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CNN International: Trump Vows to Appeal Sexual Abuse and Defamation Decision; Little or No Progress in High-Stakes White House Meeting; Federal Criminal Charges Filed Against Rep. George Santos; Imran Khan Arrest Hearing Expected at Special Court; Migrants Urged to Surrender Ahead of Title 42 Expiration; Islamic Jihad Vows Response to Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 10, 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 MALE: How do you feel? How do you feel? How do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it feels like a verdict not only for E. Jean but for thousands and thousands of other women.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The verdict is a disgrace. A continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all-time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: George Santos, he does face criminal charges that are being brought by federal prosecutors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Santos built his whole persona on a pack of lies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The rule of law is being violated by detaining Imran Khan here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was not arrested. He was abducted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

FOSTER: It is Wednesday, May 10th, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in New York where a federal jury has found U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation and he's vowing to appeal the verdict.

NOBILO: The jury awarded $5 million in damages to the former president's accuser, columnist E. Jean Carroll, who claimed that he raped her 27 years ago. Trump lashed out at the judge and the jury on his social media site calling the trial very unfair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What else can you expect from a Trump hating Clinton appointed judge who went out of his way to make sure that the result of this trial was as negative as it could possibly be? I don't even know who this woman is. I have no idea who she is, where she came from. This is another scam. It's a political witch hunt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Carroll released the statement after the verdict.

I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and get my life back. Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me but every woman who has suffered because she wasn't believed.

NOBILO: It took just 2 1/2 hours for the jury of six men and three women to reach their unanimous decision as CNN's Paula Reid reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The speed of the decision suggests there was not a lot of disagreement or deliberation in the jury room. I was in the court Tuesday morning and it took about 90 minutes for the judge to give the jury instructions on how to make this decision. And it took just a little bit longer than that for them to actually make this decision.

And while I was in court throughout this trial, it was clear to me this jury was being very attentive not only to E. Jean Carroll but also other witnesses. And it's clear from this decision that they believe not only E. Jean Carroll, but they also believed her friends who heard her describe this encounter shortly after it occurred and also women who allege other similar behavior.

They also, of course, heard from the former president in his own words in the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape describe grabbing people and then doubling down on that in his deposition. Now we may never know exactly what the jury thought of specific pieces of evidence because they have been anonymous throughout this trial. And the judge has encouraged them to remain anonymous even though they do have a right to speak out.

Now the former president's lawyers are trying to spin this as a victory for their client because the jury did not find that he raped E. Jean. But they did find that he sexually abused her, that is still under the law a form of sexual assault, a form of battery. So, if you have a day where your client has been found to sexually abuse someone and defamed them and may be on the hook for around $5 million in damages, it is hard to honestly spin that as a victory.

Paula Reid, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: During the trial Trump's attorney cross-examined Carroll about the alleged rape and repeatedly asked her why she didn't scream. Carroll replied that she was in too much panic at the time. A clinical psychologist who evaluated Carroll and testified on her behalf, says it's common for victims to keep quiet about their trauma.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LESLIE LEBOWITZ, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST AND DEFENSE WITNESS: That line of questioning is predicated on some of the oldest sexist myths and misunderstandings that we have. First of all, the overwhelming majority of women don't scream. The overwhelming majority don't report. They don't go back the next day to see if there is video footage. That is simply not what people do in general.

[04:05:00]

I think it's important to know that when people are terrorized and rendered helpless and stunned by a sudden assault as she was, we often don't do what we imagine we might do. You know, we often don't scream or run or do any of the things that in our fantasies we thought we might do. Instead, we fall back on things that are habitual often. For E. Jean, that was fighting. She fought physically hard. But screaming was not a habit for her and it isn't for most women.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Because this was a civil trial, there was never any question of jail time and Trump can push ahead with his latest presidential campaign. But he's facing other federal criminal investigations and we'll hear from Donald Trump later today. Be sure to tune in for CNN's town hall with the 2024 Republican presidential candidate. It will be moderated by CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins. It all starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern in New Hampshire. That is Thursday, 8:00 a.m. in Hong Kong.

NOBILO: The first major in-person meeting in months between U.S. President Biden and top lawmakers over the debt ceiling standoff has come and gone with virtually nothing to show for it. Both the White House and Republican leaders still seem unwilling to budge from their positions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Speaker McCarthy offered a very different way forward. He's proposed deep cuts that I believe are going to hurt American families. Millions of Americans rely on Medicaid for their healthcare, would be at risk of losing that.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA) U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: The House has raised the debt ceiling and passed the bill. That's why we had a meeting today. Everybody in this meeting reiterated their positions they were at. I didn't see any new movement. The president said the staff should get back together. But I was very clear with the president, we have now just two weeks to go. (END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Both sides are now scheduled to meet again this Friday with the clock ticking towards a potential catastrophic default as early as June 1st. CNN's Manu Raju reports from Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now the highly anticipated Tuesday meeting at the White House with Kevin McCarthy and President Biden along with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries and the Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell did not yield any breakthrough. In fact, it was much worse than that in the words of Kevin McCarthy himself.

The speaker said there was no progress at that meeting. Going into the meeting the president and Democratic leaders had pushed McCarthy to simply raise the national debt limit to $31.5 trillion, allow the United States to continue borrowing to help pay its bills but don't attach any spending cuts. That was the Democratic position.

McCarthy has rejected that position for some time, has called for direct negotiations with the White House over this issue. The White House has resisted those calls. The House GOP then pushed its own plan passing a bill that included a slew of spending cuts attached to raising the debt limit for one year. That is something that the Democrats say is dead on arrival.

So, where do they go from here? It is unclear whether they will be able to get an agreement to overt the first ever debt default in American history, something that could have drastic economic consequences. The leaders do plan to meet on Friday and in the interim the staff will continue to have discussions. But what will they entail? And will they get to the point where they can agree to some sort of framework, some sort of outline of what a deal to raise the national debt limit would look like?

And even if they were to get that agreement, it would need support from both chambers of Congress and getting that through within a matter of a few weeks would be no easy task given how limited time Congress is actually in session between now and then. But also, the process, parliamentary procedure for getting this through the finish line, particularly in the United States Senate, which is very difficult to move legislation quickly, all major questions about how this could potentially get resolved.

But at the moment this is the only game in town, the only forum in which they are actually discussing how to raise the debt limit. Other members of Congress are looking to the White House and looking to Speaker McCarthy to cut a deal. But a deal is a far way off as both sides are concerned that the U.S. could be very close to falling off this cliff unless something changes dramatically in the coming days.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE) FOSTER: A key report on U.S. inflation set to be released in the coming hours and economists are expecting it show that inflation remains high. The April Consumer Price Index forecast to raise 5 percent year-over-year. That's the same pace that was seen in March. The report has housing costs rising recently and that will likely be a key item that economists will be looking at in the hours ahead. If inflation is higher than expected, that could complicate the Federal Reserve interest rate plans. Ahead of that report here's a look at the U.S. stock futures with just a few hours to go until the new trading day gets underway.

[04:10:04]

NOBILO: CNN has learned federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against embattled New York Congressman George Santos. He could appear in a federal court as soon as today, but so far no one knows the exact charges.

FOSTER: Since being elected to office, Santos has been accused of lying about his background and resume, breaking campaign finance laws, leading a credit card fraud scheme and a few things more. CNN's Evan Perez has the latest from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department has filed criminal charges against Congressman George Santos. A Republican who's has been under scrutiny for a stunning number of lies and fabrications during his runs for office.

Santos is expected to appear in federal court in New York where the charges have been filed under seal. Now we don't know yet the exact nature of the charges but the FBI and the Justice Department's public integrity prosecutors in New York and in Washington have been examining allegations of false statements in Santos' campaign finance filings, among other claims.

The Congressman took office only in January and has faced calls from fellow Republicans to resign over allegations ranging from criminal behavior on the campaign trail, to petty personal dishonesty stretching back more than a decade.

Large chunks of his official biography are believed to be false. Including his claims to have worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, claims that he has Jewish heritage have turned out to be not true. He allegedly stole money from a clarity set up to help a military veteran's dog. He even falsely claimed that he was a producer on a Spiderman Broadway flop. It is not a crime to lie to voters about your resume. Instead, federal prosecutors have honed in on allegations that Santos lied on federal election filings that are intended to document campaign expenditures and fundraising.

We're expecting to see Santos appear before a judge in the coming hours.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Right now, supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan are gathering outside the police station where he's being held. Khan was arrested on Tuesday on corruption charges connected to his time in office sparking nationwide protests.

NOBILO: A special hearing is scheduled to be held at the station in the coming hours. But Khan's legal team is filing a petition against the hearing being held at the police headquarters rather than at the courthouse.

FOSTER: Let's go live to Islamabad where CNN producer Sophia Saifi has a very latest for us. So, there's a big, big reaction and some curfews in place as well.

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, Max. I mean, at the moment we still have a complete blackout. No Twitter, there's no WhatsApp, mobile broadcast services are turned off at the orders of interior ministry.

I'm standing right in front of the police compound where Imran Khan has been held since the early hours of this morning. We're waiting for that special court hearing to take place. We've been here since about 8:30 in the morning. We're now coming into 1:00 in the afternoon and the special hearing has not happened.

So far, the most recent information that we've received while being here on the ground is that three members of Imran Khan's legal team have been allowed inside the compound. Everyone that we've spoken to from Khan's legal have told us that they have had no access to their client after he was apprehended yesterday at Islamabad high court by paramilitary troops.

There is a sense of unease. Protests have eased out a bit, but there are roadblocks across major cities in the country. We do know that the secretary-general of Imran Khan's party, Asad Umar, has only just been arrested at Islamabad high court. When he was accompanying the legal team that had gone into get that petition filed to dismiss the fact that this special hearing is happening inside a police compound and not at the judicial complex. It's not a public hearing. Media is not being allowed inside. There's a lot of uncertainty. Imran Khan is incredibly popular politician here in Pakistan. We're still waiting to see how it pans out -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, back with you when you have updates. Sophia, thank you.

NOBILO: Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, a controversial U.S. border policy is poised to expire tomorrow raising concerns about an already challenging humanitarian crisis at the southern border.

FOSTER: Plus, health officials are proposing that women should start screening for breast cancer regularly after they turn 40.

NOBILO: And later, an 8-year-old boy is found unharmed after going missing for two days in the Michigan woods. We'll tell you how his resourceful thinking helped him survive. [04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Severe storms are expected to impact the central U.S. and southeastern plains today that including parts of Texas, Montana, Colorado and Wyoming. The main threats are isolated tornadoes, large hail and damaging wind gusts.

FOSTER: Heavy rain caused flooding in Houston, Texas on Tuesday. And more than 7 million people are under flood watches in the southeast of the state, with more thunderstorms expected today. A flash flood warning remains in effect for parts of Missouri as well.

In El Paso, Texas migrants are being urged to turn themselves into immigration authorities ahead of the looming expiration of Title 42 -- that's the COVID era policy which empowered border agents to bypass standard procedures and swiftly expel migrants.

NOBILO: The federal government estimated more than 150,000 migrants are waiting in shelters and on the streets of northern Mexico. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Mexico's president by phone on Tuesday as the two countries try to manage this crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We've gotten overwhelming corporation from Mexico. We also are in the process of setting up offices in Colombia and other places where you can -- or someone seeking asylum can go first. But it remains to be seen. It's going to be chaotic for a while.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's Rosa Flores is in El Paso where hundreds of asylum- seekers are heeding the warning from federal authorities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:20:00]

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The scene here in El Paso, Texas has changed. If you take a look around me, you'll see that the streets are empty. They used to be packed, but now they're empty. Here is what happened. Take a look at this video. There was a federal enforcement action very early this morning. Our cameras were rolling when all of this was unfolding. Federal agents in the dark were handing migrants -- who were sleeping on the streets -- flyers. Those flyers encouraging them to turn themselves into immigration authorities.

Now at first there was confusion because migrants didn't know what was going on. And then the fear sank in once they realized they had to make a critical decision. A few hours later we started seeing migrants line up at a processing center that's a few minutes walk away. And we saw that line grow by the hundreds. A few hours later, a second enforcement action. This time officers,

agents, federal agents with flak jackets telling people verbally that they should turn themselves into immigration authorities. Now if you take a look around me, there's a mix of people, some of them have completely left. And if you look at these blankets, these are the blankets that lot of the migrants were using to protect themselves from the sun. Well, the blankets are here. But if you look under there, the migrants are gone.

A lot of them have turned themselves into immigration authorities. But out here there is a mix. I've talked to multiple migrants. Some of them say that they turned themselves into immigration authorities and they were released. And so, they're back in the camp and they're waiting for a bus or they're waiting for a plane ticket so that they go meet their families somewhere in the United States. Now all of this is happening as the end of Title 42 looms on May 11 at 11:59 p.m.

Now about what's going on the northern border and the flow that we're expecting as Title 42 -- the end of Title 42 approaches. According to a source, the federal government estimates that there are more than 150,000 migrants in northern Mexican cities waiting to turn themselves into immigration authorities or waiting to cross into the United States. Now that's important because the detention facilities, the holding facilities, are already Maxed out at capacity. And so, that's what the administration is grappling with and no one really knows what will happen once Title 42 ends.

Rosa Flores, CNN, El Paso.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Islamic Jihad is vowing a response to Israel's airstrikes on Gaza. Calling the Tuesday morning attack, and aggressive, heinous massacre. Three Islamic brigade leaders were among the 13 Palestinians killed in the operation. A Gaza hospital says that the strikes also killed five women and four children who were said to be members of the men's families.

FOSTER: The IDF launched a second strike in southern Gaza claiming Islamic Jihad terrorists were moving anti-tank missiles to a launching pad in the area. The strikes all calm in response to attacks last week when Palestinian militants fired more than 100 rockets towards Israel.

NOBILO: Journalist Elliott Gotkine joins us now from Jerusalem with the latest. Elliott, Islamic Jihad is vowing revenge but the nature of this response is going to depend on Hamas.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Bianca, Israel is braced for a response. I think it's inevitable that one will come and everyone is expecting it. Indeed, Islamic Jihad itself putting out a statement saying -- or telling CNN that the occupation -- in it's words referring to Israel -- will be surprised by the response which will be unified and from all factions.

In other words, not just from Islamic Jihad but from all militant groups. And I can tell you that outside of southern Israel the communities around the Gaza Strip, life is continuing as normal. But in those communities around the Gaza Strip, schools remain closed today. They were closed yesterday anyway because of a school holiday. And also, trains are not stopping in more southerly cities closer to Gaza -- such as Ashkelon and Sderot.

Now Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation last night. He had this warning for the militants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Our principle is clear. Whoever harms us, we will strike at them and with great force. Our long arm will reach every terrorist at a time and place of our choosing. We are in the midst of a campaign. We are prepared for all possibilities. I suggest that our enemies not test us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOTKINE: Netanyahu adding that saying to -- addressing the militants, you can run, you can hide, but in the end, Israel will get you. So, for now, an uneasy calm pervades the country. But I think the response from Islamic Jihad and possibly fellow militants' groups such as Hamas, the response is a question of when, rather than if -- Max.

[04:25:00]

NOBILO: Elliott Gotkine for us live in Jerusalem, thank you.

FOSTER: U.S. Marshals are leading the manhunt now for two inmates who escaped Sunday from a Philadelphia jail under astonishing circumstances. The 18-year-old Ameen Hurst who reportedly is accused of killing four people, shooting two others, as well as two robberies. And 24-year-old Nasir Grant who was being held on drug and gun charges.

NOBILO: They apparently escaped through a hole cut in the fence and then climbed over two barbed wire fences to get away. No one seems to know how the hole got cut and nobody apparently noticed that they were gone for 19 hours. There's a $20,000 reward posted for them. And clearly, a lot of questions to answer.

FOSTER: It's pretty old school, a wire cutter.

NOBILO: It is.

FOSTER: Still to come, independent advisers for the FDA are now weighing whether to allow the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.S. The details just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with the top stories this hour. Former President Donald Trump says he will appeal a verdict by a

Manhattan jury that found him liable of sexual abuse and defamation. Trump's accuser, columnist E. Jean Carroll, was awarded $5 million in damages.

And former Pakistani President Imran Khan is expected to appear in a special court hearing after being forcefully arrested by police. Protesters across Pakistan are demanding Khan's release.

NOBILO: Independent advisers with the Food and Drug Administration are expected to vote Wednesday on whether they'll recommend that FDA make a birth control pill available over the counter for the first time ever in the U.S. That pill, named Opill, uses only the hormone progesterone.

[04:30:00]