, this is different than the MAX 9 door plug blowout back on --

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Right.

MUNTEAN: -- January 5 on Alaska Airlines flight 1282. No doubt, that piqued investigators' interest. And we have been reporting that the Justice Department was reviewing that incident as well, Sara.

SIDNER: This has got to be a major, major problem for the new CEO coming in as the other one resigned.

Thank you so much, Pete Muntean, for all your reporting on that -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. This morning, what did Donald Trump's lawyers need to get out of Michael Cohen? The highly anticipated cross-examination of Trump's former fixer -- it began with this exchange.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche says, "Mr. Cohen, my name is Todd Blanche. You and I have never spoken or met before, have we?" Cohen says, "We have not." Blanche asks, "But you know who I am, don't you?" Cohen says, "I do."

Blanche asks, "As a matter of fact, on April 23 -- so after the trial started in this case -- you went on TikTok and called me a 'Crying Little Shit," didn't you?" Cohen says, "Sounds like something I would say."

The prosecution says, "Objection, Your Honor." The judge says, "Sustained. Sustained."

With us now, CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Joey Jackson. That's not all the judge said. The judge told Todd Blanche you can't do this. You can't ask Cohen his opinion of you, the attorney. You can ask him his opinion of Donald Trump, but not you.

What has the defense -- what have they been getting out of Cohen, so far, and what more do they need to get tomorrow?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: OK. So, in resetting this, remember that what the prosecution has done is they have told the story that Cohen has told through other witnesses. Why? Because Cohen, John, is damaged goods. The world knows that.

Now, a little inside baseball. What happens is the jury is going to be instructed that with any witness you could accept everything they say, you could accept a portion of their testimony, or you could regard the testimony in its entirety. Why is that important? Because a lot of what Mr. Cohen has said has been substantiated and otherwise backed up by other witnesses, except what are the critical parts?

Let's go to the Oval Office meeting --

BERMAN: Well, let's go to the Oval Office --

JACKSON: -- right?

BERMAN: -- meeting.

JACKSON: Yes.

BERMAN: I can read that for you right now since you're going to bring it up.

Michael Cohen -- this is under director. Michael Cohen says, "So I was sitting with President Trump and he asked me if I was OK. He asked me if I needed money and I said no, all good. He said because I can get a check. And I said, no. I said, I'm OK. He said [Trump] all right. Just make sure you get with Allen," as in Allen Weisselberg.

The prosecutor, Susan Hoffinger, asked, "Did he say anything about what would be forthcoming to you?" Cohen says, "Yes. It would be a check for January and February." And then Hoffinger says, "And so, at that point in time, you had not yet been reimbursed for the payments that you made to Stormy Daniels?" Cohen says, "No, ma'am."

Continue, counselor. JACKSON: Yes. Because these are the gritty details, John, right? Resetting to what the case is all about. The case is about these 34 counts as they related to falsifying business records.

We could talk about the intent in terms of "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD" damage control with the campaign. You don't want another story to come out. That would provide the motivation for Trump to be very concerned about Stormy Daniels. Put out that fire.

But then you have to get to the logistics. How the invoice is falsified. How the ledger is falsified. What about these checks, et cetera? So, Cohen gives you that, connecting the dots with what I told you, right?

What I'm saying is that the judge will instruct the jury you can accept all portions of a witness. You could disregard some or none. That is what prosecutors -- what is that? The meeting in the Oval Office. The nature of the reimbursements. Was Trump privy to the fact that there was reimbursements? The purpose of the reimbursement. The structure of the reimbursements. That is all critical.

So in answer to your question what does the defense want to get out, the defense is looking for this issue and narrative of revenge, right -- animus -- personal animus. You want revenge against the president. You have animus against the president. This is payback against the former president, right?

All of that they want to establish to go to show you can't believe him. So believe the other witnesses as they relate to other portions of Mr. Cohen's testimony, but as to the critical issue of reimbursements, the nature, the purpose, the structure, he's the guy that tells you that. Allen Weisselberg, the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) is not here.

[07:35:00]

Don't believe the hype. Acquit my client. That's what the defense wants to do.

BERMAN: It seems to me there are two possible defenses here. There may be more, but the two main defenses may be a) you can't believe Michael Cohen, so Donald Trump is innocent -- period, full stop. But, b) even if you believe Michael Cohen here, there is no crime. Donald Trump is innocent. Right now, their focus is very much on a) don't believe Michael Cohen.

But is there a risk here for the defense and Donald Trump that this jury might say Michael Cohen, we get it. He's a bad guy. But you know what? I kind of believe his story here and you're not giving me any reason to say Donald Trump is not guilty if I believe Michael Cohen's story.

JACKSON: So that is the entirety of the risk, to be clear, right? Why, why, why has the prosecution spent everything on the case before Cohen testified to bring in other witnesses about catch and kill? Pecker, National Enquirer, Hope Hicks, "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD," campaign and a free-for-all. We got to get this thing resolved. People who talk about text messages, emails, phone call exchanges, et cetera.

That is so that there's a very limited thing that you have to believe if you're the jury, from Michael Cohen. But that limited thing, John --

BERMAN: Yeah.

JACKSON: -- are the gritty details with respect to these invoices, ledgers, and checks. And I think in large measure, prosecutors have gotten that because you have these shipments, right, to the president's security person. They are then brought into the White House in a manila envelope. You have Donald Trump signing checks in a Sharpie pen. It's hard to discount or not believe that he was not privy to what was happening and the structure of how this would be paid back.

BERMAN: Sara's got a very important interview I want to get to right away. But before that, just this very simple question, Joey.

JACKSON: Yes.

BERMAN: If the jury believes Michael Cohen's story is a guilty verdict likely?

JACKSON: It -- I think that absolutely would be the case in the event they believe it. Even if they don't believe it, I think that you certainly have a leaning towards the guilt. But I think that certainly, if he can put the pieces together and they could disregard some of it but believe the essence of his testimony, I think it would be trouble for Mr. Trump -- yes.

BERMAN: Joey Jackson, great to see you. And I do apologize for making Sara wait. Sara, to you.

SIDNER: No problem at all.

All right. New this morning, Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is postponing his participation in all international events in the next coming days as Russia continues its push into the Kharkiv region. Overnight, three waves of Russian glide bomb attacks on the city injured at least 21 people there, including two 12-year-old girls and an 8-year-old boy.

CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in the Kharkiv region with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: What we're seeing north of Kharkiv -- let me make sure people understand the context of this. There's not another active front line where the Russians are seeing success -- they've been seeing success and moving forward in the east quite dramatically over the past week.

What they did on Friday is launch a significant new invasion, frankly, from their territory into parts of Ukraine that they'd been kicked out two years ago. And it's, frankly, depressing to be back here -- this was a front line two years ago that we worked around -- to see now this potentially under threat again.

Now, the Russians have come at this with force, resources. They've not found the Ukrainians ready. We've not driven past significant fortifications on the way to here -- two places where they're being urgently built we did see.

And key to all of this is a town called Vovchansk. Now, that is on the border. We were there when they were kicked out two years ago but now the Russians are back it seems. A local police chief talking about hearing gunfire in and around the city, so it seems that most generous the Russians are certainly on the outskirts. And Ukraine's military talking about how they'd moved to more favorable positions over the last 24 hours. That's sort of a euphemism for a form of retreat.

So clearly, Russia on the forefoot there. They have other key settlements in their sights, too -- one of which, Lyptsi, might potentially enable them to shell Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city. You'll remember, a place where millions that have felt a while calm, the ability to get back to normal life and is now facing the possibility of continued shelling. They've heard airstrikes over the past days or so.

And so, all of this a reflection of how Russia appears to have got its resources together, to have turned its economy into a wartime one, and regained its focus and its manpower, while Ukraine has been left with its morale cratered because this six months it's had to wait for that $61 billion. Back in December, people were talking about how if they didn't get it they were finished. They've had to wait five or six months. That's starved them of ammunition on the front lines to stop Russian advances. That's left them questioning where they have to essentially devote what little they have left.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: The Kharkiv region, you heard there from Nick Paton Walsh, seriously under threat from Russia -- from Russia.

All right, joining me now is Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks from New York, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee. Thank you so much, Congressman, for being here this morning.

[07:40:00]

I do want to ask you -- we just saw one of our reporters on the front lines. The U.S. Congress argued for months over whether to fund military aid to Ukraine, mostly due to far-right Republicans who did not want to send aid to Ukraine. And now, Ukraine's military is saying look, they've lost significant ground to Russia while waiting on that aid.

How do you see what is happening? Is America, in your mind, in part, to blame because of the delay in getting aid to Ukraine? REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY): There's no question the delay is causing what you see today. I don't think there's any doubt about it. This is why months ago, many of us in Congress and the President of the United States were saying that we needed to get the aid to Ukraine right now. We knew that Russia was watching.

But the most important thing is two years later, Ukraine is still standing and help is on its way. We are going to get those weapons to them. And I think that what Russia knows is that's going to happen. That the unity that is in Ukraine between the United States and our allies is still there.

They were hoping that they could wait us out. They was hoping that we would not be there. But now, Russia knows that those weapons are on the way. And so they are firing everything that they have right now, knowing that the ammunition and the weapons have not gotten there yet. But when they get there -- because the Ukrainian people have already shown us that if they have what they need -- if they have the weapons that they need, they can fight back and push Russia back.

And so, unfortunately, because of the delay, we're going to have to do what we did -- what they did previously and push them back as Russia tries to advance now knowing that the United States and its allies are now getting the weapons into Ukraine and Ukraine will have the ability to fight back.

SIDNER: Congressman, are you concerned about what America's allies see after this long delay in this battle and whether the U.S. will be there for them in their darkest hour?

MEEKS: Well, you know, I have been concerned. I've been concerned about that for the last three, four, five months when we could not get our Republican members to vote for the supplemental package.

But I think that our allies know, and they can see, and they've been waiting, that we did come through. That we have put this $62 billion package forward. That we have made the statements that we will continue to work together. NATO is stronger than it's ever been. And so, collectively, together, we can make sure that we stop Russia and Russia's aggression because we know how imperative that is.

We've been saying it on our side of the aisle and the president has been saying it all along that we know that if we don't, Russia would not stop in Ukraine. And they will go to our NATO allies, and we would then have to go into section five of the NATO and all of us would have to come together.

But I am a firm believer -- no one thought that Ukraine would still be there two weeks after the war started. Here we are two years later. So all I know and I believe firmly is that once Ukraine gets the weapons that they need and our allies now see that we are standing up and we're not running, they too will then give Ukraine what it needs, and then that will then begin to reverse this aggression that Russia has put forward when Ukraine did not have the ability to fight back.

SIDNER: Congressman Meeks, I want to move to another major battle going on. That is the Israel war in Gaza. I would like to ask you this. We're just learning this information.

How do you square that one the one hand, President Biden says he's going to stop sending certain bombs to Israel if they launch a full- scale attack on Rafah; and on the other hand, sources telling us that the Biden administration has told key lawmakers it will send more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel?

MEEKS: Well, look, what President Biden has said very clearly -- the shipment that he stopped was the 2,000-pound bombs because we see the kind of collateral damage that those bombs cause. So in a dense area like Rafah, it will cause catastrophic damage to innocent civilians, and he wants to prevent that from happening.

At the same time, the president has said that Hamas cannot continue to exist and Hamas leadership has to be brought to justice. And there are types of weapons and munitions that can be utilized for that kind of direct assault on Hamas without destroying and killing innocent Palestinians.

So there's a separation. The president is very consistent. He said that when he made his statement about not sending the 2,000-pound bombs. That's the focus. The damage that they do -- the collateral damage, the innocent Palestinians that get killed -- we want to minimize.

[07:45:08]

And I think that we all have an obligation to minimize the innocent deaths. That's our values. That's why we are the nation that is looked up to because we have values to try to make sure that we're not allowing innocents just to be slaughtered.

So -- but those that -- those individuals who attacked Israel, killing 1,200 in a very brutal fashion, we are going to go after them and continue to make sure -- and Israel has the right to go after them until they get each and every one of those leaders.

SIDNER: Congressman Gregory Meeks, thank you so much for taking the time this morning to speak to me. We appreciate it.

MEEKS: Thank you for having me.

SIDNER: John.

BERMAN: So, where is Rudy Giuliani? Prosecutors want to serve him with an indictment, but he is nowhere to be found. We've got new details on his evasive maneuvers.

And it looks like he is in hell. It looks like he's bathing in blood. A nation divided over a new portrait of King Charles.

New Orleans is known for the drinking scene, but there was no glass recycling program for all those empty bottles. One woman saw that as an opportunity to become a champion for change.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANZISKA TRAUTMANN, CO-FOUNDER, GLASS HALF FULL: Behind me is what we affectionately refer to as Glass Mountain.

Glass Half Full started, like most good ideas, over a bottle of wine. We realized that like every other glass bottle in the state of Louisiana it would end up in a landfill because we didn't have adequate glass recycling systems.

Glass comes from sand, so we hatched a plan to recycle glass back into sand. Sand is the second most exploited resource after water.

The first thing we thought of was coastal restoration because that's where sand is needed in our state of Louisiana. We are losing land at such an incredibly fast rate -- about a football field's worth of land every 100 minutes. Our coast in Louisiana is our livelihood.

I'm from a small town in Louisiana and I grew up a lot around nature and around a bayou. Ultimately, I just wanted to protect the environment and be a part of it.

We have pick-up programs and we have drop-off programs where folks can bring their glass to us. It'll be crushed into a mixture of sand and gravel, separated by size. To date, we have recycled more than six million pounds of glass and we will have done about six coastal restoration projects.

By the avenue (PH) is a lot of open water and we hope in the future that it's restored to a healthy wetland. We partnered with 10 different scientists and engineers there to test the safety and the feasibility of doing this and now we're really translating that lab research into action. We have a restoration mix-out today and we'll be using it to build these islands and plant grasses and trees.

We have a ton of partners on the ground to help with restoration projects. Arthur, from CSED, is one of those partners since they're really focused on working the Lower Ninth.

ARTHUR JOHNSON, CEO, CSED: The CSED, the Center for Community Engagement and Development, was created as a tool for rebuilding of a community that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Disaster preparedness is so significant here in New Orleans. It's always been a very susceptible community to hurricanes.

Glass Half Full and CSED -- we've come together to say we're going to address this issue maybe at a smaller level but having massive impact.

TRAUTMANN: Arthur and his team -- they really bring that community aspect. They know the needs and the solutions that could work.

We have free glass drop-offs across the Lower Ninth Ward. We've provided sandbags for folks to use in case of floods -- so, hopefully, being able to utilize that glass that the community brought to us to turn it into a resource that then benefits their community.

A big goal of ours is to be able to replicate what we've done here for other cities and regions. And so, our next expansion area is Alabama. Instead of looking at things glass half empty, look at things glass half full. What difference can you make in your community. Once I realized that I could have an impact, I felt like I really found what I was supposed to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[07:50:04]

BERMAN: Do not walk away, and be sure to tune in Saturday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern for CNN's "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE" one-hour special.

(COMMERCIAL)

BERMAN: All right. Very shortly, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on the Baltimore bridge collapse. Top federal officials from the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Transportation Safety Board, and other agencies will testify in the federal response to the collapse, which killed six people. The hearing comes as -- comes one day after the NTSB published a preliminary report on the incident, finding that the cargo ship that collided with the bridge experienced multiple electrical failures in the moments before the crash.

[07:55;05]

Rookie sensation Caitlin Clark made her season debut with the Indiana Fever, scoring 20 points, which tied for the game-high, but the Fever lost to the Connecticut Sun 92-71. Clark says she would have liked to have played better. The team's home opener is Thursday.

And there are mixed reactions this morning after Britain's King Charles released his first official portrait. Now, to be clear, he did not paint that himself. The painting was by artist Jonathan Yeo. It depects -- depicts the King in uniform against a dramatic red background there. Yeo says the work was a tremendous professional challenge, which he is immensely grateful.

Some social media critics have said it looks like he is in hell or bathing in blood. Those were nice -- the nice criticism, Sara.

SIDNER: Huh, interesting. I'm assuming he saw it before. But he's really into art and it does make you talk about it, so he might be pleased that we're all discussing this even if some of it is a bit negative. I don't know.

BERMAN: He finds it all very jolly, I'm told by royal sources.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, John.

This morning, opening statements expected to begin in the bribery trial against New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez. The senator is charged with taking bribes, including gold bars and a luxury car in exchange for helping push U.S. aid and weapons to a foreign government. CNN's Jason Carroll is outside the New York courthouse. Jason, the second big trial involving a politician this morning. What can you tell us?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first things first. A big blow to the defense yesterday. This after Judge Sidney Stein ruled that one of the witnesses that the defense wanted to call, he's not going to allow. That was going to be a psychiatrist. Her name is Dr. Karen Rosenbaum.

And the reason why this is important, Sara, is because this psychiatrist was going to testify as to part of the reason why Sen. Menendez stashed all of that money (audio gap) and executed that search warrant at his home in New Jersey. They found several hundred thousand dollars in cash stashed in his clothes. Of course, prosecutors say that was bribes.

But what the defense was going to -- was going to have this witness testify to is to say that part of the reason why he stashed all of this at home is because of a few things. First, because of his background in Cuba. Worried about the Cuban government taking their money. Also, his father was someone who killed himself -- committed suicide. He was a gambler.

All of this, the psychiatrist was going to testify to say that he suffered from intergenerational trauma and a fear of scarcity. And that's the reason why this psychiatrist was going to testify -- the reason why he stashed all this money at his home.

Well, the judge ruled that is hearsay. That this psychiatrist is going to be allowed to testify at trial.

However, the judge did say that a forensic accountant would be allowed to testify. But the judge in that case even put some guardrails up there, saying that, yes, this accountant can talk about the money that went into and out of the senator's account, but won't be able to say something like the senator did not live an extravagant lifestyle. That is something that's going to have to be left up to jurors, according to the judge.

But, of course, when it comes to jurors, Sara, we still don't have a jury set. We're still waiting for (audio gap) to be set later today, and then we move on to opening statements -- Sara.

SIDNER: Jason Carroll, thank you so much for braving the rain out there for us with all those details. Appreciate it -- John.

BERMAN: So this morning, two French prison guards are dead and three others are wounded after a violent ambush during a prisoner transfer. A car crashed into a van as it carried an inmate from court to a nearby prison. Gunmen then attacked with what appeared to be long guns. A manhunt is now underway to find the suspects who carried out the prison break and the inmate they freed -- a man who apparently goes by the nickname "The Fly."

CNN's Max Foster has the latest on this -- Max. MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So his name is Mohammed Amra. He's 30 years old. And we've just had an image of him. An unprecedented manhunt underway in Normandy right now.

This is what happened. The truck -- the prison truck went through a toll in Normandy. Then we saw, according to the police, a Peugeot ram into the front of it and get out.

[08:00:00]