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Trump Testifies in New York Civil Trial; One Month Since Hamas Attacks on Israel; Israeli Prime Minister's Comments on Gaza. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired November 07, 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 INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Coming up on CNN, the four-time indicted, twice impeached, one-term president Donald Trump takes the stand as a defendant in a New York civil trial, accusing him, his sons and other Trump Organization executives of business fraud. And it's now been one month since the horrific Hamas attacks on Israel, and as the war rages on. A UN official says the death toll in Gaza from Israeli airstrikes defies humanity.
Wherever you are around the world, thank you for joining us. This hour, we begin with an historic day in a New York courtroom. For the first time in more than a century, a former U.S. president has taken the stand as a defendant. And Donald Trump stayed true to form, during 4 hours of testimony insulting the court, insulting the judge, and insulting the prosecution, while repeating his favorite and blatantly incorrect claims from the campaign trail, calling his criminal charges part of a political witch hunt and election interference.
On the stand Monday, he also boasted about his wealth. The trial in New York is a civil case, which means Trump does not face jail time, unlike his 4 criminal indictments. But this New York case strikes at the very heart of Trump's business empire and could end with a ban on conducting business in New York State ever again. In a pre-trial ruling, Trump was found liable for fraud for inflating the value of his properties in order to receive more favorable loans. The judge, who has appeared visibly annoyed with Trump's combative performance, will ultimately decide the outcome of the case.
Trump's legal team has threatened to file a motion for a mistrial. CNN's Chief Legal Affairs correspondent Paul Reid has a closer look at what happened in court and what might come next.
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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump leaving court after testifying in an attempt to defend his real estate business.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a scam, and this is a case that should have never been brought. REID: During nearly 4 hours on the stand, Trump continuously clashed with Judge Arthur Engoron. I'm sure the judge will rule against me because he always rules against me. The judge responding, you can attack me, you can do whatever you want, but answer the question. In another testy exchange, the judge had to instruct defense attorney Chris Kise to control your client, adding, this is not a political rally. We are here to hear him answer questions, and most of the time he's not, the judge said, and then threatened to remove Trump from the stand.
On the financial statements at the heart of the case, Trump said, I would look at them, I would see them, and I would maybe on occasion have some suggestions. And on his role in preparing the statements, I accepted it. Other people did it, but I didn't say make it higher or make it lower, he said. When asked if he maintained accurate records from August 2014 going forward, Trump said, I hope so. I didn't keep them myself.
Trump was also questioned about the valuation of his assets, including his Trump Tower apartment, which financial statements show a more than $200 million value drop in 1 year. I thought the apartment was high, he said, adding, we changed it, and saying different property assets were both high and low. Trump has long claimed his Florida Mar-a-Lago property was undervalued, saying today it is worth $1 to $1.5 billion.
TRUMP: The numbers are much greater than on the financial statement.
REID: But the judge cited a Florida tax appraisal valuing the property at just $18 million. In his decision, finding Trump, his adult sons, and his company committed persistent and repeated fraud. In court, Trump said, I thought Mar-a-Lago was very underestimated, but I didn't do anything about it. Trump's conduct has become a flashpoint in this case.
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TRUMP: You have a racist attorney general who made some terrible statements.
REID: Even before he took the stand, Trump took aim at New York Attorney General Letitia James, later calling her a political hack in court.
LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: The only thing that matters are the facts and the numbers. And numbers, my friends, don't lie.
REID: The next witness expected to be called by the attorney general's office in this case is the former president's daughter, Ivanka Trump. She is expected to testify on Wednesday, and then defense attorneys are expected to begin their case at the beginning of next week. Paula Reid, CNN, New York.
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VAUSE: Joining me now from Los Angeles is Jessica Levinson, professor of law at Loyola Law School and host of the podcast Passing Judgment. Welcome back. Good to see you.
JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: Good to be here.
VAUSE: Okay, so the 4 times indicted, twice impeached, 1 term president spoke to reporters outside the courtroom Monday, repeating much of what he said while on the witness stand. Here's some of it.
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TRUMP: To think that we're being sued and spending all this time and money, and yet people being killed all over the world, that this country could stop. With inflation and all of the other problems that this country has, I think it's a disgrace. And when you look at the numbers, the poll numbers that came out today from the New York Times and CBS, people are sick and tired of what's happening.
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VAUSE: Just in itself, it's an odd thing to be saying in the middle of a court battle. But, you know, it does seem there were two separate arguments being made in that courtroom. Trump directly addressing U.S. voters, making his case for re-election. While prosecutors argued why he should be banned from doing business ever again in New York state.
LEVINSON: I think you're exactly right to phrase it that way. And it does feel like there are ships passing in the night where this is not a typical witness on the witness stand. I mean, some people thought, well, maybe we won't get Trump the politician because he'll be under oath. He'll be there in a courtroom. These are very serious allegations against him that could potentially threaten his empire, which of course we know is a big part of his persona and a big part of his sales pitch to the American public.
But he really treated this like a campaign rally. He was very combative. He was non-responsive. He was rambling. I don't think that his audience in this case was the judge, even though this is a bench trial. His audience was political. His audience was his donors and his voters. And I think you're exactly right that two things were happening in that courtroom today.
VAUSE: As he arrived, the former president repeated some very familiar and also some blatantly wrong statements, blaming his legal troubles once again on his political opponents. Here's a little more from the former president.
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TRUMP: These are political operatives that I'm going to be dealing with right now. It's very unfair. It's very unfair. But in the meantime, the people of the country understand it. They see it. And they don't like it. They don't like it. Because it's political warfare, as you would call it, or political lawfare.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: So, it seems that if you look at what's happening in the other federal indictments with these ongoing court cases, his defense is there, the political campaign, everything happened all at once today, if you like.
LEVINSON: It was really the coming together of a lot of things. As you say, a big part of his pitch was, I am very successful. I am a hugely successful businessman. And interestingly, that did bleed over into his testimony today, where he didn't as much as I thought he would have, frankly, point the finger and say, no, not it. It was the attorneys. It was the accountants. It wasn't me. He said, in fact, to the New York attorney general, you're wrong. I didn't overvalue. I undervalued because I am worth so much money. The Trump brand brings all of these properties up.
So, it was interesting legally and politically. You see the kind of convergence of this argument of I am worth so much money. And it's the same argument that he's made to the voters, which is I'm successful in business and therefore I will be successful at running the country.
VAUSE: What is interesting, though, about all this is that the case isn't about guilt or innocence. A pre-trial ruling found that Trump and the Trump organization is liable to fraud because of inflating that, -- the worth of those assets and to try and deceive banks and other people. The hearing, though, will determine the penalty for that fraud.
And as the headline in The Guardian noted, speeches and grandstanding, Trump scores few, if any, legal points in the court. But does it matter legally? Does Trump toast no matter what he says or can he actually make it worse for himself?
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LEVINSON: So, I think he thinks he's toast either way. Now, of course, there was 7 counts in this complaint and the judge granted summary judgment, as you noted, on one of them, finding that there was in fact fraud, that Trump committed fraud, the Trump organization. But there still are six other counts where the judge is looking at potential liability. And when you are extremely combative and non-responsive with the judge, who again is acting as a jury, that's not a great legal tactic.
The fact that he was so aggressive and critical of the judge indicates to me that he largely thinks this is lost, at least on liability, likely on remedies. And so, he is making his case to the voters to say, see, I told you it was a witch hunt. I told you it was election interference. And the fact, again, that he pulled no punches indicates to me that he thinks this is largely lost.
Now, of course, the defense has not put on their case yet. They estimate that their case will last until mid-December. So, we'll see what legally they will argue in terms of whether or not values are subjective and whether or not these were some bookkeeping errors, so to speak.
VAUSE: Jessica, great to have you with us. Thank you. Jessica Levinson there in Los Angeles. Appreciate your time.
LEVINSON: Thank you.
VAUSE: Now to Israel's war with Hamas, which began 1 month ago. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says once Hamas has been destroyed and the fighting ends, Israel will be responsible for Gaza's security for an indefinite period of time. Netanyahu made those comments during an interview with ABC News, his first public remarks about the future of Gaza once the war is over. And until then, he stressed, there will be no ceasefire with Hamas until the militant group releases all their hostages.
And now, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank, more than 10,000 people in Gaza have been killed during the month-long Israeli offensive. A senior UN official said that number defies humanity. For more, live now to journalist Elliot Gotkine, So, Elliot, you know, Netanyahu didn't go into all the detail here, but what more is known about the security play for Gaza after the war? And an ongoing Israeli security presence in Gaza has never been very popular among Israelis, at least in the past. How will they view this now?
ELLIOT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: John, beyond this death toll, which as you say, the UN's relief chief describes as defying humanity, one of the key concerns or criticisms of this war between Hamas and Israel is that there hasn't been a lot of thought going into what happens the day after, whether it's in a few days, weeks, or months, when this war ends, and it will end eventually. What is the plan for the Gaza Strip, especially if Israel succeeds in its objective of destroying Hamas militarily so that it can never again inflict a pogrom of the sort that it did on October the 7th. And also politically, so that it can no longer remain in power in the Gaza Strip.
Now, there's been talk about potentially the United Nations coming in, perhaps Arab states. I suppose the most elegant and convenient solution for the Israelis, the US, and many other countries internationally would be for the Palestinian Authority to come in and take charge once again in the Gaza Strip. Of course, it lost power in the Gaza Strip when Hamas violently seized it in 2007. But of course, the Palestinian Authority is, to begin with, lacking in legitimacy. The president, Mahmoud Abbas, is now in his, what, 19th year of a 4- year term, and there's no way the Palestinian Authority will want to come in and be seen as being a puppet of the Israelis, unless by some miracle there is some grand plan or bargain which leads towards a two- state solution.
So that seems to be a non-starter. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when he was asked in this interview with ABC News last night, gave his thoughts as to perhaps part of what comes the day after this war ends.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I think Israel will, for an indefinite period, will have the overall security responsibility because we've seen what happens when we don't have it.
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GOTKINE: Now, after withdrawing, at least on the ground, from the Gaza Strip in 2005, I don't think Israel has any desire to reoccupy on the ground the Gaza Strip or to control it. But certainly, from a security perspective, Netanyahu says that that's what Israel will do for an indefinite period. Of course, that could be a short period, that could be a long period.
But the other thing I think that's worth noting is that in the wake of previous wars where major questions have been raised about the conduct or the decision-making of the government of the day, the prime minister and the government have been ejected. This happened in 1973 with Golda Meir. It happened in -- after the Lebanon War, the first Lebanon War in 1982 with Menachem Begin. It happened with Ehud Olmert in the wake of the second Lebanon War in 2006.
And as political analyst Amit Segal, the chief political analyst of Channel 12 in Israel, told me it would set a national precedent for Netanyahu not to be ejected from power afterward. So, with that in mind, perhaps it won't actually be Netanyahu's decision as to what happens to the Gaza Strip once this war is over. John.
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VAUSE: Thank you. Elliott Gotkin there in London with the Very Latest. We appreciate it. We'll take a short break. When we come back here on CNN in northern Israel, far from the south, most have been evacuated and forced from their homes. CNN will speak to some of the thousands who are those evacuees and why and how much longer they'll be away from their communities.
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VAUSE: Tens of thousands of Israelis have been forced to leave their homes in the north of the country as clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon continue to escalate. Many of those villages and communities are now completely abandoned with only Israeli troops remaining to battle those militants across the border. CNN's Jim Sciutto has details.
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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (voice- over): Visit northern Israel today and you find ghost towns. Evacuations in the wake of the October 7th attacks have left communities such as Metula, Arab Al-Ramsha and Kiryat Shimona empty, except for soldiers deployed against Hezbollah. Kibbutz Miskav Am, situated right on the Lebanon border, is among those communities now abandoned.
ELLEN WEISSMAN (ph): We're staying here on the site.
SCIUTTO: Residents Ellen Weissman and her partner Joseph Lachnu (ph) now make their home in a hotel some 40 miles south in Tiberias.
WEISSMAN: Everything that's here in the middle, from all the children's things, were all donated.
SCIUTTO: Residents here are among some 60,000 Israelis who have fled south. One consequence of the October 7th attacks is a temporary migration from Northern Israel south and Southern Israel north. With talk of the Israeli military creating a buffer zone inside Gaza and perhaps later in southern Lebanon, the reality today is that those buffer zones exist, but inside Israel.
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For evacuees from Kibbutz Miskav Am, the pain and fear of October 7th remains raw. Paulina, nice to meet you. Paulina still has trouble explaining what happened to her three children. Do you think the kids understand what happened?
The eldest children, she tells me, understand that we're fighting for our home. Do you talk to them about it? They see and they're aware. This is the reality of Israel post-October 7th, a country more aware than ever perhaps of the threat on its southern and northern borders. But that awareness leaves open the question of when they will go home.
Ellen and Joseph tell us it's just a matter of time.
WEISSMAN: When we're told that we can go back, we'll go back.
SCIUTTO: You'll go back. If the government says it's fine?
(CROSSTALK)
WEISSMAN: Right.
SCIUTTO: -- you'll go.
WEISSMAN: We'll go.
SCIUTTO: Sharon Ben-Yair and her husband, Maor Atan (ph), with 2-year- old and 6-month-old little girls, are far less certain. Will you feel safe moving back north?
SHARON BEN-YAIR: We think we're not going to stay there. After what happened in Gaza and all that, we don't trust.
SCIUTTO: Today they're thinking of moving further south for good or of leaving Israel entirely.
BEN YAIR: I won't lie and tell you that we didn't think about moving to another country.
SCIUTTO: Where would you move if you thought about it?
BEN YAIR: Maybe to Canada.
SCIUTTO: There is another possibility that some Israelis here suggest, that after the IDF finishes its military operations in Gaza, continued skirmishes along the border will force the military's attention north and bring an invasion of southern Lebanon. WEISSMAN: They say that they'll finish in the south and then maybe start in the north, correct?
SCIUTTO: But that prospect has a troubled history. Israel's 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000 was costly, and Hezbollah returned. And its incursion into southern Lebanon again in 2006 was costly as well, and Hezbollah returned again. Still, what's clear for many here is that after what they witnessed on October 7th, the North will never be the same.
BEN YAIR: Until now we lived in the kibbutz, and we didn't think about everything that's happened in the other side of the fence, and now after all of this we finally open our eyes.
SCIUTTO: Open eyes to growing threats from the north and the south. Jim Sciutto, CNN, northern Israel.
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VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza are both unprecedented in death toll and destruction, but the IDF insists effective hitting Hamas. But just how effective and what's next?
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VAUSE: About 2.3 million Palestinians live in Gaza, and almost all of them are unable to leave Gaza. And according to the UN, about 70 percent of the entire population has now fled their homes, forcibly displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas. And it could soon get a whole lot worse. More now from Scott McLean, and his report contains video which some viewers will find disturbing.
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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Without power, Gaza City is pitch black at night, now lit up only by Israeli airstrikes and the terrifying sound that comes with them. From the ground and from the air, Israel says it hit 450 Hamas targets in the past day. At the beach refugee camp, named for its coastal location, they're sifting through the rubble after a bombing overnight.
I don't know what to say, this woman says. There is nothing to say. There is no mercy on anyone, not on children, not on elderly, or women. Complete destruction. The injured were rushed to the nearby Al- Shifa hospital, where the sky flashes red from strikes nearby. I don't remember what happened. It was like a shock, says Mohammed Haider (ph), who lives in the beach camp. I don't remember how I fell down. Suddenly, I felt things fall on my head. The IDF says it's doing what it can to minimize civilian casualties, but the human toll in Gaza following the October 7th Hamas terror attack on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people, has now surpassed 10,000, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Hospital morgues now spill out onto the streets, like this one in central Gaza. Overnight at that same hospital, victims arrive in the back of trucks, some clinging to life, others looking lifeless. Arriving ambulances are packed with as many people as they'll fit. This girl is one of the luckier ones. Inside, covered in dirt and shaking, she tells the doctor her name is Jenna and that she's in pain.
We, as medical teams, are no longer in a position to be able to fulfill our obligations toward our people, says this doctor. All the beds are occupied. We may have to announce suspension of services in the hospital at any moment. The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza says that these pictures show the aftermath of an Israeli strike on a children's hospital in Gaza City, several holes blown through the walls and one through the ceiling. The IDF told CNN it has not struck any hospitals yet.
Aid is slowly reaching Gaza, but not fast enough for Jordan, which resorted to airdropping medical aid from the sky, as Gazans lined up for bread this weekend in the shadow of another bakery that's been destroyed. They have no idea when the next truckload of essentials will arrive. Scott McLean, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: To Brisbane, Australia now, and retired Major General Mick Ryan, former commander of the Australian Defence College. Thank you for being with us, sir. It's good to see you.
MICK RYAN, RETIRED MAJOR GENERAL AND FORMER COMMANDER OF THE AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE COLLEGE: Good to see you again.
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VAUSE: OK. It's hard to know exactly the precise number of total Israeli airstrikes since October 7. But this past since Wednesday, the IDF says they have struck 11,000 targets belonging to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, which, we should note, has a total land area of 141 square miles. And according to the head of the Israeli military, since the beginning of ground operations, more than 2,500 targets have been hit.
In terms of other military offensives, has there been anything like this in terms of intensity, and scale within a relatively small area like Gaza?
RYAN: No, it's an extraordinary number of airstrikes in a small area. Some of them would have been preplanned, even before the 7th of October. Many of them would've emerged once they started hitting Hamas. They would have been watching the reactions, I mean, striking Hamas fighters, and their storehouses, trying to find other targets in that time.
But it is a lot of strikes in a very small area. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of civilian casualties because of them.
VAUSE: Here's part of Israeli Defense Forces daily report from Monday. The last day, IDF fighter jet struck 450 Hamas targets including tunnels, terrorist, military compounds, observation posts, anti-tank missile launch posts and more.
What does it say that after a month, the most intense military offensive Israel has ever carried out on Gaza, there is still that amount of Hamas military infrastructure which is still being found, and still being taken out?
RYAN: You know, I think it says that, you know, this is pretty hard working in these of urban environments when the enemy is mixing in with the enemy deliberately, hiding themselves in the mosques and those kinds of things, very difficult to find them. And the Israelis are slowly on picking this network of Hamas infrastructure, command and control, where the leaders are, where their fighters are, and it's going to take them some time.
VAUSE: I guess also it says that Hamas was well-prepared for this conflict.
RYAN: Well, they have been preparing for years. So, literally for decades, Hamas have been using funds provided to them by external supporters to dig these tunnels, to build up their ammunition stocks, to recruit their fighters. So, both sides have been preparing for sometime now. This is not going to be a quick resolution.
VAUSE: You mentioned the civilian death toll, which is staggering, if you believe the numbers. There is also widespread destruction, according to the U.N. As of Sunday, at least 45 percent of Gaza's housing units were probably destroyed, or damaged, almost half. Two hundred fifty-eight education facilities damaged, 39 health facilities damaged, 16 hospitals and 32 health care centers out of service. That's about half the medical system in Gaza.
The Israelis will say, as you mentioned, the damage is because Hamas is deeply embedded within the civilian infrastructure of Gaza, which is true. But with the offensive now intensifying, what does it say about the strategy and the overall objectives, not just in the short to medium for Israel, but also long term? What does it say about the plans they have for Gaza, you know, the day after tomorrow?
RYAN: I think that is a very good question. You can't just destroy Hamas by killing its fighters and leaders and destroying its doors in the short term. In the medium and long term, you need to make Hamas irrelevant to the people of Gaza, and you don't do that by doing all these civilian infrastructures. Israel somehow has to come up with a strategy that for them wins the war, but also means the peace in the long term. And that's a piece of the puzzle we're not seeing at the moment.
VAUSE: So, essentially, there's a real risk they could win the war but lose the peace?
RYAN: There's a very, very big risky. I mean, don't achieve long term, stable, and just political outcomes, just through military operations. Other things will be required.
VAUSE: Mick Ryan, as always, sir, thank you. Good to see you.
RYAN: Thank you.
VAUSE: And we'll take a short break.
When we come back, G7 foreign ministers converging in Tokyo for two days of talks, talks, talks. We'll preview what's likely in the agenda. A live report in a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back.
In the coming hours, representatives of G7 member countries will meet in Tokyo with the Israel-Hamas war expected to dominate much of the agenda. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tokyo after visiting Israel and also meeting with key Arab leaders last week. He's expected to meet with Japanese prime minister in the coming hours.
Let's go live now to Beijing and CNN's bureau chief there, Steven Jiang.
So I guess no surprise there'll be a little of attention to Israel's war with Hamas. But what about the other war, the one we used to talk about, the one in Ukraine?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah, John, as you say, Ukraine would be mentioned but the focus is undoubtedly on Gaza. I think all eyes are on Tokyo to see whether or not these ministers from the world's wealthy democracies can agree on a firm and united approach because this -- whether or not they can achieve that, it does have implications on this grouping's political relevance going forward because we are already seeing divisions emerging within members, different concerns, different political loyalties, and different economic priorities.
The French, for example, voted for a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire late last month. Even though the U.S. vetoed it and other G7 members abstained.
And the, of course, the host Japan has been resisting pressure from its closest ally, the U.S., when it comes on to a full on display of pro-Israeli positions. Instead, Tokyo has been taking a, quote/unquote, balanced approach since the beginning of the war because of its own diverse interest in the Middle East, not to mention its heavy reliance of oil imports from that region.
So, it's going to be very challenging for all the ministers to agree on the wording when it comes to Israel's right to defend itself and the Gaza civilian casualties, not to mention any concrete proposals to get humanitarian aid into this region.
But I think they are keenly aware that what they end up saying, or now saying is closely being watched, not just by partners and allies, but also especially by critics and detractors including Russia, but increasingly China. [00:40:03]
Both Russia and China, of course, blaming the U.S. and its Western allies as the root cause of this conflict, portraying themselves as champions of the developing world, and peace makers. So, they have been using the increasingly bloody war in Gaza to further justify their desire, and willingness to reshape the U.S.-led world order.
So I think the G7 ministers are aware of it, and they are, that's why they are very much aware of the high stakes in terms of what they end up saying -- John.
VAUSE: Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang there live for us in Beijing with the very latest on that G7 gathering. We appreciate it, Steven. Thakn you.
I'm John Vause. For our international viewers, please stay with us. After a short break, world sport is up next. For those watching in North America, the news continues on CNN and CNN Max.
Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
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VAUSE: Welcome back to our viewers in North America. I'm John Vause. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
A jury in Colorado has acquitted one of the police officers charged of the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. Nathan Woodyard pleaded not guilty and unlike the first two officers who were prosecuted, he took the stand in his own defense. Woodyard was the first to arrive on scene to a call of a suspicious person wearing a ski mask, and wrestled the unarmed black 23-year-old out to the ground. Woodyard placed him in a chokehold that restricts blood flow to the brain. Paramedics then injected McClain powerful sedatives who suffered a heart attack on the way to the hospital and died three days later.
McClain's mother spoke out after the verdict.
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SHENEEN MCCLAIN, MOTHER OF ELIJAH MCCLAIN: I wanted to hit somebody. I wanted to kick something. I wanted to take out my vengeance on the ones who murdered my son because there is no accountability within the justice system, and today proves it once again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: One of the two other officers indicted was recently found guilty of lesser charges. The other officer was acquitted. Two paramedics are also set to face charges shortly.
Police in Nashville, Tennessee, say an investigation is underway after three photographs surfaced online of an alleged writings of a school shooter. Photos of the writings were released by a conservative political commentator on Monday appear to show angry ramblings and checklist linked to a march shooting at the Covenant School where six people died, including three children.
The 28-year-old shooter was a former student at the school. Gun rights activist and news organizations have been finding in court for months over the release of the shooter's writings hoping it might to shed light on a motive.
Former President Donald Trump took the stand Monday on a quarter billion dollar civil case against him. In testimony, Trump lashed out several times that the judge, and this isn't the first time he has done so.
Brian Todd has background on the judge, who's charged with determining Trump's faith in this one case.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Judge Arthur Engoron might be hard-pressed to name a defendant in any of his cases who's been as contentious with him as Donald Trump, even prior to Trump's testimony on the stand Monday. During the civil trial, Judge Engoron called Trump to the stand and rebuked him, fining him $10,000 for public comments that the judge perceived as attacks on his clerk.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who's very partisan sitting alongside of him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is.
TODD: Trump and his lawyers claimed Trump was speaking about Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen and not about the clerk. The judge had previously fined him $5,000 for a social media post attacking the clerk.
On Friday, Judge Engoron expanded a gag order against Trump and back in 2022, he fined Trump $110,000 for being in contempt of court, writing that Trump, quote, willfully disobeyed an order to provide documents by a certain time.
How contentious is this between the judge and the defendant compared to other cases?
SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: It's much more contentious than other cases because usually a client would be working with the lawyers to not irritate the judge.
TODD: But if Donald Trump's an outlier as a defendant, so too is Arthur Engoron as a jurist. As a college student at Columbia, he drove a taxi.
Quote, I love the freedom, the instant cash, getting to meet people, learning how to drive like a maniac without being caught, he once said in court, according to "The New York Post".
After some time as a musician, he went to NYU Law School. Then, he writes, his career path has been, quote, a Park Avenue litigator, a piano and drum teacher, a moderately successful bar band keyboard player, a law clerk to a judge, and now an elected New York state Supreme Court justice.
One former supervisor says --
DONALD ZAKARIN, FORMER COLLEAGUE OF JUDGE ENGORON: He has a broad background. He didn't follow a very straight line. He followed what I would consider a very jagged line in his career.
TODD: Trump and his two eldest sons are accused in this case of fraudulently inflating the value of their properties to get more favorable loans and insurance policies. The Trumps have denied any wrongdoing, and Donald Trump has relentlessly gone after Judge Engoron for being partisan.
TRUMP: He's a Democrat operative and he's a disgrace to people that call themselves judges.
TODD: Engoron was elected as a Democrat and has held membership in the ACLU.
WU: Trump's team is going to argue that all these folks are in the liberal camp and that's why they're persecuting him.
[00:50:00]
But at the heart, I don't think that's any kind of problem for this judge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (on camera): In the end, Judge Engoron will have enormous influence over this case against Trump. He's overseeing the case as a judge. You will decide on the verdict since there's no jury and he'll decide on the penalties if the outcome of the case does not go Trump's way, including, possibly, $250 million in penalties that the prosecutor has asked for and he could decide whether the Trump family could continue doing business in New York.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
VAUSE: WeWork is working no more and has filed for the chapter 11 bankruptcy. The office sharing company tried but failed to go public in 2019 when it was valued at $47 billion, but succeeded two years later at a much reduced valuation of about nine billion dollars. After the pandemic an economic slowdown caused many clients their doors, the shares for WeWork had plunged, down about 98 percent this year.
More than 500 protesters gathered at the Statue of Liberty Monday calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. Jewish Voice for Peace, which organized demonstrations, said in a statement: From Ellis Island to Gaza, never again means never again for anyone. And they said the iconic landmark is a long tradition as a protest site and hold significance among American whose families fled violence around the world. Now an update on a story we are reported here on CNN, a father living
in Israel who thought is eight-year-old daughter was killed in Hamas attacks on October 7th. He is now hearing she may still be alive and he sat down and spoke with CNN's Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THOMAS HAND, FATHER OF EMILY HAND, HAMAS ATTACK SURVIVOR: From the morning of the 7th until now is a nightmare roller coaster tragedy.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The anguish Thomas Hand is about to describe has left him trembling for weeks. It's a journey of death and a hope of resurrection, he says, is impossible to imagine.
HAND: On the day, it was Russian roulette whether you made it or not.
LAVANDERA: On October 7th, Hamas fighters stormed the Kibbutz Be'eri, killing roughly 130 people and ravaging the community of 1,100 residents. That morning, Thomas' eight-year-old daughter Emily was sleeping at a friend's house. Thomas could not reach her as Hamas fighters took over the kibbutz.
Days after the attack, the Irish-born father spoke with CNN's Clarissa Ward about the moment he was told his daughter had been killed.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thomas waited two agonizing days before getting the news.
HAND: They just said, "We found Emily, and she's dead." And I went, "Yes!" I went yes and smiled because that is the best news of the possibilities that I knew. She'd be in a dark room filled with -- Christ knows how many people -- and terrified every minute, hour, day, and possible years to come. So death was a blessing, an absolute blessing.
LAVANDERA: Thomas says leaders of the Be'eri kibbutz community told him Emily's body was seen in the aftermath. But almost a month after the massacre, Thomas was given news that almost made him collapse. He says the Israeli Army told him it's highly probable Emily is alive and a Hamas hostage.
LAVANDERA: How were you told the news Emily might be alive?
HAND: That was official from the army. With all the information that they have, the intelligence that they have, it's very likely that she's been taken to Gaza.
LAVANDERA: Thomas says he's been told Emily's body is not with the remains of victims and that there was no blood found inside the home where she slept the night before.
Thomas also says that cell phones belonging to the family Emily was staying with have been tracked inside Gaza.
When you spoke with Clarissa Ward a few weeks ago, you said death would be a blessing in this situation.
HAND: That's how I felt at the time. Yes.
LAVANDERA: How do you describe where you are now?
HAND: Extremely worried about her, obviously. What conditions she's been held in. She's, you know, more than likely in a -- in a tunnel somewhere under Gaza.
Your imagination is horrible. And it's her birthday on the 17th of this month, she'll be nine. She won't even know what day is. She won't know what day is. She won't know it's her birthday.
There'll be no birthday cake, no party, no friends. You just be petrified in a tunnel under Gaza. That's her birthday.
LAVANDERA: Thomas is now flooded with the hope and the despair of what his daughter might be enduring.
[00:55:04]
He prays she can somehow hear these words to her.
HAND: If Emily is watching, just to let her know that we love her. All of us were all waiting for her to come back safely.
LAVANDERA: The survivors of the Be'eri kibbutz are temporarily living in a hotel. In the lobby, there's a vigil to all the kidnapped hostages. Now Emily's family says the young girl's photo will be placed next to the others.
You described as being a hostage as worse than death.
HAND: I believe so. The unknown is awful. The waiting is awful, but that's what we've got to do now. Just pray and hope that she comes back in some broken state but we can fix her. We'll fix her somehow.
LAVANDERA: Do you allow yourself now to think about holding Emily again?
HAND: In my head, I can see, you know, like a beach scene her running to me and me running to her. Just picking her up. Never letting her go.
LAVANDERA: Ed Lavandera, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with, us and we'll be back with more news after a very short break.
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