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Kyle Rittenhouse Testifies He Acted in Self-Defense During Fatal Shooting; Legal Setback for Trump's Efforts to Keep Records Secret; U.S. and China Agree to Strengthen Climate Cooperation; Bien Acknowledges Americans' Inflation Concerns; W.H.O.: New Cases Up 7 Percent and New Deaths Up 10 Percent in Europe. Aired 4:00-4:30a ET
Aired November 11, 2021 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYLE RITTENHOUSE, DEFENDANT: I didn't intend to kill them. I did what I had to do to stop the person who was attacking me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Kyle Rittenhouse takes the stand in his own defense. We'll have the dramatic testimony from the homicide trial.
A surprised pledged attack on climate. The U.S. and China team up leaving critics cautiously optimistic.
And inflation hits a 30-year high just days before President Biden is expected to sign his massive infrastructure bill.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: In the coming hours, the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse is set to resume in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following a dramatic day of emotional and high stakes testimony from the defendant himself. The defense is expected to call several more witnesses, including a doctor and police officer.
Rittenhouse charged with killing two people during the protests in Kenosha last August took the stand Wednesday and testified that he acted in self-defense.
CNN's Omar Jimenez has more on the teen's testimony and the tense moments between the judge and the prosecution.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The most anticipated moment in the trial, Kyle Rittenhouse taking the stand in his own defense
MARK RICHARDS, KYLE RITTENHOUSE ATTORNEY: Did you come to downtown Kenosha look for trouble?
KYLE RITTENHOUSE, DEFENDANT: No.
JIMENEZ (voice over): He took the jury back to August 25th, 2020 when he said he and others volunteered to guard a car dealership in downtown Kenosha for property damage during protests following the shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse would go on to shoot three people killing two of them and wounding the third. Rittenhouse describes his first interactions with a man named Joseph Rosenbaum the first person he would later kill.
RITTENHOUSE: He screamed if I catch any of you (BEEP) alone I'm going to f***ing kill you.
JIMENEZ (voice over): And not long after he said he was cornered by Rosenbaum and a man named Joshua Ziminski, which began the sequence that led to the shooting of Rosenbaum.
RITTENHOUSE: Once I take that step back, I look over my shoulder and Mr. Rosenbaum was now running from my right side. And I was cornered from in front of me with Mr. Ziminski. And there were people right there ...
JIMENEZ (voice over): The judge called for a break and when Rittenhouse returned, less emotional now, he described the end of what became a chase with Rosenbaum following Rittenhouse.
RITTENHOUSE: There was no space for me to continue to run to.
RICHARDS: As you see him lunging at you, what did you do?
RITTENHOUSE: I shoot him.
JIMENEZ (voice over): Then others began chasing him as he testified, he wanted to get to the police.
RICHARDS: Why were you trying to get to the police?
RITTENHOUSE: Because I didn't do anything wrong. I defended myself.
JIMENEZ (voice over): Soon, he describes being physically confronted by a still unidentified man trying to kick him.
RITTENHOUSE: As his boot is making contact with my face, I fired two shots at them.
RICHARDS: Why did you shoot him?
RITTENHOUSE: I thought if I were to be knocked out or he would have stomped my face if I didn't fire.
JIMENEZ (voice over): He missed those shots, but the next one was deadly as Anthony Huber hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard. RITTENHOUSE: Mr. Huber runs up. He strikes me in the neck with his skateboard a second time. He grabs my gun and I can feel it pulling away from me.
RICHARDS: And what did you do then?
RITTENHOUSE: I fired one shot.
JIMENEZ (voice over): He then sees Gaige Grosskreutz, the only survivor of those Rittenhouse shot that night.
RITTENHOUSE: I see Mr. Grosskreutz with his hands up and as I'm lowering my weapon, I looked down and then Mr. Grosskreutz he lunges at me with his pistol pointed directly at my head.
JIMENEZ (voice over): So, Rittenhouse shot him once.
RICHARDS: What happens after you shoot him?
RITTENHOUSE: He's no longer a threat to me.
JIMENEZ (voice over): During cross examination, the prosecution started with trying to paint a bottom line.
THOMAS BINGER, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY, KENOSHA COUNTY: Everybody that you shot at that night you intended to kill.
[04:05:00]
RITTENHOUSE: I didn't intend to kill them, I intended to stop the people who were attacking me.
BINGER: By killing them.
JIMENEZ (voice over): The prosecution pushed further.
BINGER: You intentionally used deadly force against Joseph Rosenbaum, correct?
RITTENHOUSE: Yes.
BINGER: You intentionally use deadly force against the man who came and tried to kick you in the face.
RITTENHOUSE: Yes.
BINGER: Correct? You intentionally use deadly force against Anthony Huber, correct?
RITTENHOUSE: Yes.
BINGER: You intentionally use deadly force against Gaige Grosskreutz, correct?
RITTENHOUSE: Yes. JIMENEZ (voice over): But then the prosecutor begins to talk about the timing of Rittenhouse's testimony after Rittenhouse has had a chance to hear others testify in this trial and seeing video of the night's events. The Judge interrupted citing Rittenhouse's Fifth Amendment rights.
SCHROEDER: The problem is this is a grave constitutional violation for you to talk about the defendant's silence.
JIMENEZ (voice over): So, the questioning continued, but this time touched on a previous incident the Judge had not, as of Wednesday, allowed into trial. The judge had had enough.
BINGER: The court left the door open.
SCHROEDER: For me, not for you. I was astonished when you will begin your examination by commenting on the defendant's post arrest silence. That's basic law, it's been basic law in this country.
BINGER: For the defense that's fine.
SCHROEDER: Don't get brazen with me.
JIMENEZ (voice over): The incidents prompted the defense to file a motion for mistrial with prejudice, meaning he could not be retried. The judge said he would take it under consideration and the prosecution returned to cross examination, going back to the shooting of Joseph Rosenbaum and a moment Rittenhouse briefly pointed the gun at him before the shooting.
BINGER: Why'd you pointed at him if you didn't have any intention of shooting?
RITTENHOUSE: He was chasing me, I was alone. He threatened to kill me earlier in that night. I didn't want to have to shoot him.
BINGER: But you understand how dangerous it is to point a gun at someone, don't you?
RITTENHOUSE: I pointed at him because he kept running at me and I didn't want him to chase me.
JIMENEZ (voice over): The same line of questioning also extended to Rittenhouse's shooting of Gaige Grosskreutz.
BINGER: Can you help me understand, Mr. Rittenhouse, why Gaige Grosskreutz with a pistol on his hand is a threat to kill you, but you with an AR-15 pointed at him is not a threat to kill him at this moment, can you help me understand that?
RITTENHOUSE: I've been attacked by several people and he decided to come and point a gun at my head. Well, first --
BINGER: He hasn't done that yet, has he?
RITTENHOUSE: No. JIMENEZ: The prosecution's questioning lasted hours with Rittenhouse on the stand. Timeline wise, the judge told the jury to expect this case to be finished by early next week with a chance of Monday and the judge being very confident this case would be finished by Tuesday.
Omar Jimenez, CNN, Kenosha, Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: So legal experts have been weighing in on Kyle Rittenhouse's claim of self-defense in last summer's deadly shooting. Here's how two noted attorneys view his testimony. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL CALLAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY AND FORMER NYC HOMICIDE PROSECUTOR: The defense is going to claim that he was not the initial aggressor. In fact, he was carrying the AR-15 as a self-defense measure and he only started to use it after he was attacked and his assailants threaten to kill him.
One of them had a gun. And as a matter of fact, the prosecutor brought out that he had heard shots being fired at the scene as well. So, there's a lot of provocation on the other side, so there's no way that the self-defense claim is going to be taken away from him. It will be up to the jury to decide. But I think he made as compelling a self- defense claim as I've seen in a courtroom. And I've tried quite a few murder cases.
MARILYN MOSBY, MARYLAND STATE'S ATTORNEY, BALTIMORE CITY: When you look at whether or not it was a life-or-death matter, I think you have to consider the fact you have a young white boy openly carrying and possessing an AR-15 loaded with 30 rounds at a Black Lives protest Matter, in order to defend businesses. Not his business, not his life, not his liberty, but defending someone else's property, for rioter, which are code name for criminals, where he subsequently shoots and kills two unarmed people, wounds another. And yet he approaches the police. His arms, AR-15 strapped to his body, and the police they drive past him.
Why? Because he is in no way form or fashion is this white boy carrying an AR-15 who just shot three people was perceived as a threat. And so, the question really becomes now, how does he get the advantage of hiding behind a broad disingenuous interpretation of self-defense and the second amendment?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And stay with CNN. We'll have much more on the trial in the coming hours.
It's been nearly a week since the deadly crowd surge at the Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas. There are still so many questions.
[04:10:00] At least 58 civil lawsuits have now been filed in connection to the tragic event where eight people were killed. A county can judge is pushing for on independent investigation despite Houston Police Chief Troy Finner insisting it's unwarranted.
It Wednesday news conference Finner said that police told festival organizers to stop the show when at least one person in the crowd was receiving CPR. He didn't say how long it took for the show to stop after the request was made, but stressed it was up to organizers to make the call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TROY FINNER, HOUSTON POLICE CHIEF: The ultimate authority to end the show is with production and the entertainer, OK. And that should be through communication with public safety officials. I want us to review the tapes, OK, because if a tape is showing even somebody from our agency doing the wrong thing, you know what, in the most important thing, I'm telling you as chief of police, this is my agency. We're going to hold people accountable, and I think that the family -- we owe that to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The police chief also clarified that a security guard who was previously thought to have been injected with drugs was actually hit in the head. He fell unconscious and woke up in the security tent.
In we're learning more about the scores of people injured in the crash. The family of a 22-year-old college student says she's fighting for her life after being critically injured at the festival. A family attorney says Bharti Shahani is on a ventilator at the Houston hospital. The family says she went to the concert with her cousin and younger sister. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help pay for her medical costs.
The chief electrician on the film "Rust" has filed what appeared to be the first lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and crew members at the center of last month's fatal on set shooting. He claims the actor, assistant director and armorers negligence caused him severe emotional distress and accuses them of failing to implement and maintain industry firearm standards. CNN has reached out to the lawyers representing Baldwin and the other unnamed crew members and hasn't heard back yet.
It was another legal setback for former U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to keep his White House records secret from the January 6 inquiry. A federal judge on Wednesday refused his latest emergency request to block their release. Now the same judge had already rejected his argument of executive privilege the previous day, ruling the House Committee investigating the insurrection could have access to telephone records, visitor logs and other documents.
The National Archives are scheduled to give those materials to Congress on Friday. Now Trump will have to ask an appeals court for an emergency pause to block the release while he continues his legal battle. The case races questions about a former president's executive privilege versus the public's interest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIM WEHLE, PROFESSOR OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE SCHOOL OF LAW: The Presidential Records Act under which this lawsuit was brought is a post-Watergate reform that was specifically designed to bypass President Nixon's attempts to essentially potentially destroy records and maintain records. And the United States Congress said, no, the records belong to the people, and the incumbent President Joe Biden is the holder of the people's interest.
So, this is really about the public interest in this motion, in this moment. So, Donald Trump has to argue he is more in tune with the public interest than the United States president under the constitution. I think that's a really tough sell.
It actually is rare to get the state that he wants. It's in less -- in a 2020 study, it was less nan 20 percent of the cases actually get what he's asking for. But they tend to be a higher percentage if you're asking to stay release of confidential documents. So, I do think it's possible that the Court of Appeals is going to say, listen, this is important. We'll issue the stay. Alternatively, they could just say, we agree with the lower court. You have not satisfied the standard for injunction. We are going to briefly deny, deny the whole thing. That's conceivable. It does depend on the panel. The judges that are going to decide this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, sources tell CNN the House Select Committee wants more information from at least five members of former Vice President Mike Pence's inner circle.
When it comes to fighting climate change, China says cooperation with the U.S. is the only choice. The world's top two leaders surprised the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, with a new pledge to work together to cut emissions and keep rising temperatures in check. It's light on specifics and lacks any commitment from China on major international agreements. So, U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry says he's pleased.
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JOHN KERRY, U.S. SPECIAL CLIMATE ENVOY: The United States and China have no shortage of differences.
[04:15:00]
But on climate, on climate, cooperation is the only way to get this job done. This is not a discretionary thing frankly. This is science. It's math and physics that dictate the road that we have to travel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: For more let's bring in CNN's Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang. So, Steven, this surprise announcement -- take us through how this came about.
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Kim, this announcement came as a surprise because of the general low expectations at Glasgow, are from the world's top emitters led by the U.S. and China. You know, many see this agreement as a reiteration of the two countries' prior commitments stated in the 2015 Paris agreement. And so, they did say they would strengthen communications by reviving this working group on this issue and also making some broad and vague pledges about accelerating their pace of emissions reductions.
Now all of this, of course, came after Chinese leader Xi Jinping gave his reason for doing this in unsurprisingly very lofty terms. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): It had come to me that harms done to nature will eventually harm ourselves. China's carbon reduction action is a profound economic and social transformation. However formidable the task may be, we will work tirelessly to make our contribution to promoting global green transition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIANG: And the other reason this came as a surprise, of course, is the current state of this bilateral relationship which has been in a deep freeze for a long time. You know, John Kerry himself had long tried to convince the Beijing leadership to carve out this special lane for cooperation on climate despite tensions in all other aspects of this relationship. But Beijing said no to him.
Why the sudden change? Because now we know the two countries' leaders, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, will have their first virtual summit next week since Mr. Biden took office. So obviously both sides trying to provide some momentum going into that and create a more positive atmosphere for the two leaders to have their first virtual meeting.
But, of course, the question right now is given this development, will this really see the two countries' relationship bottom out given all the other remaining or even deepening structural contradictions. That's issues ranging from Taiwan to human rights -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Lots of if you still on the table there. Steven Jiang in Beijing, thanks so much.
A legislative victory for President Biden on his infrastructure plan is overshadowed by growing concerns on inflation. We'll bring you his message to Americans ahead.
Plus, Europe is fighting another flare-up of COVID-19. What the worst- hit countries are doing to try to lower the numbers. We'll bring you that story coming up. Stay with us.
[04:20:00]
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BRUNHUBER: President Biden is highlighting the benefits of the newly passed infrastructure bill while acknowledging Americans' concerns about inflation. He explained the measure has funding for ports like the one he visited in Baltimore, Maryland, which will help ease supply chain issues that are driving prices up. The Labor Department reported consumer prices soared more than 6 percent in the past year. That's the highest annual increase in 30 years. Energy and food prices have jumped in the last 12 months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: COVID-19 has changed the way we spend our time and our money. More products are being delivered than ever before. That's because people have a little more breathing room than they did last year, and that's a good thing. But it also means we've got higher demand for goods at the same time we're facing disruptions in the supplies to make those goods. This is a recipe for delays and for higher prices and people are feeling it.
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BRUNHUBER: CNN's Brian Todd reports that Americans are feeling the price pinch in every aspect of their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Motorists getting crushed at the pump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be one price one day and then tomorrow it's like up 30 cents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No more Starbucks. No more like those shoes are cute. It's, no, it's like OK, I have to get to work and I have to have gas. So --
TODD (voice-over): Gas prices according to the government were almost 50 percent higher in October than they were a year earlier. This kind of pain is almost universal in America. New government data shows inflation has skyrocketed over the past year. Rising more than 6 percent. The biggest increase in 31 years.
RANA FOROOHAR, GLOBAL BUSINESS COLUMNIST, FINANCIAL TIMES: We've gone for a couple of generations now without seeing this kind of inflation. So, people just aren't used to this kind of hit in their pocketbook.
TODD (voice-over): Almost all of this expert say is related to the pandemic. Consumers are taking a hit at the grocery store.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It went up $2. Like from $0.99 to $2.99. That's kind of high.
TODD (voice-over): The average price of meat, poultry, fish and eggs has gone up 11.9 percent from a year ago. FOROOHAR: So, what that means is that people are not going to be eating as well. They're certainly not going to be eating out as much. They'll not be buying expensive items in the grocery. And you know, food, fuel, rental prices, these are what most people spend most of their money on.
TODD (voice-over): Rent for the average urban American rose 2.7 percent from a year ago. The cost of electricity went up 6.5 percent. Home prices have soared due to tight inventory and low interest rates, new car and truck prices up 9.8 percent and used cars are up 26.4 percent, caused in part by growing demand and supply chain problems.
DAVID WILCOX, PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: Ports are backed up. That means that you get more containers stacked up. There aren't enough truck drivers. So, more containers get stacked up. They don't get delivered.
TODD (voice-over): And growing concerns about prices and supply for the holiday season.
TODD: What about the holiday season? Are we going to be able to buy the gifts that we want?
WILCOX: There probably are going to be shortages. It's too late now to produce something that isn't available in supply in stock on the store shelves now and ship it from China or elsewhere across the globe.
TODD: Is there price relief on the horizon?
[04:25:00]
The economic analysts we spoke to say that could take about six to 12 months if the pandemic eases significantly, if more people get vaccinated, get back to working in stores and in offices. But as for the high price and the shortage of cars, well, experts say that's going to take a little bit longer to solve because the computer chips used to make cars are so specialized and there still aren't enough of them coming into the United States.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: A federal judge has ruled against the Texas ban on mask mandates in schools, saying it violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Lawsuit from a disability rights group argues students with special health needs and underlying conditions who contract COVID are more likely to end up in the I.C.U. and masks are needed to protect them. The Texas Attorney General says he plans to challenge the decision.
Germany has broken another COVID record. For the fourth day in a row, daily infections hit a pandemic high. More than 50,000 new cases were reported today. Much of Europe is seeing a similar spike. The World Health Organization says new infections are up 7 percent compared to last week and the region's death toll increased 10 percent during that same stretch.
Scott McLean is following this live from London. Scott, dismal picture on the continent. So, let's start with the situation in Germany.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kim, there are serious concerns in Germany right now about the COVID-19 situation as you mentioned, just hitting a record high for daily case counts in the entirety of the pandemic. 50,000 in just a single day, which is up sharply from where they were just one week ago.
The German Chancellor says this is all pretty simple. Not enough of the German population is vaccinated to prevent the virus from ripping through the 33 percent of the German population which has no immunity. At least no immunity from vaccinations, or from vaccination at all. As a result, the city of Berlin for instance, says that as of Monday, unvaccinated people or people without natural immunity will not be able to go to restaurants, go to the hairdresser, gym, cinema, the list goes on because of the growing pressure on I.C.U. units inside hospitals.
Across the continent though, Kim, there is a noticeable east/west divide when it comes to the COVID-19 situation. Yes, case counts undoubtedly are high in many western European countries and growing. But people are not dying at nearly the same rate that they are in many Eastern European countries. And I want to show you some graphs that really illustrate the point here.
So, take Romania, Bulgaria, and Ukraine. This is their daily death toll per 100,000 of the population. That's at the top of your screen. Compare that to Portugal, U.K. and Spain which have a fraction of the deaths per 100,000. Now, these last three countries I mentioned, Portugal, U.K., Spain, they have some of the highest vaccination rates on the continent -- in Europe.
Compare that to Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine that have some of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, and so the difference in outcome is it pretty easy to explain. And many of these countries, they are trying to convince people even to just take the first shot of the vaccine. Meanwhile, what many western countries, Kim, they are already moving on to the booster shot to try to get older people and more vulnerable parts of the population to take that.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, as if we needed any more convincing to get the shot. Scott McLean in London, thanks so much.
All right, still ahead, trying to keep 1.5 alive. The British Prime Minister rallies delegates at the COP26 climate summit hoping to revive a deal to limit global warming.
Plus, a sea of men, women and children stranded at the EU border without adequate food and shelter. The U.S. and EU condemn Belarus for weaponizing helpless migrants.
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