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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) On Russia's Deadliest Strikes On Kyiv Since Last Summer; Vatican: 50,000+ Have Lined Up To Pay Respects To Pope Francis; John O'Keefe's Mother Gives Emotional Testimony On The Stand In Karen Read Murder Retrial, First Responder To Testify. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired April 24, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:31:35]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking overnight, Russia launching its deadliest strikes on Kyiv since last summer killing at least nine people and injuring dozens. Rescue operations this morning underway searching for people under the rubble.

The assault comes hours after President Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart of harming peace talks.

With us now, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut. He is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Senator, thanks so much for being with us.

President Trump accusing Volodymyr Zelenskyy of rejecting this latest U.S. plan. This U.S. plan reportedly includes the idea of U.S. recognition of Russian occupation sovereignty over Crimea -- a recognition kind of loosely of the front lines and the battle right now which would cede a whole bunch of territory to Russia. Prohibiting Ukraine from joining NATO in perpetuity.

My question to you is what better deal do you think Ukraine could get at this point?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): I think a better deal would be to negotiate from a position of strength knowing that the United States will offer a security guarantee against Putin attacking again. Remember, this is his second or third brutal assault.

And what you just saw in Ukraine is what the Ukrainian people have been enduring. They are determined to fight to regain some of the territory and gain a security guarantee from the United States. That's the better deal that they could get.

But one facet of the Trump proposal is no admission to NATO, no security guarantee, and I think that is a significant failure and it's a betrayal. It really is a switching of sides and an abandonment of Ukraine that not only belies our commitment; it's appeasement that Europeans know well is against their national interest. BERMAN: What do you think happens if there is no deal this week? What do you think happens if Ukraine doesn't agree to this?

BLUMENTHAL: You know, I visited Ukraine in the first weeks after they pushed back the Russians three week ago, and I met with President Zelenskyy in his bunker just miles from Bucca where they stopped the Russian tanks. And I said to President Zelenskyy, "Do you think you can win?" And he said, "In the end it will be fine and if it's not fine, it's not the end."

I think Ukraine is going to keep fighting. They'll fight with pitchforks, as he told me then. But they will have aid from Europeans -- military aid as well as economic assistance.

And I'm hoping that this pressure campaign involving a kind of mob extortion --

BERMAN: Um-hum.

BLUMENTHAL: -- on the Ukrainians for a mineral deal and other economic benefits will stop because my Republican colleagues have an obligation to step up. And I have co-sponsored -- in fact, led a Russian sanctions bill supported by 55 members -- maybe 56 as of today -- of the United States Senate. Bipartisan, equally divided, Republican- Democrat.

I think what will happen if they don't take this deal, Europeans will continue to support them, they'll continue to fight, and I hope my Republican colleagues will step up.

BERMAN: I want to ask you a question on a domestic matter here. There are reports, and we've seen it, that the Trump, you know, corporation as it were -- a company has put out invitations to people having to do with Donald Trump's meme coin -- the crypto situation where he's inviting people to come to a dinner.

[07:35:05]

It says, "Have dinner with President Trump. The most exclusive invitation in the world only for the top 220 Trump meme coin holders. President Trump is known as the crypto president. At this intimate private dinner hear firsthand President Trump talk about the future of crypto."

In this -- I think this announcement drove up the price of the Trump meme coin here.

Do you see any issues with this?

BLUMENTHAL: I think it is a powerful indication -- in fact, outright evidence of corruption. And the only difference between the corruption that we've seen in any of the past administration and this one is President Trump seems to be self-dealing right out in the open. And Elon Musk as well in trying to slash and trash agencies that regulate his companies -- SpaceX, Tesla. All of the federal agencies have been decimated. And this kind of self-dealing -- including in tariffs, by the way --

the only deals that President Trump has made been able to conclude so far in tariffs are to exempt the companies and billionaires that donated to his campaign or to his inaugural or threw parties for him.

Tim Cook, of Apple, managed to get an exemption for computer equipment, semiconductors, and so forth.

So I think this latest indication of corruption cries out for a congressional investigation.

BERMAN: I want to ask you, finally, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who has been the whip -- the Democratic whip of the Senate for some time -- announced he is not running for re-election after a long career, including as a ranking member or chair of the Judiciary Committee.

So my question to you is who are you going to support for number two in the Democratic -- you know the Democratic team in the Senate? And what do you see as the need for a -- for a new generation of leadership inside the party?

BLUMENTHAL: I think that Sen. Durbin retiring after an extraordinary career, really distinguished in standing up for civil rights and liberties, for a quality judiciary, for principles of democracy will open an opportunity for others not only as Senate whip but also as chairman of the Judiciary Committee where he's played such a critical role.

And right now, literally in real time, I'm receiving calls from interested senators.

BERMAN: Who called? Who? Tell me who.

BLUMENTHAL: And I may take a call while we're talking here.

But the field, so far, hasn't been finally concluded and so I'm going to reserve a decision until I know all of the players who are interested.

BERMAN: All right. We'll take a look at your phone during the break.

Senator Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate your time.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So the federal judge overseeing the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia has hit pause on the expedited fact-finding process that was already underway. The judge was trying to figure out and find out what the Trump administration is doing, if anything, to abide by the order to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the United States.

The move comes after Judge Paula Xinis slammed the administration for not acting in good faith during the discovery process. CNN's Katelyn Polantz has much more of the details going on here, and

there is a lot going on here. What are Abrego Garcia saying -- what are Abrego Garcia's attorneys saying about this new move now?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, they're making very clear that they understand that this is more about than just this one man.

But Kate, something is happening behind the scenes here and we don't know what it is yet. There is confidential -- at least some sort of talks between Abrego Garcia's attorneys and the federal government -- the Trump administration -- at this time.

The reason I know that is because there are sealed filings in court and the judge yesterday, after this case just something that was at 11:00 where the judge was losing patience with the Justice Department and the Trump administration. Was struggling to get answers out of them for how they may be facilitating the return of Abrego Garcia out of that El Salvadoran prison or out of El Salvador. The judge was losing patience.

And then yesterday we got a one-sentence -- one-page order from the judge saying everything's paused until next Wednesday. There is agreement on both sides to pause things. So nobody's going to have to comply with any court orders right now. That's why we know that they're at least talking enough to come to some sort of agreement to pause the evidence gathering.

But here is the lawyer for Abrego Garcia, one of many lawyers working on his case, speaking last night on television.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRA RIBE, ATTORNEY FOR KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA: She used words such as that they were stubbornly refusing to comply. There was a willful refusal. And I think that her tone makes it clear that she understands and we understand that this case is more than about Mr. Abrego Garcia. This case is about whether the government -- whether there's accountability. Whether the government has accountability. Whether the government is above the law.

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[07:40:20]

POLANTZ: So that lawyer there seizing on the judge's comments up and to now in this case but also making clear that they're very aware this is a political and a legal litmus test for due process and issues that are much, much larger than just this man being held in El Salvador mistakenly -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. Very curious what is going on with those sealed filings and what is going on behind the scenes. We will find out -- well, when we find out, and that will be up to you, Katelyn, as it always is. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We do rely on Miss Katelyn. All right.

They step in during the worst disasters but this morning there is growing concern that hundreds of FEMA workers are headed for the door just weeks before hurricane season begins.

For months, President Trump and his allies have been bashing FEMA saying its duties should be handed over to the states. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem even promising to eliminate the agency altogether.

As CNN's Gabe Cohen reports some of FEMA's most experienced and knowledgeable leaders are among those set to leave.

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GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've learned that roughly 1,000 FEMA workers, about 20 percent of the permanent full-time workforce at the agency, are expected to take this latest DOGE voluntary buyout. And that includes a lot of FEMA's senior leadership -- some of the people who are longtime officials with the most institutional knowledge who play really critical roles during disaster response and recovery and who are now voluntarily heading for the door amid this cratering morale that we are seeing at FEMA.

And that's because the agency has been criticized relentlessly by President Trump and his allies in recent months, and the administration has vowed to eliminate FEMA altogether.

In recent weeks, the Department of Homeland Security has even administered at least a dozen lie detector tests to FEMA officials for alleged media leaks.

One senior FEMA official told me, "People don't want to work here anymore and they're worried about what the agency will look like in a year."

Another senior FEMA official told me, "All of these people have seen their work destroyed and denigrated. They started seeing that FEMA might actually be killed."

Now, this is just one aspect of the workforce reduction that FEMA is facing right now. And about a half-dozen FEMA officials voiced serious concern to me about what all of this is going to mean when hurricane season gets underway in the coming weeks given that preparations for storm season have already been stifled by the turmoil that FEMA is facing.

Gabe Cohen, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: So this morning thousands of mourners from around the world are gathering once again at St. Peter's Basilica. The body of Pope Francis lying in state ahead of his funeral. The funeral is scheduled for Saturday morning.

Now, according to the Vatican, over 50,000 people lined up to pay respect to the pope in the first 24 hours of that public viewing.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Rome for us right now. And Ben, I saw video -- we're showing it to people right now -- last night of people running through the streets in order to get in line in time before the public viewing hours closed last night. It was quite something to see.

What are you seeing this morning?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This morning it's somewhat calmer. It appears that the numbers waiting to get inside are a bit less than yesterday when there really was quite a crush.

Now what happened, however, was yesterday afternoon local time the Vatican press office said that the hours that people could get inside the Basilica might be extended. They made no official announcement, but it ended up that essentially the thing that Basilica was open all night long and that they just closed for one hour between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. just to clean the place up and prepare for another day.

So it appears that the original hours that they said it would be open, which was from 7:00 a.m. to midnight -- those have gone out the window and they're just trying to deal with the number of people who are trying to get in.

Now, obviously, Friday night they're going to have to close it down because at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday there is the funeral.

But certainly what we've seen yesterday just going around, people coming from every direction and every part of the world. You -- basically, we spoke to people from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the United States, Europe. They're coming from all over the place.

[07:45:00]

And just to go back, I was here when John Paul II passed away. And, you know, he was a real Cold War hero. He was somebody very popular with his fellow Pols. But it seemed that it was a much more European- looking crowd.

This time around we're seeing people from all over the world -- I think reflective of Pope Francis' international global outlook for the future of the church -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. Ben, thank you so much -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Tears on the stand in the murder trial of Karen Read, the woman accused of murdering her police officer boyfriend, as the mother of the victim told the jury for the first time about the moment she learned her son had died.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When Target stepped back, what was your initial reaction?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It felt like a gut punch. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: This morning a new report on the growing boycott against Target after it sided with the Trump administration.

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[07:50:45]

SIDNER: In just over an hour, Karen Read's murder retrial resumes after very emotional testimony yesterday. The mother of the man Read is accused of killing, police officer John O'Keefe, took the stand. Peggy O'Keefe testified about the moment she saw her son's body at the hospital, and she told the jury what Read said to her on that day.

Here with me now, CNN correspondent Jean Casarez, and defense and trial attorney Misty Marris. Thank you both for being here.

Jean, there was extremely emotional and dramatic testimony that unfolded in court. What did you see and hear?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Sara, this is so much a trial about Karen Read. She's the defendant. She is the one --

SIDNER: Right.

CASAREZ: -- that we want to know what she did, what she didn't do. And you forget about the victims sometimes. There is a man that lost his life -- a young man -- and his name was John O'Keefe, a former Boston police officer at this point.

And his mother took the stand, and she talked about that she'd gotten a phone all from Kerry Richards (PH) saying, "There's been an accident. John was found in the snow." And she and her husband were driven to the hospital, and she was placed in a room. And finally they said you can go and see your son, John, in a room in the emergency.

I want you to listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEGGY O'KEEFE, JOHN O'KEEFE'S MOTHER: As I'm walking down, I hear Karen Read yell, "Peg, is he dead? Is he dead, Peg? Peg, is he dead?" And I just kept walking, and then I passed -- I don't know who -- it was a nurse or a worker at the hospital -- and I said, "What is she doing here?" And she said, "Oh, she's being psych evaluated."

So then they brought us down to the room where my son was. He's bruised up. His eyes were closed. Just not a good scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And that's when Peggy O'Keefe found out that her son was, in fact, dead.

As far as Karen Read, her father had called the police and said that he thought she was suicidal. And so she actually had been taken in an ambulance to the hospital because of that. But obviously, she was close to the room walking the hallways.

But we saw the emotion of this mother. And we learned through her firsthand she had lost her daughter, she'd lost her son-in-law, and they had two young children -- and this was some years back. And John O'Keefe was the one that stepped forward as a single man and said, "I will take them."

SIDNER: Tough, yeah.

CASAREZ: And he was raising them alone.

SIDNER: Yeah, wow. It was really touching and really sad to see the mom up there having to testify again in this case.

I do want to ask you, Misty, about a bombshell moment that you thought was maybe a bombshell moment but maybe it wasn't. What happened?

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE AND TRIAL ATTORNEY: So there was testimony yesterday and this was a woman who is critical to the case that testified before the grand jury. And what the prosecutor -- or the prosecutors had basically, during the grand jury proceeding, had asked her a question about what she heard from Karen Read while Karen Read was in the back of a squad car. OK, so she gets on the stand and she testifies at trial and she's impeached with her grand jury testimony.

And the defense really went for it to show that what she said was inconsistent. Essentially, before the grand jury she said that Karen Read -- she heard Karen Read say that she had to Google hypothermia. Now this is a critical issue in the case --

SIDNER: Right.

MARRIS: -- about whether or not O'Keefe had hypothermia. In fact, defense experts are going to come and say that he never experienced hypothermia.

But the reason that this was such a moment is that the defense attorney was able to say, "Well, did you actually ever hear Karen Read say that or did you hear it from somebody else?" And she had to say, "No, I didn't hear her say it from her mouth."

Now, that was a big moment for a lot of people. It impeached her credibility. But to me, I thought it could be chocked up to a misunderstanding of the question because it was not about -- it was about what she heard from Karen Read. But the way the question was asked it could be, "Did you hear that this had happened -- that Karen Read had made that from a third party?"

[07:55:00]

So I'm not sure --

SIDNER: (INAUDIBLE).

MARRIS: -- it really landed the way that the defense really wanted it to.

SIDNER: Jean, I know you watched the first trial and now you're watching this. Are there any huge differences that you're seeing in this one?

CASAREZ: Well, we're on to clip number five at this point of her interviews. And there was an interview yesterday that they played -- and it's not getting attention, but it is very important because the whole issue is the tail light, right? Was the tail light really broken because she clipped and hit John O'Keefe -- he fell backwards and cracked his head open because it was a skull fracture -- or at the sally port did all the police officers really get into that tail light and pull those pieces out to frame her and place them at the scene?

There was an audio clip yesterday -- it was just audio -- but it was an interview. And she said, you know, "That morning about 5:00 a.m. I saw that my tail light was really broken, and I saw that I -- I saw the light bulb inside and there were pieces out and some of the red plastic was touching the light bulb. And I was afraid there was going to be an electrical issue, so I was picking pieces out and putting them on the ground because I didn't want anything to happen with the tail light."

That's huge evidence right there. That's very big evidence.

And they were showing the defense in the courtroom as that was being played and they're going to have to counter it because that is the basis of everything here.

SIDNER: That's the conspiratorial defense that the --

CASAREZ: So that's a big difference.

SIDNER: Yeah -- that the police did --

CASAREZ: The clips.

SIDNER: -- or the police officer she's accusing of beating him up and killing her boyfriend -- OK.

CASAREZ: And first thing this morning the judge is going to determine if "INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY," which did a documentary on her --

SIDNER: Yeah.

CASAREZ: -- embedded with the defense -- part of a Warner Media company -- if a clip is going to be allowed from that documentary.

SIDNER: Wow.

All right. To you two, I know it's in -- you're enthralled in this, but you did bring up the most important point that a man is dead, and his family is suffering through all of this for a second time.

CASAREZ: Yes.

SIDNER: Very difficult for that family.

Jean Casarez, Misty Marris, thank you both so much -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning retail giant Target has seen a decline in foot traffic to their stores for 10 straight weeks. Possibly to blame, a coordinated boycott of the retailer. It started after they announced a rollback of their DEI initiatives.

CNN's Ryan Young spoke to the pastor leading the charge against target.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PASTOR JAMAL BRYANT, NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: It is not because of tariffs. It is not because of the stock market. It is because of the power of Black unification and the Black dollar. Twelve trillion dollars in spending power is not anything that we should laugh at.

YOUNG (voiceover): What started out as a movement to send a message against Target downsizing its DEI initiatives --

BRYANT: Two hundred thousand people signed to be a part of the Target fast.

YOUNG: -- led to Target stores nationwide taking a nosedive in foot traffic, down for 10 consecutive weeks, dropping nine percent in February and falling 6.5 percent in March compared to one year ago.

The significant decline also impacted by spending pullbacks during decreased consumer confidence and tariff uncertainty.

BRYANT: So the fast shifts to a full-out boycott.

YOUNG (voiceover): Prominent Atlanta area megachurch Pastor Jamal Bryant's call for a boycott during Lent -- the fast aimed at Target and is still not over.

BRYANT: We had four asks and only walked away with one thing. Target has agreed that by July 31 they will complete the pledge of $2 billion for Black business. We gave you 40 days to answer four, not one. We ain't going back in there.

YOUNG: You met with the CEO?

BRYANT: Yes.

YOUNG: What was that like?

BRYANT: We're still meeting. Well, I think it's a healthy start for where it is that we are.

YOUNG: Do you think they hear you?

BRYANT: Oh, they hear me. The cash register hears me.

YOUNG (voiceover): Target has not responded to CNN's interview request or questions about the boycott's impact.

In an internal note on diversity from Target's chief equity officer earlier this year, the company says they are still committed to inclusivity and offers a wide range of products and services, including items made by companies that are Black and minority owned.

CHANTEL POWELL, FOUNDER, PLAY PITS: Well, it was disappointment.

YOUNG (voiceover): Five megachurches held Bullseye Black Markets over Easter Weekend to help power small Black business owners, several of them stunned and saddened by Target's policy reversal.

YOUNG: You have products on the shelves at Target.

We definitely felt a hit, right? So our sales in-store are currently 30 percent less than what they were last year. People feel hurt because it felt like Target was for us. It felt like Target believed in us.

YOUNG: When Target stepped back, what was our initial reaction?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It felt like a gut punch, to be honest. The way Target had positioned itself in the Black community suggested that there was a commitment. to see it swept away in an instant -- it felt like a rug pull.

PATRICE CHAPPELLE, CO-FOUNDER AND CO-CEO, MELANBRAND SKIN, LLC: Skincare products for children, especially Black and brown children.

YOUNG (voiceover): Patrice Chappelle and her son started MelanBrand Skin in 2023.