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LAPD Declares All of Downtown LA, and Unlawful Assembly Area; Protests Erupt in Paramount, California Over Immigration Raids; Prosecution to Respond After Combs Again Seeks a Mistrial; Trump's Sweeping New Travel Ban Takes Effect Overnight; Exceptions in New Travel Ban for Afghans Who Aided War Effort. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired June 09, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump deploying the National Guard and calling for more arrests in LA. The governor promising to sue the president today. All of downtown Los Angeles declared an unlawful assembly area. The chaos ignited over protests against new immigration raids.

And happening now, travel ban 2.0 is now in effect. Citizens from 12 countries now barred from traveling into the United States. Seven other nations facing new restrictions.

And testimony set to resume the trial of Sean Combs, an alleged victim only known publicly as Jane, is going to be returning to the stand after testifying that Combs threatened to cut her off financially if she stopped participating in what has now become known as those freak- offs.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, dawn about to break over Los Angeles this hour after a third night of unrest. All of downtown has now been declared an unlawful assembly area overnight after violent clashes erupted between protesters and police and as President Trump took the extraordinary step of deploying the National Guard to the city without the consent of California's Democratic governor.

At least 27 people have been arrested. They were arrested Sunday amid the demonstrations sparked by immigration raids in places like restaurants and the Garment District.

Now across the state this is happening and protesters responded by setting fire to at least two self-driving cars and now police say they are investigating reports of looting at businesses.

About 300 National Guardsmen are in Los Angeles after they were called up by the president. Their mission for now is to protect federal property.

It is the first time a president has deployed the National Guard without a state's request in 60 years. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is on the ground for us in Los Angeles where you've been all weekend watching as these protests begin peacefully and often end violently. What are you seeing happening this morning? I see that there are still a heavy police presence behind you.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara, a heightened police presence. We've also seen some National Guard here behind me.

Look, we are just steps from the 101 freeway, the highway that was temporarily blocked by protesters yesterday. That is now open but a lot of the entrances and exits to the highway as well as some downtown streets are still closed and all night we heard and saw the LAPD helicopters patrolling the central parts of Los Angeles.

You know, just until a few hours ago this scene was still active with protesters and they were so angered by these immigration sweeps. That's what brought so many people to the streets, some to protest peacefully but some that ended up participating in those acts of depredation and of violence that we've been seeing and that have been causing those shocking, stunning scenes over the last few days.

I want to play for you a soundbite from the chief of police of Los Angeles talking about just how bad things got.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JIM MCDONNELL, LOS ANGELES POLICE: What we saw the first night was bad. What we've seen subsequent to that is getting increasingly worse and more violent. Tonight we had individuals out there shooting commercial-grade fireworks at our officers. That can kill you.

And we have adapted our tactics to be able to have a chance to be able to take these people into custody and to be able to hold them accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS JONES: And Sara, you know this, but this situation escalated so quickly. You know, it wasn't a protest movement that had been escalating for weeks or even really days. It all erupted on Friday and then Saturday.

It was heightened by the announcement of the deployment of the National Guard. We were here in downtown LA when that announcement came out and we saw the reaction of the crowd then.

We have heard also from Mayor Karen Bass, she called the deployment of the National Guard, she said, intentional chaos. She said she blamed the president for this escalation.

And now we're hearing from Governor Gavin Newsom who's saying that this is not just adding fuel to the flames, that he's also planning to sue the federal government over that deployment -- Sara.

SIDNER: I know you'll be watching it all. Julius Vargas Jones, thank you so much for that reporting there in Los Angeles -- John. JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So most of these protests happening in downtown Los Angeles, but that's not the only place. Paramount, a heavily Latino city in Los Angeles County, saw a clash between protests from federal immigration authorities. This happened near a Home Depot that had been known as a hiring site for day laborers where agents are staging a Department of Homeland Security office.

[08:05:03]

With us now is John Moreno, the city manager of Paramount. Manager, thank you so much for being with us. Just bring us up to speed on if there are current activities.

What's the situation in Paramount this morning?

JOHN MORENO, CITY MANAGER OF PARAMOUNT, CALIFORNIA: Right now, from what we're told, everything is very calm. Overnight, we didn't have any protests. We didn't have any protests yesterday.

We do see National Guard equipment and troops that are behind the fence where this Department of Homeland Security office is. So it is visible from the street. But for the last 24 hours, thankfully, things have been calm and quiet in Paramount.

BERMAN: You say thankfully. What is your message to would-be protesters or people who are thinking about staging protests?

MORENO: Do it peacefully. I mean, we're a country that is built on freedom of speech. However, when it comes to vandalizing and causing destruction of private property, that's uncalled for.

That will not be tolerated by our L.A. County Sheriff's Department. They were there in force. And that was -- we had a lot of cleanup that we had to do as well yesterday.

So I'd have a lot of my staff come in, remove graffiti off of art pieces, off of monument signs, get traffic back to normal by cleaning up the streets. It was a mess. And we don't tolerate that. And so hopefully that message is clear from the violent protesters.

BERMAN: Do you have a price tag or a cost so far on the damage that was done in Paramount?

MORENO: No, I don't. The cleanup just occurred yesterday. So I could have that later on today.

BERMAN: What is your message then? It was LA County Sheriff's Office that dealt -- the law enforcement officers that dealt with these protests where you are. But what's your feeling on the idea of National Guard troops helping protest -- or helping police these protests if it becomes necessary?

MORENO: Well, we hope it doesn't come to that. It does in a sense that when you have that presence in your community, a small town like Paramount, I'm sure it does promote a little bit of fear and uncertainty in the residents of Paramount if they do see that there. So, yes, it does create that. And it does have a ripple effect

throughout our city when community members are fearful. And so, yes, so that's that's our concern, basically.

BERMAN: And what's the root cause of all this, do you think? How do you feel? You live in a community with a very diverse community. What is your feeling about these immigration arrests and detentions in general?

MORENO: Well, I can't speak to that. That is something we have -- that is the purview under the federal government. They have their their job to do.

But what I can tell you, as I said earlier, it is a ripple effect to where it does affect us. We don't have as many people, for instance, maybe not coming to our neighborhood watch meetings, maybe not participating in some of our park events because they are afraid. And that's not what we want.

We want a community that is harmonious, that will call on law enforcement if they need if they need help. And that's where -- that's where, as I said, it does have a ripple down effect on us.

BERMAN: All right. John Moreno, city manager from Paramount, California, where it has been quiet. I want to make that clear for a couple of days now.

But you did see protests on Saturday. Hopefully, you know, we will see over the next few days the situation on the ground where you are. We appreciate your time this morning -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And coming up for us week five of the Sean Combs trial is about to get picked back up this morning. His defense team filing for a mistrial again. His lawyers now accusing the prosecution of presenting false testimony.

And also this morning, the Department of Education is handing out more than seven million dollars a month to employees that they forced off the job.

And Israeli forces intercept an aid ship headed for Gaza, detaining a group of activists that includes climate activist Greta Thunberg. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: The fifth week of court resumes next hour in the federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial of Sean Diddy Combs. Over the weekend, his lawyers renewed their request for a mistrial, accusing the prosecution now of presenting false evidence.

Back on the stand today, a former girlfriend of Combs, who is testifying under the pseudonym Jane. She testified last week that Combs threatened to cut her off financially if she stopped participating in these sexual encounters, those elaborate sexual encounters that he would put together with other men. CNN's Kara Scannell is live outside of court in what's expected today.

Tell us about this ask for a mistrial yet again, and then also what it means today.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate.

[08:15:00]

Yes, over the weekend, Sean Diddy Combs' legal team asked for a mistrial in this case. This is the second time they've asked for one so far. It's now we're entering week five of this trial.

And this relates to the testimony by both Cassie Ventura and her friend, Bryana Bongolan, who testified that Bongolan was held over a balcony by Combs. And what Combs' lawyers are saying is that the prosecution committed misconduct because they allowed testimony in that they say should not have come in because they alleged that the prosecution knew it was false.

Ventura testified that she saw Bongolan be dangled over the balcony. And then Bongolan testified that she was certain it occurred on a specific date in September of 2016. And that is what the prosecution had elicited from their testimony.

What Combs' lawyers are saying is that they knew that Combs was actually in New York on these dates that Bongolan testified this happened and that Ventura hadn't seen it. And they looked at some evidence, a text message, a screenshot of a message that contradicted this. And of course, Combs' team to use that on cross-examination.

But now they're saying that prosecution knew it was false and they never should have gotten that before the jury. And so they're asking for a mistrial.

They wrote in the filing: The government has long known that Mr. Combs was on the East Coast in late September and specifically at around the time of this alleged incident.

This, of course, is the second time they asked for a mistrial. The government has not yet responded. It's likely this will come up this morning when court resumes before the jury is brought in.

But then after, if the judge does not grant the mistrial, which is unlikely because they were allowed to cross-examine the witness on this, then they will resume the testimony of the former girlfriend of Combs who's testifying under the pseudonym Jane. She's expected to be on the stand for most of this week. Today, the prosecution will continue questioning her.

They say that Combs had sex -- Combs has sex trafficked her by fraud and that said that he lured her through the promise of romance. But the end goal was just to get her to have sex with these paid sex workers -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, much more to come from the stand for sure. Kara, thank you so much. Fifth week getting underway -- Sara. SIDNER: All right. President Trump's sweeping new ban on travel to the U.S. is now in effect, with another seven countries now facing new travel restrictions. We'll discuss the fallout.

And President Trump deploys a National Guard to Los Angeles after days of protest against the administration's immigration raids. But a new poll shows just how Americans are feeling about his immigration goals. We'll run the numbers with Harry Enten ahead.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, we're talking about the analysis in The New York Times this morning. There was an article written saying that President Trump is getting what he wants from these clashes in Los Angeles over immigration and immigration raids. Why? Why does he feel that way?

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten. So let's unpack that a little bit.

The issue of immigration. How is President Trump seen as doing on that?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, you know, if we just take a look at the baseline numbers here, this is Trump's net approval rating on immigration. It's gone up like a rocket compared now versus eight years ago during Trump's first term.

Look at this. In his first term, Trump was way, way, way under water at minus 21 points. But look at this. He's up over 20 points now in the aggregate.

He is in positive territory at plus one point on his net approval rating. Some other polls even have it a little bit higher than that. There is no issue on which Trump is doing so much better than he was in his first term, more than the issue of immigration.

No wonder The Times has written up the way that he is. Trump is begging for a fight on this because he knows what he's doing so far is working with the American electorate.

BERMAN: Where does immigration rank on issues for him? How is he doing compared to others?

ENTEN: Yes, so I think what's so important is it is his top issue so far. And the reason it is his top issue is because take a look at the individual nuggets in here.

Why are people approving of Trump on immigration, approve of these different immigration actions? Well, Trump's administration's program to deport those here illegally. Look at this, 54 percent approval.

How about agents searching your hometown for those that they think are here illegally? Again, positive territory here above 50 percent for Donald Trump. So it's not just on the broad issue of immigration where Trump is doing well. It's on the specifics.

When you dive into the issues, Trump is above 50 percent and his actions are above 50 percent, at least with those most directly connected to what's going on right now out in Los Angeles.

BERMAN: So Donald Trump, the president, picking a fight on this. And to an extent, you see Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, and the California Governor Gavin Newsom pushing back. So what do voters see in terms of their perceptions of Republicans, the president, or Democrats, say Gavin Newsom on this issue?

ENTEN: Yes, the American electorate believe that the Democrats don't have a clue on the issue of immigration. I mean, you could just take it here.

Closer to trust more in immigration, Democrats versus Republicans. Got three different polls for you across the board. They all tell the same story.

Republicans lead on the issue of immigration. You see it here, CBS plus six. You see it here, CNN plus six. You see it here, Ipsos, even bigger, plus 19. No matter what poll you look at, no matter which way you cut it, the American public is with the Republicans. The American public is with Donald Trump.

And to a much greater extent than they were in term number one. And it's not just on the broad issue of immigration. It's on the specifics as well, in which the American public is with Donald Trump and the Republicans.

And that is why Donald Trump is eager to take on this fight and eager for those scenes out of Los Angeles.

BERMAN: I was just going to use that word eager. This explains some of that eagerness to push forward evermore on this as it escalates. Harry Enten, thank you very much for all of that -- Sara.

[08:25:00]

SIDNER: All right, President Trump's sweeping new travel ban took effect overnight, barring foreign nationals from a dozen countries from traveling to the U.S. and citizens from seven more countries are now facing new restrictions.

There are some exceptions, including for Afghans who help the U.S. government. They fall under an immigrant visa program. More than 50,000 Afghans have received a visa through that program since 2009.

Joining us now is Shawn VanDiver, the president of AfghanEvac, a nonprofit working to resettle Afghans who aided the United States.

We made the distinction there that there are different visas for those who help the United States. But from what you are hearing and learning, are those Afghans who help the U.S. being hurt by these new restrictions? SHAWN VANDIVER, PRESIDENT AND BOARD CHAIRMAN #AFGHANEVAC: Sure. First, thank you so much for having me on today, Sara. Yes, it is so great that there's an exemption, right?

But even for those exempt under the executive order, there's a lack of implementation guidance that's causing chaos. This executive order creates this false sense of reassurance where it sounds great, but the underlying infrastructure, the coordinator for Afghan relocation efforts, office of the State Department, that's been disbanded. It's going to go away by July 1st.

And then there's the safest, most secure legal immigration system, enduring welcome, built hand-in-hand with veterans and civil society during the last administration. That's going away by September 30th.

So even though on paper there's an exemption for Afghan SIVs, which is great, and they're family members, in practice, they're not going to be able to make it here because the underlying systems that get them here are being disbanded.

SIDNER: You know, that is a really good point that you are making here. You're seeing the fallout from this yourself and your organization. Your organization also made this graphic showing all the things that are going away.

What is the wider fallout from this new ban?

VANDIVER: Well, sure. There are 250,000 Afghans that still need to come here, and SIVs are only part of the story, right? You've got folks in the refugee category who are prosecutors and lawyers who put the Taliban away.

You've got partner forces who've trained, fought, and bled alongside our service members. You've got a family of active duty service members. There are 3,000 individuals who are family of our currently serving active duty service members who are trapped.

And if your viewers want to help, they can get involved in AfghanEvac. Go to afghanevac.org/donate. We need your help to keep this fight going because if we allow them to dismantle enduring welcome, these folks, these 12,000 family members, there's 12,000 family reunification cases that are never going to go back together if we don't have the American people standing up.

And we know -- I heard in your last segment that the American people are with the president on this. That's true, except in this case, 90 percent of the public supports the ongoing relocation of Afghan wartime allies. And it's so important we get this right.

SIDNER: Look, one of the pushbacks from the administration and in the executive order as well is the Taliban now runs Afghanistan and the U.S. says they're not competent or cooperative on issuing things like passports. They're not able to do vetting. How do you respond to the administration's concern?

VANDIVER: Sure, so I'd say it depends on what day or which official you talk to, right? You've got Secretary Noem who's out there waving the flag saying with Khalilzad saying that, oh, everything's fine, everything's safe there.

And then on the other hand, you've got a level four travel advisory from the State Department and this visa ban coming out. I think the Trump administration needs to get their story straight on whether or not Afghanistan is safe. We are here to tell them if they would take a meeting with us that it is not safe to go to Afghanistan.

We're getting pictures every day of the retributions that are happening. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast just last January organized a roundtable all about Taliban reprisals, and he went name by name on people who had been killed. It's up on our social media.

I don't know why there's this disconnect right now, but what I do know is that it's not safe to go there. I know that it doesn't matter if the Taliban is vetting. We don't even recognize that government.

What is true is that we have more information because of our 20 years of war in Afghanistan, on all of these folks that are known to us. Everybody in this pipeline is somebody who is known to us because they were referred in or referred by an active duty service member. --

SIDNER: You talk about some --

VANDIVER: The truth is that every one of these folks has earned their right to come here.

SIDNER: What does this mean to the people in the U.S. now whose status is still pending and the families who are waiting and hoping for those who have just about been cleared?

VANDIVER: Sure, so let's take first the folks who are here. If you were here, you're generally safe if you got here on a durable status as a refugee or as an SIP.

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