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Decisions in Trump Hush Money Case on Hold; Trump Cabinet Taking Shape. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired November 12, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:28]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: New picks and new questions. Donald Trump is off to a quick start building a team that will help him carry out his agenda, and the new names are giving us insight into what he wants to do and especially how he will handle foreign policy.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And with fewer than 10 weeks until an Inauguration Day, staff at the Justice Department are dreading what changes could be in store. Officials are worried about chaos and potential retribution after Trump returns to the White House.

And, in Haiti, dangerous and increasingly isolated conditions after two passenger airplanes are struck by bullets while flying over the capital. The latest on what happened and how authorities are reacting.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Today, president-elect Trump's incoming administration is really taking shape, as he's picking key loyalists for top spots. Trump has offered South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem the role of homeland security secretary, according to sources. And, if confirmed, Noem's portfolio would include one of Trump's top priorities, border and immigration enforcement.

We're also told that Trump is likely to pick former political rival turned ally Florida Senator Marco Rubio as his secretary of state. And we're also learning the president-elect has asked Florida Congressman Mike Waltz to serve as his national security adviser.

I want to bring in CNN national correspondent Kristen Holmes.

Kristen, tell us about these picks.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Brianna, before we get to these picks, I did just get a little bit more of a development of how this is shaping out.

I have heard that Donald Trump is going to announce a slate of deputy chief of staffs in the coming days of people who will serve by his side. Again, these are people who don't necessarily have to go through the traditional traps here. They are people who are one of -- some of his staunchest loyalists. They are people who are on the campaign plane with them every day for

the last several months of the campaign. They include Dan Scavino, who ran his social media and then became a top adviser. It also includes James Blair, who ran his entire political operation, as well as Stephen Miller, which we reported yesterday.

There are a couple of other names we're trying to run down to make sure that they will be part of that. But, again, these are loyalists who will be part of that team. So now let's talk about those big names, the ones that you just mentioned, in terms of Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem, Mike Waltz.

This is really showing you how the Trump administration is going to prioritize the next four years, particularly when it comes to national security. These are not necessarily, when it comes to Mike Waltz and Marco Rubio, people who are going to beat the hammer home on this isolationist, make America great or America first only policy.

These are people who have a little bit more of a nuanced view.But one thing that they both agree on, they both agree on the fact that China is essentially a number one enemy. And that was one of Donald Trump's big promises, was to take on China. So you're probably going to see a lot of that once they get into office.

The other big thing we're watching, of course, is the immigration space. Now, one of the most interesting things that Donald Trump has, done we talked about Stephen Miller. He's going to be the deputy director of policy, as well as Tom Homan, who is tapped to be a border czar. Neither of those positions have to be approved by Congress.

And those two people are likely to be the most powerful people when it comes to immigration, people who have already advised him who are already making plans to implement some of that policy, particularly when it comes to mass deportations.

KEILAR: It's a very good point.

Kristen Holmes, thank you -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Let's take a closer look at these latest picks with CNN's Tom Foreman.

Tom, let's start with Florida Senator Marco Rubio expected to be announced as secretary of state. He's had a unique trajectory to get to this point, especially in his personal relationship with Donald Trump.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's one of those guys who was trying to take down Trump very hard and then evolved.

Look, 2016, Trump was calling him little Marco. He was calling Trump a con artist. Eventually, he backed him in 2016, then endorsed him in 2020, 2024, and he was a finalist for Trump's V.P. this cycle around. But listen. Listen for a moment to how he reached this point, what they were saying about each other at one point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): Have you seen his hands? They're like this. And you know what they say about men with small hands.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (R) AND CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When little Marco spews his crap about the size of my hands, which are big.

RUBIO: Donald Trump is a con artist.

After a long and spirited primary, the time for fighting each other is over.

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For, leading us in this fight will be a man who although wounded and facing danger, he stood up and raised his fist and reminded us that our people and our country are always worth fighting for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: This is the kind of thing, as you know, drives a lot of voters crazy, because they're like, either you didn't mean that or you don't mean this. What do we do with it?

Nonetheless, he was on the Intel and Foreign Relations Committee. He spent 10 years focused on the China threat theory, the idea that China is a bigger enemy than friend in many ways. And he was sanctioned by China in 2020 for his stances on Hong Kong, and now on board with the Trump team, it appears.

SANCHEZ: Also on board with the Trump team, another lawmaker from Florida, and that is Congressman Mike Waltz, who you have frequently seen here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. He's being tapped to be the NSA adviser.

FOREMAN: Yes, yes, he's a Trump loyalist from the get-go, combat- decorated Green Beret. He served in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa, very, very hawkish about things here.

He was also a former Bush White House policy staffer, very strong. He was one of the people who wanted to boycott the Winter Olympics with China, because he felt this was really a strong area to draw a firm line. So he's on board as well now at this point, it appears, and in his role as national security adviser, important role.

SANCHEZ: Yes, you could argue, irrespective of how you feel about their policies, that, as far as the resume goes, these are relatively conventional picks for these two positions.

FOREMAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: For DHS secretary, though, that's not a typical pick, you would say.

(CROSSTALK) FOREMAN: Yes, not so much. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, she's the governor there, a former congresswoman. She was Trump loyalist from the get-go also. She was on the short list for V.P. as well. And she would oversee Customs and Border Patrol, ICE, FEMA, Secret Service.

These are big, big roles out there, and she's an interesting pick for it. She has also been very hawkish about the border and immigration. Take a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): But, today, many of those who are entering our country under the current policies of the Biden administration are known terrorists, they're criminals, they're human traffickers, and they're drug cartel members.

The United States of America is in a time of invasion. The invasion is coming over our southern border. The 50 states have a common enemy. And that enemy is the Mexican drug cartels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: So, in that sense, sounding the most like Donald Trump out of all of them.

SANCHEZ: So, zooming out, what do these three picks tell you about the second Trump administration? What does it portend for the future?

FOREMAN: Well it's interesting.

For those who are looking for any kind of, as you would say, sort of normal moderation, people see it in sort of a normal sense, there's a little bit of that here. But there's also enough of that extremism, that driving edge that so many who support Donald Trump want.

They all see the China threat as a real thing and something that has to be met. They all question open-ended support of the war in Ukraine. Marco Rubio, for example, suggesting that basically Ukraine should just give up the 20 percent of their country that Russia has seized at this point through some sort of settlement, some sort of a deal.

He may have more details on that, but that's generally what they're driving at. They're all hard-liners on Iran and they all agree that there is a border crisis that has to be addressed. In this sense, none of them would be a problem for Donald Trump. They're all pushing and pulling the same direction that he wants to go.

And whether or not there's moderation in there that will satisfy some other people who are a little concerned about that, well, we will find out.

SANCHEZ: Tom Foreman, thanks so much for breaking that down for us -- Brianna.

KEILAR: The world is also watching president-elect Trump's national security team take shape to see what it means for the war in Ukraine, for the Middle East and for U.S. relations with China.

CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt is here with us now.

And, Alex, let's start with Ukraine and the Middle East. What do his picks tell you?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I think, if you are Ukrainian or Palestinian and you're looking at Mike Waltz and Marco Rubio in those roles, you're getting pretty nervous right now.

Both of those men are seen as ardently pro-Israel and wanting to end the war in Ukraine sooner in a way that would suggest potentially significant compromise by Ukraine. Now, that's not to say that they don't favor a strong and independent Ukraine. They just disagree with the Biden administration's level of support, saying that it will be with you as long as it takes.

Mike Waltz in fact wrote recently that is a recipe for disaster. It's not just about Ukrainian compromise either. It is pressuring Russia in a way economically, militarily that would also bring them to the table in a way that a political, diplomatic solution could be negotiated sooner.

Here's what the two men have both said recently about Ukraine:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: I think the Ukrainians have been incredibly brave and strong and standing up to Russia, but at the end of the day what we are funding here is a stalemate war. It needs to be brought to a conclusion because that country is going to be set back 100 years.

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Now, that doesn't mean that we celebrate what Vladimir Putin did or are excited about it, but I think there has to also be some common sense here.

REP. MICHAEL WALTZ (R-FL): There is a way to drive this war to an end. We can do it economically. We can do it diplomatically. And let's end this war, rather than perpetuating it in perpetuity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: So that, Brianna, does line up with what we heard from former President Trump about wanting to end that war quickly as well.

And he said very much similar things about the wars in the Middle East, saying that Israel essentially needs to wrap it up, not offering too many details. Again, both Waltz and Rubio have seen as much more pro-Israel.

They have been very critical of the Biden administration, accusing them of not supporting Israel enough when it comes to their needs and desires to eradicate Hezbollah and Hamas, accusing the Biden administration of hamstringing Israel when it comes to Iran and going after their nuclear program, and in fact saying that Israel should have gone farther in the most recent response to that ballistic attack by Iran.

KEILAR: And then, of course, Rubio and Waltz, they're seen when it comes to China as hawks. So what is that going to mean going forward, of course, with the understanding that, when it comes down to it, this is Trump's call?

MARQUARDT: Exactly.

These men are certainly seen as China hawks. And I think what this really does signal is a priority that China is going to be and a much tougher attack that they are going to take. Both Waltz and Rubio do see the wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine as distractions from confronting the big adversary, the main adversary, which is China, when it comes to China's movements in the Asia-Pacific around Taiwan.

We have seen Senator Rubio be a leader in terms of identifying TikTok as a real national security threat, highlighting how much intelligence gathering and spying China is doing here in the United States. China really has been Rubio's bailiwick as the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

We have also heard from Mike Waltz writing recently in "The Economist" that China has been the biggest beneficiary of America's deterrence failures, another critique of the Biden administration.

I think you're absolutely right that, of course, these men are well aware that they have got a fall in line and they're basically going to implement whatever Trump's ideas are. But these are experienced foreign policy hands. They're coming in with some of their own strong ideas.

KEILAR: Alex Marquardt, thank you so much. It's a lot to think about and what it's going to mean for national security -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Right now, lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill after their extended election recess and they face a shutdown threat and other critical legislative items on their to-do list.

It's clear that Donald Trump will have his fingerprints on every piece of this lame-duck session of Congress, beginning with who's going to lead each chamber. Trump has made it known he wants to influence those choices and he's heading to Capitol Hill tomorrow.

CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju is on the Hill for us.

Manu, what are lawmakers telling you about Trump's visit?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, that visit is going to be in the House side. He's going to meet with Republicans.

It'll be a bit of a victory lap. The Republicans are in extremely good mood, particularly in both chambers for maintaining their Republican majority. But they are also waiting to see what Donald Trump ultimately will do in the Senate. Of course, the Senate did flip from Democrats. Now the Republicans are expected to hold at least 52 seats, maybe 53, if the Pennsylvania Senate race goes their way, which it seems at the moment that it may.

But what Donald Trump decides to do, if he decides to endorse, remains an open question. That means it comes as the three candidates are all essentially trying to align themselves with Donald Trump in different ways. They all put out pitches to their members to explain how they would empower, they say, the rank and file in their decision-making and also try to advance the Trump agenda.

This was what Senator John Cornyn said in a letter to his college earlier today. He said: "I have already spoken with President Trump, vice president-elect J.D. Vance and the president's team about their priorities. And I look forward to working with them to revitalize America. In order -- and he went on to talk about the changes that they would make in the Senate.

He said: "In order to make America great again, we must make the Senate work again."

John Thune had a similar pitch, saying: "We have an ambitious agenda and it will take all of us, each and every Republican working together with President Trump's leadership to achieve it. If we don't successfully execute on our mandate, we risk losing the coalition that swept Republicans into office up and down the ballot."

And, finally, Rick Scott, who is seen as a bit of an underdog in this race, Florida Republican senator, said: "I am running for Senate Republican leader because I believe now is a moment we need dramatic change in Washington to upend the status quo and make sure President Trump's agenda gets done."

One thing is clear here, Boris, is that so many members of the Senate Republican Conference are not saying what they will do, not saying who they will vote for because this is a secret ballot election. It means it could really go any way, likely Thune or Cornyn's. There's the leading candidates right now, but who wins that remains a major question.

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And Donald Trump may realize that's why he's not weighing in, because he may endorse the candidate, and Republicans may choose to ignore that endorsement, and it may look bad for him in his first week as president-elect.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it'll be interesting to see if he weighs in publicly tomorrow. We know you will keep your eye on that.

Manu Raju live on Capitol Hill for us.

Thank you so much, Manu. Still to come this hour: why the judge in Donald Trump's hush money

trial is delaying his decision about the future of the president- elect's felony convictions.

Also ahead, more airlines grounding flights to Haiti after two jets were struck with gunfire. Details in just moments.

And, later, how the Army National Guard is honoring Harriet Tubman more than 150 years after she was denied military benefits as a veteran.

You're watching CNN NEWS CENTRAL. We will be back in just a few moments.

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KEILAR: The New York judge overseeing president-elect Trump's criminal hush money case is holding off on making any decisions in that case for now.

SANCHEZ: Yes, this morning, Judge Juan Merchan postponed all activity related to Trump's conviction until next Tuesday. And that includes whether to overturn the conviction entirely following the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity.

CNN's Kara Scannell joins us now.

Kara, what more can you tell us about this delay?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So the judge has agreed to this delay after both parties got together over the weekend and essentially sent letters to the judge saying that even the prosecution agreed to hold off on this decision immunity and whether the conviction should stand or whether it would be dismissed because of the fact that Donald Trump got elected president.

And it raises these questions, which prosecutors say, these unprecedented circumstances. So they have asked the judge to give them a week to sort through what their recommendation would be for the next steps in this case, whether that would be continuing to proceed on the question of immunity and have the judge issue his decision, if they want to continue to postpone that now that Trump is in office.

It's really unclear where that's going to go. And this is all because Donald Trump's team is pushing to still seek to have this case thrown out on a number of grounds, both this immunity question in light of the Supreme Court decision, but also because Trump is now the president-elect.

And there's Justice Department policy on federal cases, big questions of, does that apply in any way to state cases? So be really key to see what prosecutors say next week about what they think the appropriate steps forward will be that will help guide what this judge is going to decide. Either way, it is unprecedented in this time of whether we will see

this case proceed and ultimately be litigated, expected to go up to the Supreme Court. Is it on hold or does it go away, guys?

KEILAR: All right, we will be waiting for next week.

Kara, thank you.

We have CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams with us now. He's a former federal prosecutor.

Elliot, what do you think about Judge Merchan's decision here?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think it's probably the right decision.

Now, it's important to remember there's two very different legal questions here, both of which in the short term lead with Donald Trump not going to jail, but they're very different. Number one, can a president of the United States or president-elect even go to jail in the first place?

The law is pretty clear that that's the case that he cannot while he's sitting as president, so you put that away. Then, the separate question of, is a president of the United States immune from certain acts that might have been conducted when he was a president, right?

Now, that's a hard one, and that's what Judge Merchan was sorting out today. And I think it's notable that both parties agreed to take more time to sort this question out. They will be filing briefs over the course of the week, and we will see. But it's a hard one.

SANCHEZ: So, if he does end up keeping the conviction in place, could we see a president-elect sentenced? And, if so, then what happens?

WILLIAMS: Yes, I don't think we can or, quite frankly, should.

In reality, it's a moot point, Boris, because, on January 20, he can't go to jail. He can't serve a sentence. Now, what can happen is the judge could punt it to 2029. Now, I know that might sound silly, but the simple fact is, you have a defendant with some infirmity that means he can't go to jail or can't be sentenced, but you can wait until after it's done.

A great example is, if somebody were overseas, you couldn't prosecute them then, but the moment they step foot in the United States, you do. That can take years sometimes, but it does happen, and it's not uncommon. I know it sounds odd, because many people want this result in either direction to happen now, but the simple fact is, you have a defendant with a once-in-a-generation, if not once-in-history infirmity, and I'm going to use that word, for being prosecuted.

And you just have to deal with it.

KEILAR: Infirmity, what a legal term.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: I know. Sorry.

KEILAR: It's so strange.

WILLIAMS: Something to make it harder.

KEILAR: OK, thank you.

SANCHEZ: It makes getting elected president sound like you busted your knee or something.

WILLIAMS: Yes, I know, right?

KEILAR: It's like the infirmity you want.

WILLIAMS: Says the guy in a boot right here.

KEILAR: OK, so today, the Supreme Court declined to allow Mark Meadows, who, of course, was Trump's chief of staff, or one of them, during his first term, to move his Georgia election subversion case to federal court.

What is that going to mean for Meadows as Trump is taking office?

WILLIAMS: Yes, absolutely.

That Georgia -- now, that case is sort of on life support for any number of reasons. However, Donald Trump is a defendant there. Even if you take him out on account of some of the things we're talking about here that apply in New York, there's still a couple dozen, I think, other defendants who still can go to trial.

And the mere fact that Mark Meadows was a federal employee does not necessarily mean that he had a right to bring his case to federal court. So that case could still go on. All those other defendants could still be in trouble. Forget Donald Trump. It's still a big prosecution that's not resolved yet.

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KEILAR: He still has some issues.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Elliot Williams, appreciate the analysis, as always.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: And when we come back: President Biden meets with President Herzog, as aid groups say Israel failed to meet a U.S. deadline for boosting humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Also ahead, flights halted in Haiti after gunfire hits commercial planes.

SANCHEZ: And before we go to break, new video just into CNN.

This is the White House campus, hundreds of staffers cheering Vice President Kamala Harris as she arrived today. The staffers gathered outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building right next to the White House to applaud her. This was the first day that most White House staff was back after Monday's holiday.

Stay with CNN. We're back in just moments.

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