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President Biden All Set for His 2024 Re-Election Bid; Sudan's Two Warring Factions Agreed to a 72-Hour Truce; Tucker Carlson Exits from Fox News. Warnings Released About Risk of Conflict Between Global Powers; Corruption fuels lavish life of Timur Ivanov's Ex-Wife; Jury Selection Continues for Death Penalty Trial in the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting; Lizzo Protests Tennessee Law, Invites Drag Queens On Stage.; Copyright Case Against Ed Sheeran Scheduled To Begin Today. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired April 25, 2023 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, President Biden finalizing his 2024 campaign plans hours ahead of his expected announcement. This as new polling shows most Americans don't want him or Donald Trump to run again.
Shake up at Fox News with legal problems mounting and major troubles with the truth, the network's top rated anchor, Tucker Carlson is shown the door.
Plus both warring factions in Sudan agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire, but concerns persist about how long it will hold and how to get Americans and other expats out.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Well, all eyes are on the White House today, with U.S. President Joe Biden expected to announce his bid to run for a second term in 2024. Mr. Biden has teased and dropped hints at the announcement for quite some time now. Sources close to the President even confirm he's already picked a campaign manager and decided where the headquarters will be. With a formal announcement possibly just hours away, there are more questions about what the 2024 race will look like.
CNN's Phil Mattingly reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL MATTINGLY, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, after months of waiting, speculating everybody knowing it was coming, but not necessarily knowing when it was coming. President Biden may, and I stress may, be announcing his run for re-election. Now, that may is contingent on the President himself, there's no question over the course of the last 10 days, his closest advisors and outside allies have been laying the groundwork and accelerating efforts for a re- election announcement to come on Tuesday morning.
That announcement comes four years to the day after the anniversary of his first presidential announcement in 2020. Now, during that campaign, he took on and defeated incumbent President Donald Trump. Donald Trump, who is now the front runner for the Republican nomination once again. And therein lies some significant challenges for both, but in particular President Biden, who is 80 years old and would be 86 at the time of his second term coming to an end.
Americans very clearly in poll after poll after poll are enthused about the matchup. And according to an NBC poll, only 26 percent of Americans actually want to see Biden run again. If you look deep into the cross tabs of these polls, Democrats by a majority don't want Biden to run again. And those are some of the headwinds that the President will face.
Their head ones, however, his team is confident he can overcome -- overcome in part, doing the sweeping legislative agenda he was able to get pass Congress in his first two years, an agenda he will spend much of the next year selling unable to overcome because of who he will be facing, whether it's Trump or some other Republican where advisors are very clear, they believe they will have a crystal clear contrast message that will resonate with the American people.
Now, the President himself still not committing to announcing re- election, saying to reporters on Monday at the White House when he was asked about it, it would be coming really soon. But it is very clear that after months of closely-guarded secrecy when it came to personnel, when it came to timelines, when it came to what they were actually planning moves are being made.
Donors will be in town later this week, personnel announcements are starting to come into the forefront, a campaign manager appears to be Julie Chavez-Rodriguez, a senior advisor for the President, here at the White House, other personnel likely to be announced as well. All that is necessary at this point is the announcement, which is still expected on Tuesday.
Phil Mattingly, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Joining me now from Los Angeles is Michael Genovese. He is a political analyst and President of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University. Always a pleasure to have you with us.
MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: President Biden is poised to announce his re-election campaign in the coming hours, but most polls suggest a pretty tough road ahead with the majority of Democrats unenthusiastic about him running again, and particularly worried about his age. But at the same time, many say he is the only viable option on the democratic side. So how difficult will Joe Biden's campaign likely be in a rematch with Donald Trump or in a less likely match-up with Ron DeSantis?
[03:05:00]
GENOVESE: Well, I think at this state of the game, Joe Biden's in pretty good shape. Although he is not popular nationally, and him -- a target of his own party don't want him to run, he is, however, in the good position that no one within the party is challenging him. You would expect a President with that kind of low-popularity rating to be vulnerable within his own party. And in the past when an incumbent President has been challenged within his own party, it's always spelled electoral trouble.
For example, 1976, Ronald Reagan challenged President Ford. Ford lost. Two years later, Ted -- a few years later, Ted Kennedy challenged Jimmy Carter, he lost. And in 92, President George H. W. Bush was challenged by Pat Buchanan, and he lost. Because an internal battle blood is you up, and it also takes time, effort and money.
And so, Biden has escaped that. And therefore I think he's in a pretty good position, considering his low-popularity rankings.
CHURCH: And in a recent NBC news poll, it found that 60 percent of Americans don't want Donald Trump to run again either, while 35 percent said they did. And his main rival, Ron DeSantis, is currently on a world tour with a stop in Israel to help boost his stocks ahead of announcing a run against Trump. Because even though the former President's numbers don't look that great, they are currently better than the Florida governor's approval ratings. So where's all this going do you think?
GENOVESE: Think back just a few years, in the last presidential election. The candidates were all unpopular. Think of 2016, Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton, two very unpopular candidates, 2000 -- 2020, much of the same thing.
The terrible news is that we've become accustomed to having candidates we're unsatisfied with. And so yes, Joe Biden is in trouble, but so is Donald Trump, so is Ron DeSantis, so is any likely Republican or possible Republican.
And so, there's something really wrong with the party system that keeps producing candidates that we just don't like.
CHURCH: Yes. It is problematic, isn't it? So in that situation with Trump and DeSantis, do you think that Trump will stay ahead of DeSantis, or is it just impossible to tell at this juncture?
GENOVESE: Well, you know, DeSantis has been shooting himself in the foot. He recently made a statement about Ukraine, saying that it was a territorial dispute, got resounding criticized for that. He's been having trouble trying to fight Disney in his own state. And the people are making jokes about how you can even handle Mickey Mouse, how are you going to handle Putin?
So DeSantis has gotten off to a terrible, terrible start, so bad that he may be reconsidering whether he wants to run or not. Maybe he wants to just bow out now and say, I'll do it in four years, I'm still young, I have a lot ahead of me. It looked like my moment, maybe it's not.
So I think DeSantis has got to make some really tough decisions. Donald Trump is in and he's in 100 percent until the end. And so, Donald Trump will plow ahead. There is no one in the Republican Party that seems at this point capable of challenging him and giving him a good race, though.
CHURCH: Meantime, of course, the debt ceiling deadline fast approaches with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy facing perhaps his biggest test so far this week, trying to get Republicans to approve his version of a debt ceiling plan. What happens if he can't pull that off? And perhaps more importantly, what are the consequences if Republicans don't lift the debt limit in time, and this country goes into default?
GENOVESE: The Democrats and the Republicans continually lift the debt ceiling year after year after year, whether it's a Democrat or Republican in the White House. It was done three times for Donald Trump. And so, it ought not to be a very controversial or difficult decision to make.
The problem is that since Newt Gingrich, who believed that in order to save the government, you had to destroy it, so that they could take over. The Republicans have made a battle plan out of the debt ceiling. And so, every time it gets to this point, and the Republicans challenge the Democratic President, they shut down the government, causes economic chaos, and they get electorally punished at the ballot box.
And so, it makes no sense for the Republicans to do this. They should just pass a bill, pass an approval of it, you move on. This is a no- win situation for the Republicans. In fact, it will probably hurt them dramatically.
CHURCH: Alright, we'll all be watching to see what happens this week. Michael Genovese is always a pleasure to have you with us. Thank you.
GENOVESE: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: The Fulton County District Attorney investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, says she will announce this summer whether she will bring charges against the former President or his allies.
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Fannie Willis said in a letter to law enforcement officials that she plans to make an announcement on possible charges between July 11 and September 1. And ahead of that, she is pressing the Fulton county sheriff for heightened security and preparedness. Willis's letter is another strong indication she's seriously considering bringing racketeering and conspiracy charges in connection with Trump's actions in Georgia around the 2020 election.
A new three-day ceasefire between Sudan's warring factions is currently in effect after previous attempts to stop the violence failed. The U.S. says it brokered the new deal and plans to help create a committee to try and implement a permanent truce.
Before the agreement was announced, more clashes erupted around the capital, Khartoum, thick plumes of smoke was seen rising from charred buildings covering entire city blocks, that's just one of many places where fighting has been reported.
Over the last 10 days, the violence has left more than 400 people dead and countless others without basic needs like food, water and medicine. The U.S. says the warring factions must restore calm immediately.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We also continue to engage directly with General Burhan and General Hemetti to press them, to extend, and expand the ceasefire to a sustainable cessation of hostilities that prevents further violence and upholds humanitarian obligations. The Sudanese people are not giving up on their aspirations for a secure free and democratic future, neither will we.
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CHURCH: And with the ceasefire in place, the U.K. has started a large-scale evacuation of British passport holders from Sudan. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says priority will be given to the most vulnerable, including families with children and the elderly.
So let's get more now from CNN's Senior Editor for Africa, Stephanie Busari, she joins us now live. So Stephanie what is the latest on this ceasefire and, of course, hopes of getting more people out of the country?
STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN AFRICA SENIOR EDITOR: Sure. Good morning, Rosemary. We've been here before. The ceasefires have been promised. And they have just not been adhered to. They they're very, very fragile. And the Sudan Armed Forces saying that it's prepared to down, -- put down their arms and allow people to get much needed supplies for humanitarian corridors to be open.
But it remains to be seen if they -- both sides will keep to this agreement. Nations are continuing evacuations. Pakistan and Britain as you mentioned there, had been trying to evacuate their citizens. Previously, the focus has been on evacuating diplomatic personnel and their families, but now -- and which caused a lot of anger among citizens, who felt abandoned. But now, the focus is on trying to get as many foreign citizens out. But Sudanese themselves are also making perilous journeys to try to get out to neighboring countries such as Egypt. We spoke to one woman who -- an American woman from a Sudanese
background who packed into a bus with about 60 or 70 members of our family. And take a listen to what they had to say about this journey, Rosemary.
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SAFA BABIKIR, FLED THE FIGHTING IN SUDAN: I think the most terrifying thing of the journey was just thinking about who would bury us if we were to get killed. When you're in the desert and the road, the darkest thought I had was, am I going to get killed in front of my family, or are they going to get killed in front of me? And if so, who's going to bury the body?
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BUSARI: Yeah. Rosemary, she is just one of many people who were speaking to her making this very, very dangerous journey by road, which is about a thousand kilometers from Khartoum to Aswan in Egypt. And many Sudanese are just saying that they desperately need help. They don't want to be left behind, once all the foreign citizens and their families have been taken out. There's a deeper humanitarian crisis looming, as Sudan previously has always been a fragile country in terms of food insecurity and conflict in some parts. So this whole situation just compounds what is already a dire situation and people are urgently asking for assistance for help to come in.
CHURCH: Terrifying choices, people are having to make. Stephanie Busari, joining us live from Lagos. Many thanks.
Well, given the deteriorating and dangerous conditions in Sudan, many people are desperately looking for exit routes out of the country.
CNN's Eleni Giokos takes a look at some of their harrowing journeys.
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ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One week ago, I spoke to two residents who were visiting family and sheltering in Khartoum. At that time, fighting had been going on for three days. This is what she told me.
UNKNOWN: This is where we're not prepared for that. We are civilians. We don't have anything in on -- our hands or like to be prepared for something like that. We didn't even know that something has got -- something like that is going to happen. We are -- in a very anxious situation.
GIOKOS: Right. Well today, this woman, a U.S. permanent resident, sent U.S. desperate message on WhatsApp, we are stuck between the two borders for more than seven hours, she writes.
And we have very old family members on board. And they are very sick. We tried everything to get to the other side, but we can't find a solution. Would you please shed a light on that, so we can get an emergency assistance and help?
She sent these photos at the green border crossing Sudan's border with Egypt, about a 13-hour bus ride from outside Khartoum. As far as we know, she and her family are still stuck at the border.
Another woman, noon, a Sudanese national, shed her journey on a detailed Twitter thread to help others trying to make the journey as well. She sent us this video from that same border crossing. She then took the route from Khartoum to the neighboring city of Omdurman, to one of the major bus stations. She described being stopped twice by the military and once by the RSF, and being quickly let go due to having elderly people with her.
From there, she took the long 13-hour journey before crossing into Egypt. Now, it took another 20 hours after crossing the border, traveling first to Aswan, Egypt, and finally taking a train to the capital, Cairo, where she is now.
The trip in total was around $200, which may not sound like a lot to some people. But keep in mind that GDP per capita in Sudan as of 2021, last year, data is available, was only around $750 per person annually. After detailing her journey, she offered this advice. Put your money in different places, so not all of it gets taken, if anything happens. If you are stopped by anyone at a checkpoint and they are asking for anything, please cooperate. Your life is more important. Stop to buy food and carry plenty of water, as there aren't any shops or restaurants after you leave Khartoum. And she said the trip was long, it was scary and tiring, but worth it in the end.
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CHURCH: CNN's Eleni Giokos with that report.
Well still to come. Tuck it out. Fox News fires one of its most popular hosts of all time. Why executives made the decision to show Tucker Carlson the door.
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[03:20:00]
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CHURCH: Fox News has severed ties with the host of its highest rated primetime show in a stunning move that is sending shockwaves throughout the world of media and politics.
Tucker Carlson drew in conservative viewers with his right-wing rhetoric and conspiracy theories about COVID and the 2020 presidential election. Text messages that came to light drawing the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit showed Carson disparaging senior Fox executives, leading "The Wall Street Journal" to report this, and I'm quoting, "the company took issue with remarks Mr. Carlson made that were derogatory towards the network, people familiar with the matter said."
And here is CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: He was very critical to say to be generous to him about the people running Fox. And so, I think that may have played a role. And there's also that pending lawsuit now from his ex-booker, Abby Grossberg, who alleged rampant sexism, anti- Semitic behavior that was running wild on his show. And then, he's also got this legal notice from Ray Apps who he made part of a central January 6th conspiracy theory, during -- on his program. And so, there's all this litigation that's -- that's, that's got Carlson's name over it. And you have the Dominion lawsuit. And so, it seems that Fox at some point just said enough is enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Tucker Carlson has not responded to multiple requests for comment about his firing. CNN's Gary Tuchman reports on his controversial career.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tucker Carlson is a broadcasting instigator, the 2020 election.
TUCKER CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The outcome of our Presidential election was seized from the hands of voters --
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The Capitol insurrection.
CARLSON: These were not insurrectionists, they were sightseers.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The former cop who murdered George Floyd.
CARLSON: I'm kind of more worried about the rest of the country, which, thanks to police inaction, in case you haven't noticed, it's like boarded up, so that's more of my concern.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): And even regarding the green M and M candy no longer wearing go-go boots.
CARLSON: M and M's will not be satisfied until every last cartoon character is deeply unappealing and totally androgynous.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): A 53-year old Tucker Carlson has worked at CNN, PBS, and MSNBC. But it was his job at Fox News that made him one of the most powerful voices in conservative politics, and a leader of the modern conspiracy movement. Carlson told his viewers this right after the 2020 Presidential Election.
CARLSON: What happened last night could not have been worse for this country, for our children, for our grandchildren, for our future.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): And as Donald Trump continued to beat his drum of lies.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: This is a fraud on the American public. So we'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Carlson continued to enable him.
CARLSON: The 72-million voters believe this election was fundamentally unfair. And they're right about that.
[03:25:07]
TUCHMAN (voice-over): But behind Trump's back, Tucker Carlson was blasting him, contradicting what he was saying on his TV show. According to private text messages released as part of Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox, Carlson said this to coworkers, Trump needs to concede. There wasn't enough fraud to change the outcome. He started to do real damage to the party. And, we are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can't wait. And two days before the January 6th insurrection, he wrote, I hate him passionately. I can't handle much more of this.
Carlson became a vocal proponent of those who thought immigrants have been coming to the United States to ethnically and culturally-replace white people, a racist conspiracy known as the Great Replacement Theory.
UNKNOWN: Jews will not replace us. Jews will not replace us.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Which was illustrated in horrific fashion in Charlottesville, Virginia.
CARLSON: This is a voting rights question. I have less political power because they're importing a brand new electorate, why should I sit back and take that?
TUCHMAN (voice-over): And then, there's the insurrection. This Carlson lie is still trotted out by conspiracy theorists.
CARLSON: FBI operatives were organizing the attack on the Capitol on January 6th, according to government documents.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Carlson ended up getting sole access to thousands of hours of January 6th Capitol security videotape from Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, which Carlson selectively sanitized, angering many, including Republicans.
UNKNOWN: And I think it was yeah, it was an attack on the Capitol.
UNKNOWN: I thought it was an insurrection at that time. I still think it was an insurrection today.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): And then, recently this Carlson take on the culture wars, through a racist prison. He said this about Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson, who was expelled from office, but then got his job back.
CARLSON: Justin Pearson wasn't white, that's probably how we got into boat in the first place, but he did a fantastic impression of it. What a nice young man, as he considered the apprenticeship program at Citibank?
TUCHMAN (voice-over): And there was this about transgender rights.
CARLSON: Transgenders do not believe in the god of monotheism. They believe that they themselves are god with the power to control nature. And if you think about it, this should be a concern, because it's a recipe for extremism.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Extreme is what many believe Tucker Carlson has become. But at least for now, his powerful megaphone is gone.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And there was another major media move a lot closer to home. CNN announced it was parting ways with anchor Don Lemon. He had been with the network for 17 years, most recently as a co-anchor of "CNN This Morning."
Lemon came under fire in February for saying that women are only considered to be in their prime in their 20's, 30's and maybe 40's. He later apologized for the remark and denied subsequent reports of misogyny, aimed at female coworkers.
The U.N. Security Council holds a meeting on peace and security. And it was led by Russia's top diplomat, who the U.S. called a hypocritical convener. A live report, next.
And the ex-wife of another top Russian official is defying E.U. sanctions and living the good life in Paris. A CNN investigation will show you how she's doing it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How is it possible that she can continue to do this?
UNKNOWN: It's -- It's a very simple trick that they've played.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:33:14]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. A U.N. Security Council Meeting that was supposed to be maintaining international peace and security was filled with accusations and finger-pointing as well as warnings about the growing risk of global conflict. And there was, as the U.S. envoy pointed out, a giant elephant in the room, Russia. Its foreign minister actually presided over that meeting since Russia holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council. And he came out swinging.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): As during the Cold War, we have reached the dangerous, possibly even more dangerous threshold. The situation is worsened with the loss of trust in multi-lateralism. Let's call a spade, a spade. Nobody allowed the Western minority to speak on behalf of all of humankind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Clare Sebastian is covering this live from London. She joins us now. Good morning to you, Clare. So, what's been the reaction to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, leading a U.N. Security Council Meeting on keeping the peace and security?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, by all accounts, this was an extremely hostile session that really did very little rather -- other than to reinforce the stark differences between Russia and certainly Ukraine's western allies, and to sort of show those up in sharp focus, the deteriorating relations.
The very fact, as you say, that Russia chaired this session entitled the maintenance of international peace and security, inviting multiple condemnations from foreign ambassadors, including from the U.N. Secretary General himself, who accused Russia of causing massive suffering and devastation to Ukraine.
Take a listen to the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas- Greenfield, who gave her reaction later in the day to CNN's Erin Burnett.
[03:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL SESSION: It was the epitome of irony and hypocrisy, to have the foreign minister of Russia chairing the Security Council, a meeting on multi-lateralism.
Multi-lateralism, when Russia has in their unilateral, unprovoked action against Ukraine attacked everything that the U.N. charter stands for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: Well, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, who by the way is almost 20 years into his tenure in that job and previously spent 10 years as Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, he was undeterred. His speech was a long tirade, focusing in particular on the U.S. and accusing them of subverting the norms of, sort of, the international rule.
He also met with the U.N. Secretary General on that grain deal, which is an area where there was some hope to see progress. It's now nine months old, but Russia has threatened to let it lapse in just over three weeks from now. According to the Russian read out of that call, he accused the Western states of using the platform of the U.N. to promote politicized anti-Russian initiatives, which risk only prolonging the current crisis.
No obvious progress on that grain deal, though the Secretary General did say that he presented Lavrov with a letter for President Putin outlining a potential way forward.
CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Clare Sebastian, joining us live from London.
While the war grinds on, a top Russian official's ex-wife is living the good life in France. She's spending lavishly and partying at elite resorts despite E.U. and U.S. sanctions.
CNN's Clarissa Ward investigates how she's getting away with it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Svetlana Maniovich is a woman of expensive taste, diamonds and couture, extravagant parties and European vacations. Just last month, she was seen shopping and dancing in the elite French ski resort of Courchevel. But Maniovich is no ordinary Russian socialite. She is the other half of Russia's Deputy Minister of Defense, Timur Ivanov, one of the most senior architects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
And according to a shocking investigation, Maniovich continues to gallivant around France, more than a year into Russia's bloody war, despite the fact that Ivanov was sanctioned by the E.U. in October. The explosive report put out by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, an investigative outfit founded by Russia's jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, is based, they say, on a leaked archive of more than 8000 of Maniovich's emails over the last 12 years, and has racked up more than 6,000,000 views on YouTube.
It claims that on March 25, 2022, as dozens of missiles rained down on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Maniovich spent more than $100,000 in a top Paris jewelry store on the Place Vendome.
WARD: How was it possible that she can continue to do this?
MARIA PEVCHIKH, HEAD OF INVESTIGATIONS, ANTI-CORRUPTION FOUNDATION: It's -- it's a very simple trick that they played. Number one, Svetlana has an Israeli passport through her first -- through her first husband, and second of all, six months into the war they have filed for divorce. They -- they haven't split any assets. Nothing has changed in terms of like, you know, daily life. Whatever they owned, they keep owning together, but technically, they're not legally married anymore.
WARD: Equally shocking are the opulent lifestyle and lavish spending that the leaked emails document. According to Russian business publication, RBC, Ivanov's official income was once declared to be around 14.2 million Rubles a year, less than $175,000. Yet, the Navalny group's report calculated that the couple spent more than a quarter of a million dollars in just one summer. CNN has not been able to independently verify those numbers.
WARD: How is he funding this lifestyle?
PEVCHIKH: Well, the answer is corruption, corruption and specifically kickbacks.
WARD: According to the Russian government, Ivanov oversees construction for Russia's Ministry of Defense, including what the Anti-Corruption Foundation describes as lucrative contracts to rebuild the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which fell to Russian forces under punishing bombardment last May.
PEVCHIKH: The Russian army has destroyed, demolished 70% of the apartment blocks in town.
[03:40:00]
They had to build new ones, and they did. So, that company that built those display houses in Mariupol, it is the same company that pays for Timur Ivanov's personal bills.
WARD: Despite claims of such brazen corruption, Putin toward the construction project last month, a request for comment on the investigation from the Russian Ministry of Defense received no reply.
In France, though, the pressure may be mounting. On Sunday afternoon, the Anti-Corruption Foundation organized a small protest outside the Paris apartment it claims Maniovich still rents, demanding to know how she is allowed to spend the profits of Russia's war in the heart of France. A question, so far, without any satisfactory answer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WARD (on-camera): CNN has reached out to the French Foreign Ministerial who responded, saying, "We do not comment on individual situations." France with its E.U. partners has ended visa facilitation for Russian citizens and has also adopted targeted individual sanctions against 1499 Russian officials and their supporters.
We also attempted, of course, to reach out to Svetlana Maniovich, sending her an email. But as of yet, we have not received a reply.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, London.
CHURCH: Jury selection has begun for the trial of a man accused of killing 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue, more than four years ago. We will have a look at the first day after a quick break.
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[03:45:00]
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CHURCH: In the coming hours, jury selection will continue for the death penalty trial of a man accused of killing 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018. The process began Monday, but no jurors have been selected yet. CNN's Danny Freeman has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More than four years after the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history, the trial is underway for the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue. In a crowded federal courtroom in downtown Pittsburgh, Monday, defendant Robert Bowers sat attentively listening on handcuffed and passing notes to his lawyers as jury selection began. Throughout the day, federal prosecutors and Bowers' defense team took turns questioning potential jurors about their knowledge of the case and their beliefs on the death penalty.
Bowers is accused of killing 11 Jewish worshippers and injuring others at the Pittsburgh synagogue on October 27th in 2018.
MICHAEL EISENBERG, PAST PRESIDENT, TREE OF LIFE CONGREGATION SYNAGOGUE: I just saw what was going on and I just could not believe it. To see this penetrate that community is -- is, I would say jarring. And I'm - I'm just shaken by it.
FREEMAN (voice-over): Prosecutors alleged Bowers brought multiple guns to the synagogue that Saturday morning while three congregations were worshiping. The criminal complaint says Bowers started shooting outside and then inside, targeting people praying and expressing his desire to kill Jew.
Bowers faces 63 felony counts and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in this case. His defense team offered a guilty plea with life in prison in exchange for taking capital punishment off the table.
One of his defense attorneys is Judy Clark. She has represented other federal death penalty defendants like the Unabomber and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from the Boston marathon bombing. But federal prosecutors have not budged and the judge prepared potential jurors if they make it to the sentencing phase, they should expect to weigh the death penalty in this case.
Ahead of the trial, congregants from the Tree of Life Synagogue gathered, Sunday, to pray as their fellow worshippers' day in court has finally arrived.
RABBI JEFFREY MYERS, TREE OF LIFE CONGREGATION SYNAGOGUE: We cannot, we must not permit one day out of 25,993 days to define us, nor outweigh all the good. This is not a final moment.
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FREEMAN (on-camera): Now, jury selection is expected to last at least a couple more weeks. And I got to say it was really an emotional day inside the courthouse. And not just because of the overall story, but also because the vast majority of questions posed to potential jurors focused on the death penalty, and if they would feel comfortable sentencing a man to death. One potential juror even teared up just thinking about that question, saying and reflecting the synagogue, a place of worship that should be a safe space. Danny Freeman, CNN, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
CHURCH: Still ahead, a copyright infringement case against Pop Star Ed Sheeran is set to kick off today. We'll have details.
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[03:50:00]
CHURCH: Singer Lizzo sent a message to Tennessee lawmakers during her concert over the weekend. She invited a group of drag queens to join her on stage blatantly going against new legislation, restricting public drag performances. Here's part of the show.
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CHURCH: The singer told the crowd she was creating a safe space in Tennessee to celebrate not only drag performers, but everyone's differences. A federal judge in Tennessee has temporarily blocked the law from going into effect.
Well, in the coming hours, opening statements are expected to begin in a copyright infringement case against Pop Star Ed Sheeran. The jury was selected on Monday in New York. The singer is being sued by heirs of Songwriter Ed Townsend.
They claim Sheeran's hit song "Thinking Out Loud" copies the 1973 hit, "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye. Sheeran's lawyers have argued that the alleged similarities are actually not similar.
We want to play both of those songs for you. First, Ed Sheeran's song "Thinking Out Loud".
[03:55:00]
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ED SHEERAN, SINGER, "THINKING OUT LOUD": Darling, I will be loving you till we're 70."
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CHURCH: All right. Now, here's Marvin Gaye's soul hit "Let's Get It On."
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MARVIN GAYE, SINGER, "LET'S GET IT ON": Let's get it on. Let's get it on. Let's love, baby.
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CHURCH: And of course, we're going to let you be the judge of that. So, now, take a listen to what Ed Sheeran has to say about copyright issues in the music industry.
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SHEERAN: We have some very few chords used in pop music. Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,000 songs are being released every day on Spotify, that's 22 million songs a year. And there's only 12 notes that are available.
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CHURCH: And the pop star is expected to testify in the trial. And we'll leave you there. Thanks for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo, next.
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