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Trump Envoy Steve Witkoff Arrives In Russia; NTSB And FAA Investigating Deadly NYC Tourist Helicopter Crash; Judge To Decide Whether To Proceed With Resentencing Hearings For Menendez Brothers. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired April 11, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:30:15]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight top Trump administration official Steve Witkoff is in Russia this morning. The Kremlin confirming his arrival but declining to comment on reports of a possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Let's bring in CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen for more details. Fred, good to see you. What's the objective here? What should we expect?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I think the objective here is most probably to try and move things forward as far as a ceasefire in Ukraine is concerned because there have been -- has been some movement between Russia and the United States and certainly some trust-building measures.

One of the interesting things that we heard today, for instance, was the Russian foreign minister saying that these prisoner exchanges that we've been seeing between the United States and Russia -- those are trust-building measures between the two sides as they try to get their relations back on track.

And, of course, we know that for the U.S. side, Steve Witkoff is extremely important for these prisoner exchanges as is on the Russia side Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. And one of the things that we know from on the ground inside Saint Petersburg, where Steve Witkoff is right now, that he has already had a meeting with said Kirill Dmitriev. It's unclear what the two men spoke about. They were then seen leaving a hotel together.

And again, they're unclear whether or not that would have them go to see Vladimir Putin for possible talks there. The Kremlin has said that if such a meeting takes place that they would inform the public about it.

However, this, of course, comes in front of the backdrop if you will of really difficult talks going on to try and get a ceasefire going. Of course, the Trump administration wants a complete ceasefire between the Russians and the Ukrainians and so far, there seems to be very little movement on that. There have, of course, been a few things like, for instance, the two sides agreeing to not hit certain targets.

But if you look at one of the other minor goals that the Trump administration had to get a Black Sea grain initiative going again for free navigation on the Black Sea and to help the Ukrainians export grains and other agricultural goods through the Black Sea, that's still being held up as the Russians are saying that they want additional sanctions relief for that.

So certainly, right now, the talks to get a ceasefire going and a -- I wouldn't say a precarious situation but certainly moving along only sluggishly. And I think also from President Trump we've heard a more muted response as to the possible progress there in the past couple of days. And so possibly, Steve Witkoff trying to jumpstart all of that and seeing how things can move forward to move towards getting a something like a ceasefire going that, of course, the Ukranians have already signed off on.

J. DEAN: Yeah. All right, we will see what comes.

Fred Pleitgen for us. Thank you so much.

Also this morning a Russian-American ballerina convicted of treason in Russia is back on American soil after a prisoner exchange with Moscow. Ksenia Karelina arriving at Joint Base Andrews late last night to flowers and hugs from her fiance. She was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison for donating $50.00 to a U.S.-based charity supporting Ukraine.

She was released in exchange for a Russian-German citizen being held in the U.S. on several charges, including smuggling and money laundering -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We have this just in. The CEO of JPMorgan Jamie Dimon saying this morning that the United States -- the U.S. economy is facing "considerable turbulence." And he warns that tariffs, high fiscal deficits, and volatility are posing threats to the global economy.

A big part of that you can assume is what just happened overnight. China firing back again, responding to President Trump's ever- escalating tariffs, announcing it's raising retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. -- on U.S. goods from 84 percent to 125 percent now after.

And for the first time, China's president is speaking out publicly about this ongoing trade war. Xi Jinping saying his nation is not afraid.

But throughout all of this one big question has been and continues to be how much pain are Americans -- will Americans have to endure in this trade war, and how much will they be OK enduring. A new poll out offers maybe some insight into that feeling showing that Americans are split when asked which party cares most about their needs.

CNN's Harry Enten wanted to look into this one for you this morning, and so he did. And you think you found a potentially surprising answer in this. HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR AND ANALYST, CNN POLITICS: This to me is one of the most shocking pieces of poll data that I truly truthfully have seen this year or maybe in any prior year --

BOLDUAN: Really?

ENTEN: -- because -- and -- yes, really. Because I want you to take a look.

Cares more about the needs for people like you. You mentioned it, Kate Bolduan. We've got a tie even after this tariff war had already started, split between Democrats and Republicans on how people feel which party cares more for needs of people like you. And why is that so surprising? Because I want you to take a look at prior years.

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Democrats always lead on this question. Back in 2017, before the 2018 midterms, 13- point lead. Two thousand five, a 23-point lead for Democrats. In 1994, which was a big Republican year, a 19-point lead for Democrats.

And now all of a sudden, a tie. All of a sudden, the Democrats, who were the party of the people, no more -- no more. We get a tie on this question on a question that has traditionally overwhelmingly been a Democratic advantage -- people for -- party -- which party cares more for the needs of people like you. It's truly something I would not have expected to see, especially after this tariff war had begun.

BOLDUAN: Where are -- where does it show that Republicans are making the most gains?

ENTEN: Yeah. Again, you talk about party of the people. Look at this. Cares for the needs of people like yourself. Look here. We've got non- college, and we've got those with a college degree. Among those with a college degree it's the same score, plus-18 points for Democrats in 2017, plus-18 points for Democrats now.

But look among non-college voters. Look here. It was plus-seven for Democrats in 2017 and now Republicans an overwhelmingly gain, plus- nine points. That is, the gains have been concentrated, at least within he last decade, among voters without a college degree -- the working class. That is where Republicans have gained even since the beginning of the Donald Trump administration.

The Democratic base is now those with a college degree. Among the working class -- those without a college degree -- Republicans have overwhelmingly gained on this all-important question of which party cares more for people like yourself.

BOLDUAN: And your reference points are, as you were pointing out, just before midterm elections. We are -- obviously, let's kind of look at that. Where do -- where do things stand for the fight for Congress?

ENTEN: Right, OK. So you have this question, right, and then there's the question ultimately are Republicans going to get punished in this midterm election in part because that's normally what happens -- the party in power gets punished -- but also because of this tariff war.

And I want you to take a look here at the generic congressional ballot. Where we were in April of 2017, Democrats were already ahead by seven points. In November of 2024 on this question it was a tie. And then, of course, Republicans won control.

Where are we now? It's Democrats but just by a point. This looks very much still like what we saw in 2024, not like what we saw in 2017. If Democrats think they automatically have a ticket back to control of the House, I'd say hold on a second. Republicans still have a real shot at this despite all of Trump's theatrics over the last month with this tariff war.

BOLDUAN: It really is interesting information coming out in this that you're pulling out. Thank you, Harry.

ENTEN: Thank you. I think it's interesting and Kate agrees.

BOLDUAN: For once.

ENTEN: For once.

BOLDUAN: Jessica.

J. DEAN: All right -- thanks, guys.

And joining us now, Democratic Congressman Madeleine Dean from Pennsylvania. She sits on the Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committee. Congresswoman, good morning to you. Thanks so much for being here with us.

I do want to get to tariffs in just a second, but I do want to get your reaction on what we just heard from Harry there talking about Republicans getting an edge on this question to people of who speaks and who represents people like you. There's just been a lot of talk about the Democrats about what to do in this moment politically.

We saw this Wall Street Journal piece. It was titled "Democrats Bet Casting Trump as Agent of Chaos Will Boost Their Fortunes."

I'm curious what you think about all of this. If you think it's just enough to let Trump be Trump and be against Trump -- if that's going to connect with people.

REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA) (via Webex by Cisco): Well, good morning, Jessica. Good to be with you.

And with all due respect to Harry, and I love watching his work, that is not what I'm seeing on the ground in the fourth congressional district of Pennsylvania -- Montgomery and Berks counties.

What my constituents are telling me is less about party and much more about what this administration is doing to them -- to the working class. We know that the chaotic rollout of punishing tariffs -- punishing to our allies is really a massive tax on my constituents. It will harm every single one of my constituents. So I'll leave the polls to Harry, but my constituents tell me they're

gravely concerned about the direction of the country. They recognize a president who is stuck on revenge, not aspirational for their futures. He is stuck on revenge, which to me is so puzzling. The man won a second term. Why is he stuck in the past?

J. DEAN: And as you are hearing this, Congresswoman, do you -- do you think, too, to yourself and then talking with your Democratic colleagues about the message going -- I mean, I know we're just a little bit from the midterms but going forward, is there a cohesive message that again is not just we're the normal ones and Trump's the chaotic one? Is there a more cohesive message that you think would do better with a broader spectrum of voters?

M. DEAN: I think the message is what the majority party is doing. And if my phones in D.C. yesterday and this whole week are any poll, it shows that people are paying attention.

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Take a look at the bills that we passed this week because of the majority party's direction.

We passed a bill that would take off the cap for big banks on charging overdraft fees. We have seen this play before. It hurts everyday Americans as banks can at their whim decide how much they want to charge the consumer for an overdraft fee. That disproportionately hurts working people.

They passed a bill to hurt the ability to vote, particularly the ability of women to vote. It's another form of voter I.D. and voter suppression.

And then finally, we passed a budget resolution that would require -- it will require massive cuts to Medicaid.

Again, these are all things that my constituents are paying attention to, and they recognize it's at the service of a president who simply wants to pass massive tax cuts to the wealthy.

This -- you know, the puzzling thing about this, or most puzzling thing about this is the fact that I hope my Republican colleagues are sincere. In the final pages of yesterday's budget resolution it says that we care about debt and deficits. And yet, what it fails to say is that the path that they are on for this budget resolution would blow a $20 trillion hole in the deficit, blowing up the deficit.

So my constituents are paying attention to these ridiculous policies, and they're worried about an administration that looks like it's surrounded by mostly a J.V. team. The incompetence around the rollout of the punishing tariffs taking $11 trillion of wealth out of the market -- my constituents are worried about that.

J. DEAN: And we -- there was a livestream on social media. The UAW president Shawn Fain talked about the tariffs. I just want to play a quick clip from him. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN FAIN, PRESIDENT, UNITED AUTO WORKERS: But I want to be clear about this. The Trump administration is the first administration in my lifetime that's been willing to do something about this broken free trade system. Tariffs are the first step. But we need to put out our vision for an auto industry that doesn't leave behind working class people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

J. DEAN: Congresswoman, I just want to get your reaction to his thoughts there. What are some alternatives? I hear you on the tariffs and what the concerns are you're hearing from your constituents and from yourself as well. What are some alternatives to address these concerns?

M. DEAN: Well, a thoughtful tariff policy. I'm with the president there. I'm with working people. I'm with union workers. We have seen an increase in union jobs and wages and negotiating power. I wish the president would focus on that.

But the erratic nature of these tariffs are not going to bring back more jobs. Are not going to protect American workers and wages. And so that's my grave concern around the tariffs.

J. DEAN: All right.

Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, thank you so much for your time this morning. We appreciate it -- Kate.

M. DEAN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: So this morning -- this morning the FAA and NTSB are investigating what caused a tourist helicopter to crash into New York's Hudson River. A Spanish family of five and the pilot -- they were all killed.

The tragic moments -- tragic final moments of that flight were caught on camera, and we do want to warn you once again the video is disturbing to see. Bystanders reported seeing the helicopter spin out of control about 17 -- just look at that -- about 17 minutes into the flight. Witnesses said the helicopter appeared to stop midair and simply fall straight from the sky.

Joining us right now is CNN transportation analyst and former inspector general at the Department of Transportation, Mary Schiavo. And Brandt Anderson, a U.S. Army veteran and former combat helicopter pilot. Both of you, thank you very much for being here.

Mary -- I mean, video of the crash is just so sad to see, but in looking at it and trying to -- try to begin to understand what happened, it looks like it tumbled end over end and then hit the water at a really high speed. Something clearly went terribly wrong. But where -- so where does this investigation need to start? MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: Oh, the investigation starts here on several points. First of all, they're looking at the maintenance records and what's called airworthiness directives. Any warnings on this aircraft that things should have been looked at and should have been repaired.

And since this aircraft is a 21-year-old aircraft -- it was leased out of -- according to FAA records, leased out of Louisiana to the company or to be operated in New York. They will be looking at who is responsible for the maintenance, et cetera, of this aircraft.

And since this was a very traumatic event the rotor blades -- meaning these big blades right on top -- it appears from eyewitness videos, and those videos are hugely important in accident investigations, this separated. And it's usually due to about three causes. I can be due to -- in past accidents that I'm familiar with. A bird strike caused it in one case. Metal fatigue caused another. And this sits on a pivot point so there's a lot of movement here. And then turbulence and pilot error, which causes something called rotor bumping meaning this rotor just hits around on the equipment.

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So they'll be looking at those and many, many more -- pilot training, et cetera. A big investigation upcoming.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

Brandt, as a helicopter pilot yourself, I mean, what is your reaction to seeing this video, and what do you see in it?

BRANDT ANDERSON, U.S. ARMY VETERAN, FORMER COMBAT HELICOPTER PILOT: No, Kate. Great to be with you.

I mean, it's absolutely a traumatic scene to witness. Certainly, as Mary was just describing, with those rotor blades removing there is nothing that pilot could have done in that situation to recover the aircraft. You know, as pilots we train -- and helicopter pilots, we train for engine failures, which is usually solved through an auto rotation but that requires the rotor system to still be connected to the airframe.

And so I think as Mary was describing, looking into this investigation and looking into the maintenance records of this aircraft, some of that comes to my mind as we are -- as aircraft flying around water is corrosion. What role could corrosion have played as it's ingesting seawater and river water coming in and landing?

We know this was the seventh flight of the day from flight data and this aircraft had flown 15 times the day before. So this aircraft and this pilot likely very familiar with the waterway -- or with the -- with the airway around New York City. And so I think it's something that they'll be looking at was maintenance perhaps where shortcuts were taken.

BOLDUAN: And Brandt, also, you have flown this type of helicopter before.

ANDERSON: Yes.

BOLDUAN: What is noteworthy about it?

ANDERSON: Well, one of the things that's noteworthy about it is this is where -- this is a workhorse. The Bell 206 is something that military pilots are trained on. This is the common platform for obviously commercial providers like we saw yesterday, but also for first responders around the country. This is a reliable aircraft. This is something -- this is an aircraft that has a -- has a good maintenance record.

I will say, as Mary was describing too, of the mast bumping. That's something this aircraft is prone to that aircraft, like the Black Hawk or Chinooks are not, with a fully articulated rotor head. That is something that can occur if -- in aggressive maneuvers. We haven't seen the full flight video to know what the pilot was doing. It doesn't appear that aggressive maneuvers were taken, but I think that could be something that this aircraft is prone to. If -- but again, that comes back to how the pilot was operating it. We'll have to see what the investigation goes -- if that is something that occurred here or not.

BOLDUAN: And Mary, you were just -- we -- I feel like you and I are speaking every day about close calls and sometimes tragic accidents, and this is obviously separate and distinct from some of the other -- any other -- another aviation disaster and some of the near collisions we've discussed even just this week. But there really is this feeling of just a shocking number of air incidents, either close calls or tragedies like this happening right now.

What is going on? I'm asking, like, the impossible question to answer, Mary. But, I mean, does the Secretary of Transportation need to be facing some real questions here?

SCHIAVO: Well, yes, and the history and the track record of what's been going on at the FAA for several years. Now, what the FAA is supposed to be doing is tracking data, tracking trends. That's the most important thing -- job that they have to do. And the NTSB has put forth that they weren't doing that when we had the collision at DCA. The NTSB found 15,000 near misses that the FAA was supposed to be tracking but wasn't, and those in public databases.

And for this -- and so the collision at DCA was foreseeable and was preventable. And the question will be well, why weren't you doing that, FAA?

And then here helicopter operations in the Hudson River have been under criticism for many, many years. I mean, I worked the midair accident up there probably 15 years ago when a helicopter full of Italian tourists were killed. And at that time there were -- there were calls to stop and reduce this helicopter traffic. Because just as Brandt said, operations over water are very tough. You get turbulence combined with pilot error in overwater operations and you're going to put a lot of stress on that helicopter. And so there have been calls to reduce, eliminate, and require more

oversight of this New York helicopter traffic. So what the Secretary of Transportation has to do is why haven't we been paying attention to all these areas that we know are problem areas. And we know as -- you know, as the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation, we can do much better and we have to.

And statically, yes, it just doesn't seem that things are bad this year. The aviation safety statistics are terrible. There will be a real decrease in the safety statistics this year. It's going to be a bad year statistically.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

Mary, it's always good to have you. I really appreciate your expertise. Brandt, thank you so much for coming on. I really appreciate it.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Great to be with you.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. Thank you.

Coming up for us, a judge -- happening today -- will decide whether to move forward with sentencing for the -- resentencing, rather, for the Menendez brothers. Why the new L.A. County district attorney says they should not be given leniency.

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And also this. Why your Easter egg hunt this month may be the most expensive one yet.

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J. DEAN: New this morning, despite inflation cooling to a six-month low in March, egg prices just hit a record high as that industry continues to reel from the spread of Avian flu.

Thursday's Consumer Price Index showing egg prices rose nearly six percent from February, and we're up 60 percent annually. In grocery stores, the average price for a dozen grade A large eggs hit a new record of $6.23. The Department of Agriculture has said that wholesale prices are starting to fall as the Avian flu is getting more under control, but those declines weren't visible in stores last month -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Also this morning, a Los Angeles judge is expected to decide whether Eric and Lyle Menendez will be able to move forward with resentencing hearings. It's been more than 30 years since the brothers were convicted of killing their parents.

And L.A. County's new district attorney though is trying to block this resentencing push and potential release of these men, which you'll probably recall as we've been covering this, is a full reversal from the prior D.A. Well now, District Attorney Nathan Hochman is arguing that the brothers do not deserve leniency because he says they have not fully recognized, acknowledged, or accepted complete responsibility for their crimes.

So what could happen?

Joining us right now, trial and defense attorney Misty Marris is here with me. Misty, thanks for coming in again.

I find this a fascinating example of how two different D.A.s back-to- back, same county can reach wildly different and opposing conclusions on the same thing.

I mean, what do you think of this new district attorney's approach and take on the Menendez resentencing?

MISTY MARRIS, TRIAL AND DEFENSE ATTORNEY (via Webex by Cisco): This is definitely an example of that, Kate. It's two different district attorneys who have a wildly different take on this case.

Look, District Attorney Hochman came out and went through a whole diatribe of all of the reasons why the Menendez brothers should remain behind bars.

And today's hearing is largely going to be about District Attorney Hochman's application to the court to withdraw the prior position of his predecessor Gascon. Now remember, Gascon had said resentencing is appropriate.

So what was going to happen at the actual hearing, which is substantive -- today it's procedural -- but the district attorney and the defense were going to be on the same page. And it was just going to be about what that resentencing looked like, which is ultimately up to the judge. Now it's going to be adverse.

And from the defense perspective the argument is the district attorney isn't an individual. The district attorney is an office. So there's no legal mechanism for District Attorney Hochman to say we just shifted and changed direction because we don't think that the prior administration did the deep dive that we did. So that's where the defense is coming in.

But Kate, ultimately, today, again, procedural about whether or not that recommendation will stand. It's going to be up to the judge --

BOLDUAN: Right.

MARRIS: -- and the judge is going to make the determination about what this resentencing looks like moving forward.

BOLDUAN: So, I mean, the prior D.A., just in October of last year, even said I believe that they have paid their debt to society. I mean, these -- I mean, we are talking opposite views on this case.

What are the options then for the judge eventually?

MARRIS: So a couple of different options.

So yes, you're right, Kate. He said not only I believe they've paid their dues, I'm saying that they should have immediate release. That was Judge Gascon -- or District Attorney Gascon. And now Nathan Hochman is saying well, there's a pathway but only if the Menendez brothers admit that they've been lying for the past 30 years. Admit that they've lied to everyone -- their friends, their family, the court. So clearly --

BOLDUAN: Misty --

MARRIS: -- there's going to be an issue there from a defense perspective.

BOLDUAN: And that's one thing that I don't understand. Is there a standard for what a prisoner has to show or prove to earn a pathway to resentencing like they were on or are currently on?

MARRIS: Kate, that's a great question because this is all under a unique California penal code which allows an incarcerated individual to seek resentencing if they number one, are not a threat to society; and number two, there's facts or circumstances in the case which we might look at differently now -- this is years and years and years later -- that could justify resentencing.

This is where the district attorney and the defense are at odds. The district attorney is saying that in order for there to be a resentencing in this case there has to be full accountability, and full accountability is basically an admission. The defense says there is no such standard and that the law they're pointing to -- it relates to a probation process, not this particular penal code relating to resentencing.

So it's a real legal tough one and there's not a ton of case law on this. So this is something that's going to be very consequential in the courtroom.

But keep in mind there's another pathway. So here the judge could decide that they're going to a substantive hearing, which will be next week -- the 17th or the 18th.

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