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Potential Indictment for Trump on Hush Money Case; UBS to Purchase Credit Suisse; President Xi Jinping to Visit Moscow; North Korea Ready to Attack Anytime; California Flooding May Intensify As Atmospheric River Nears; Civilian Wounded In West Bank Shooting. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 20, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I am Rosemary Church. Just ahead on "CNN Newsroom," the investigation into Donald Trump's alleged hush money scheme will soon have an unexpected weakness as the Manhattan District Attorney weighs indicting the former president. And if he is arrested, Trump's attorney warns of mayhem to come.

On both sides of the Atlantic, major moves are being made to try to restore faith in the global banking system.

Plus, China's president is making his first trip to Moscow since the war in Ukraine began. We will look at what both sides are hoping to get out of the business.

Good to have you with us. Well, Donald Trump is bracing for what could be an eventful week in one of his legal battles. The former U.S. president has called on supporters to protest his potential arrest on Tuesday over a hush money investigation in New York. In the coming hours, we could learn new details about that probe when his former attorney, Michael Cohen, appears before a grand jury.

Cohen's former legal adviser, Robert Costello, is also expected to offer evidence, which a source says would challenge Cohen's claims about the alleged hush money. If the investigation results in and indictment against Trump, his lawyer says, there could be unrest in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA HABBA, TRUMP LAWYER: Let's see if they arrest him. But I'll tell you what, if they choose to do so for a misdemeanor, which, frankly, he didn't even do, it is going to cause mayhem, Paula. I mean it's just a very scary time in our country. I do think security should be in place if that is what they choose to do.

I would never want to see anybody get hurt. I know the president wouldn't either. And, if this is what we're doing in this country, better secure the premises because it's dangerous, you know. People are going to get upset.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Areva Martin is an attorney and legal affairs commentator, and joins us now from Los Angeles. Good to have you with us.

AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY & LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Hi Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Areva, Donald Trump says he will be arrested Tuesday and has called on his supporters to protest and, in his words, take our nation back. In response to this, Manhattan's district attorney, says Trump's attempts to intimidate won't be tolerated. And law enforcement will counter any such threats. So, where is all of this going?

MARTIN: Yes, it's so interesting to hear Trump's lawyer, Rosemary, say that Trump nor his team wants to see anybody get hurt. But the language that he's used on his social media platforms sound very similar to the language used to incite the riot that we saw -- insurrection, that we saw on January 6.

So, I don't know if that's a credible statement or not. But we do know that Trump has the ability to cost thousands of people to, you know, to be galvanized and to engage in conduct that's counterproductive and violent. So, hopefully, unlike January 6, there is adequate measures being taken by all law enforcement agencies and they will be prepared if protesters take to the streets or do anything to protest what would be a lawful issuance of an indictment. I don't understand the logic. Somehow, he's, you know, supposed to be above the law. Other people have been indicted and there is no call for protests.

CHURCH: And as we mentioned, Attorney Robert Costello, former legal adviser for Michael Cohen is expected to testify Monday before the New York grand jury investigating Trump's role in the Stormy Daniels hush money payments. At the request of Trump's defense team, they, of course, are hoping that Costello will attack Cohen's credibility. If he does that, what impact will it likely have?

MARTIN: Well, we know one thing, Rosemary, is that Michael Cohen is on standby. So, if Robert Costello goes into that grand jury room and gives testimony thus contradicts that which Michael Cohen gives, he's going to be called in immediately to rebut whatever that testimony is.

[02:04:50]

I don't think, at this, point anything that Robert Costello says, if the district attorney in Manhattan has already -- had enough evidence, heard enough evidence and has presented enough evidence to this grand jury, I doubt that one witness testimony will cause there to be any different outcome.

So, if there is enough evidence already to indict and they are just wrapping this up, I suspect that they will move forward with the plans that they already have in place. CHURCH: And Trump's attorneys say that there will be mayhem if he is

arrested. How likely is it that Trump will be arrested on Tuesday as he himself is predicting, and what will the likely ramifications be if that happens?

MARTIN: Well, we don't know if this is going to happen on Tuesday. Even his legal team has said that they are doubtful that there is not been any credible information coming from this district attorney's office, announcing that Tuesday is the date that he will be arrested. So, at this point, that's just speculation.

But in terms of what this could mean, obviously, this country has never faced this kind of what some are calling the constitutional crisis where a former president who is running for president again, has been arrested, has been indicted on criminal charges. So, it remains to be seen what this looks like. We know there is a huge security risk.

This is not like going to knock on the door of Michael Cohen or one of the very many people in Trump's orbit that have been arrested because Trump does have Secret Service protection, any kind of arrest would have to be worked out with the Secret Service. So, there's lots of details yet to be, I think, worked out or disclosed as it relates to any potential arrest.

CHURCH: And, Areva, how strong is this investigation into hush money payments compared to the other Trump investigations?

MARTIN: You know, Rosemary, that's a great question. We don't know what this indictment will say or, you know, says because it hasn't been issued as of yet. We do know that federal prosecutors in New York looked at these potential charges -- or potential charges related to this hush money. And they decided not to indict. We know that federal election committee has also looked at these charges.

So, there is some concern that state charges may not be that strong. But, look, Donald Trump is no longer the president of the United States. And to the extent that this grand jury believes that it has evidence to indict, he is not above the law.

And this notion that somehow the case involving the classified documents that were taken from the White House or the case involving the, you know, attempt to get the election results overturned in Georgia, that those cases are somehow better cases because they're being investigated, involving cases that, you know, involve federal law, particularly with the classified documents case, I don't buy that.

If Donald Trump has committed a crime, wherever that crime has been committed, or wherever that crime, is he needs to be held accountable just like any other citizen would be held accountable.

CHURCH: Some critics have suggested that the hush money payments, that these represent the weakest of the investigations into Trump and it plays into his sense of persecution, and then, of course, will then plug into his support base, and that will cause some trouble, indeed. Do you agree with that?

MARTIN: I don't agree with that, Rosemary, and here's why. If Donald Trump was indicted for the case involving the attempt to overturn the election in Georgia, his base would have the same response. If he was indicted for taking classified documents out of the White House, not returning them, and then making false statements or his team making false statements about all the documents being returned, his base would, you know, object to that.

There is not a case that can be brought against Donald Trump no matter how legitimate that case is that his base wouldn't respond to. So, this notion that somehow, if there were this hypothetical storm or case that his base would, you know, accept it, I think it's hypocrisy and it's a fantasy.

His base is going to support him no matter what they believe that he is above the law and that they believe that he should be given special treatment. So, I think, the Department of Justice, the district attorney in Georgia, and the district attorney in Manhattan have to follow wherever the evidence leads them.

CHURCH: And, Areva, of course the complication here is that Donald Trump is running for president in 2024, and could very well become the nominee for the Republican Party. And, even perhaps even become the next president of this country. How does that all play into these investigations?

MARTIN: Again, we are in uncharted waters, Rosemary. We know, with respect to Richard Nixon, the Republican Party was able to convince him to resign. So, we never had to face this question as a country. We've never had someone running for president while being investigated by several investigatory bodies. We've never had anyone that's been indicted while running for president.

Obviously, the Constitution doesn't preclude him from running while being investigated. It doesn't preclude him from, you know, running even after a potential indictment.

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So, it's unclear what this will do to the country. We know we're incredibly polarized already. Clearly, an indictment, an arrest, having Donald Trump fingerprinted and a mugshot taken of him will only galvanized, you know, a certain portion of this country that has stood by him.

But, again, we have to remain true to the principle of the laws. The same issues, the same fundamental bedrock comes (inaudible) of our legal system that apply to everyone else in this country, must apply to even, a former president.

CHURCH: Areva Martin, we thank you for your legal analysis. As always, appreciate it.

MARTIN: Thank you. CHURCH: All right, let's turn now to the turmoil in the banking

sector with the collapse of two U.S. banks and a crisis of confidence spreading across global markets. UBS is planning to buy Credit Suisse at a fire sale price in an emergency rescue pact. The nearly three and a quarter billion-dollar deal is being brokered by the Swiss government in an attempt to stem market panic.

Meantime, the U.S. Federal Reserve and several other leading central banks have announced dollar liquidity measures to ease the banking crisis. And CNN's Clare Sebastian joins me now live from London. Good morning to you Clare. So, how are global markets reacting right now to this move by UBS to buy Credit Suisse and how will this takeover work exactly?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, this is a very fast-moving situation in terms of global market. It's only the Asian markets that are open at the moment. But certainly, we're seeing some jitters there in the banking sector in particular. This was, as I say, a very fast-moving situation.

You'll remember last week off the back of what happened in the United States with those three-bank failure starting with Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse had its own separate issues. They sort of came to the floor, again, earlier last week with issues around its financial reporting, then its top shareholder said that it wouldn't put any more money in.

And then we saw a real crisis of confidence in the bank. It's had years of problems, but it sorts of crystallized last week. The Swiss National, Bank, the central bank there, stepped in with more than $50 billion lifeline, but that did not stem the losses, both in the stock price and in terms of depositors.

"The Financial Times" says that at one-point last week they were losing around $10 billion dollars a day in deposits. So, we got to the point this weekend when it was clear that Credit Suisse could no longer carry on as it was. And what we have in terms of this deal is really a sort of part acquisition, part government. I don't want to use the word bailout, that is a bit controversial in this deal.

But UBS has come in and they're buying, as you say, the bank at a fire sale price, less than of half what it was worth that the market closed on Friday. The government is back stopping the deal as well with more than $100 billion dollars in credit. And they're also back stopping some potential losses at Credit Suisse. This is what the Swiss finance minister had to say about it. Take a listen.

(BEGIUN VIDEO CLIP)

KANIN KELLER-SUTTER, SWISS FINACNCE MINISTER: The bankruptcy of a global systematically bank would have cost irreparable economic turmoil in Switzerland and throughout the world. For this reason, Switzerland had to take the responsibilities beyond its own borders.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SEBASTIAN: So, this was about preventing contagion, preventing that

similar fate befalling on other banks. This is why we see the Bank of England, the fed, the U.S. Treasury coming out and welcoming the deal. Now, the losers here, Credit Suisse shareholders, they are getting a tiny bit back. They're getting one UBS share under the deal for every 22 and a half Credit Suisse shares that they own.

And perhaps the most controversial is that the clash of bond holders in Credit Suisse, $17 trillion worth of bonds are being wiped out completely, $17 billion, rather, I should say. And that is going to cause some controversy. It's potentially going to ripple through the bond market, as well today. But, the key thing to take away here, Rosemary, is that a 167-year-old bank, systematically important, one of the top 30 in the world, under this deal will cease to exist.

CHURCH: Yes. Unbelievable. Clare Sebastian, joining us live from London. Many thanks.

And still to come, meeting in Moscow, the leaders of Russia and China are just hours away from a one-on-one with the war in Ukraine set to dominate talks. We'll have a live report, just ahead.

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CHURCH: In just a matter of hours, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to arrive in Russia for a visit that is likely to be viewed by the west as a powerful show of support for Moscow and president Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin says the two plan to strengthen relations and discuss the war in Ukraine with a one-on-one meeting kicking off the visit.

The U.S. plans to keep a close eye on developments and watch for any signs that China is moving forward with providing military aid to Russia. And CNN's Anna Coren is following developments for us. She joins us live from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Anna. So, how is China framing President Xi's visit to Moscow and how does he plan to be a neutral peace broker in Russia's war with Ukraine if there's any possibility, he may offer lethal support to Putin?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, China is definitely framing Xi's trip to Moscow as an opportunity to promote peace. The U.S. And Europe are highly skeptical of that, of course, but Xi Jinping has made it perfectly clear that China is committed to finding a resolution to this year-long war in Ukraine.

He wrote an article, which was published this morning in a Russian newspaper celebrating the close ties between the two countries. Now, last month China proposed a 12-point peace plan calling for a cease- fire and end to western sanctions, but it did not address Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory.

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China's peacemaking credentials were recently bolstered when it facilitated the reestablishing -- the reestablishment I should say, of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran. So, it certainly positioning itself as this peacemaker.

The Kremlin says it's considering the proposal. It is giving it great attention. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he is willing to work and speak to Xi. Virtual talks are expected although that is yet to be confirmed. But the U.S. obviously is not buying it. It believes that Xi is considering Russia's request to supply it with lethal weapons, as you mentioned, including artillery shells and attack drones.

And also, as you made it perfectly clear, Rosemary, this is a blatant show of solidarity and a further strengthening of ties between Russia and China. You know, these two leaders, they've met 39 times when Xi came to power. Xi has just cemented his third term in power. Both these men have positioned themselves as leaders for life. I mean, this is a partnership about creating a new global order with China firmly at the helm.

And, you know, the timing of this is critical for Putin. His invasion of Ukraine has stalled, military casualties are mounting, and then just last week, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for war crimes against Vladimir Putin in Ukraine. He needs this distraction.

Xi is expected to land in just over four hours, 6:30a eastern, 1:30p local time in Moscow and a formal lunch will take place in the Kremlin ahead of the talks, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Anna Coren joining us live from Hong Kong.

And joining me now is Matthew Schmidt, a professor of national security and political science at the University of New Haven and Howard Stoffer, a professor of national security, also at the University of New Haven. Appreciate you both being with us.

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Good to be here.

HOWARD STOFFER, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Good to be here.

CHURCH: So, of course the biggest question ahead of President Xi Jinping's visit Monday for talks with President Putin is whether Beijing will offer weapons to Russia for its war on Ukraine. How unlikely is it that Xi will decide to do this, and how should the west and its allies respond to such a move? Professor Schmidt, I'll start with you.

SCHMIDT: I think that Xi' power is not answering that question. He published today (inaudible) an article which was all about him offering a peace plan, and it is very hard to be a credible peacemaker while you are offering weapons. So, I think he is very much going to avoid playing his hand right now because his real power is in not letting anybody know what he's going to do yet, and that is where he has leverage.

CHURCH: Professor Stoffer, do you agree with that?

STOFFER: Yes, I have no problem with that. I have a different take on it though. I think Xi is much too sophisticated to go all out and start providing military equipment, lethal equipment to Russia. Already, Chinese companies are operating through Hong Kong and the U.A.E where they are providing high-profile electronics, you know, the drones and the chips, electronic chips that will be assisting the Russians to develop their missiles even better.

So, I think they're working sort of like a back way to provide the help from China to Russia. And of course, they are buying a lot of oil from the Russians at market rate, which is also helping sustain Putin.

CHURCH: Yeah, very good point. And Professor Schmidt, let's pick up on your point. President Putin is welcoming China as a peacemaker in the Ukraine war just ahead of President Xi's visit to Moscow, but how can Beijing be a neutral and honest peace broker if it is showing such obvious and open support for Russia?

SCHMIDT: It can't. As is usual with these things, we often look at what Xi is saying or what Putin is saying and think that they are directing that to us. But in fact, they are directing it at their domestic audiences. This is all about Xi going back to the Chinese public, who doesn't know the truth about the war, and saying, hey, I'm trying to make peace. I am playing on this world stage, and buttressing his power.

And it is all about Putin saying I have some leverage with the leader of the largest country in the world, right, the largest trading partner for more countries in the world than any other country, And, you know, and this a rationale now to force Ukrainian negotiations.

And so that is really what's going on here. It's not that anyone believes that anyone outside their own countries, you know, is going to take this piece pan seriously.

CHURCH: And Professor Stoffer, would the west ever accept a peace proposal from President Xi do you think?

[02:24:57]

STOFFER: Well, I don't think it's up to the west. I think it's up to the Ukrainians to decide what kind of process they want to engage in, but I do believe, agreeing with my colleague, that you basically have the two leading, you know, authoritarian states in the world trying to develop a multi (inaudible) world. And that's part of the reason why Xi is going to Moscow now to shore up that perception that there can be more than one superpower in the world, and more than one poll (ph) of power.

And so, if the two countries, Russia and China, together with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, where by the way Putin and Xi met in September, in Uzbekistan, they're trying to just be able to put forward this kind of new process to realign the world who expect that China and Russia will also have alternative ways for the rest of the world to go. CHURCH: And just ahead of this highly anticipated meeting between

Putin and Xi, we have seen footage of Putin's surprise visit to Russian controlled Mariupol in Ukraine where he is viewing the devastation caused by his own military and some rebuilding that is going on there. This visit coming just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in connection to war crimes. So, what's this trip to Mariupol really about, along with all of the optics, Professor Schmidt?

SCHMIDT: Well, again, it's directed back at the Russian public, which does not have a clear and accurate understanding of what's going on in the war. So, the Mariupol that Putin is presenting back to Russia is not the Mariupol that we look at and see. It's not the Mariupol where, in fact, the war crimes the ICC has indicted him on happened.

It's not the Mariupol where the children were kidnapped and taken back into occupied Russia or actual Russia. It's the Mariupol where in his telling of the story, he is defeating the great Nazis who stood, you know, stood and fought at the steel plant for weeks and weeks on end. And so again, we have to keep in mind how this is viewed domestically.

CHURCH: And so, Professor Stoffer, your response to the optics of this visit by Putin to Mariupol?

STOFFER: Well, first of all, I refer to Putin as the criminal Putin because he's criminal long before the ICC even indicted him, or at least claim that he had committed war crimes. The other thing he's doing is, you know, with Biden going to visit Ukraine a couple of weeks ago, it showed that Biden, the president of the United States, would go into a war zone, and we, the United States do not have military troops to protect him, and to visit Zelenskyy.

And, you know, I think this is Putin trying to show if there was criticism of Putin for not coming to the front, then he goes to this area far, far deep inside of Crimea, not throwing, you know, showing his face but not showing any willingness to show up at the next and really real front is going on.

So, this weak, an alternate visit to show his domestic audience, I agree with Professor Schmidt, that he is brave and tough and he is willing to go up to the front and talk to the troops out there.

CHURCH: Professors, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

STOFFER: Thank you.

SCHMIDT: Have a good night.

CHURCH: You, too. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says his country should be ready to launch nuclear attacks at any time to deter war. That's according to state media. Kim was on hand for military drills over the weekend with simulated a nuclear counterattack. He also accused the U.S. and South Korea of expanding their joint military drills by involving American nuclear assets. And he says their aggression means his country must bolster its nuclear deterrence exponentially.

Still to come, California flooding may get worse this week due to severe weather heading for the U.S. West Coast. We will have the latest forecast on what to expect. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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CHURCH: The levee bridge that caused devastating flooding in parts of Northern California has been patched. These images show what happened after the levee broke last weekend, sending water rushing towards a small farming community. Thousands were evacuated and at least 200 people had to be rescued.

Right now, hundreds of people are still out of their homes waiting in shelters until their homes are inspected.

Weather across California could worsen this week with an atmospheric river set to sweep across the Western U.S. It's forecast to hit the state late Monday bringing even heavier rain and snow.

CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has the latest forecast, Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Here we go again, yet another atmospheric river event lining up for central and southern California. This will approach the state by late tonight and into the day on Tuesday.

But believe it or not, there's actually a separate storm system that's not considered an atmospheric river but still bringing light rainfall and mountain snows to the intermountain west. It's really the secondary storm system you see entering into the equation late on Monday and into the day on Tuesday that will bring several feet of snow once again to the central Sierra Nevada Mountain range, as well as several inches of rain to the coastal areas.

And by the way, the mountains just outside of Los Angeles and Ventura County, they could see a few feet of snowfall from this latest A.R. event.

Here's the first storm system sweeps inland. It's the secondary storm that we're going to focus our attention on because that's going to have the most moisture and really have that deep tropical connection that will bring in our copious amounts of rain and snow.

Now, it won't be as powerful as previous atmospheric river events we've seen this season but nonetheless, National Weather Service picking up on that flood threat for central Nevada, Arizona, as well as central portions of California.

Also picking up on the winds, we often get strong wind gusts with atmospheric river events, so wind advisories and watches in place.

And by the way, this includes Los Angeles, we could see gusts over 60 miles per hour.

Weather Prediction Center has a slight risk that's a level two of four for excessive rainfall, so the potential for flash flooding, landslides and mudslides.

This is for the day on Tuesday that extends from Monterey southward into Ventura and Los Angeles County's broad overview of our rain and snow accumulation, one to three inches of rain along the coast, more of the same across the valleys with several feet of snowfall for the central Sierra Nevada mountain ranges.

The other story we're monitoring, the hard freeze that is ongoing across the deep South. You're waking up at temperatures from Atlanta to Nashville and Memphis 15 to 20 degrees where they -- below where they should be this time of year. Back to you.

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CHURCH: Thanks for that. Well, the U.S. says at least one civilian shot in the West Bank is an American citizen. The latest on new violence in the region and Israel's response, that's ahead.

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CHURCH: In France, President Emmanuel Macron's government faces a test in Parliament as protests rock the country. The French National Assembly is set to vote on two no confidence motions tabled by opposition lawmakers. They were filed after the government bypassed a full parliamentary vote to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The no confidence motions are expected to fail. But unions are calling for nationwide strikes to bring the country to a standstill later in the week.

We are tracking more violence over the weekend in the West Bank. Israeli authorities said on Sunday one civilian was shot and wounded in the Flashpoint Palestinian town of Huwara. The U.S. ambassador to Israel says the victim was a U.S. citizen. Hadas Gold has the latest from Jerusalem.

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, so we're learning that earlier today, this man and his wife were driving through Huwara and the reason that they were doing so is that one of the main roadways through the occupied West Bank that both settlers and Palestinians use crosses through this tug of war and that's why it's become a flashpoint.

What we know is that at some point they came under attack, a gunmen began shooting at their vehicle. If you look at the images of the vehicle, you just see the windshield absolutely riddled with bullet holes.

Now, the Israeli military says that actually the driver, the husband managed to shoot back at the attacker. They say the attacker was injured before fleeing, he was later apprehended by Israeli soldiers. Miraculously, despite the number of bullet holes you've seen in that

windshield, the man actually is now in rather stable condition. The hospital saying that it's amazing the condition that he is in.

[02:40:05]

But as you noted, Huwara has been a flashpoint for some time. A few weeks ago, those two Israeli brothers were shot and killed in actually a rather similar attack while they were driving along that main road and attacker shooting and killing these two Israeli brothers.

A few hours later, we had those Israeli settlers essentially rampage revenge attacks, dozens of homes and cars were burned and one Palestinian man was killed in the ensuing chaos. So, there's been a lot of tension already in Huwara.

Now, actually, settlers had said that they wanted to demonstrate again tonight, so there was a lot of concern that we will see sort of a repeat of those settler rampages.

But so far, it doesn't seem -- it does seem as though things are calm. It seems as though the Israeli military has a lot more control over the situation than last time. This is all coming while Israelis, Palestinians, Egyptians, Jordanians, Americans are all that just met in Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt to try and calm situation especially ahead of Ramadan, which starts later this week.

All eyes will be here on Jerusalem on the holy sites here in Jerusalem. Ramadan is expected to really raise the tension quite a bit.

CHURCH: Our thanks to Hadas Gold.

I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers, "World Sport" is next and for those of you here in North America, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stay with us.

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