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CNN International: U.K. Prepares for First Coronation in Seventy Years; Justice Department Has Mar-a-Lago Insider Witness; Attorneys for Trump and E. Jean Carroll Rest Their Cases; Four Proud Boys Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy; Ukraine on Alert After Drone Attack on Kremlin; Suspect Arrested in Serbia's Second Mass Shooting; Suspect in Atlanta Mass Shooting Charged in Attack. Aired 4- 4:30a ET
Aired May 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]
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 live from Buckingham Palace in London. Max Foster in on royal assignment, you'll see him later. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charles will be crowned with the Sir Edwards crown, the very same one placed upon previous monarchs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will be very emotional for me. Obviously when the king comes past, I will salute my king.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That sounds like the prosecutor is looking squarely at obstruction, that kind of evidence could be very damning if there was actual tampering with the surveillance tape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have secured the convictions of leaders of both the Proud Boys and Oathkeepers for seditious conspiracy. Specifically conspiring to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
NOBILO: It is Friday, May 5, 4:00 a.m. in New York and 9:00 a.m. here in London. Where we're getting ready for the coronation tomorrow of King Charles III. For the first time in nearly 70 years the United Kingdom will crown a new monarch.
Tomorrow morning King Charles and Queen Camilla will make their way from here, Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey for the ceremony. Preparations are well underway. The flowers for the service have arrived. Organizers say the king and queen requested only sustainable flowers be used. London's famous landmark Big Ben displayed images of the national
plants of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as the words "God save the king." Royal enthusiasts have set up camp, quite literally, along the procession route.
Some have been there for days already. Joining me now is CNN's Anna Stewart who is at Westminster Abbey where all of the preparations are going down right now. Anna, what can we expect to see tomorrow?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, so much tomorrow, Bianca. And we've had days and days of rehearsals now, haven't we? We had the king and queen here at Westminster Abbey going through that important ceremony. We've had in the dead of night thousands of soldiers traveling into London practicing the procession that will be the biggest military procession that we will have seen for 70 years since the last coronation for Queen Elizabeth II.
The all-important ceremony takes place here. This time tomorrow we'll actually see the congregation start to arrive. The ceremony itself actually not that long, two hours or less. But an incredibly important one with so many moments in that. And I know you'll be taking our viewers through many of the sacred rituals, all of the regalia, the vestments. I'm sure you have all sorts of information, Bianca, on crowns and carriages good to go.
Today though, I'm not sure about what it's like at Buckingham Palace, but it feels like the calm before the storm here. Not much going on today. The rehearsals are done. Of course, King Charles and Queen Camilla are expected to host heads of state and other dignitaries who are traveling here over the weekend. So, they are expected to be at Buckingham Palace today.
So, we probably won't see them tomorrow morning. I'm sure they will get an early night. We might hear them though, Bianca, tomorrow if you travel on the tube or on the train in the U.K., you may hear this message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING CHARLES III: My wife and I wish you and your families a wonderful coronation weekend.
QUEEN CAMILLA: Wherever you are traveling, we hope that you have a safe and pleasant journey.
KING CHARLES III: And remember, please mind the gap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: Mind the gap. And actually, some people got an even more personal direct message from the royal family yesterday on the tube. Prince William and the Princess of Wales traveled on the tube in central London to go to a pub. One does get the feeling that the royal family are very keen to make the public feel a part of all this, to be as inclusive as they can. Because when the ceremony kicks off tomorrow, it will be a very small exclusive elitist ceremony really -- Bianca.
NOBILO: Anna Stewart at Westminster Abbey, thank you so much. And I echo what you were saying about the calm before the storm. That is exactly how it feels here at Buckingham Palace. And we look forward to seeing you tomorrow as well.
Now let's bring in Emily Nash, royal editor of "Hello! Magazine" to dive a bit deeper into the preparations that are underway right now and what we can expect tomorrow. Emily, this is a moment which is intended to be one of national unity, trying to unite a country which has many differences in terms of religion, culture, ethnicity and opinions about the royal family.
[04:05:02]
How is King Charles planning to do that in the ceremony?
EMILY NASH, ROYAL EDITOR, HELLO! MAGAZINE: Well, I think what we'll see is the most inclusive coronation ceremony in history. We're going to see members of other faith backgrounds presenting items of regalia which has never happened before at a British coronation. We'll see female bishops for the first time. We're going to see a very wide variety of different ethnic backgrounds inside the Abbey and a lot of normal people. Normal people compared to 1953 when the congregation was predominantly made up of peers, lords and ladies of the realm.
And I think if you look at what is going on around this as well, it's very much focused on keeping the royals out doing relatively normal things, getting on the tube as we saw yesterday, making tube announcements in fact. It is about connecting with people even though this is going to be a very grand opulent ancient ritual, they need, as you say, to connect with people and keep this relevant.
NOBILO: Yes, the relevance is an interesting point. Because even though it's not relatable, coronations to some extent have always been a bit of a window into the societies that they are going on in and we are seeing some adjustments being made to accommodate that. We don't notice the full guest list I don't think, but you can give us a sense of the people we're expecting to there tomorrow in the Abbey.
NASH: Absolutely. Well, we're going to see many, many heads of state. We're going to see lots of Commonwealth leaders. And simply that is going to be very important as Charles is now head of the Commonwealth. But we are also going to see people who are recognized for the good they've done in society, teachers, doctors, nurses, charity workers. People who represent I suppose the best of British who are being honored with position in the Abbey for this historic moment.
And I think what this is about for many people regardless of their feelings toward the monarchy is a moment in history. You know, this is only going to be the 40th one in 1,000 years and people will remember where they were on the day.
NOBILO: And what do you think Brits and those in the Commonwealth actually think about the coronation? Because in one respect it's quite astounding that there is this historical continuity of a ceremony that's been happening for 1,000 years with antecedents long before that. But then other people might think, well this, you know, is absurd, this ridiculous, it's completely out of touch with the modern country, the modern commonwealth. You know, what do people actually think?
NASH: Well, I think that, you know, there is perhaps some ambivalence from some people in the country understandably. There's a huge cost of living crisis going on at the moment, a huge display of wealth may not hit the right tone. But I think people will also understand that it is part of our heritage. It's the way things have been done. And that is very much what we want to hear, is this continuity and the stability that we have lived with for all our lives and many centuries before us. So, I think that they will, I hope, manage to connect with ordinary people while at the same time providing this incredible spectacle which does make Britain unique in the world.
NOBILO: Famously King Charles has been the longest ever monarch in waiting. Do you think people have quite a good sense of who he is? But he has had to remain slightly removed because it hasn't been his time. It was his mother's reign. Does he still have the capacity to surprise people and win over more people's support of the monarch?
NASH: Absolutely, I think he does. I think we'll see more personal touches tomorrow throughout the ceremony that really reflects his interests and passions over the years. And we've heard already, even just the flowers will be incredibly sustainable and in keeping with his love of nature. And I think that we know so much about him already. Obviously, monarchy has to remain neutral, but we will see his personality reflected throughout the service.
NOBILO: Emily Nash, thank you so much for joining me. I know we'll be seeing a lot more of you over the next 24 hours.
And be sure to watch CNN's special live coverage of the coronation of King Charles. We'll be right back after this short break.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: "The New York Times" reports the U.S. Justice Department has an insider witness in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation. The "Times" cites people familiar with the matter who say that the person worked at Donald Trump's Florida estate and is now cooperating with investigators. According to the "Times," the unidentified person handed over a picture of the room where some of the materials were stored. That comes the day after exclusive CNN reporting that prosecutors have been asking questions in recent weeks about the handling of surveillance video.
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RYAN GOODMAN, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL AT U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT: That sounds like the prosecutor is looking squarely at obstruction, that kind of evidence could be very damning if there was actual tampering with the surveillance tape. It both goes to obstruction and it goes to the guilt of the underlining conduct of retaining classified documents. Why would anyone want to be tampering with the tapes unless they are trying to hide the underlying crime?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Now to the Trump hush money trial. On Thursday, his defense team filed a motion to move the trial from a New York state court, to a federal court. They say that's because the charges against him are related to his duties as president. Prosecutors say that Trump falsified his business records to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels who claims that she had an affair with him. Trump denies that. The alleged crime happened in the run up to the 2016 presidential election.
The jury in the battery and defamation suit against the former president is set to hear closing arguments on Monday. That as CNN's Kara Scannell reports, Trump himself could wind up forcing those plans to change.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: After calling 11 witnesses, E. Jean Carroll rested her battery and defamation case against former President Donald Trump. Now Trump's attorneys also rested their case outside the presence of the jury.
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But in an unexpected twist, the judge said he will give Trump until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday to change his mind about testifying. The judge cautioned that he might not allow it, but he was providing the window for Trump to possibly reopen his case since Trump publicly stated while on a trip to Ireland that he was returning to the U.S. over a false accusation.
The judge said he has a right to testify, which has been waived, but if he has second thoughts, I'll at least consider it.
Trump attorney Joe Tacopina said he spoke with Trump Thursday morning and he no intention of testifying. He indicated a change in strategy was unlikely.
Trump's lawyers did not call any witnesses in his defense. Choosing to try to make their case through cross-examination of Carroll's witnesses. Earlier Thursday the jury watched the video deposition Trump gave in October. During the 30 minutes of testimony Trump agreed that he made the allegedly defamatory statements, that he didn't know Carroll, that she wasn't his type and that she made up the story. He said he stood by the comments.
The jury also heard from another friend of Carroll's who said Carroll told her about the alleged rape at the time. On cross-examination Trump's attorneys presented the friend with text messages and emails she sent speaking negatively of Trump. In an effort to suggest her testimony was politically motivated. Carroll's lawyers also called a marketing professor who testified that
it would cost as much as $2.7 million to repair Carroll's reputation from the alleged damage caused by Trump's statement. Barring any last- minute changes, closing arguments will take place on Monday. The jury could get the case as soon as Tuesday.
Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Now to a major milestone in the prosecution of the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6. A jury in Washington has found four members of the far-right Proud Boys militia group guilty of seditious conspiracy. A fifth defendant was found not guilty on the sedition charge, although he was convicted of several other serious felonies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Today's verdict makes clear that the Justice Department will do everything in its power to defend the American people and American democracy. Our work will continue. The Justice Department will never stop working to defend the democracy to which all Americans are entitled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: This is the third time the U.S. Justice Department has secured convictions on seditious conspiracy charges for Capitol rioters. First two were members of the far right group the Oathkeepers. Attorneys for the Proud Boys say they plan to appeal.
Cities across Ukraine are bracing for another day of missile and drone strikes from Russia after the suspicious pre-dawn attack on the Kremlin. The sound of air raid sirens and repeated explosions sent people running for shelter in Kyiv on Thursday evening. And then there was this frightening scene in the capital.
That though was actually friendly fire, a malfunctioning Ukrainian drone shot down by Kyiv's air force. No casualties or injuries reported.
Meanwhile, Moscow now says that the U.S. directed the drone attack on the Kremlin early Wednesday. Russia called it an assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby dismissed the claim as ridiculous and lies.
The head of the Wagner mercenary group is lashing out at top Russian officials and announcing his forces will leave Bakhmut on May 10th. Yevgeny Prigozhin posted an expletive filled video online of fighters killed in Ukraine. Blaming Russian military leaders for not providing them with enough ammunition. Prigozhin specifically addressed Russia's defense minister and the Armed Forces chief of staff.
CNN's Nada Bashir joins me now in London. And Nada, what more can you tell us about this video? And what a departure it really marked having such a prominent individual criticizing members of the Russian government, obviously stopping short of criticizing people himself, but still.
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Absolute, and Prigozhin has been very vocal in his criticism of the political and military elite in Russia in the past. And of course, now we're learning that he does indeed plan to withdraw his troops from Bakhmut on May 10th. That was the warning that we had heard from Prigozhin earlier in the week.
And of course, the release of that graphic video in which he essentially displays the bodies of Russian fighters, part of the Wagner Group he claims, and he says were killed on the field as a result of those ammunition shortages. Now he claims the Wagner Group is missing some 70 percent of the ammunition they would need in order to continue fighting on the frontline and as a result they are now pulling out. And as he said there, he directed that criticism specifically toward the Russian defense minister and the chief of general staff. Of course, being very vocal and fierce in that criticism. Take a listen.
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YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN, WAGNER GROUP FOUNDER (through translator): You think you are the masters of this life. You think you can dispose of their lives. You think because you have warehouses full of ammunition that you have that right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: Now this isn't the first time that Yevgeny Prigozhin has called on Moscow to supply the Wagner Group with further ammunition. He released a similar video back in February and subsequently issued a post on Telegram that the Russian government had supplied the Wagner Group with further ammunition. So essentially that may well be the hope this time around.
But of course, we are also learning from U.S. intelligence officials that overall, the Russian armed forces are facing significant challenges on the ground when it comes to ammunition supply as well as manpower. And in fact, U.S. intelligence officials do say that they believe this is posing a significant challenge to President Putin's plans to launch and mount another large-scale significant offensive in Ukraine. And that a failure to really replenish those ammunition supplies could prevent Russia from launching such an offensive regardless of a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive -- Bianca.
NOBILO: Nada Bashir, thank you so much.
A massive manhunt is over following Serbia's second mass shooting in as many days. Officials say they arrested the man suspected of killing at least 8 people and wounding 13 others in multiple locations south of the capital. Hundreds of police and special forces took part in the search. For more now let's go to Scott McLean who joins us from near one of
the sites of the attack. Scott, given as you were telling us yesterday, a mass shooting is a rare occurrence in Serbia, highly unusual and tragic at anytime, the country must simply be reeling from this news of the second one in as many days.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's absolutely right. Case in point when we were coming out to the scene here this morning, we actually stopped to ask directions in a village quite near to where the shootings had taken place. And the man that we stopped told us that they helped that they happened in Belgrade. He just assumed that that was the shooting we were referring to because surely there couldn't have been two. But there was.
This one resulted in eight people killed so far, 13 injured. Some of them in critical condition we know. And this sparked a manhunt across a very wide swathe of this country involving some 600 officers. And this is a very rural area. As you can see there are a lot of potential hiding places for a suspect. What makes it even scarier is that the shooting primarily we understand, took place at a soccer pitch area where there was a barbecue area, where young people would gather at night to socialize. And the suspect, a 21-year-old man, had a fully automatic weapon -- according to local media reports.
And so, in this country fully automatic weapons are banned. There are illegal guns circulating still from the conflict in the 1990s, but you have to jump through a whole lot of hoops to get a gun license to even own a semiautomatic weapon. This has put this entire region on high alert. We were just in one of
the villages where some of the shots were fired, and we met a man there who actually after getting the initial alert on his phone had gone outside to see what the heck was going on. And he was actually mistakenly arrested and held by police for about an hour and a half because they suspected that perhaps he could have the actual shooter. Turns out he was an ordinary person from the village with a wife and a very small child that he was merely trying to protect.
After that, they did not sleep very much that night, they also did not leave their house until he actually flagged me down moments after I had gotten the news that an arrest had been made, to ask if it was safe to come out. That arrest was made in a larger city called Kovacevac (ph). It's in the central part of Serbia. It's about -- it's more than an hour south of where we are right now. So really nowhere close.
And it just goes to show you how large of an area we were talking about. Even 20 miles north of here as we were coming in, we saw police on the side of the road lined up heavily armed police officers searching the area beside the highway. But it seem like a needle in the haystack. Clearly, they had more information than they made public and were able to make an arrest much to the relief of this country now experiencing the second mass shooting in just the last two days -- Bianca.
NOBILO: Scott McLean, thank you. An NBA star from a fellow country with Balkan ties is promising to
help the families who lost loved ones in Wednesday's school shooting in Belgrade. Luka Doncic and his foundation have pledged to pay for funeral costs of all nine victims. That is according to his team, the Dallas Mavericks. The NBA star also sent out this tweet saying he stands with everyone affected by the tragedy. He also said that he's exploring more ways that he can help.
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And we're learning new details about Wednesday's the mass shooting in Atlanta, Georgia. 24 your old U.S. Coast Guard veteran Deion Patterson has been charged with one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault. Police say that he opened fire at a medical building killing one woman and wounding four others.
In Atlanta, a police source tells CNN that the mother of the suspect told investigators her son was seeking treatment at the facility. He reportedly got angry when doctors wouldn't give him a certain anti- anxiety drug. In a statement she pleaded for mental illness to be taken seriously and not disregard anyone who needs help. And apologized to the families of those killed and injured.
The one person killed has been identified Amy St. Pierre, the wife and mother of two who worked at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Her family describes her as the best of the best.
Police have made an arrest in a series of brutal stabbings near the University of California Davis. There were at least three attacks in the span of five days that left two people dead and the community on edge. CNN's Veronica Miracle has the latest for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police say that the person they believe who is responsible for the stabbing deaths of two people and critically injuring another person, is a former UC Davis student who was separated from the university just last week, 21-year- old Carlos Dominguez. Officials say that he's no longer with the university as of last week due to academic reasons.
And that happened two days before the first murder took place. The latest attack happened on Monday near campus and left a woman in critical condition and then just days before two men were killed at two parks near UC Davis on Thursday and Saturday.
Now police say they were able to arrest Dominguez because they got 15 calls from people in the community about a suspect -- a person, rather, who was wearing the same description, the same clothing as the suspect. And when they found him, they say that he had a large knife on him that they were looking for. Here is the police chief. Take a listen.
CHIEF DARREN PYTEL, DAVIS, CALIFORNIA POLICE: We decided to first arrest him for possessing a large knife that was on his person when he was picked up. He was wearing a backpack. In the backpack was a large knife that was consistent with one that we were looking for based on evidence from the first homicide.
MIRACLE: And Dominguez could be arraigned in court as early as Monday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: The official autopsy results in the Memphis police beating death of Tyre Nichols shows he died of blunt force trauma to the head. His death has been ruled a homicide. The medical examiner's report shows Nichols had rupturing in his brain and cuts and bruising all over his body. Nichols's death sparked national protests after police body camera video and surveillance footage showed five Memphis police officers repeatedly punching and kicking him after a traffic stop on January 7th. Five former police officers pleaded not guilty to several charges, including second-degree murder.
The district attorney says former Memphis officer Preston Hemphill will not face criminal charges but he was charged with department policy violations.
A strong earthquake has hit central Japan. The country's meteorological agency said the 6.3 magnitude quake hit near the town of Noto in Ishikawa Prefecture, at the depth of ten kilometers. Several people have said to have been injured after the houses collapsed. The government has set up an emergency office and they're assessing the damage. Officials say there were no abnormalities detected at the nearby nuclear power plant. We'll monitor this and bring you the latest as it develops.
Vindication for musician Ed Sheeran. Just ahead, the copyright infringement lawsuit that he beat and what he has to say about it.
And we continue to countdown to the coronation of King Charles. The Prince and Princess of Wales shake hands and pause with well wishers. More on what we can expect on the big day coming up after the break.
