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CNN International: Trump Speaks After Pleading Not Guilty to 34 Felony Counts; More Than 60 Million Americans Under Some Form of Weather Alert; Israeli Police and Palestinians Clash Inside Holy Site. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 05, 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]

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 MALE: No matter who you are, we cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They can't beat us at the ballot box, so they try and beat us through the law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm extraordinarily distressed by this document. I think this is even weaker than I feared it would be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No power. Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The treat for severe weather will continue on into our Wednesday over the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley. I'll have the threats and the timing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

FOSTER: It's Wednesday, April 5th 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in New York and at Mar-a-Lago, where Donald Trump and his legal team are gearing up for a legal battle after he became the first current or former U.S. president to be criminally charged, arrested and arraigned.

NOBILO: Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony criminal charges of falsifying business records in a historic and unprecedented court appearance. The former president heard the charges against him for the first time Tuesday. His attorneys say the indictment lacks facts but plan to fight it hard. They spoke outside the courthouse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE TACOPINA, DONALD TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: Today's unsealing of this indictment shows that the rule of law died in this country. Because -- well everyone is not above the law. No one's below it either. And if this man's name was not Donald J. Trump there is no scenario, we'd all be here today. Please understand that based on these charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, prosecutors alleged that Trump sought to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election through a hush money scheme with payments to women who claimed they had extramarital affairs with him. The indictment says, for all 34 counts, Trump had, quote, intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime.

NOBILO: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says he was able to bring the case against Trump because of access to additional evidence. He said that serious criminal conduct cannot be normalized and explained what this case is all about.

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ALVIN BRAGG, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The scheme violated New York election law. Which makes it a crime to conspire to promote a candidacy by unlawful means. $130,000 wire payment exceeded the federal campaign contribution cap. And the false statements in AMI's books violated New York law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Donald Trump is back at his Mar-a-Lago residents in Florida, where he spoke for the first time following his arraignment in New York in a speech to a room full of supporters. Trump aired his grievances and made a number of false claims. The former president also slammed the district attorney, saying he has no case. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more from Mar-a-Lago.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As it turns out, virtually everybody that has looked at this case, including rhinos and even hardcore Democrats, say there is no crime. And that it should never have been brought -- never have been brought.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Even people that aren't big fans have said it, they said this is not the right thing to do. It's an insult to our country as the world is already laughing at us.

Former President Donald Trump, giving uncharacteristically short speech after his arraignment and his Mar-a-Lago club. He did talk about the New York case briefly. He attacked the district attorney there, as well as the judge.

But he spent more time talking about other investigations into him. He talked specifically about the Department of Justice's investigation into classified document handling at his Mar-a-Lago club. Now he had a crowd here full of supporters. Everyone here was a --

what I would say is a MEGA fan. You saw members of Bikers for Trump. Members of Club 45, as well as supportive lawmakers, allies, advisors, family members as well.

Now I am told that after he made those remarks, he went up to the party patio, where he often eats dinner at Mar-a-Lago, and during his time there, they actually started playing the J6 song that he had recorded with the J6 Choir, who are men that have been incarcerated for their alleged actions on January 6th. He did the pledge of allegiance.

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The entire patio stood and then he'd set back down -- sat back down and then continued eating dinner.

Now I am told that he afterwards DJed with the laptop. Something he has wanted to do when he is at his Mar-a-Lago club. So clearly, a very long day. He is now surrounded by some of the people who adore him the most.

We are, obviously, are just starting this process with this arrangement, something that we will be watching very closely, particularly as it pertains to his 2024 campaign.

Kristen Holmes, CNN West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Learned something there, didn't we, from the picture.

NOBILO: I was caught off guard by that.

FOSTER: The indictment specifies how Donald Trump personally signed checks to his so-called former fixer Michael Cohen. Trump, Cohen and others in the Trump organization also set up Catch and Kill Schemes where they would pay to have stories about Trump out of the media. And that included the payment to Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, since then you'll remember, has gone to prison and faced a backlash from Trump, and here's how he reacted to being a key witness in the investigation.

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MICHAEL COHEN, DONALD TRUMP'S FORMER PERSONAL LAWYER: My loyalty belongs to my wife, my daughter, my son and my country. And I believe that it's important that everyone who commits a crime be held accountable. And if those crimes were relevant enough by the Southern District of New York to hold against me, then certainly it should be -- it shouldn't matter that it's Donald J. Trump or a former president or anyone.

He refuses to listen to anyone. He allows his worst nature to come forward, and that's not going to help him in this case. You know, it's not just this case, he knows that there's the Georgia case. The Fani Willis the DA case coming down the pike very soon. You have both of Jack Smith's case also.

And this notion that, well, why did Alvin Bragg go first? What's the difference? Why all of a sudden are we treating this like it's a horse race? Who's coming in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. It shouldn't matter. If you break the law, it's called accountability. And it goes right back to the adage that no one is above the law, and that includes Donald J. Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: So, what comes next? Prosecutors say that they expect to produce most of the discovery in the next 65 days. Trump's team has until early August to file any motions and the prosecution must respond by mid-September. The next person hearing is set for December 4th.

Joining us now is Thomas Gift, an associate professor of political science and founding director of the Center on U.S. Politics At University College London. Great to have you on the program. Thomas, I noticed yesterday, I'm sure you did too, a decisive shift in tone with regard to how media and people from all sides of the political spectrum were talking about the former president. It was in a more human way. It was as though it was just a very sad day for American democracy and slightly less targeted and politicized. Would you say that was your assessment?

THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR, CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LONDON: Well, I think you're absolutely right, Bianca. And thanks so much for having me on the show. I think it goes without saying that prosecuting not only a former president but also the de facto leader of one of the country's two major parties isn't a sign that America wants to project. You know, whether you think the charges are appropriate or not, it's still tarnishing to the country's reputation.

And we've obviously seen former heads of state face criminal charges in other advanced democracies, but this is unique in the United States, and it does shatter a longstanding executive norm. For that reason, it is unprecedented. It's newsworthy, and it's a big issue.

FOSTER: What did you make of the difference in character we saw from Trump going into the courthouse and Trump going into Mar-a-Lago and speaking in front of his supporters.

GIFT: Well, what struck me most about yesterday, Max, was just this basic contrast. You know, Trump wanted a spectacle with the arraignment. The district attorney's office didn't. In the end I think Trump got what he wanted purely by dent of the fact that this was inherently a political moment. And we saw that with his speeches, his tirade.

Trump exploited that to lash out at the prosecution, to denigrate other ongoing investigations. Trump clearly knows how to activate his supporters and raise money. That's obvious. But it's also important to highlight I think that his primetime speech was not coalition building in anyway. So, Trump is really doubling down on a strategy that might earn him the Republican nomination. But in some sense, I think yesterday was also instructive because it's

getting harder to see exactly how he can translate his sort of brand of grievance politics into, you know, a broad enough support to win a general election. And for Trump I think that's the real challenge as he gears up for this legal battle.

NOBILO: And Thomas, you mentioned how these events are norm shattering. Of course, in the United States, investigation or conviction is no legal bar to the presidency. Is this likely to prompt any discussion or thoughts about the constitutional viability of not having that as an impediment?

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GIFT: I think probably there's not going to be any serious conversation about changing the Constitution based on Donald Trump's actions and what is currently setting up the stage core. But you know, at the same time it -- Donald Trump is just such a unique political figure, right. And so we could think about all different ways that institutional guardrails and checks on executive authority maybe need to be reformed in light of his behavior.

I don't know if all of that is possible. Probably much of it is unlikely simply given polarization. But you know, it is something I think that thoughtful people will try to consider.

FOSTER: OK, Thomas Gift thank you for your perspective there.

GIFT: Thank you.

NOBILO: More than 60. Million people in the U.S. under some level of severe weather threat. States in the Midwest and South are at risk of dangerous tornadoes too.

FOSTER: On Tuesday, there were more than 100 reports of hail and five reports of preliminary tornadoes. This is the damage after tornado with up to 115 mile an hour winds hit the city of Colona in Illinois.

NOBILO: The state of Oklahoma is dealing with an entirely different weather problem. A wildfire that's raised more than 1,400 acres of land. Officials say that no lives have been lost, thankfully, and no structures have burned down so far.

CNN meteorologist Britley Ritz joins us now from Atlanta with more on the severe weather threat. Britley what can you tell us?

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Unfortunately, we are still dealing with tornado warnings and tornadoes on the ground at the moment in Arkansas. This cell right here produced a tornado near Hardy, Arkansas. And it continues to track off to the north and east quickly -- 45 mph. So if you are in this fuchsia box, you need to make sure you're seeking shelter now, get to your safe spot.

This is Ripley County, Arkansas until 3:45 Central time. Doniphan, Flatwoods and Gatewood all included within that warning. If those or if near your cities then you need to get to your safe spot at this moment.

Not only that, but we also have another tornado warning in effect until 3:15 Central time for Wayne County, Greenville included and another until 3:45 for Izard and Stone County, Melbourne, Mountain View and Newburg -- again if I'm saying those and those are your city names, you need to make sure that you're getting into your safe spot.

We widen things out. A tornado watch holds in effect until 9:00 Central time from Southern Illinois back into central Arkansas, Little Rock included. Back behind that another line of storms that are capable of producing winds of 75 mph and hail that's two inches in diameter.

Severe thunderstorm watch boxes from eastern Iowa back down into northeast Oklahoma and those go until the next hour or so. The severe weather threat isn't done yet. We do have that threat for severe weather rolling into Wednesday afternoon and again into the evening across the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley, Detroit back down into Memphis. Same threats -- long lived dangerous tornadoes a possibility, especially across southern Michigan, back down into northern Ohio and northern Indiana late afternoon.

Wind and hail some of the bigger threats here and again over 75 mph and two inch in diameter -- hail a possibility. Timeframe, Wednesday morning, 9:00 that line really starting to move through the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes. The real brunt of it picks up through the afternoon. We get the energy. We get to lift, then moisture. All the right ingredients there so 2:00 to about 4:00 Central time these storms really ramp up across the Ohio Valley.

Finally they'll start to weaken as they moved back into the mid- Atlantic. But again, we really have to focus on that severe weather threat. And it's not just the tornadoes and hail and the wind. We unfortunately have that threat for flooding. These grounds are saturated. We've had a lot of rain over the past week in areas in yellow from Louisville back down into Houston, holding on to the threat of flash flooding. These are areas that could pick up an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain -- Max, Bianca.

NOBILO: Meteorologist Britley Ritz, thank you. Sorry, my voice is going out.

CNN projects progressive Brandon Johnson will win Chicago's mayoral race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROWD CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The former teacher, union organizer, and Cook County commissioner told supporters his victory had ushered in a new chapter in the city's history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRANDON JOHNSON, CHICAGO MAYORAL NOMINEE: The first thing I want to say to is, to the Chicagoans who did not vote for me, here's what I want you to know, that I care about you, I value you, and I want to hear from you, I want to work with you, and I'll be the mayor for you too.

(CROWD CHEERING)

JOHNSON: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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FOSTER: Johnson beat moderate Paul Vallas, a former school superintendent, who had campaigned on a pro police message in a race where concerns about violence crime pretty central.

Now another race where watching, CNN projects Democratic backed Janet Protasiewicz will win Wisconsin's Supreme Court election, flipping majority control in liberals' favor. Her win could prove pivotal as the state's top court could decide the fate of key issues like access to abortion and voting rights.

NOBILO: Protasiewicz's win likely breaks up an era of Republican dominance in a race that shattered spending records on state judicial elections. Wisconsin is one of 14 states that directly elected it's Supreme Court justices.

FOSTER: The number of U.S. job openings is down to levels not seen in nearly two years. What it means for the wider economy coming up.

NOBILO: Plus, what top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken said about Finland becoming NATO's newest member.

FOSTER: And a clash that one of Islam's holiest sites in Jerusalem is raising more tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. We'll go live to Jerusalem.

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FOSTER: The violent clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians inside one of Islam's holiest sites, drawing international condemnation. It happened when police entered the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem to break up a large group, they say was barricading the entrance. Police say there are met with a barrage of fireworks, stones and sticks and that one officer was injured. NOBILO: The Palestinian Red Crescent says at least 12 people were hurt

in the mosque clashes. Video posted online appears to show Israeli officers attacking some of the group. Police say they arrested more than 350 people.

FOSTER: CNN's Hadas Gold covering this live for us from Jerusalem and pretty incendiary images coming through.

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very dramatic and violent images coming through that took place at the compound behind me. You can see right here. This is the golden Dome of the Rock. And over my right shoulder, this is actually the al-Aqsa mosque with the black roof here. This is where all of the events overnight took place.

Now for several nights now there have been groups have been staying overnight in the mosque. They say, out of fears that Jewish extremists were going to try to come up to this compound. Which is known as Temple Mount to the Jews holiest site in Judaism. But the place al- Aqsa mosque compound, the al-Haram al-Sharif is also, it is the third holiest site in Islam. And, of course, right now is the holy month of Ramadan.

But also tonight is the first night of Passover. And so, this morning Israeli police entering the mosque itself. They say that they were met with fireworks. They responded with stun grenades and rubber bullets. We see some very violent images there overnight, and there's not only those injured and of course, the 350 or so who were arrested, but also the damages to the mosque itself. Which from videos we've seen do seem to be quite extensive.

Now to give you some context about why this is so significant, not only because of the violence. Because of the status quo, because of the sensitivity of the site. Israeli police even stepping foot into the mosque is by itself considered offensive. And so to see them entering like that and using force in the way they did in arresting people in the mosque that is seen is even further offensive. And so that's why we're seeing condemnations from across the Arab and Muslim world. Because what happens in Jerusalem, of course, has ripple effects all across the world.

We're hearing condemnations from the Jordanians, from the Egyptians, from Saudi Arabia and of course, from the Palestinian Authority.

Now then what happened is after these events at al-Aqsa rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel. Israel -- the Israeli military responding with airstrikes on what they say were Hamas targets. So far though, we've had no injuries from either those rockets or the responding airstrikes.

And so far today, things have been calm. It's a very tense calm. There's already been Jewish visitors up onto the site. They're allowed during certain hours. But there's -- you can definitely feel that there's something in the air and that things could very quickly descend once again into further violence -- Max, Bianca.

FOSTER: Hadas in Jerusalem, thank you so much. Now, the opening bell on Wall Street is just a few hours away. Here is

a look at how U.S. stock futures are doing and they're all looking pretty down. The Dow and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed lower on Tuesday as well after a key labor report.

That labor report showed job openings in the U.S. shrank more than expected in February. The number of available jobs in February dropped to 9.93 million. It's the lowest number since May 2021. That's down from January's 10.56 million openings. The labor market has remained historically tight as the Federal Reserve continues to tamp down on inflation, with a series of interest rate hikes.

Walmart has announced it's laying off 2,000 warehouse workers. The company warned several weeks ago that this would be a tough year. The cuts at America's largest private employer will be spread across Texas, Pennsylvania, Jersey and Florida.

NOBILO: Walmart like other major retailers, has been impacted by a tight labor market. To help with worker retention, the company recently announced its raising its average minimum wage for store employees from 12 to $14 an hour.

FOSTER: Automaker General Motors says about 5,000 of its salaried employees have taken a voluntary buyout. GM offered three different packages to workers who had been with the company at least five years and two international executives who had been there for two years.

NOBILO: The move will cost GM about a billion dollars during the first quarter that it takes effect, but it will also save the company the same amount every year. Executives wanted to avoid mass layoffs but say they did already cut a few 100 jobs.

Meanwhile German automaker Volkswagen is dealing with recalls in the U.S. The company has recalled more than 143,000 Atlas SUVs over a faulty front passenger side airbag.

FOSTER: VW says a faulty sensor can turn off the air bag. They don't yet know what's causing the problem but have narrowed the defect to vehicles produced during two specific timeframes. The company says they'll notify owners once they find a fix for it.

Now still ahead, Donald Trump pleading not guilty to all criminal charges. What the former president is saying about the Manhattan district attorney and the judge involved in the case.

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NOBILO: And what did Trump voters think about his indictment. Coming up, we'll go to the swing state Pennsylvania to get their reaction.

FOSTER: And we're following severe weather. Britley joins us again after the break.

RITZ: Direct for severe weather continues on throughout the rest of the morning, and fortunately into the afternoon. We'll have the locations, the current warnings and the threats after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. If you are just joining us joining us, let me bring you up to date with the top stories this hour.

More than 60 million Americans are under some level of severe weather threat. New tornado warnings and watches have gone into effect in parts of Arkansas with at least one tornado reported on the ground.

And CNN projects Brandon Johnson has won Chicago's mayoral race, beating Paul Vallas. Johnson, a former teacher union organizer and Cook County Commissioner, told supporters his victory had ushered in a new chapter in this city's history.

NOBILO: And an unprecedented day in U.S. history as former President Donald Trump appeared for his historic arraignment in a New York court. Speaking to supporters in Florida after his court appearance, a defiant Trump claimed the charges are an attempt to derail his White House run. He said the only crime he's, quote, committed is to fearlessly defend the nation.

FOSTER: The charges stem from an investigation into a 2016 hush money payments scheme to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all 34 felony counts. Here's what one former Trump official had to say.

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JOHN BOLTON, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Well speaking as someone who very strongly does not want Donald Trump to get the Republican presidential nomination. I'm extraordinarily distressed by this document.

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