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Day 4 Of Hunter Biden's Gun Trial Underway; Biden Makes Play For Anti-Trump Republicans; Serial Killer Suspect Rex Heuermann Indicted On 2 New Murder Charges. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired June 06, 2024 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: I think we can expect some more details that people outside of the courtroom are going to be very interested in. What are you looking for?
HARRY LITMAN, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Yes. Well, and also his mom's been there regularly. His aunt has been there. Obviously, it's a family that's showing support. And that's the kind of thing, even though it's not evidence, that I do think jury's take note of.
I do you think what's left -- I mean, really, again, if you zero in on the statement on the 18th, Hallie is the big witness. And other -- other witnesses will be.
As they started with -- with his memoir, showing that, indeed, he was -- had really descended into terrible crack cocaine use. As he said in his book, all he thought about was the pipe and the next place to get it. I think that sort of evidence will be reaffirmed.
Interesting, what, if anything, they'll try to prove on the defense. Because everything has been testified to so far really, they don't contest. They say show us exactly that that statement was made under false pretenses.
But and other things, all the -- all the ugly details they absolutely admit to.
KEILAR: Yes. More ahead. We'll be watching.
Harry Litman, thank you so much.
And still ahead, chipping away. How the Biden campaign is targeting Republican voters fed up with former President Trump.
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[14:35:53]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Today, President Biden is expected to make his most direct play yet to turn anti-Trump Republicans into pro-Biden voters.
The Biden campaign is expected to announce the addition of a national GOP engagement director to lead that effort. A key target, the consistent 20 percent of primary voters who backed Nikki Haley long after she suspended her campaign.
The new director is Austin Weatherford. He was a chief of staff for former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger.
We're joined now by CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere to break down the details.
So, Isaac, help us understand the strategy here.
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, look, there are, as you said, a consistent 20 percent or so of Republican voters in primaries that have been turning out and voting for Nikki Haley.
The Biden campaign looks at these and say, these aren't Nikki Haley voters. They're anti-Donald Trump voters.
And that if they can get a sliver of those voters, if they can get those people who don't like Donald Trump for a whole host of reasons, who think he an existential threat, who don't like that he's been convicted of crimes now, whatever it is, that those are voters that could be the margin of victory in a lot of these key states.
And you see that coming up over and over again. The question though is whether Republicans are actually going to turn out for Biden or at the very least not turn out for Trump and maybe just stay home.
SANCHEZ: Yes. And it looks like we've got some numbers there.
DOVERE: Yes.
SANCHEZ: It's roughly in the neighborhood of 20 percent. These sort of zombie primary voters that Haley got support from.
We've heard a number of Republicans that the Biden team apparently wants to have some outreach with. Notably, one name that isn't on the list is former President Bush.
DOVERE: Yes.
SANCHEZ: You think Biden is going to try to get his people
DOVERE: I've talked to a lot of Republicans for the story that's on our side. And one of the people that the Biden campaign reached out to in 2020 was George W Bush. They tried to get him to endorse then. There was some conversation about it. It didn't happen.
But Bush has made it very clear with a lot of his comments that he is not a MAGA guy. he's not a Donald Trump fan. And yet, he also still feels very seriously that a former president should be out of the public and political spotlight.
So if he does make a move - and there are some people who are still pushing for him to get involved -- then it'll be a surprise, but it would obviously be the biggest Republican name out there. SANCHEZ: Yes. No question about that.
And Edward-Isaac Dovere, thanks so much for the reporting. Appreciate it.
DOVERE: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, the Gilgo Beach killings suspect is now facing charges in six deaths spanning three decades. CNN was in court as he was indicted on new murder charges. We'll give you the latest after a quick break.
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[14:43:01]
KEILAR: Rex Heuermann, the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer, has just been charged with two additional murders. New York investigators say one of the slayings goes as far back as 1993, and that brings his total suspected body count to at least six.
Prosecutors are also saying that they found a document at Heuermann's home that laid out how to get away with serial murder.
CNN national correspondent, Brynn Gingras, has been following this story since the beginning.
Brynn, we're learning about some explosive new evidence. What can you tell us?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, what we've learned today in court is so explosive it really changed the course of this investigation as to what we know so far.
Meaning like the M.O. that we once thought of, Rex Heuermann, according to prosecutors that changed over years. The timeframe of when these murders might have occurred actually got longer. The geography or where these bodies were dumped is now in different places.
So there was a lot of information that came out of today's court proceedings.
But I want to warn you about this document. It could be disturbing to our viewers as I sort of describe it to you. I tell you what, it was disturbing when were inside court.
At one point, we heard audible gasps as the assistant prosecutor was explaining this new evidence to the judge. One person even said aloud, "I want to vomit."
Basically what it is, is it a document, a manifesto, as prosecutors described, that was found on a computer of Heuermann's, according to these court documents.
It was found basically to have a written up in very great detail, not necessarily about the murders, but how to murder, and how to get away with it, how not to get caught, how to prep a body like, for example, remove tattoos from the body.
Or when not to get caught, make sure you use -- or don't use a credit card, rather, when you are purchasing gas. And to have your story straight, if you were to be interrogated by investigator. Such great detail.
Investigators say this was a blueprint for Rex Heuermann and the killings of now he's charged with six people.
[14:45:02]
It was, again, incredibly revealing in court and incredibly disturbing. I want you to hear from the prosecutor and Heuermann's defense attorney in regard to this document.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYMOND TIERNEY, SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: She was found on her -- on her back. She was decapitated and her hands and arms were severed just below the elbows. Notably, her -- a tattoo she had had been obliterated with a sharp object.
Eight years later, the -- her arms and skull were found on Ocean Parkway. That those -- those remains were found on the same side of the road on the Ocean Parkway as the Gilgo Four.
MICHAEL BROWN, REX HEUERMANN'S ATTORNEY: He's obviously horrified by new charges, new murder allegations. We didn't have much of a conversation, but new charges are always horrific. And, yes, he's in a bad place in terms of the new charges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRAS: All right, right there was the defense attorney. Before that, you heard from the Suffolk County district attorney describing the death of Jessica Taylor.
I want to talk to you guys about these new two charges against Rex Heuermann of two women who they now link to him.
Jessica Taylor, as you just heard him describe, found dismembered. Her body found on Long Island in 2003. More body parts were found eight years later, the same location as where, of course, the Gilgo Four, the women who were first linked to Rex Heuermann, who he's already been charged with.
So there was that link there. They also say there's more evidence, including witnesses seeing his car in a place that was familiar with where the Gilgo Four were buried.
Also, some DNA evidence, including hairs found on Taylor's body, linked to Heuermann.
The other victim here is Sandra Castillo. Her body was found in 1993. This now could be the earliest victim that we know of. According to investigators of Rex Heuermann DNA, they say links Castillo to Heuermann.
So just incredible amount of evidence, guys, to come out of this court hearing. Now, six charges against the serial killer -- accused serial killer, Rex Heuermann -- guys?
KEILAR: Wow, Brynn, pretty startling details there.
Brynn Gingras, live for is on Long Island, thank you for that.
Still ahead, after record highs, the stock market is going through a stubborn slump. Investors are pulling out money at record rates. But is that the right move?
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[14:51:53]
SANCHEZ: And now to some of the other headlines were watching this hour.
Salvage crews have now removed the last piece of steel from the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse that was still at the bottom of the channel.
Remember the bridge collapsed back in March when the cargo ship "Dali" hit it, killing six construction workers. It also wound up cutting off access to one of the country's busiest shipping ports.
Removing the last piece of the bridge means more ships can now use that channel. Authorities hope to have it fully reopen in the next week or so.
Also, opening arguments started today in a multi-billion-dollar antitrust suit against the NFL that could change how we watch games. And also how teams make money.
The lawsuit is challenging the legality of the league's Sunday ticket package, which lets fans watch games outside of their local market. It's accusing the NFL of forcing people to pay more just to watch one team.
But the league argues this gives fans the most options at a good value. The lawsuit that was first filed back in 2015 is seeking billions in damages.
KEILAR: And the FDA is reversing its ban on products from vaping company Juul Labs. The FDA first-order Juul's products off the market in 2022. They did remain available while the appeals process played out, however.
The agency now says the products are back under review, but that doesn't mean regulators and made a decision on whether Juul's products will be allowed to stay on shelves.
Juul has been the second-biggest maker of e-cigs in the country over the past few years.
The CNN original series "SECRETS AND SPIES: A NUCLEAR GAME" tracks two of the most -- pardon me -- two of the world's most notorious double agents operating behind the scenes in the 1980s as the Cold War brings two superpowers to the brink of nuclear war.
SANCHEZ: Here's a preview of Sunday's episode.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the world stage, President Reagan is determined to defeat what he calls the evil empire. But another battle is playing out in the shadows.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, becoming a spy for the KGB was ideology.
I am Jack Barsky. That's not the name I was born with. We stole the identity of Jack Barsky who passed away at the young age of 11. I spent 10 years as an illegal undercover agent for the KGB in the United States.
I was 100 percent convinced that Communism was the right thing. That the world eventually would wind up being one happy Communist family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: A new episode of the series "SECRETS AND SPIES: A NUCLEAR GAME" airs Sunday night at 10:00 Eastern and Pacific, only on CNN.
[14:54:46]
KEILAR: And still ahead, former President Trump back out on the campaign trail for the first time since his conviction in his criminal trial. We are live on the trail ahead, on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
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KEILAR: Now emotional and explicit testimony at the trial of Hunter Biden. His former girlfriend and the widow of his brother describing her fears that he could die.
[14:59:53]
All of this is part of the prosecution's case against the president's son, which is one that threatens to put him behind bars and damage his father's reelection campaign.
And back on the trail, former President Trump holds a rally today in Arizona, his first time campaigning as a convicted felon --
