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Ex-Publisher Of National Enquirer To Meet With Prosecutors In Trump Probe; NYT: Manhattan DA Revives Hush Money Case, Sends To Grand Jury; Trump Sues Bob Woodward For Releasing Audio Of Interviews; Iranian Protester Escapes After Being Shot By Security Forces; Study: Screen Time For Kids Under 2 Liked To Later Cognitive Impairment; Boulder Crashes Into Home, Narrowly Missing Woman. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired January 31, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:34:05]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: As former President Trump continues his third bid for the White House, his legal battles in yet another state are piling up. CNN has learned that former National Enquirer Publisher David Pecker is set to meet this week with prosecutors in New York investigating Trump.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: So they're looking into whether Trump falsified business records to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels back in 2016, all to cover up an alleged affair which Trump has denied. Pecker was part of an effort to stop Daniels from going public.

Fast forward now. Here we are in 2023, and prosecutors seem to be moving forward. The New York Times reporting the Manhattan DA actually began presenting to a grand jury yesterday.

Joining us now, Federal Criminal Defense Attorney and Columbia Law School Lecturer at Caroline Polisi. So, Caroline, this is maybe the longest running criminal investigation for the former President. The payment happened years ago. Why do you see this move happening now to go to the grand jury?

CAROLINE POLISI, FEDERAL AND WHITE COLLAR CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That's right, Erica. And I think one of the biggest questions on everybody's mind is, in fact, why now?

[10:35:02]

Remember, this is conduct that took place in 2016 and 2017. Michael Cohen, the President's former lawyer and fixer has already pleaded guilty to the same conduct, served his prison time, and is out. The Southern District of New York at that time, you know, we all remember individual one in that guilty plea allocution, they essentially came to the conclusion that there was enough evidence to move forward with the prosecution.

However, Trump was in office, but they didn't move forward with one even after he left office. And then Cy Vance opened up a sprawling investigation, which the now Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg took over. And, you know, the rumor was that Bragg just didn't have the appetite to take on Trump in his individual capacity. So much so that two of his top prosecutors actually resigned from the office.

Well, now it seems like Bragg has some more wind in his sales. He has, you know, two wins for him in criminal convictions against Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

POLISI: -- former Trump or CEO. So, you know, perhaps he's emboldened by that and feels like he can get a conviction.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you, Trump's former fixer and lawyer, Michael Cohen, he went to jail for his involvement in this. And in that case, it was Trump, as you mentioned, who was listed as, although unnamed, as a co-conspirator in that. Could the same happen to Trump?

POLISI: Yes. So the -- so, interestingly, so these are state charges, right? And so the actual conduct that is being looked at here, according to reporting, is falsification of business records.

SCIUTTO: Right.

POLISI: So, essentially writing the wrong thing on the line item. And that's a low-level misdemeanor in New York. However, in order to kick it up to a felony offense, which is punishable by up to four years in prison, they would have to show that the falsification was in furtherance of another crime.

And that's the crime, Jim, that would sort of mirror the campaign finance law violation that Michael Cohen pleaded guilty towards, a campaign contribution --

SCIUTTO: Right.

POLISI: -- in excess of the legal limit. So, if prosecutors can prove those two elements, then they can convict him.

HILL: It'd be interesting to see. I'd love to get your quick take on another lawsuit. This one coming from the former president. He's suing Bob Woodward and his publishers $49 million, saying that the audio recordings they made for Woodward's book, "Rage," he never authorized that those can be used as part of an audio book. He said that they had been manipulated. Woodward says the interviews were on the record with his knowledge and agreement. Does Donald Trump actually have a case here?

POLISI: Yes. And Erica, you know, with that case, if you just read the headline, you would think that maybe, you know, Bob Woodward secretively recorded Trump without his knowledge or consent, admits that that is not the case in his papers. He made the recordings knowing that he was on the record, knowing that he was being recorded.

Erica, as you and Jim know, being journalists, you know, when witnesses go on the record, it's sort of all or nothing. You don't get to pick or choose how you are then portrayed.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

POLISI: This is one of a long line of Trump's sort of frivolous lawsuits that he's engaged in. He has a pending lawsuit against CNN for defamation. I mean, he does this. This is sort of in his repertoire of things to do. This is a copyright case and we'll see how far it gets.

HILL: Throw it all at the wall and see what sticks. Caroline Polisi, always appreciate it. Good to see you. Thanks.

Still to come here, a CNN exclusive. An Iranian protester flees the country after he was shot several times by security forces. We're going to take you inside his quick (ph) recovery.

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[10:43:13]

HILL: An Iranian man who's become a hero to the protest movement there is speaking exclusively to CNN. The young boxer nearly died after being shot multiple times by security forces last year, but has since escaped the country.

SCIUTTO: Amazing story of survival. We need to warn you the story contains some graphic images. Yet, the story our Jomana Karadsheh tells is a rare account of what's happening inside Iran right now.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was one of the most terrifying videos to emerge from Iran. A protester surrounded by armed regime forces trying to send them off with a knife. Shots are fired before he falls to his knees.

Ashkan Morovati later appeared in intensive care, barely conscious with his parents by his side.

ASHKAN MOROVATI, KURDISH IRANIAN PROTESTER (through translation): I had a severed artery in my leg. I had around 200 shotgun pellets in my body. I had serious wounds. Even after I surrendered and they arrested me, they beat me around 100 times in the head and the rest of my body with batons.

When they were transporting me to the hospital, they shot me from a very close range with a shotgun. They thought that I'll be dead.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): But Ashkan survived, and with him, a tale of unimaginable horror.

MOROVATI (through translation): I was a man who died and was brought back to life. As I am speaking with you, I still have 20 shotgun pallets still lodged in my body.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): He escaped Iran, now a wanted man in hiding, speaking exclusively to CNN for his safety. He won't say where he is.

MOROVATI (through translation): I got out of the country through mountains and deserts while heavily bleeding and in very, very bad condition. I died so many times before I got out of the country.

[10:45:04]

KARADSHEH (voice-over): As he lay in hospital, hanging on to life by a threat, he was charged with Moharebeh, waging war against God, a crime punishable by death in the Islamic Republic. Regime agents raided this hospital and dragged Ashkan to jail.

MOROVATI (through translation): When someone is taken from the ICU straight to prison, this is kind of a death sentence. In prison, I went through unbearable agony because all my wounds were open. I used salt to try to disinfect my wounds just a little bit. They badly tormented me.

They sent me to an army hospital that was not equipped to treat me. I was there in that condition with both my hands and feet chained to the bed.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): People of his Kurdish town of Sanandaj protested for his release. His family paid all they have to bail him out for medical treatment. And with the help of friends, he made it out of Iran.

MOROVATI (through translation): I was a professional boxer, a fighter. I was so eager about my future and had a plan to pursue this sport as a career. But because my leg and the rest of my body has been severely injured, I can't do that anymore. Being away from my family and all the pressure that they have endured because of me is mentally tormenting me. I'm not feeling OK physically or mentally.

KARADSHEH (on-camera): What do you want the world to know about what is happening inside Iran right now?

MOROVATI (through translation): There are so many like me who sadly gave their life, but their voice didn't reach outside. There are so many brave girls and boys inside Iran. Our only crime is that we demand freedom and democracy and want our women to be equal to our men.

We shouted, woman, life, freedom. And their response to us is only bullets, only torturing, raping prisoners. I saw many young people, 16, 17-year-olds get killed. They killed so many, they blinded so many. I swear to God, I can't sleep at night thinking about those scenes.

KARADSHEH (on-camera): Ashkan remains undeterred. Once he recovers, he says, he's ready to go back and continue the fight for a free Iran.

MOROVATI (through translation): I have no regrets and I am proud of what I did. I will give my life for my people, for my Iran. Not one time, but a hundred thousand times.

KARADSHEH (on-camera): Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Lucky to be alive. Great report by Jomana there. We should note, the Iranian government did not respond to CNN's request for comment on his case or on the widespread allegations of torture, mistreatment and killing of protesters there.

Coming up next, a terrifying moment caught on tape as a giant boulder crashed into a woman's home. You have to watch.

HILL: I mean, it's just wild. Also, still to come here, a new study reveals too much screen time for babies and especially young children could really impact them as they get older, both their grades, their emotional well-being. So what do you need to know as a parent? That's next.

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[10:52:43]

SCIUTTO: For so many parents, a little bit of screen time can save the day during a tantrum or just give you some time to get stuff done around the house. Erica, I assume they're talking about tantrums for the kids, not for the parents, because I suppose could be useful both ways.

HILL: Right. If Jim is having a tantrum, then we give him his tablet --

SCIUTTO: Let's give him his phone.

HILL: But it's just like turning on the TV when you were making dinner. It gives you a little bit of break to your point.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: A new study, though, shows that when it comes to kids under the age of two, giving them your tablet, letting them watch TV can really hurt their attention span in the long term, even impact their future work success.

CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Tara Narula joins us now. We were talking in the break --

DR. TARA NARULA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

HILL: -- tablets and phones with video weren't really around when my kids were little, but the guidance was definitely before two don't let them watch TV. What more do we know now?

NARULA: Yes, I mean, this is definitely a battle in our home as well. My husband's much better about it than me, and I could say that parents do use it as a way to kind of calm your kids while they're doing other things. But it can have real impact on kids, especially when they're very young, as you mentioned. So this study took about 437 kids, followed them for about about nine years, and initially assess their screen time at 12 months. On average, the screen time was about two hours, which sounds like a lot.

HILL: Yes.

NARULA: And they found that at nine years old, those kids that had the most screen time had reduced what we call executive function, or attention. Executive function is a really important part of how we make decisions, how we focus, plan, multitask. And yes, that can have ramifications long term when it comes to your academic performance, your professional abilities, and even your ability to regulate your emotions when you're feeling upset.

They also did something interesting, which was to do EEG monitoring of their brain activity in some of these kids at 18 months. And they also saw changes in their brain patterns of electrical firing as early as that 18-month --

HILL: Wow.

NARULA: -- point. Now, it's very hard to tell, is it the screen time or is it households that use a lot of screentime, have other issues where they're not interacting as much with their kids? But one thing is clear is that at that stage where the brain is developing, you need that face to face, back and forth interaction with an adult to model, to teach, hands on, play, socialization. That's so important for kids. So under 18 months, really, no screen time recommended.

HILL: There you go. Just give them a toy instead while you make dinner.

NARULA: Yes.

HILL: Jim, we're going to find a new way for you to do. Don't worry.

SCIUTTO: I'm sure you'll find a way.

HILL: Dr. Narula, thanks.

NARULA: Thank you.

[10:55:04]

HILL: This remarkable video out of Hawaii, we saw a little clip of it before the break, a woman narrowly misses being crushed by a boulder as it crashes into her home. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLINE SASAKI, BOULDER CRASHED INTO HER HOME: I heard the loud boom, and apparently the boulder passed right in front of me, which I didn't know, I didn't see it. All I heard was the boom, and then somebody asking me if I was OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HILL: It looks like something out of a movie. Caroline Sasaki says the family had just moved back into their newly rebuilt home when this happened on Saturday night.

SCIUTTO: They claim a development project in the mountain just behind their neighborhood has caused these boulders to start falling to stabilize the ground there. The developer denies any connection. Neighbors are calling on city officials to get involved before, well, you don't have a near miss like that, but someone gets seriously cursed.

HILL: Oh my God.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: It is so close to her. That is so scary. Glad she's OK.

SCIUTTO: Indeed.

HILL: Thanks to all of you for joining us today. I'm Erica Hill.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto. At This Hour with Kate Bolduan starts right after a quick break.

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