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MA Stabbing Suspect Arraigned On Multiple Charges; CNN Analysis: U.S. Munitions Used In Deadly Rafah Attack; Today: Biden And Harris Campaign In Battleground Pennsylvania. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired May 29, 2024 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:31:12]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We are standing outside the Manhattan Criminal Court. Let me walk you through what will happen here over the next several hours.

At about 9:30 a.m., the defendant, Donald Trump, the former President of the United States -- he will show up. We expect he may say a few words before he enters the courtroom. He does almost every day. When he speaks today, though, it will be different because today is the day the jury gets the case against him.

At 10:00, the jury will enter the courtroom and the judge will give them instructions. This is one of the most important parts of the entire trial. The jury will learn what exactly they will be deciding on in the 34 counts against Donald Trump and where they will decide on guilt or innocence.

Then at about 11:00, after about an hour of jury instructions, the jury will go behind closed doors and they will begin to deliberate. What happens after that, who knows?

With me now, CNN legal analyst and former defense attorney, Joey Jackson -- or current defense attorney, I should say -- Joey Jackson. And also with us, defense attorney and former White House lawyer, Jim Schultz. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being with us.

Joey, let me just start with you on what we will see. Jury instructions from Judge Juan Merchan about an hour long. What are you looking for here?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yeah, good morning to you, John. Good morning, Jim.

What you look for is that remember the process. The process provides for the jury to be the determiner of the facts, right? They are about the credibility of the witnesses, assessing what facts were proven and what facts are not. The judge is the person who is there to really preside over the law, and that's what the judge will do.

In jury instructions, now that you have the facts -- that is, the jury -- they now have to be given well, what are we applying these facts to? What are the general principles of law? And these real principles, John, are very much -- I don't want to say rote, but they are quite common, right?

You give instruction to the jury with regard to what reasonable doubt is, right? With regard to what interested witnesses are. With regard to what intent is. With respect to what falsification of business records are and what you have to conclude in order to do that.

With regard to concealment of another crime. What is that other crime? What could it be and what mens rea -- that is a fancy term, as Jim will tell you, for the mental state, right, that needs to be applied with respect to reaching those conclusions.

So, really looking for the judge to instruct the jury on the applicable principles that they have to apply to the case in order to render a verdict that, the judge will inform them, has to be unanimous -- all have to agree -- in order to make a determination as to guilt or lack thereof.

BERMAN: And Jim, in these jury instructions there are a few really key pressure points. One is Donald Trump is charged with falsifying documents to cover up these payments to Stormy Daniels. No one is saying that he sat there with a pen or a pencil and literally wrote the documents out. What the prosecution says is he caused them -- caused them to be falsified.

So what are you listening to in the jury instructions about that language? How Donald Trump caused them to be falsified?

JAMES SCHULTZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: So that's going to be the key point in this case, right, and this is where Michael Cohen's testimony is the key point in this case.

As it relates to jury instructions, the fact that they were caused, what does that mean, right? Does that mean that Donald Trump had to specifically instruct?

Obviously, he didn't have to make the business record himself, but he had to have -- he had to have caused them to -- caused them to be -- to -- those business records to be fraudulently entered in a way by directing them or otherwise causing that to happen. And the only person that corroborates that testimony -- the only person that corroborates that is Michael Cohen.

[07:35:10]

BERMAN: The prosecution would say they have put a -- what they call a mountain of circumstantial evidence to suggest that Donald Trump caused it to be falsified because they would say, again, that no document was made in this type of situation without Donald Trump's knowledge or approval. They'll also say he signed the various invoices or not, which shows some kind of intent to also falsify. Well, again, that's the prosecution's argument. The defense will try to blow that -- or did try to blow that up with Michael Cohen. Joey, another key part of this is that to make this a felony, they'll have to falsify the documents in order to conceal or cover up another crime. In this case, that other crime is a campaign finance violation. And during the closing arguments we heard both sides go after that. The prosecution suggesting, in a way, this is a type of clear garden variety campaign finance violation. Michael Cohen put $130,000 into something that was to help the campaign. Donald Trump reimbursed him. That's illegal.

What instruction are you looking for in there?

JACKSON: Yeah, I think that's very critical, Jim (sic). And just taking a step back before, say, taking a step forward, you talked about the circumstantial evidence in response, right, to what Jim had to say. They'll be instruction as to that, right? What does circumstantial evidence mean and what does direct evidence mean? Direct, you see it. Circumstantial evidence is circumstances provides for it.

I come indoors and I'm soaking wet. You look outside and, you know, you might not see rain but you can conclude it was just raining. I'm soaking wet, right? Circumstantial evidence. In terms of -- and so, they'll be instructed to that.

As to, specifically, this other crime, that's a big issue. I think there was a lot made over why in terms of due process. What is due process, right, John? Notice in the opportunity to be heard. And I think the criticism was what is that specific other crime that the prosecutor is talking about? Is it a tax crime? Is it a campaign finance crime? What is it?

And so, specifically, I think in the instructions, the judge will talk about the other crime, What you have to do to get to the other crime, and what specifically is a violation as it relates to the other crime. That's what I'm looking for.

BERMAN: And after the jury instructions, the jury goes behind closed doors. I didn't get a chance to talk to you about that. But the fact of the matter is no one knows what happens behind closed doors with a jury because it depends on the jury, and it depends on the case. It can go any direction.

Jim Schultz, great to see you. Thanks for being with us. Joey Jackson, you as well -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A hearing is set to happen today in Kentucky in the case against the world's top golfer, Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler is not expected to appear in court but his attorneys tell CNN that their goal is to get the charges dismissed.

You'll remember he was arrested earlier this month at the gates of the PGA Championship. It happened after an encounter with police who were directing traffic at the time. Scheffler faces several charges, including felony second-degree assault on a police officer.

Two people are missing after an explosion in Youngstown, Ohio. This is the aftermath of it. This happened yesterday. The city's fire chief says the cause of the explosion in the city's downtown area is under investigation, but they believe it may have been the result of a gas leak. The explosion also left seven people wounded.

And for the first time, Major League Baseball will incorporate Negro League stats into its historical records. This is according to new reporting from USA Today. The decision, which is expected to be announced and go into effect today, is a long time coming and will also alter the record books.

It will mean national baseball Hall of Famer Josh Gibson will be the MLB's new all-time career leader in batting average ahead of Ty Cobb. Gibson will also dethrone Babe Ruth as the career leader in slugging percentage.

It was 3 1/2 years ago that Major League Baseball first recognized the Negro League as Major League -- John.

BERMAN: It's a huge milestone. Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Buck O'Neil some of the greatest players ever to walk the face of the earth.

All right, Kate, new developments today. I'm outside Manhattan Criminal Court here. But new developments today surrounding the U.S. Supreme Court -- specifically, The New York Times reporting on Justice Samuel Alito and the flag that was flown outside his home -- outside Washington -- surrounding the insurrection January 6. The inverted American flag upside-down, which many people see as a sign of support for the insurrection. There were upside-down American flags flown on January 6 -- one flown at Justice Samuel Alito's house.

And now, The New York Times has new reporting on what some allege to be the confrontation that led to the Alitos -- or Mrs. Alito flying that flag upside-down -- in new information that another family on the block actually called the police to talk about what was going on.

Let's get right to Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic with us right now. So, Joan, what are we learning?

[07:40:02]

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Good to see you, John.

Yes, the saga continues. But just to remind everyone about why we care about this. That flag that you just showed was a symbol of the Stop the Steal movement. It was flown at the Alito home right after January 6 when pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol complaining about the election results that gave the election validly to Joe Biden.

And just further bringing in the context, John, right now, the Supreme Court itself, with Samuel Alito, is considering two important cases arising from those events. One, whether the January 6 rioters should be charged under an obstruction criminal statute for -- involving obstruction of a criminal -- official proceeding. And the other involving Donald Trump and his immunity claim arising from a lot of the protests over the 2020 election results.

So what has come now is new New York Times reporting that involves a recording that neighbors of the Alitos made in February 2021. And this timeline is going to be important -- or potentially important, John.

The New York Times has obtained a tape of these neighbors calling Fairfax County Police complaining about Mrs. Alito -- Martha-Ann Alito. They had gotten into a confrontation with Mrs. Alito over yard signs that were anti-Donald Trump signs. There had been some yelling. And these people called the police. And what The New York Times reports was on the tape was something to the effect of somebody in a position of authority needs to talk to her and make her stop.

Now, I want to stress, John, that CNN has not heard this recording. CNN has not verified this. And CNN has tried to reach Justice Samuel Alito for clarification and not gotten any kind of an answer. '

He originally had told The New York Times that the reason the flag was flying in front of his home in January of 2021 -- this symbol of Stop the Steal -- was because his wife Martha-Ann had been involved in this confrontation and was actually just protesting these neighbors. It had nothing to do with January 6 or Stop the Steal. He had cast it that way.

But this new New York Times reporting suggests that the real confrontation with the neighbors came later in February after the flag had actually been hoisted up, John.

BERMAN: It's an interesting new development in that timeline, to be sure.

Joan Biskupic, thank you so much for that -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: There is new detail coming out this morning about the suspect linked to a string of stabbings in Massachusetts. The suspect will now also face criminal charges in Connecticut. Jared Ravizza is who we are talking about. He was arraigned yesterday on four charges stemming from an attack in a McDonald's in Massachusetts on Saturday. Prosecutors are also connecting Ravizza to the stabbing of four girls at a movie theater.

CNN's Athena Jones is here. And pick up the story from here, Athena, because there is a lot going on, And the connection now to a homicide in Connecticut. What are you hearing?

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot going on. You mentioned those four girls. That investigation is still underway.

But Ravizza appeared in court to face charges, including armed assault with intent to murder, and now is being ordered to undergo a further mental health evaluation. After an initial evaluation, the court psychologist testified Ravizza had difficulty with mental health issues for the last two years or so and does not demonstrate the rational capacity to work with his attorney.

Here is more from that court psychologist, Dr. Kimberly Bistis. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. KIMBERLY BISTIS, COURT PSYCHOLOGIST: It's evident seeing signs and symptoms of an active psychotic illness evidenced by serious delusions in which he believes that his family is involved with the mafia, and he is being controlled by multiple sources outside of him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So there you speak about -- you heard the doctor speak about very serious delusions. This psychologist said Ravizza could answer basic questions about the charges against the suspect but would burst into tears suddenly and was distractable.

So undergoing further evaluation now for about 20 days -- over the course of 20 days within the strict security of Bridgewater State Hospital.

Now, the prosecution has filed a motion to detain Ravizza without bail, of course, but that's going to be considered after this initial -- or after this further evaluation. The next court date is June 17.

As you mentioned, though, authorities in Connecticut say police there have now connected Ravizza to a death that's going on -- that happened in Connecticut over the weekend in Deep River. According to state police, investigating troopers discovered a man later identified as 70-year-old Bruce Feldman outside of a home in Deep River, Connecticut. During the initial evaluation, they discovered -- they discovered material from Ravizza that suggested that he had been there before. And so, now they are investigating that and say criminal charges are pending.

[07:45:06]

So a lot going on in this case. It appears Ravizza is connected to this death in Deep River, Connecticut. Police in Massachusetts believe Ravizza is responsible for slashing those four girls between the ages of nine and 17 at a movie theater on Saturday. And then, he's now -- Ravizza was in court to face charges on the last stabbing that they say was connected with the stabbing at the McDonald's in Plymouth.

BOLDUAN: So now we've got a mental health evaluation that's going to continue further -- that. And clearly, much more to learn coming -- that will be coming out in court, and an investigation.

JONES: Yes, indeed.

BOLDUAN: Athena, thank you so much for putting it all together. It is a lot.

Coming up for us still, the munitions used in the deadly strike in Rafah were made in the United States. The new CNN analysis of the aftermath of that Israeli strike.

And for the first time in months, Americans are feeling a bit better about the economy. So what is behind the boost in confidence? (COMMERCIAL)

[07:50:20]

BOLDUAN: For the first time since January, Americans are feeling better about the economy. A new survey showing the boost in confidence is driven by a more positive jobs market.

CNN's Matt Egan has much more on this. OK, so what kind of boost are we actually talking about here, Matt?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Kate, it is notable that consumer confidence did finally go in the right direction after three straight months of declines. The reading in May, 102, up significantly from April. This was unexpected because some other consumer surveys -- most notably, University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey -- they actually got worse recently.

This confidence measure, though, is particularly sensitive to the jobs market, and the fact that gas prices have been tame, and the Dow hit 40,000. All of that helps.

But let's look at the trend. What stands out to me here is that confidence really remains pretty subdued when you zoom out, right? Even though the stock market has never been higher, and unemployment is historically low, Americans are feeling worse than they did in 2021 and really, worse than they did pre-COVID under Trump.

And, of course, a lot of this goes to the cost of living.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

EGAN: When you dig into this report there are some mixed signals. Now, on the positive side, young Americans and wealthy Americans -- they are feeling more confident. They are more optimistic about the stock market. And fewer said jobs are hard to get.

But on the negative side, Americans are bracing for prices to go even higher. They're very cautious on housing. We're talking about very low levels -- 12-year lows for the amount of people who say they want to buy a home. And purchasing plans for vehicles remained quite depressed, according to this survey.

So I think when you put all of it together it's certainly good news that consumer confidence is going in the right direction. But I think if you're sitting in the White House, you need these numbers to get even better.

BOLDUAN: It's heading -- it's heading in the direction they would like, though. I guess that is one thing.

But all along there's -- I mean, there has been talk for so long if and when we are going to see a -- see a recession here with all the volatility that we're seeing. What are you -- are people still afraid of that? EGAN: Well, that was one of the surprising things in this survey. Look at this. More than two-thirds of consumers say that they think that a recession is either somewhat or very likely over the next 12 months. That stands in stark contrast to other signals.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

EGAN: Just one in three CEOs say that. Over on Wall Street, they're not worried about an imminent recession because we see the stock market at record highs.

So, Kate, I think this is just another reminder that the mood on Main Street remains cautious --

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

EGAN: -- an inflation-weary Americans -- they're just waiting for the next shoe to drop.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. They want to -- they want to see more before they start feeling that much more --

EGAN: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you, Matt. Thank you so much.

EGAN: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: All right. We've got new reporting this morning that the airstrike in Rafah -- the Israeli airstrike in Rafah that left many civilians dead there -- that it used munitions manufactured in the United States.

Let's get right to Priscilla Alvarez at the White House this morning. Priscilla, what's the administration saying about this?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, this was an incident John that gained wide condemnation around the world, and we are now learning that it was U.S.-made munitions that were used.

Now, we have asked the White House for a comment on this. They have not weighed in yet. The Pentagon, though, did, saying in a statement, "I do not know what type of munition was used in that airstrike." -- referring to the Israeli airstrike. "I'd have to refer you to the Israelis to speak to that."

Now, of course, we are learning more details about these munitions through a CNN analysis of video at the scene. Now, that video captured the tail of a GBU-39 small diameter bomb. You can see some of the images there. According to weapons experts, these are designed to strategically target important points. But we still also saw all the collateral that was involved in that with the deaths of dozens of people. Now, the White House, yesterday, maintained that they -- that Israel

has not crossed a red line. Remember, President Biden did issue a warning that if a red line was crossed, he was willing to hold back some offensive weapons to Israel. The White House saying that this has not amounted to that. Rather, saying that they have not seen a major ground operation in Rafah, which is what they're warning against, and that there will not be any policy changes at this time.

Now, the National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby was asked by reporters whether the U.S. will launch their own assessment of the incidents, and this is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, SPOKESPERSON, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: It is their operation -- their troops involved. Their capabilities, their pilots. They have the obligation to investigate this themselves and they'll do that. And we will take a look at it and then see what it says.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, U.S. officials say that President Biden is being regularly updated on this, but the president has not yet commented publicly -- John.

[07:55:06]

BERMAN: All right, Priscilla Alvarez at the White House. Keep us posted on that. Thank you very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are headed to battleground Pennsylvania today. The mission, work to win back the support of Black voters. A piece of the coalition that helped put Joe Biden in the White House in 2020 is also now a slice of the electorate that polls suggest Donald Trump is making headway with.

Joining us right now is communications director for the Biden 2024 campaign, Michael Tyler. It's good to see you, Michael. Thanks for coming in.

President Biden launching this nationwide effort --

MICHAEL TYLER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BIDEN 2024 CAMPAIGN: Good morning, and thanks for having me.

BOLDUAN: -- to mobilize Black voters today. How much work do you need to do to keep that coalition that helped get Joe Biden elected the first time around?

TYLER: Yeah. Well, again, thanks for having me.

This campaign knows that Black voters are going to be key to the Biden-Harris coalition and key to our pathway to victory, and we are not going to take any single voter for granted. Black voters were key to our victory in 2020 and they're going to be key to the victory in 2024 because Black voters have the most at stake, frankly. And so, we are going to communicate relentlessly with Black voters across the country. That is happening today in Philadelphia, to your point, with both the president and the vice president.

But all summer long, this campaign is going to be partnering with organizations on the ground, tapping into grassroots networks and making sure that we're not simply just running ads on the airwaves but we're having conversations on the ground so that voters in every single community understand a) what this administration has done for Black communities. Record low Black unemployment. Black wealth growing by 60 percent since before the pandemic. The historic investments that we've made into HBCUs to the tune of $16 billion.

That they understand the stakes and the threat that Donald Trump poses to our communities, right?

So we're going to relentlessly do that day in and day out until November because again, Black voters are the ones who have the absolute most at stake in this election and we're not going to take a single vote for granted. We're going to earn those votes.

BOLDUAN: My colleague, Harry Enten, had a recent analysis on how Trump is gaining ground with Black voters. He -- that -- from his analysis that Trump has doubled his support among Black voters from this point four years ago, in part because he's polling in a quarter of Black voters under 50 in polling analysis.

Why is that?

TYLER: Well listen, we know right now that we're operating in an incredibly fractured and fragmented media environment, and you still have a lot of young voters, in particular, who have not yet tuned in to the presidential election. And so that's why this campaign is relentlessly focused on reaching voters where they are right now. Not waiting until September or October, as some campaigns have done in the past, to reach out to Black voters -- young, Black voters, in particular -- but using every tool at our disposal right now to do so.

And frankly, despite what Trump and his team say, this is the only campaign that is actively and aggressively doing that. This is the campaign that has the organizing apparatus up and running. This is the campaign that is running sustained paid media investments targeting young, Black voters.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign, despite what they say -- yeah, they may hold a rally in the Bronx or anywhere else, but they are shuttering their minority outreach centers in the key battleground states. They're not running paid advertisements in a consistent way to reach young, Black voters --

BOLDUAN: But Michael, don't you -- do you agree with the statement that if you don't improve those numbers --

TYLER: -- who will decide this election.

BOLDUAN: Do you agree, though, if you don't improve -- don't improve your numbers, your chances to winning the White House again are shot?

TYLER: Yeah. What I'm telling you is that this campaign is doing the work to win Black voters and all voters who are going to decide the pathway to 270 electoral votes in November.

That's what our sustained efforts are geared towards. They're not geared towards moving a poll in April or May of 2024. It's geared towards maintaining consistent, long-term relationships with the voters who are going to decide this election. There's only one campaign that is doing that on a consistent basis and that's Joe Biden's.

BOLDUAN: Yesterday, you were in Lower Manhattan with Robert De Niro and January 6 police officers speaking out about Donald Trump. We heard Robert De Niro talking about what he says is Donald Trump's continued threat to democracy.

What was the real reason why you all went down there for the first time in the five weeks or six weeks of testimony and how long this trial is going? Why go down there yesterday? Why go before cameras yesterday down there, drawing attention to that courthouse?

TYLER: Well look, last week, we said that we were going to be talking day in and day out about the stakes of the election and the run-up to the first presidential debate on CNN on June 27 in Atlanta.

This week is about doing exactly that. It's been a media circus down at the courthouse in Manhattan. All of the news media has been posted up running visuals of that day in and day out relentlessly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

And so, we used it as an opportunity to directly address the American people about the fundamental threat that Donald Trump poses to our democracy. That is what the president is going to talk about with Donald Trump on the debate stage if he does show up in June.