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In Historic First, Former President Pleads Not Guilty To 37 Charges For Alleged Mishandling Of Classified Documents; Volodymyr Zelenskyy Discusses Dam Disaster With IAEA Chief; Two Killed And One Wounded After Cadet Opens Fire During Live Fire Training Exercise In Japan; Three Killed, Three Injured In Nottingham Attacks; Trump Rallies Supporters after Day in Court; Legal Team in Flux as Classified Documents Case Begins. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired June 14, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. Indictment number two, and counting. Donald Trump and his legal team come out swinging with a frenzy, hysterical defense of what many legal experts claimed to be the indefensible.

Vladimir Putin looks on the bright side, if it wasn't for his war of choice in Ukraine, he says Russia would never have known just how wholly inadequate his military really is.

And all you need is a little A.I. Paul McCartney teases one final Beatle song mixing a little never been heard before John Lennon and a lot of artificial intelligence and some say let it be.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Thanks for joining us here on CNN Wednesday's Flag Day in the United States. It is also Donald Trump's 77th birthday. But it seems there has been little to celebrate for the former president after he was arrested during his arraignment in a Miami federal court for the alleged mishandling of classified documents. He pleaded not guilty on all counts and while he described those 37 federal criminal charges as fake and fabricated, they are by far the most serious of all the legal charges against him and present the very real possibility of prison time.

Amid all the vitriol, the anger, the lashing out, the bluster, Trump was also fundraising. The twice impeached, twice indicted, now twice arrested former president spoke to supporters in Bedminster, New Jersey just a few hours ago insisting he had every right to have those secret and classified documents in his possession. And he accused U.S. President Joe Biden of orchestrating the case against him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today we witness the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country. Very sad thing to watch. A corrupt sitting president had his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges of which he and numerous other presidents would be guilty right in the middle of a presidential election, in which he is losing very badly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Donald Trump added if he is elected, he'll appoint his own special prosecutor specifically to go after President Joe Biden.

In Miami, this was the scene outside the courthouse Tuesday, with crowds of Trump supporters and opponents gathered. Amid heavy security, only one person was arrested but the crowds were light.

Inside the courthouse, Trump sat hunched over, arms crossed, scowl on his face. He did not speak during the hearing.

This case will be a long and winding dramatic process. Criminal and appeal proceedings could take possibly months, maybe even years to play out.

CNN's Evan Perez has a closer look at what happened in federal court Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A historic day here at the federal courthouse in Miami where Donald Trump became the first former president of the United States to face arraignment and faces federal charges that he is now charged with.

He spent just under two hours at this -- at the federal courthouse behind me. He was fingerprinted. He was processed by the U.S. Marshals and then sat in this courtroom for looking a little bit dejected.

He had his arms folded, twiddling his thumbs, mostly facing forward as the judge spoke to him about the case.

His attorney Todd Blanche entered the guilt -- the not guilty plea on his behalf, which is unusual. In most cases, defendants are required to stand up and address the judge and say for themselves that they are pleading not guilty.

His codefendant Walt Nauta is going to have to come back because he didn't have a lawyer present who could operate here at the federal courthouse in Miami.

[00:05:00]

One of the interesting developments in the court hearing today was the judge ordering the former president to not discuss the charges with Walt Nauta his codefendant or with any other witness, which is of course, an interesting restriction.

The former president is facing the fact that a lot of the people who work for him at the Trump Organization at Mar-a-Lago were witnesses in this case and his attorneys raised some concerns about that. Of course, the former president is now running for office again.

In the end, the Justice Department promised to produce a list of witnesses that the former president is not allowed to discuss the case with in the coming weeks as this case gets underway here in southern Florida.

Evan Perez, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Jessica Levinson is a professor of law at Loyola University Law School and host of the Passing Judgment podcast. Welcome back. Good to see you.

JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: Good to be here.

VAUSE: So, Trump was kind of more Trumpian than ever the last couple of hours and in the middle the vitriol and anger, there did seem to be a moment of unintended truth, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The Espionage Act has been used to go after traitors and spies. It has nothing to do with a former president legally keeping his own documents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Absolutely right. But those documents were his. And that's where the problems begin.

LEVINSON: That is absolutely true. That is an accurate statement. The Espionage Act has nothing to do with former presidents keeping their own documents. These weren't his documents. These were highly sensitive documents. They were documents, as we've discussed, that potentially put all of us and our allies at risk.

And therefore, the Presidential Records Act has no applicability here, we're not talking about a letter from the prime minister that Trump wanted to keep as a keepsake. We're talking about nuclear weapons capabilities information, we're talking about military readiness, we're talking about attack plans. This is quintessential -- excuse me, quintessential government documents and documents that, again, for some of these particular pieces of information are listed as Five Eyes only, essentially meaning only the highest clearance can see these documents.

VAUSE: So, here's one of Donald Trump's attorney. He's one of the many who actually haven't left yet. But speaking to reporters, actually before the arraignment in Miami, here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALINA HABBA, ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: The people in charge of this country do not love America. They hate Donald Trump. What we are witnessing today is the blatant and unapologetic weaponization of the criminal justice system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: We hear this kind of really hysterical, extreme statements coming from Trump's lawyers all the time, as well as his supporters as well. You know, there's been calls for civil war for armed uprising by others, you know, and other Trump supporters.

Is it kind of a -- not a coordinated plan here but it's sort of a nudge and a wink among the Trump folks is sort of raised the temperature here, to sort of just gin up the population -- or at least Trump supporters to cause kind of -- some kind of upheaval, some kind of public unrest.

LEVINSON: Yes, and let's remember January 6, words have consequences. And we know that when the former president and his allies and his spokespeople use certain words and certain language, that that can have very real consequences.

The thing about that statement that really struck me is that any attorney general, a Republican attorney general, a Democratic attorney general, any attorney general really would be legally obligated to bring this case.

And frankly, if the case was not brought, the question really is, why not? What were -- Merrick Garland would have had to explain why did they not go to a grand jury for an indictment given again, everything that we saw in that 49 page indictment?

VAUSE: Given Trump's ability to rally up his base, as you mentioned, January 6, words have consequences. Also the fact that these are such serious crimes, and that Trump does, in fact, have the ability, you know, if you like, to be a flight risk, would anybody else under those circumstances, be out free before the trial? Or would there be a reasonable here argument to be made that they should be locked up before the pretrial hearings?

LEVINSON: Well, I think there would be a reasonable argument. But again, he's not like anybody else. He's highly recognizable, he really can't move without people noticing him moving. He has Secret Service protection.

And so in that way, I think the fact that he is different, that he is unlike any other criminal defendant.

For so many reasons, let's remember, most criminal defendants have not appointed the judge who will oversee the trial, that, in fact, it does make sense to say he's not a flight risk, like somebody else who's not one of the most recognizable people in the world.

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VAUSE: But what about the statements, you know, the rioting of the crowds, the violence, which could come from statements that he makes?

LEVINSON: So, those statements again, there could be legal consequences if, for instance, we look at things like incitement, actually, the Supreme Court is just reviewing and there will be potentially a new ruling in the next few weeks about what amounts to speech, there's a true threat. And that is certainly something that when it comes to this case, and when it comes to the former president, that we could be looking at.

I think what we really need to focus on is the difference between what he says out of court which you and I have talked about in which certainly can kind of gin up an angry mob. And what he says in court, which I think will be as this process continues, much more tempered.

Because let's remember, his lawyers will face repercussions for misleading a judge and many of the documents that are submitted will be submitted under penalty of perjury.

So, I think we're going to have two completely different scripts. One is what he says outside the courtroom and the other is what said inside the courtroom.

VAUSE: Jessica, thanks so much. We really appreciate your insights. Appreciate it.

LEVINSON: Thank you.

VAUSE: Ukraine's counter-offensive appears to be picking up steam. Military official says they're fast gaining ground in the east, while at the same time, systematically destroying Russian manpower and equipment. He says they've destroyed the Russian admission depot and fired hundreds of missiles and other heavy munitions.

Ukraine says its fighters are also putting pressure on Russian forces close to Bakhmut, and Russia is losing ground around that embattled city. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy now praising the efforts of his troops on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Thanks to everyone who is fighting who protects and advances our positions.

For example, the Bakhmut sector, in particular, to the soldiers of the air assault (PH) brigade of Ukrainian air assault forces, there is forward movement in various areas. I thank you, thank you for your extraordinary bravery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Zelenskyy also sending condolences to those who've lost loved ones in the Russian attacks in the Kryvyi Rih overnight on Tuesday. 11 people have died including one child, more than 30 others were wounded in that attack on the city.

Zelenskyy also addressing yet another disaster discussing the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam with the International Atomic Energy Agency chief.

CNN's Sam Kiley has details.

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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: An important visit to Kyiv by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting with President Zelenskyy as the Ukrainian counter offensive begins to pick up pace, particularly in the south and what is now being called the Zaporizhzhia front.

Now, that is a front that has right at the beginning of it on the front itself, a nuclear power station, the largest nuclear power station in Europe with six reactors are functioning when it's at its peak.

Now, almost all of those reactors have been shut down by one which is in what's called a warm shut down. The plant itself does have enough cooling water to last several months according to the local authorities here, but it sits on the dam or the lake above the dam of Nova Kakhovka which has been blown or burst with a very substantial loss in water levels of that dam.

So, in the future, one of the things that head of the IAEA will be looking at is how do they maintain supply of water to those all- important cooling pools.

This coming as the Ukrainians continue to increase the level of attacks that they're conducting on that Southern front, making small but significant gains as they take on a very substantial Russian front line, very strong defense in depth that the Russians are known to have there, because it's the route for Ukraine to try to get through to liberate the Crimean Peninsula, which was seized by Russia back in 2014.

And at the same time, the Ukrainians also enjoying some tactical success now punching up to about seven or more miles in a salient southeast of the city of Bakhmut.

Again, significant advances really have a tactical nature. But ultimately, if they're able to join up with forces breaking through Russian lines elsewhere, they might well be able to turn the momentum of this counter offensive very much to their advantage.

But this has been the early stages of the much-wanted campaign to try to rid Ukraine of the Russian invaders and Ukrainians are privately admit, these are Ukrainians inside the military, that they anticipate that the scale of the fighting that is coming in the near future is going to be such that they're expecting to take some really significant casualties.

Sam Kiley, CNN in Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was at the White House Tuesday meeting with President Joe Biden. They discussed an upcoming NATO Summit in Lithuania next month, as well as support for Ukraine's counter offensive.

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JENS STOLTENBERG, SECRETARY GENERAL, NATO: And the support that we are providing together to Ukraine is now making a difference on the battlefield as we speak, because the offensive is launched and Ukrainians are making progress, making advances. It's still early days, but what we do know is that the more land Ukrainians are able to liberate, the stronger hand they will have at the negotiating table.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We also -- we've strengthened NATO's eastern flank, made it clear that we'll defend every inch of NATO territory.

And I say it again: The commitment of the United States to NATO's Article 5 is rock solid.

And at our summit in Lithuania next month, we're going to be building on that momentum, from working to ensure that Allies spend enough on the defense, the two percent --not just as a hike, but that's the bottom line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Very rare public admission from the Russian president, more than 15 months into his war of choice. Putin confirms his military is short on high precision ammunition, as well as attack drones. Putin says the Russian weapon quality is improving. And the defense industry is improving output but more equipment he says is needed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Of course, during the special military operation, it became clear that we don't have enough of some things. These are high precision munitions communications equipment, UAVs. Yes, drone aircraft. We have them. Unfortunately, we need greater quantities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Steve Hall is a CNN National Security Analyst and former Chief of Russia operations for the CIA. It's good to see you, Steve, thanks for being with us.

STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Sure, great to be here.

VAUSE: OK, so in the spirit of always looking on the bright side of life, here's a little more from the Russian president, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): Our production is growing, performance is growing, range and accuracy are increasing. If it had not been for the special military operation, we would never have understood how to fine tune our military production, so that our army is the best in the world, that we will do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, to boil it all down, Russia was short on ammunition and other material, domestic production capacity was woefully overestimated. And the range of accuracy of the weapons they have needs improvement. On the bright side, at least they now know?

HALL: It's almost like he's been in therapy, right? I mean, the therapist says, yes, there's a lot of bad things going on. But you know, there's at least this one bright thing, of course, we can't really believe any of that, because it's coming from the Kremlin.

But the very idea that, well, thank goodness, this special military operation, AKA war happened, because now at least we know where we need to improve on the already best military in the world. I mean, it just doesn't make any sense. It's almost babbling.

VAUSE: So, why would he come out and do this thing?

HALL: Yes, that's the big question. I mean, so if you get to the -- to the question as to why is this happening? I mean, it's obvious that sanctions are having an impact, they can't get the electronics that they need for some of their -- some of their high tech weaponry.

So, you know, that's sort of the simple question I think most people understand. For me, the really fascinating question is, why does Vladimir Putin choose to address this?

And I think, again, we have to turn to history in Russia, there have been so many Russian leaders who after a failed or stalemated war did not survive in power afterward. I wonder whether Putin is thinking about that, whether he's beginning to see OK, I'm not going to win it, the best I can hope for is some kind of draw, some sort of frozen conflict. But if that happens, how will I survive politically.

And I wonder whether or not he's trying to prepare the Russian population for that eventuality, and trying to -- try to figure out a soft landing for himself.

VAUSE: The initial Russian invasion force here into Ukraine was around 120,000 troops, maybe more, a year on 100,000 have either been killed or wounded. That seems to be extraordinary high price to pay to find out your military kind of sucks.

HALL: Well, and even worse, so not only -- not only if you found out all the horrible things that your own military, you know, can't even pull off, can't even -- can't even really run a war, you've managed to pull together your primary enemy, NATO in the West, in a way in a unification that we just haven't seen in decades.

I mean, NATO has never been more unified. Certainly in the past. It's taking on new really powerful, you know, members, and you have really, really put your country if you're Vladimir Putin in a very bad position. And he's got to be thinking, OK, how am I going to get out of this? If I can't win it, which it's not looking like I can.

VAUSE: And with that assessment that you just made, let's listen to comments made by the U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Putin was making a mistake. He was looking for the Finlandization of NATO. He got the NATOization of Finland and hopefully Sweden very shortly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, does that essentially sum up the essence of Putin's biggest miscalculation here?

[00:20:05]

HALL: You know, at this point, it's kind of difficult to say, which is -- which is the worst, which is the biggest.

I mean, certainly, if you believe Putin, and I think that there is some validity in Russians -- in Russia's concerns about NATO, yes, it's a defensive alliance, but in Russia's mind, it's just this massive enemy that that's out there.

But does that mean that you then take steps that are going to make that enemy even stronger, more unified, richer, bigger? That's a huge mistake, let alone, you know, all the others, you know, relatively smaller things that are happening like your military is incapable of performing, all the Russian lives that are lost, and not that Putin cares that much about those things. But it's just this litany of mistakes.

And again, you got to wonder, where's his way out of it? How does he end up at the end of all of this?

VAUSE: Well, Putin had this take on how the war could actually end. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): The key to solve the problem is on their side, if they really want today's conflict to resolve via talks, they just need to take a single decision. Stop supplying arms. That's it. Ukraine does not produce anything themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: If by talks, he means Ukraine's total surrender by not being armed and you know, supplied by the West, well, then he's right. But it always sounds kind of pelting in a way that he feels robbed of victory because of NATO and U.S. support for Ukraine. HALL: Yes, I mean, as usual, this is -- actually, this is something that's much more usual that comes out of the Kremlin, when we hear him say things are pretty much the exact opposite of what actual truth is.

So, you know, who can end the war tomorrow? Vladimir Putin by simply withdrawing troops from the company -- the country that he chose to invade.

So, you know, to turn that on its head and say, well, you know, the Ukrainians and the West could end this if they simply stopped supplying weapons, you know, is sort of -- is sort of ludicrous.

The easy and obvious thing to do is on the Russian side would be if you really want to stop the war, just withdraw your forces but of course, geopolitically in internally for Putin. That's not a viable option if he wants to survive, if he wants his regime to survive.

VAUSE: Yes, he has now created quite a mess, to say the least. Steve Hall, as always, good to have you with us, Sir, thank you.

HALL: Great to be here.

VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, three deadly attacks rocked the English city of Nottingham. What we know so far about the attacks.

Also, a powerful cyclone barreling towards India and Pakistan right now. Thousands fleeing their homes to safer ground, civilians in the path of the storm, we'll have the very latest in a moment.

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VAUSE: Millions in India and Pakistan are hunkering down as a dangerous cyclone approaches from the Arabian Sea. The storm has wind equivalent to a Category 1 Atlantic hurricane expected to make landfall on Thursday, bringing with it the triple threat of heavy rain, damaging wind and coastal storm surge.

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Urban flooding is forecast for Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi, evacuations are underway for tens of thousands of people there in the storm's path, but 8,000 people in India's Gujarat state has been moved -- had been moved to safer ground as well.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The situation near our house is very bad and we have to escape from there. We are having no difficulties in staying in the relief camp and are getting food, shelter, water, bed, lights and fans. Back at home, it felt like we would die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Heavy rain is also expected to trigger landslides, as well as flash flooding. Japan's military says a cadet is in custody after opening fire on

fellow cadets during a training exercise, killing two and wounding another.

CNN's Paula Hancocks following the story live for us this hour from Seoul, South Korea. Paula, what are the details at this point?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, what we've heard from the Self Defense Forces at this point is this happened around 9:00 a.m. local time, so about four hours ago. And this was one Cadet who fire towards other members of the unit. Now, this was during a live fire drill that we understand in this particular live fire base in central Japan.

The individual has been taken into custody, we are being told but at this point, there is no known motive.

Now as you say, John, there have been two confirmed fatalities from this incident. We know there's at least one more that is injured at this point. And what officials are trying to find out is what exactly happened and why.

Now, these kinds of shooting incidents are rare in Japan. We have seen them but they are certainly not common.

For example, there was a shooting incident just last month that where an individual killed four people including two police officers.

And of course, last year, that very famous incidents of the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe being shot in the street giving a campaign speech but these are rare incidents.

To put it into context, at 2022 for example, the last year we have figures for, there were nine firing incidents, so it's one of the lowest gun crimes in the world in Japan.

This incident though is slightly different. Because the reason gun crimes are so low is because it's so difficult for somebody to be able to own a gun. Gun ownership laws are very strict, but the people who can own a gun is the police of course, the SDF, the Military and we have seen in the past there have been incidents with gangs as well.

So, this is an incident where guns were present legally, it is a live fire drill. So, of course, it is slightly different to previous gun crimes we've seen but of course, the question now is what exactly did happen and what is the motive of this individual. We are waiting to hear more details from officials, John.

VAUSE: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks with the very latest on that shooting there in Japan. Thank you.

In the U.K., a 31-year-old man has been arrested after three people were killed in the city of Nottingham. Police say two university students we found dead in one location. A man in his 50s found dead in another.

Police also say three people were injured when they were targeted by a van. All three incidents they say a linked.

CNN's Nada Bashir takes up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, the city of Nottingham in central England is in a state of shock in the wake of three separate attacks, which police believe are connected. Officers were called to an incident in central Nottingham just after 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday, after two people were found dead in the street.

A third individual was also found dead on Tuesday morning in a separate location just over a mile away.

The University of Nottingham has since confirmed that two of its students were killed. Separately, police were called to an incident nearby which left three injured after a van attempted to ram into pedestrians. Two people are said to have sustained minor injuries but a third victim is confirmed to be in a critical condition in hospital. Take a listen to what one eyewitness had to say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looked in his mirror and saw a police car behind him. He then quickened up, those two people turning the corner. He went straight in to the 30 people. The woman went on the curb. The man went up in the air that was such a bang. I wish -- I wish I never saw it. It's really shake me up.

BASHIR: Now, according to Nottinghamshire police, a 31-year-old man was arrested and remanded in custody on suspicion of murder shortly after the attacks took place.

A large cordon was also quickly established at the scene of the attacks. But the investigation is still very much ongoing and Nottinghamshire police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

In a statement, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his thanks to the emergency services involved in Tuesday's response and also expressed his condolences to the victims and their loved ones.

Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Tens of thousands of mourners are expected out of Milan Cathedral in the coming hours for Silvio Berlusconi's funeral. The former Italian Prime Minister died Monday, he was 86 years old.

[00:30:11]

Berlusconi built a multi-billion-dollar business empire, including TV networks, department stores, football clubs. He then turned his attention to politics in 1994.

Mourners are leaving flags, flowers, other tributes as they pay their respects outside his villa North of Milan. Donald Trump back in campaign mode and vowing retaliation after

pleading not guilty to federal criminal charges in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. Amid all the lashing out a very bizarre campaign promise. If he's president, he'll go after Joe Biden. Details in a moment.

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VAUSE: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.

In just their sixth season in the National Hockey League, the Las Vegas team Golden Knights have won their first Stanley Cup title. The team from the desert dominated the team from the South, the Florida Panthers, winning 9 to 3 in game five of the finals, taking the series to four games to one.

The Vegas team captain, Mark Stone, had three goals, the first player to post a hat trick in a championship, clinching victory, since 1992.

Donald Trump is lashing out at President Joe Biden and the Justice Department after his arraignment in the classified documents case.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 criminal counts in a Miami court on Tuesday. He's accused of mishandling classified information after he left the White House in 2021.

A small crowd of supporters gathered outside the federal courthouse to cheer on the former president. One protester was arrested after he jumped in front of Trump's motorcade.

The former president president now at his Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey, where he spoke to supporters late Tuesday. And he called the charges against him the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of the country. And he vowed to appoint a special prosecutor to go after Joe Biden, if he's reelected as president. That's Trump, that is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is called election interference and yet another attempt to rig and steal a presidential election.

More importantly, it's a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation.

This day will go down in infamy, and Joe Biden will forever be remembered as not only the most corrupt president in the history of the country but perhaps, even more importantly, the president who, together with a band of his closest thugs, misfits and Marxists, tried to destroy American democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:35:00]

VAUSE: The other day of infamy, of course, being the surprise attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor.

Trump's legal team in the classified document case is in limbo, even as the federal proceedings against him are underway. The former president is still searching for a star attorney to take on this case.

CNN's Brian Todd has details, reporting in from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Appearing in court with the former president on Tuesday, attorneys Todd Blanche and Chris Kise, two lawyers seen as well-respected but maybe not the dream team Donald Trump seems to be looking for.

NORM EISEN, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE ETHICS COUNSEL: What's missing on this team is a lead trial lawyer who is accustomed to standing up in front of Florida juries and leading the defense of high-profile criminal cases.

TODD (voice-over): Blanche is expected to be the lead attorney in the Mar-a-Lago documents case for now. But he's only been on Trump's legal team since April, when he was hired in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case in New York.

TODD BLANCHE, ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: We're going to fight it hard.

TODD (voice-over): Chris Kise is a former Florida solicitor general who 's closely tied to some of the state's top Republican politicians. He was brought on to handle the Mar-a-Lago documents case late last year, but reportedly had his role reduced fairly quickly by Team Trump.

EISEN: I think he's having difficulties, because he's a challenging client; and just the turmoil in the team accounts for that.

TODD (voice-over): Blanche and Kise were tapped to appear with Trump in court on Tuesday, after Trump spent most of Monday scrambling to add lawyers to his team, interviewing potential candidates at his Doral resort outside Miami.

In a sudden and unexpected move, two of his top attorneys in the Mar- a-Lago case, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, left the legal team last Friday. Trump said he was removing them. They said they resigned.

Last month, Tim Parlatore, an attorney who had played an important role on Trump's legal team in the documents case, quit. Parlatore told CNN it wasn't because of the case or the client, but because Trump aide Boris Epshteyn, who's coordinating the legal team, undermined him.

TIM PARLATORE, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: He had really done everything he could to try to block us, to prevent us from doing what we could to -- to defend the president.

He served as kind of a filter to prevent us from getting information to the client and getting information from the client. In my opinion, he was not very honest with us or with the client on certain things.

TODD (voice-over): In response, a spokesperson for Trump told CNN, "Parlatore's statements regarding current members of the legal team are unfounded and categorically false."

Infighting and chaos in Trump's legal circles is nothing new, analysts say, and it's often due to a client who's notorious for not listening to legal advice.

EISEN: You have a client who is very strong-headed, who expects things from his lawyers that they cannot deliver, who after his many decades of entanglement with the legal system, often appears to believe he knows better than his lawyers.

TODD: Norm Eisen points out there are many potential pitfalls ahead for any attorney who represents Trump in any of these cases, including the possibility that the attorneys themselves might become the subject of prosecutorial attention, as two of Trump's attorneys have been: one of his current lawyers, Evan Corcoran, and former Trump lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, who was indicted and served jail time.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

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VAUSE: The Federal Reserve has a tough decision, with an announcement now just 14 hours away on interest rates. They have a choice: raise official rates for an eleventh consecutive time, or let up on tightening monetary policy.

The CPI index, released Tuesday, could argue for a pause. It's the slowest annual increase in prices since March 2021. Slowing hikes in food prices and lower energy prices are helping ease inflation, but it's still faster than the 2 percent annual rate the Fed hopes to achieve.

Amid a strong May jobs report also might persuade the Fed to order another rate hike.

Most economist believe the Fed will take a pause to get further time to assess the data. The announcement is set for 2 p.m. Wednesday, Eastern Time, not long from now. We'll have it here on CNN, no doubt.

Still to come, Paul McCartney refuses to let it be. He has one more song for the Beatles to release. It's all thanks to an unexpected collaborator, John Lennon and a little A.I.

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VAUSE: Author Cormac McCarthy, whose dark and violent visions of America were often tinged with hope, has died at the age of 89.

McCarthy rose to fame late in life with his blockbuster coming-of-age novel, "All the Pretty Horses." That was followed by several novels, including "The Road," which followed a father and son's torturous trek through a post-apocalyptic world; and then "No Country for Old Men," which the Coen brothers made into an Oscar-winning movie.

Call it the fifth Beatle, artificial intelligence, which is now being used by Paul McCartney for a new Beatle song.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Sir Paul McCartney revealed the Beatles' final record has been completed by using A.I. to remaster the voices of band members, the late John Lennon and the lake George Harrison.

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PAUL MCCARTNEY, MUSICIAN/SONGWRITER: So when we came to make what will be the last Beatles record, it was a demo that John had that we worked on, and we just finished it up. It will be released this year. We were able to take John's voice and get it pure through this A.I., so that then we could mix the record, as you would normally do.

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VAUSE: McCartney says there's a good side and a scary side to A.I., and we'll just have to see where it leads on that long and winding road.

And that is the end of the Beatles puns, I promise, for this hour.

I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM, but first, WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. See you back here in just over 17 minutes.

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