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Jury to Begin Deliberations Today; New Details about Controversial Flag at Justice Alito's Home; Biden and Harris Campaign in Pennsylvania. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 29, 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]

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Mean so much in terms of tourism, in terms of survival for indigenous tribes and others who rely on these fisheries for healthy - these could be toxic in many cases if the levels get too high of that orange rust there, changing not only the color, but the whole biology and ecology of these systems right now. So, another alarming red flag of what's happening in the climate crisis.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, thanks for putting it together and explaining it so well, Bill.

It's great to see you. Thank you so much.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm standing outside the Manhattan criminal court. This is CNN's special live coverage of the criminal case against Donald Trump.

And today is the day the jury gets the case. A case that began 44 days ago with jury selection. Today, the jury deliberations begin.

In just about one hour, court will open here. The judge will instruct the jury. Then they will go behind closed doors. And how long it takes, we just do not know.

Thirty-four counts against the former president, charged with falsifying documents all to cover up payments to Stormy Daniels to influence the 2016 election. Prosecutors say this is a case about election fraud.

I do understand we're seeing pictures from outside Trump Tower. Donald Trump will leave his home there, head down here. He has been speaking before he heads into the courtroom. I do have to say, today, if he speaks before going in, it could be particularly interesting. This could be one of the last times we hear from Donald Trump before there is a verdict.

The next time you hear from him, it is possible he could be a convicted felon, or the converse there, he could be acquitted of criminal charges. Either way, this is unprecedented territory.

With me here, CNN's Brynn Gingras, who's been here since the beginning of the trial and will be here today to witness history.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wednesdays actually are usually a dark day and we're on your turf in the studio.

BERMAN: Not dark today.

GINGRAS: Not dark today. Here they are ready and willing to come, those jurors, to start their deliberations. They stayed late last night for those closing arguments. A marathon of closing arguments. And again, getting started at 10:00 this morning.

That's when the judge is going to read the jury instructions. That is, of course, how they are meant to interpret the law as it applies to all this evidence that they have heard over the last several weeks. Such a critical part of this process. And it's right before those jurors go behind closed doors and begin those deliberations.

Seven men, five women. The six alternates are going to be in a separate area of the courthouse while those main 12 jurors deliberate.

What we also understand during this process, what's going to happen today, is that Donald Trump, his defense team, will also be inside the courthouse, but not in the courtroom, waiting to see, are there any notes that come forward, any questions about all that evidence that they're reviewing, or is there a verdict that comes out today? We obviously don't know that answer.

But it's going to be an eventful day. Of course, you actually noted that there is a lot more security around here today.

BERMAN: Yes.

GINGRAS: And it does feel that way. There are certainly more barricades that we saw that were brought in yesterday, sort of set up around this courthouse area, preparing for possibly any protests that could come if a verdict does come. We do know that the courthouse security is in touch with the NYPD, as they have been throughout this entire process. But should a verdict come down, our reporting is that there will be a communication again, that one is there, and there might be more personnel, even more so than what we're seeing today, brought to this area to prepare for anything that could come.

BERMAN: Yes, a lot of security. A lot of press here. I would say, the street sweeper has gone by three times. So, the cleanest city block in all of Manhattan, to say the least.

All right, Brynn Gingras, thank you very much.

GINGRAS: Yes.

BERMAN: As we said, history will be made here shortly.

With me now, CNN legal analyst Jennifer Rodgers and Michael Moore.

Michael, Brynn was talking about these jury instructions. I had a chance to talk to Jen about it a little while ago. I want to know what you are listening for here because this hour of discussion between the judge and the jury before they deliberated, it's just crucial.

MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It is.

I'm glad to be with all of you this morning.

This is an important time. And this is the time that the jury actually will hear from the judge, who, by all accounts, has a good relationship and rapport with them. And he'll tell them what the law is. He's going to basically say, here's the law as it - in this state, and you need to apply it to these facts. And so your decision - your discussions need to center around, how do the facts fit the law if they do.

And so he'll talk about things like reasonable doubt. That's going to be important. He'll talk about the issues of dealing with intent, and what intent is required, criminal intent. He may talk about whether or not a motive is actually required. He may get into explaining whether or not there has to be some more indication about this second violation, or this second law that was to be violated.

And we'll also get to hear a little bit about what he talks about witness credibility, an impeachment, and how it's within their provenance alone to make decisions about who they believe, how much they believe, whether they want to discount something that's said and how they may receive or accept evidence that did not come in.

[09:05:15]

So, missing evidence. What they should do with that.

So, he's - he's got a script. These are pretty standard charges by and large in criminal cases. They're not crafted just for Donald J. Trump. But these - a lot of these charges have been read thousands of times across the country.

And so, you know, we will see. But it's a crucial time because it is a time that the jury will be listening to take instruction from the court.

BERMAN: And, Jen, in reviewing in my head what happened in closing arguments, the three hours of closing arguments from the defense, the nearly five hours of closings from the prosecution, two things jumped out at me. That defense, all about reasonable doubt and Michael Cohen, just hammering that point home. It made me think that that could be a big part of the jury instructions.

And as far as the prosecution goes, they really seem to be focused on the notion that Donald Trump cause the documents to be falsified and also they focused quite a bit on what they see as the election fraud, the clear violations of election laws.

Why those focuses?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you're absolutely right, John, that those are the focus. And it's because they have different jobs here, right? The defense's job is just to poke holes. They don't need to go through all of the evidence at trial. In fact, they don't want to do that. They're just trying to say, listen, if you don't find this one thing that means reasonable doubt. That's why the emphasis on Michael Cohen. If you don't believe Michael Cohen, that is reasonable doubt. That's what Todd Blanche said over and over.

The prosecutors have a different job, right, because they carry the burden to prove every single element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. So, in addition to answering the issues that the defense is raising, they have to go through all of the evidence and marshal it all for the jurors and tell them why they've met their burden here. That's why you see prosecutors going on longer because they're rebutting, but also putting this all together for the jurors.

I mean, as a prosecutor, when you end, you want the jury to think three things really. You want them to think, wow, they really answered all of my questions. They really rebutted all of what defense said. And, man, there's a lot of evidence here. So, you kind of have to accomplish all of those things as the prosecution, which is why you saw such a long summation yesterday.

BERMAN: So, Michael, I'm going to ask you an unknowable question with unknowable answers here. What happens inside a jury room? After jury instructions, the jury goes back into the room and then what?

MOORE: Yes, you know, and I've had the great chance to participate in a lot of mock juries, so you do watch it, you know, sort of in a practice run, getting ready for a trial.

You know, you'll see them go back in the jury room. There'll be a discussion about who will be there foreperson, who will be the lead spokesperson to the court. They'll - they'll have a moment to just kind of relax, get things in order, pull their notes out, take a restroom break. These are normal things.

And then somebody will start the discussion. And it may be like, well, why don't we take an initial vote and see sort of where everybody is. And then we can begin to talk about, you know, what we thought about each side's presentation or the evidence that came into the case. And they may go around the room. If you have - I mean you've got two lawyers on this jury. So, this is something that they'll be accustomed to and they'll be thinking about needing to respect the opinions of everybody who's in the jury room. And you may see, if one of those lawyers leads, you may see them suggest that they go around the room and say, you know, tell me what you thought. What did you think? What were the strong points?

You know, and these jurors, I imagine, will be repeating some of the arguments that they heard yesterday from - as it supports their various positions. And that's really what to closing argument was about, was to give them ammunition in the jury room. Those people who may be sort of your - your ambassador to the rest of the jury panel. And so they'll do that.

I don't expect we'll see something to quick. I think that this is a serious case. This jury has been paying attention. They know it's a serious case as it relates to three at least. And so, you know, at some point they'll - they'll continue to take a vote and ultimately may have some questions come to the court. But then we'll see as they get closer to the end of the day where they were.

BERMAN: What questions, Jen Rodgers, worry you the most as a prosecutor?

RODGERS: From the jury? Well, listen, anything that suggests that they're buying into the defenses theories, right? So, you know, let's say they come out with a question that says, if we don't believe Michael Cohen, is it possible to still convict? That would give you pause, right?

Any requests for evidence that seems to favor the defense, like, I want to hear the cross of Michael Cohen, this part of the cross, that would give me pause.

But what you have to remember is kind of what Michael just said. Sometimes they're just using these things to convince each other, right? So, let's say it's 11-1 for conviction, and that one juror says, well, I still have a doubt.

[09:10:01]

I want to hear this piece of the cross back. And they say, fine, let's ask for that. Let's go in and hear it again. So, they sometimes use their questions and requests for evidence to convince each other because that's what it's all about once they go back there. So, as much as prosecutors and the defense like to read into what's coming out of the jury room, it's a little bit dangerous for that reason because you never know exactly why they're asking, whether they all have doubts or maybe just one does.

BERMAN: Reading the tea leaves.

Jennifer Rodgers, Michael Moore, thanks so much to both of you.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: We have new reporting about the phone call to police from Samuel Alito's neighbor, and how it is linked to the controversial flag that was seen flown outside the Supreme Court justice's home.

And federal investigators are making moves that indicate a possible indictment of Sean "Diddy" Combs could be in the works. And CNN has exclusive new reporting on this.

President Biden headed to battleground Pennsylvania today. His new effort to reach out and win back a group of his winning 2020 coalition that are voters not to certain to be with him this time around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:56]

BOLDUAN: There are new details coming out about the controversial flag seen outside Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito's home. "The New York Times" is now reporting neighbors called the police in February of 2021 after they saw - after they say that they were harassed by Alito's wife in a dispute over yard signs.

This all started earlier this month when "The Times" reported on a picture appearing to show an upside-down American flag flying outside of their home just days before President Joe Biden's inauguration. The upside down flag is a symbol used by election deniers in 2020.

CNN's Joan Biskupic is joining us right now with some more on this.

Joan, can you walk us through now this new reporting?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Sure, Kate. It's good to see you.

Let's step back for a minute and consider why we even care about this neighborhood squabble from three years ago. At the center of it is this important symbol of the stop the steal movement from January 6th, and the protests over President Joe Biden's valid win at the polls in 2020 and all that Donald Trump did - Donald Trump and his supporters did to protest that.

The question was, that we all were concerned about, starting with some original "New York Times" reporting, was why the Alito family was flying an upside down U.S. flag that was a symbol of the stop the steal.

Now, Justice Alito told "The New York Times" that the flag was flown in protest by his wife to some neighbors, having nothing to do with January 6th or protesting the election.

So, this new timeline from "The New York Times" just kind of adds another piece. And again, Kate, the reason we even care about this is kind of what the justice has laid out in terms of potentially his own partisan position and the fact that right now the justices are considering two important cases arising from the events of January 6th. One, of course, is Donald Trump's claim of immunity from any criminal liability for election subversion. And the other involves whether January 6th rioters who stormed the Capitol would be liable for an obstruction of official proceeding charge. So, that's why we care.

"The New York Times" new reporting involves a recording that was made by neighbors of the Alito's when they complained after a confrontation with Martha-Ann Alito. And they apparently called the Fairfax County Police and were talking about how she had been yelling at them about their anti-Trump signs.

And one of the quotes that was in "The Times" report was, these neighbors saying to the Fairfax County Police, somebody in a position of authority needs to talk to her and make her stop. And apparently the police officer is heard saying, you know, it's - we can't - we can't investigate just yelling. Please call us when an event is actually taking place.

But the reason this comes into play now is that that incident actually occurred, according to "The New York Times" report, in February 2021, not January 2021, which just raises a conflict about why was that flag even hoisted in the first place. Was it in response to these neighbors or was it more accurately conveying some political statement?

Now, CNN has not verified the tape recording or this most recent reporting. And we have reached out multiple times to Justice Alito just trying to get some clarification here, Kate, about this incident that has raised so many questions about potential conflicts of interest on the part of Justice Alito.

BOLDUAN: Which is what this - what this - however this shakes out, what that gets to is the - is - is the bigger concerns at the Supreme Court.

It's good to see you, Joan. Thank you very much.

And we are on verdict watch as the jury in Donald Trump's criminal trial will get the case this morning after weeks and weeks of testimony. We are keeping an eye to, again, every time I turn it's cue the bus. Cue the bus.

And outside of Donald Trump's apartment you see one of his sons right there standing by where they're going to be leaving Trump Tower and heading down to lower Manhattan once again because it's about to get underway.

[09:20:02]

We're also tracking this. Major League Baseball has a new all-time career leader in batting average. But the man who now holds the record retired more than 75 years ago. The history making moves happening with Major League Baseball today.

And as we head to break, take a look at these live pictures of a volcano erupting in Iceland. The eruption has forced the evacuation of the country's famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa and tourist hotspots near - a tourist hotspot that this is -- this volcano is - this is the volcanoes second time erupting just this year. Easy for me to say. Look at the pictures.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:25:40]

BERMAN: All right, welcome back. Standing by outside Manhattan criminal court were later this morning, not very long from now, jury deliberations will begin in the criminal case against Donald Trump.

While that is going on, the man that Donald Trump is running against for president of the United States, that would be President Joe Biden, is headed to Pennsylvania, along with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Let's get right to the White House. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is there.

Where are they going, what are they doing, and why, Priscilla?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're going to make their third stop in the city of Philadelphia, a crucial city for the president as he tries to clinch that victory in November.

Of course, the president here is trying to shore up support among black voters. They were a critical part of the coalition in 2020 and really propelled him to victory.

But polls have recently shown waning enthusiasm among this voter bloc in particular, including a shift toward his Republican rival Donald Trump. But even more concerning for the campaign is voters just not going to the polls. And so this is a stop in Philadelphia where he will be joined by the vice president to again try to stoke enthusiasm among voters and list off the accomplishments of his administration and try to outline how it has helped their communities.

Of course, this is part of a month's long effort by the White House. They also commemorated Brown v. Board of Education and also did campaign stops in Atlanta. And the president gave a commencement address at Morehouse College. So taken together, you can really see how the campaign is trying to make more inroads in the black community, knowing how important this vote is going to be for them in November.

John.

BERMAN: So, Priscilla, obviously I'm standing outside the Manhattan criminal court. What plans are there, if any, for President Biden to say anything about this case after there's a verdict?

ALVAREZ: Well, we're waiting to see whether he does. We've heard from sources that he could potentially after a verdict is reached. But even so, the campaign is already digging in. Yesterday, in a dramatic reversal, the Biden campaign was just outside that courtroom while those closing arguments were underway, where they tried to draw that stark contrast between President Biden and former President Donald Trump. This, of course, and huge shift from where they've been, where it was really light trolling on fundraising emails. But this was the most outspoken that they have been in New York City, so in the location of this hearing.

Now, earlier today, that campaign was asked about how they came to this decision. Take a listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL TYLER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BIDEN 2024 CAMPAIGN: Last week we said that we were going to be talking day in and day out about the stakes of the election in the run-up to the first presidential debate on CNN on June 27th 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. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, the Biden campaign maintains that they're not changing their strategy, but clearly, John, they are entering a new, more aggressive phase of the campaign.

BERMAN: All right, Priscilla Alvarez, at the White House. Priscilla, thank you very much.

Just got word that Donald Trump has departed Trump Tower, headed down here to Manhattan criminal court. Safe to assume we could hear from him before court begins today at 10:00. That is when the judge will give the jury instructions to the men and women who will decide the fate of Donald Trump.

It is worth noting, Donald Trump leaving Trump Tower, perhaps for the last time before he becomes either, a, a convicted felon, or, b, acquitted of charges. I suppose, c, there could be a hung jury as well, although that would likely last beyond today if that were to take place.

With me now, CNN political analyst and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona. Also here, Jason Osborne, former senior adviser to the Trump 2016 campaign.

And, Jason, let me just start with you. Is there a separation today between the legal world and the political world, or is where I'm standing the center of every universe today?

JASON OSBORNE, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP 2016 CAMPAIGN: I think anywhere where Trump is, it's the center of his political world, right?

[09:30:01]

I mean I think you can't distinguish between the two. And, unfortunately, I think for the folks on the opposite side of Donald Trump in this is.