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CNN International: Trump Lawyer Warns of Mayhem if Ex-President is Indicted; UBS-Credit Suisse Deal Follow Collapse of SVB, Signature Bank; China's Xi to Meet with Putin in Moscow in House Ahead; California Flooding May Intensify as Atmospheric River Nears; Body of Teenager Fund Near Murdaugh Estate to be Exhumed. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 20, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I they choose to do so for a misdemeanor, which frankly he even do. It is going to cause mayhem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone needs to be held accountable, everyone needs to be held to the same standard of the law.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Team Trump apparently believes Costello has information regarding Cohen's credibility.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Credit Suisse has been kind of a problem child in Europe for a little while now in ways that are completely unrelated to what's going on in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't know what's going to happen. We do know that financial instability threatens what has been a very strong economic recovery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: It's Monday, March the 20th. 8:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in New York where a grand jury is expected to indict former President Donald Trump any day now. The case is related to an alleged hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

NOBILO: In the coming hours, at least one more witness is expected to testify in the probe which could delay a potential indictment. The grand jury is set to hear from attorney Robert Costello. He was once a legal advisor to Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen. A source says that he could offer evidence challenging Cohen's claim about that hush money.

FOSTER: Cohen could also testify on Monday to offer a rebuttal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER LAWYER FOR DONALD TRUMP: Every single thing that I have said so far has been, first of all, found to be accurate and truthful, but more importantly, corroborated by others, as well as the existence of documentary evidence within which to prove the statements that were made were in fact accurate and truthful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Legal experts say Costello's testimony may not help Trump's case and that there could be an ethical issue due to Cohen's attorney/client privilege.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHAN WU, FORMER U.S. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: It's a very dicey ethical situation if he gave Cohen at one point any kind of confidential advice. Whether or not Cohen had waived the privilege. One, he might assert it. But two, you still as a lawyer cannot use confidential information to do something adverse to your client. He's obviously going into the adverse tune to try to undercut his credibility. So, it's a very odd situation.

Costello is undercutting his utility later. He's going to be locked in now. They're going to know the best he has to offer to help Trump. So it's really a poor move by Trump's team putting him in on the chances of them actually derailing an indictment at this stage are very, very low. In fact, it is nonexistent. So, if I were them, I wouldn't even bother putting him in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Trump's legal team is defending the former president after he called for protests against his potential arrest. One attorney claimed Trump is the victim of a double standard and warned that his supporters will be angry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA HABBA, ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: Why is it such a story when he does it but when these groups that are stealing money and doing -- calling for protests, and having people hurt and victimized it's not a story. It's one we ignore.

There are concerns, it's rightfully so. This could be a historically groundbreaking moves for a misdemeanor to try and bring it to up a charge when you're arraigning a former president. And 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 neither. And if this is what you're doing in this country, you better secure the premises because it's dangerous, you know, people are going to get upset. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, authorities in New York have indeed been preparing extra security measures ahead of potential unrest. CNN's Gloria Pazmino reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Law enforcement sources here in the city have confirmed to us that they have been discussing plans around this potential indictment of former President Donald Trump. Law enforcement agencies, everyone from the NYPD, to the Secret Service, to federal agents, as well as court officers which are responsible for safety inside the courtroom have all been coordinating in recent days ahead of this potential indictment.

[04:05:00]

Now Donald Trump taking to his social media channels to say that he would be arrested on Tuesday and calling on his supporters to protest and it's creating another layer of logistical challenges for authorities here in New York City. Because should protests happen here in the area, it would complicate the security and logistics. We expect former President Donald Trump to turn himself in -- if he is in fact charged with a crime, arrested and indicted. He would have to show up here to Manhattan Criminal Court here behind me. Just as anybody else who was accused of a crime.

He would have to go before a judge. He would be fingerprinted. His mug shot would be taken and he would go through the criminal justice process like anyone else facing a crime. The one big and obvious difference here of course, is that we are talking about the former President of the United States. Not only that, but also a current candidate for the presidency, adding a whole layer of history to this potential event and also adding to the complications around safety and security that local enforcement has to provide for him.

In response to the social media post that the president made yesterday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent an internal memo to his office over the weekend, acknowledging the possible threats. Law enforcement sources here in New York, also telling us that they are monitoring social media for any possible threats.

In the memo Alvin Bragg wrote, quote, we do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York. Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office will be fully investigated. And that the proper safeguards are in place. So, all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment.

That last line really underlining the fact that even with the potential indictment of a former U.S. president, this is an office that will still have to do the work that it does every day, to ensure that people who have to come through this court can do so safely and that business can carry on as it usually does on any given day. So local authorities, preparing for the possibility of that

indictment. Former President Donald Trump saying that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday. But of course, all of it remains to be seen.

Reporting in New York, Gloria Pazmino, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: I was fascinated to read or be reminded about the fact that in theory this wouldn't bar a president or a candidate from running for the president because the only actual requirements which are laid out in the Constitution are natural born citizenship, age, have to be over 35 and residency. Whereas if you compare that to 48 states have felony disenfranchisement, so you can't vote if you are convicted of a felony, yet you in theory could become president.

FOSTER: And it's all narrative, isn't it, for Trump. So, he's already seeing a narrative developing from his people around the arrest. So we'll see how that develops if he isn't arrested. Some people say could be eminent.

NOBILO: Now let's turn to the turmoil in the banking sector with the collapse of two U.S. banks and a crisis of confidence spreading across global markets. The U.S. official says that deposits of small and midsize American banks have stabilized since those collapses. The U.S. Federal Reserve and other leading central banks have announced dollar liquidity measures to ease the crisis. News came just hours after a Swiss bank UBS announced its plan to buy Credit Suisse at a fire sale price in an emergency rescue pact. The U.S. Federal Reserve and treasury chiefs are commending the nearly $3.25 billion deal.

FOSTER: Clare is here, if you take everything that's happens since that American bank collapsed. It feels like that response should give in a crisis. But we're told there isn't a crisis.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT Well, I mean, it's hard to say what the message is on that is from the authorities, but what they're trying to do with this rescue of Credit Suisse -- well, they're not calling it a rescue, they're not calling it a bailout. This is a commercial solution in light of the Swiss finance news that it's an acquisition by UBS. But the idea of that coupled with those dollar liquidity measures from the global central banks is to stem contagion. They don't want to spread any farther.

This is with Credit Suisse is interesting because they've had their own problems. For many years they've had scandals. They've had a loss of deposits last year. They posted the biggest loss since the financial crisis in 2022. So, they've got problems. But people I've spoken to would say that they don't think that they would have been in the situation that they are now had in now had it not been for Silicon Valley Bank. Because what happened last week --

FOSTER: Yes, they're all connected.

SEBASTIAN: Right, but they're not facing the same problems.

FOSTER: No.

SEBASTIAN: So, what happens last week with Silicon Valley Bank, and then we got announcement from Credit Suisse about their financial reporting, their biggest shareholder saying they were going to put any more money in.

[04:10:00]

That came at a time when investor scrutiny of the banking sector was at a high ebb. So, they're facing all of this because of that, because of the precipitous loss of confidence that were saying in the banking sector.

So, the European markets have just opened, I think we can take a look at those. You might have thought that the Swiss government coming in and backstopping this acquisition by UBS would have caused relief really in the markets. But that's not what we're seeing, that's not what we saw in Asia. In Asia we saw the banks fall quite sharply as well. There're worries around the price tag, it's less than half of what Credit Suisse was worth at its close.

FOSTER: 2 billion.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, 3 billion Swiss francs.

FOSTER: Bargain.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, and there's worry that there may be more stuff to come out as UBS gets closer into Credit Suisse's balance sheet. And we're still in this climate of fear around the banking sector as a whole.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you, we'll be watching it as those markets develop through the course of the day.

NOBILO: And in just a matter of hours, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to arrive in Russia for a visit that's likely to be viewed in the West as a powerful show of support for Moscow and President Vladimir Putin.

FOSTER: 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 there. 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. CNN correspondents tracking all the developments for us. Anna Coren is standing by in Hong Kong. And Salma is live here in London.

NOBILO: And Salma, let's start with you. We touched on it in that introduction. But I suppose the question is here, is the intention of the visit more to cement this, quote, no limits partnership between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin? Or as some hope, could it be seen as progress towards some kind of breakthrough in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, because Xi Jinping has had recent success mediating in the Middle East?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it depends on who you ask, Bianca. For President Xi, he's going to be walking a diplomatic tight rope. He's going to try to develop that relationship further with Moscow, that all important bilateral relationship. Without aggravating Europe an important trading partner any further.

For President Putin's part, his role in all of this is to woo President Xi. Is to win him over. Is to get him on his side. This is an absolutely critical moment in the conflict. President Putin does need help. It's been a year of war now. Western officials say he's running out of weapons. He's running out of men on the ground. He's faced some major battlefield losses. He needs not just a show of support from Beijing, he needs actual material support.

And as you pointed out there, that's something that U.S. officials have been concerned about. Pointing out that China could be considering sending lethal aid to Russia. And President Putin ahead of this visit has really been taking steps to show his strength, show he's in charge, show he's on the ground.

You have that visit to Mariupol. Of course, the city that became a symbol of defiance for its fight against President Putin's army which absolutely leveled that all-important town, Mariupol. President Putin showing up there, the first visit to that region since the start of the conflict saying really in that visit, I am present, I am here, I am victorious, despite the battlefield losses.

And it came a few days after the ICC, the International Criminal Court, issued an arrest warrant for President Putin. And yet again, in this PR move, he's saying I don't care, I don't recognize the legitimacy of that international court. I'm very much in charge. So, demonstrating that strength in power just before this important visit absolutely critical for President Putin.

And as you pointed out there are concerns that this visit could conclude in some sort of an announcement from China. The United States is already preempting that, I want you to take a listen to what John Kirby, a top U.S. official said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: If coming out of this meeting, there's some sort of call for a cease-fire, well that's just going to be unacceptable. Because all that's going to do, Mike, is ratify Russia's conflict to date. All that's going to do is give Mr. Putin more time to refit, retrain, reman and tried to plan for renewed offenses at a time of his choosing. We hope -- and we said this before -- that President Xi will call and talk to President Zelenskyy. Because we believe the Chinese need to get the Ukrainian perspective here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Look, the U.S. is going to view the visit with a great deal of skepticism and concern. You can see these are two powerful world leaders with a similar view, an anti-American world view, some might say, meeting together in a critical moment in a global conflict. FOSTER: Salma, thank you. And Anna, I mean, the reality is that Putin

needs Xi more than Xi needs Putin right now. So, how do you think Xi is going to play this?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, there's no doubt, Max, that Xi is very much playing out this trip as one of peace.

[04:15:00]

That is how it's being framed. As an opportunity to promote these peace talks, really, between Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. and Europe, as we know, highly skeptical of this. But Xi says he's committed to finding a resolution to this war that has been dragging on now for more than a year. He wrote an article in the Russian newspaper that was published this morning celebrating the close ties between Russia and the Ukraine. Putin did exactly the same in a Chinese newspaper.

China last month, proposed this 12-point peace plan, calling for a cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia, an end to Western sanctions. But it does not address Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory. And this is a sticking point obviously, for Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

China positioning itself as a peacemaker after reestablishing the diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran earlier this month. The Kremlin interestingly says it's giving this peace proposal great attention. Zelenskyy has said that he is willing to talk to Xi, virtual talks are expected although I should say they're not yet confirmed.

But as Salma says, the U.S., you know, believes that Xi's trip is to show solidarity with Russia. And it's a sign that it's seriously considering Putin's request to send these lethal weapons including artillery shells and attack drones. And China, Max and Bianca, you know, firmly deny this.

FOSTER: OK, Anna, thank you very much indeed. It's going to be so interesting to see the body language as much as anything else.

NOBILO: Absolutely, because they have an unusually close relationship for two world leaders and Xi actually described Putin as his very best friend and colleague just a few years back. And he's visited Russia I think more than any other country. They've met over like over 35 times in the last decade.

FOSTER: Yes.

NOBILO: So, yes, all eyes on the body language.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says that his country should be ready to launch nuclear attacks at this time to deter war. That's according to state media. Kim was on hand for military drills over the weekend which simulated a nuclear counterattack.

FOSTER: 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 leases country must bolster its nuclear deterrent exponentially.

NOBILO: Still ahead, South Carolina authorities re-examine the death of a 19-year-old years after finding his body. Why the recent murder trial of Alex Murdaugh has released interest in the case.

FOSTER: Plus, from the field of 68 down to sweet 16. We'll have some of the highlights from the March Madness.

NOBILO: And more rain is headed for California as the U.S. West Coast braces for another round of severe weather.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The flash flood threat is increasing across Central and Southern California with another atmosphere river event lining up Monday night into Tuesday. I'll have all of the details coming up after the break.

[04:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

FOSTER: Back to our global banking breaking news. This just into CNN, shares of Credit Suisse have plunged as much as 62 percent. Nearly two thirds in early trading today after the Swiss bank UBS agreed to take over its rival to help stem the market panic. Credit Suisse is being sold at a huge discount compared to what the bank was worth on Friday. The UBS shares were 8 percent lower as well.

The Swiss Central Bank says in a statement the agreement would secure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy. The concern then being that there'd be more panic now amongst the other banks and just continues.

NOBILO: The death toll from Saturday's earthquake from Ecuador has been lowered from 16 to 13. But the number of people injured has risen to more than 460.

FOSTER: As cleanup and recovery get under way, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso said on Sunday, that his government's goal was the return to normalcy and the Ministry of Finance has already allocated resources for repairs.

Whether across California could worsen this week with an atmospheric river set to sweep across the Western U.S. Parts of the state are still reeling from flooding caused by a burst levee last week. Thousands were evacuated and many are still waiting to get back to their homes.

NOBILO: Meantime, more than 40,000 people across the southern U.S. under freeze warnings. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam has the latest forecast for you.

VAN DAM: Yes, Max and Bianca, it's hard to believe we're actually talking about yet another atmosphere river event that is lining up to impact the central and southern portions of California. A timeframe, basically late tonight and into the day on Tuesday. And believe it or not there's a separate non atmospheric river event already impacting the Intermountain west. Mountain snows and valley rains for this region, that's not even the main event.

Look at the storm system that will approach late tonight into Tuesday. That is what we're focusing our attention and energy on because it will bring copious amounts of moisture and plenty of snowfall to the high elevations. Once again, we have kind of a scattering of winter weather alerts from the Great Basin all the way to the coast. And just outside of Los Angeles across Ventura County, some of those higher elevations could pick up several feet of snow once against.

Here's a look at the forecast radar. This is the original storm system bringing lighter amounts of precipitation the secondary atmospheric river event that will entire into the weather forecast late tonight into Tuesday will be a bit more powerful, although not as strong as the previous events we've seen this season. We'll still need to pay attention to it because the ground is extremely saturated here and the potential for flash flooding does exist.

And we often get high wind with atmospheric rivers. In fact we have wind advisories and watches including Los Angeles, northward into the bay region. We could see wind gusts in excess of 50 to 60 miles per hour.

Now the Weather Prediction Center picking up on this flash flood threat. This is our excessive rainfall forecast. It is a slight risk. That's where you see that shade of yellow, basil level 2 of 4. That includes Monterey all the way to Los Angeles and San Diego and even look at this, central portions of Arizona, just outside of Flagstaff.

[04:25:00]

The precipitation outlook through the week calls for one to three inches of rainfall along the coastline as well as the Central Valley. But several feet of snow as you get into the higher elevations, so the Sierra Nevada Mountain range.

The other big story we're talking about is the deep freeze all the way to the Gulf Coast. If you're waking up this morning from Birmingham to Atlanta, get this, 15 to 25 degrees cooler than what you should be this time of year. The good news is warmth is on the way, Max, Bianca, back to you.

NOBILO: In Florida, the city of Miami Beach is taking measures to keep people safe during spring break following two fatal shootings over the weekend. Authorities imposed a Sunday night curfew and issued a state of emergency in response to the violence and excessively large and unruly crowds.

FOSTER: The city manager is also putting in additional restrictions starting on Thursday and lasting through the weekend. The city imposed a similar curfew last year after spring break shootings.

Weeks after the South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of killing his wife and son, authorities are reexamining another mysterious death that happened near his home.

NOBILO: The body of 19-year-old Stephen Smith who died in 2015 will be exhumed according to the family's verified GoFundMe page. CNN Isabel Rosales reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, according to an incident report back in 2015, his body was found in the middle of a rural road, as you mentioned, near the Murdaugh estate with a forced blunt trauma to his head. Now his family is exhuming his body for an independent autopsy immediately. That is according to a GoFundMe page that has been verified by CNN.

And while authorities have not announced any sort of connection between Smith's death and the Murdaugh family, back in June 2021, the South Carolina law enforce vision or SLED, did announce that it was re-opening an investigation into Smith's killing. That was based on information that they gathered while investigating the double homicide of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.

And to this day, there's still so many questions surrounding Smith's death. According to a SLED report, pathologists indicated and stated in this report that it appeared that Smith was hit by a car.

But according to highway patrol, responding officer who was there onsite, they didn't find any skid marks, they didn't find any glass or debris or any injuries that would be consistent with Smith being hit by a vehicle. In fact, both of the shoes were on and slightly loosened. So that wouldn't be something very much consistent with getting hit by a vehicle. And investigators saw no evidence suggesting that he was hit.

We do have a statement today from SLED saying: SLED has made progress in the death investigation of Stephen Smith, however this investigation remains active and ongoing.

Now Smith's mother has been fighting since day one, since his body was found to get some answers into her son's death. She started a GoFundMe with the goal of performing an independent autopsy to get those answers and an exhumation. She thought that would be around $7,000. She set a goal of $15,000. And today has blown past that goal.

She put up a post on GoFundMe saying: Our family is so very grateful to all of you who came together to help us in our fight for justice for Stephen. We will pursue the exhumation immediately and provide updates along the way. Thank you for the kind words, prayers and donations. You have made this possible, and it means the world to us. This is Stephen's year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Isabel Rosales reporting there. And as she mentioned authorities have not announced a connection between Smith's death and the Murdaugh family. Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of murdering his wife and son earlier this month.

FOSTER: Still to come, preparing to strike, thousands of school workers in Los Angeles are preparing, getting ready to hit the picket line after contract negotiations failed to reach a resolution.

And this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he resisting, is he combative at all in those moments?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not at all. He's not moving, he's frankly lifeless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: A Virginia prosecutor explains why seven deputies have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a Black man. Details in a moment.

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