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Israel Special Forces Raid Nasser Hospital in Gaza; NATO Chief Pushes Back Against Trump's Comments, New Pledges Made to Ukraine; Trump's First Criminal Trial Set for March 25 in New York; Fani Willis Testifies in Misconduct Hearing for Georgia Election Subversion Case; Greek Parliament Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired February 16, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Coming up on CNN, one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza targeted by Israeli forces in a deadly pre-dawn raid, searching for the bodies of dead hostages.

[00:00:44]

Save the date. The first ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president will begin with jury selection in less than six weeks from now.

Also this.

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(CHEERING)

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VAUSE: An historic day for Greece, the first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex marriage.

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

VAUSE: The Israeli military says a deadly pre-dawn raid on Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis was ordered because new intelligence suggested the bodies of some dead Israeli hostages were there, describing the operation as sensitive, precise, and limited.

But images from the scene show panic and chaos. Corridors filled with thick smoke; parts of the building left in darkness. It was chaos. Gaza's Health Ministry controlled by Hamas, says conditions remain harsh and terrifying for 200 patients, even as we speak.

The IDF says troops were trained specifically to carry out this raid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESMAN: This sensitive operation was prepared with precision and is being conducted by IDF Special Forces who underwent specified training for this mission. A key objective, as defined by our military mission, is to ensure that the Nasser Hospital continues its important functions of treating Gazan patients.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: According to the IDF, a number of suspects were detained during the raid, but no hostages were found so far. No bodies of dead hostages have

Been recovered.

Doctors say the Israeli military use bulldozers to dig up mass graves inside the complex.

This latest attack on a medical facility has once again brought accusations that Israel has violated international law. A U.N. spokesman says, quote, "We reiterate once again that hospitals must be kept free of combat and must not be subject to any sort of military action. Any type of military action on a hospital must be condemned."

More details now from CNN's Nada Bashir and a warning: her report contains graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Plunged into darkness, engulfed in smoke. This is Southern Gaza's Nasser Hospital, one of the few still able to treat patients in Gaza, hit in a direct strike overnight on Wednesday.

"Is there anybody still inside?" this doctor asks, the sound of gunfire in close proximity. "Get down," he shouts.

Others around him shout, "Get out."

Another hospital now the target. More casualties are rushed to whatever safe space there is left. But there is nowhere to escape.

This message from a surgeon inside the hospital, shared with CNN, paints a terrifying picture of the situation on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Israeli army forced all the patients and all the refugees inside Nasser Hospital, and now they are forcing medical staff in Nasser Medical Hospital to evacuate immediately from the hospital. Israeli soldiers and tanks are surrounding the hospital from all sides. Shootings and bombings still continue.

BASHIR (voice-over): Outside, Israeli tanks edge closer within the hospital's grounds. The Israeli military is heard ordering civilians to evacuate.

The IDF says it entered the hospital after receiving credible intelligence indicating that Hamas held hostages on the complex, with deceased hostages possibly still present, though CNN is not able to independently verify this claim. Israel's forces also say they have apprehended a number of suspects at the hospital and have opened a secure route for civilians to evacuate the area.

But doctors and medical officials tell CNN Israeli snipers shot dead a number of people as they tried to leave the medical complex. Among them, they say, this teenager, his lifeless body seen here just in front of the gates of the Nasser Hospital.

A short distance away, a Palestinian detainee appears, set up and released by the Israeli military and used as a messenger, according to medical staff who spoke to a journalist working for CNN on the ground, to tell civilians here that they must leave immediately.

[00:05:14]

But soon after, doctors say he, too, was killed under Israeli fire outside the hospital.

It is unclear from the video what happened. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment on the incident.

As Israeli drones scour the ground beneath, civilians nearby gather whatever belongings they have left and begin to flee. For many, this is not the first time they've been forced to evacuate.

The vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million-strong population is now concentrated in Southern Gaza, ordered by the Israeli military to move South. But as troops push deeper into the besieged region, with the looming threat of a ground operation in nearby Rafah, warnings from the U.N. of the potential slaughter of the Palestinian people grow more tangible with each passing day.

Nada Bashir, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: To New York now, and joining us is Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Thank you for being with us.

TAL HEINRICH, SPOKESPERSON FOR PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: My pleasure, John.

VAUSE: OK, so after surrounding Nasser Hospital for almost a week, on Tuesday, Israeli forces ordered an evacuation, then Thursday raided the complex. So why? What was the military objective here?

HEINRICH: You know, we're not entering hospitals just because. When we do so, we do so based on precise intelligence.

And as you mentioned before we operate there, we announce ahead of time, give warning, evacuation order to ones who can -- the people who can evacuate. Specifically in Khan Yunis, we had intelligence from Hamas terrorists whom we interrogated in Israel, and we also released this video. They said that about ten hostages, at least rather, ten hostages, were held at some point in that hospital.

Maybe even bodies of hostages who were killed and about more than a dozen Hamas terrorists.

VAUSE: But at some point, the hostages were held there. Were there currently hostages being held at the hospital?

HEINRICH: Well, I can't talk about operational military activity that is happening on the ground at the moment, or I can't divulge any kind of strategy moving ahead.

VAUSE: OK. Because the word we've had is that, basically, the IDF went into Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis looking for basically the remains of some hostages, some dead hostages, essentially.

HEINRICH: What we have found there are four -- What I can say at this moment is that we found their ammunition and terrorists and so forth. But I -- but I can't expand on other sensitive issues.

VAUSE: OK. So according to a statement from Doctors Without Borders, the hospital was shelled early Thursday, despite Israeli forces having told medical staff and patients they could remain in the facility.

The statement goes on to say, "Our staff reported a chaotic situation with an undetermined number of people killed and injured."

CNN also reporting that, according to doctors and medical officials in Southern Gaza, Israeli snipers shot dead a number of people as they tried to flee the Nasser Hospital. An eyewitness to the shootings, who was a trauma surgeon at the hospital, said at least two people were killed by snipers Tuesday, with more shot and injured.

So did Israel shell Nasser Hospital on Thursday? Did Israeli snipers kill civilians following an Israeli order to leave?

HEINRICH: So I can't confirm any -- address, rather, any of these reports. You know, the IDF will have to look into each and every one of these incidents that you just mentioned. If there -- if there's any wrongdoing on our behalf, you know that we take responsibility.

We took responsibility for very sad instances, for example, you know, throughout this war when we mistakenly thought that three of our hostages were -- you know, were targets. So when something is wrong on our behalf, we admit it. This is not the case right now.

I can guarantee you that we're not targeting civilians, John. The only thing that we target in Gaza, and especially in these very sensitive hospital medical compounds, is terrorists and terror infrastructure. And as I said, there's nothing more legitimate than our goal of eliminating Hamas, dismantling their terror infrastructure, and bringing our stolen people back home. VAUSE: You mentioned the present ([h) status of hospitals in a

conflict sign. That's been widely reported. And if they're being used in a way which is harmful to the enemy, that could make them legitimate targets for military action.

But any action must weigh the expected military advantage against the expected harm to civilians.

So in other words, even if an attack by Israel is considered legal, it must be proportional. Which then gets us back to what's happened at Nasser Hospital with the shelling and the siege and the allegations of snipers killing civilians. If they're true, that would seem to be a violation of international humanitarian law, right?

[00:10:09]

HEINRICH: Israel is abiding by the laws of armed conflict. I -- on the question of proportionality, I think viewers have to understand that proportionality in an armed conflict, in a wartime, means doing what it takes to achieve a legitimate military objective.

And again, the objective of eliminating Hamas and bringing back our hostages home is the most legitimate, justified objective out there.

Now, in terms of our operation, when you're asking me at what cost, I can tell you that we're doing everything possible to achieve our legitimate objectives at the lowest possible cost.

VAUSE: During this ground offensive, so far, the Qatari (ph) Hospital, Kamal Adwan Hospital, the Al-Rantisi specialized hospital for children, just some of the hospitals which have been raided by Israeli troops, searching for weapons and Hamas fighters.

Now we have Nasser Hospital. And there's also the raid on Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city.

And this is what the chief spokesperson for the IDF, Daniel Hagari, said back on October 27th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAGARI: Has has turned hospitals into command-and-control centers and hideouts for Hamas terrorists and commanders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Note the fact that he said "hospitals." Hospitals, plural. So even Al Shifa Hospital, where the IDF says there was a labyrinth of tunnels and underground compounds used by Hamas leaders to direct terrorist activities, as well as rocket fire and the manufacture and to store a variety of weapons and ammunition. That was the claim made back in October.

It was a claim which came with a computer-generated 3-D image of the alleged tunnel system below the hospital. And while Israel has actually so far recovered weapons like these in a pickup truck in the parking lot of Al-Shifa --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We found a vehicle filled with ammunition, RPGs, AK-47s. We see handcuffs, knives, preparation for taking hostages from Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And the IDF released video of what it said was the opening shaft of a tunnel which was found on the grounds of Al-Shifa Hospital.

But if you put all of this together, so far, the evidence which has been made public seems to come up short of supporting this claim that the hospitals -- or beneath the hospitals was the beating heart of a terror infrastructure used by Hamas.

And if that's the case, then does that mean that the legal justification for the attacks by Israeli forces on hospitals in Gaza is also coming up short?

HEINRICH: We have presented abundant evidence of the use of hospitals all across the Gaza Strip, most of the hospitals, in fact, by Hamas terrorists for their war crimes, for their military war machine.

I'm including underneath Al-Shifa and inside Al-Shifa Hospital, the Rantisi Hospital that you mentioned, the Turkish hospital. Just a few days ago, if I remember correctly, there's another hospital in Khan Yunis, not the Nasser one, the Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, where we apprehended 20 terrorists.

And while we were there to apprehend these terrorists, by the way, and dismantle terror infrastructure, we also delivered oxygen tanks to the hospital.

While we operate in nearby the Shifa Hospital, if you remember, we tried to deliver fuel and incubators to the hospital.

So we are doing are utmost effort to avoid any kind of casualty or any kind of, you know, suffering to uninvolved civilians while we operate in these compounds.

VAUSE: I just want to wrap this up, just to -- just to sort of bring this all together. So what we're saying is that the evidence which has been made public so far by Israel, you believe and you're saying is actually -- justifies the claim that the hospitals -- beneath the hospitals is this Hamas terror network infrastructure? The beating heart of the Hamas terror infrastructure has been located under Shifa Hospital and the other hospitals, and the evidence which you've made public supports that claim?

HEINRICH: Well, it's not only underneath hospitals, by the way. It's underneath the --

VAUSE: We're talking about hospitals right now, though. Yes.

HEINRICH: -- under the UNRWA headquarters, we have discovered.

No, but I'm just saying underneath. You know, in every civil -- almost every civilian, major civilian structure, if its U.N. schools, if it's the UNRWA U.N. agency dedicated to Palestinians. At the UNRWA headquarters, we found a server farm for Hamas there, another command- and-control center.

I mean, this is -- what Israel is dealing with, is really unprecedented.

VAUSE: Tal, thank you so much. We appreciate the answers and appreciate you bringing -- getting into some detail for us it with that, as well. Tal Heinrich there, spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister. Thank you.

HEINRICH: Thank you so much, John.

VAUSE: In just a few hours, the Munich Security Conference begins. And this annual gathering of world leaders, intelligence and military chiefs takes place against the backdrop of two ongoing wars and controversial remarks about NATO from the presidential frontrunner in the U.S., Donald Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris leads the U.S. delegation and will try to reassure NATO allies about Washington's commitment to the defense alliance.

[00:15:01]

That's after Donald Trump told a campaign rally if reelected, he would encourage Russia to attack NATO members who don't pay up. He later corrected that to say failing to meet spending guidelines on defense.

Speaking before the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said a record number of alliance members, 18 in all, should meet the recommended spending levels on defense, at least 2 percent of GDP.

More now from CNN's Melissa Bell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fresh commitments being made to Ukraine here in Brussels at the NATO meeting of defense secretaries.

BELL (voice-over): Pledges of a million extra drones, a training center that's being opened, to be opened in Poland to help train Ukrainian armed forces.

But perhaps more importantly, a commitment to continuing to press not just for the further support of Ukraine, but for the foundational principles of NATO and the importance of its strength now, more than ever.

That's what we've heard a great deal of here in Brussels in the wake of the comments by the former American president, Donald Trump, over the weekend, going so far as to suggest that Moscow may be encouraged to come and test a NATO member, those who didn't pay, he said. Clearly rattled a number of European officials who have been speaking out these last few days.

And here in Brussels, it was the turn of Jens Stoltenberg to address head-on the question of whether the United States would remain an unwavering supporter of NATO or not.

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: When you look at the opinion polls, there is record high support for NATO, both in North America, United States, Canada, and in Europe. And I'm confident that NATO will remain the strongest and most successful alliance in history. And I expect the United States to continue to be a staunch ally.

BELL: Jens Stoltenberg there, reassuring in a press conference at the end of the meetings what he says will be the continued importance of NATO for all of its members.

This was also the opportunity for a meeting of the Ukraine contact group. This is when NATO defense ministers speak directly to their Ukrainian counterparts, who spoke to them from Kyiv by video conference, giving them an idea of what's been happening on the ground in Ukraine and, again, urging his counterparts now, more than ever, to stand firm.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Brussels.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A former informant, who is also central to Republican efforts to impeach the U.S. president, has been arrested by the FBI. Alexander Smirnov is accused of lying to the FBI and creating false records about Mr. Biden and his son's business dealings with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

Without naming him, Republicans have championed the now discredited claims from Smirnov for almost a year. Here's reaction from House Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): The whole underpinning of "the president should be impeached: thing turns out to be, you know, largely resting on -- on lies.

Now, you know, I wish I could say that that's going to make a real difference here, because what we know is that you can impeach somebody without any crimes, without any misdemeanors, right? Because we just saw the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas. You know, maybe my Republican friends don't like the way he's doing his job, but they, you know, failed in that impeachment to come up with a single example of a high crime or misdemeanor.

So yes, shocking but not at all surprising. And I don't think it'll change the narrative around here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Smirnov was arrested Thursday at Las Vegas Airport and later appeared at a federal courthouse.

When we come back here, Russian hackers targeting the U.S. and its allies have now been shut down and kicked out of hundreds of routers, which they had hijacked. Details on the Russian cyber spy operation in a moment.

And for the first time in history, a former U.S. president will face a criminal trial. It's in our B-block. The date has been set in the hush money cover up case.

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[00:20:58]

VAUSE: Welcome back. Donald Trump's first of four trials now set to begin with jury selection in New York, March 25, on charges he falsified business records to hide hush-money payments to a porn star.

The first ever criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president expected to take about six weeks.

Also, Thursday, in the state of Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading the prosecution of Trump on charges of election interference, took the stand in her own defense.

Trump and his co-defendants accuse Willis of a conflict of interests. They want her disqualified from the case.

Willis fired back with fiery and, at times, very personal testimony.

CNN's Nick Valencia will have all those details in a moment, but we begin with CNN's Kara Scannell, reporting in on Trump's date with history in a New York courtroom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A New York state judge ordering Donald Trump to stand trial for criminal charges next month.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Instead of being in South Carolina and other states campaigning, I'm stuck here.

SCANNELL (voice-over): This case related to a hush-money repayment scheme involving porn star Stormy Daniels and former Trump fixer, Michael Cohen, will begin on March 25.

TRUMP: There is no case.

SCANNELL (voice-over): It's a historic first: a former president facing a jury and on trial in the middle of a presidential campaign.

TRUMP: How can you run for election and be sitting in a courthouse in Manhattan all day long?

SCANNELL (voice-over): The judge in this case, Juan Merchan, made the decision after consulting with Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the election subversion case in Washington, D.C.

During a pretrial hearing in New York, Trump attorney Todd Blanche seized on that unprecedented timing, protesting for a delay. "We strenuously object to what is happening in this courtroom," he told a judge, with Trump's eyes locked on his attorney.

"The fact that President Trump is going to now spend the next two months working on this trial instead of out in the campaign trail running for president is something that should not happen in this country."

Judge Merchan asked, "What's your legal argument?"

"That's my legal argument," Blanche said.

"That's not a legal argument," Merchan replied, telling the lawyers he'd see them on March 25.

TRUMP: We'll just have to figure it out. I'll be here during the day, and I'll be campaigning during the night.

SCANNELL (voice-over): This case stems from actions that took place in the days before the 2016 election, when Donald Trump, former "National Inquirer" publisher David Pecker, and Michael Cohen allegedly schemed to keep Stormy Daniels from going public about an affair.

According to the indictment, Cohen paid $130,000 in hush money to Stormy Daniels, then submitted sham legal bills to the Trump Organization, which the former president reimbursed with a series of monthly checks.

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: I did it at the direction of, in concert with, and for the benefit of Donald J. Trump.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Today, the parties debated questions to ask perspective jurors. An 18-person jury will ultimately be seated.

Trump's lawyers wanted to delve into politics, telling the judge they need to know if people like Trump. Judge Merchan called it inappropriate, saying they need fair and impartial jurors.

TRUMP: I'm honored (ph) to sit here day after day after day on something that everybody says -- the greatest legal scholars say, it's not even a crime.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I've been very anxious to have this conversation with them today. Why, I ran to the courtroom.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A defiant Fulton County D.A., Fani Willis, take the stand today after weeks of fighting allegations that she personally benefited from a romantic relationship she had with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hand-picked to spearhead the sprawling racketeering charges against Donald Trump and his allies.

WILLIS: I've probably had some choice words about some of the things that you say that were honest within this motion. So I don't know that it was a conversation. As you know, Mr. Wade is a Southern gentleman. Me, not so much.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Willis not hiding her anger over the allegations, at one point being called a hostile witness by the defense.

WILLIS: I very much want to be here, so I'm not a hostile witness.

VALENCIA (voice-over): While both Wade and Willis have admitted to the relationship they had, they say it began only after Wade took the job. That timeline also a major point of contention in the hearing today.

[00:25:07]

Before Willis took the stand, the first witness of the day directly contradicted Wade and Willis's previous statements to the court.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have no doubt that their romantic relationship was in effect from 2019 until the last time you spoke with her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No doubt.

VALENCIA (voice-over): That's three years earlier than what Wade said in an affidavit their relationship started. But Wade holding firm to that date when he took the stand.

NATHAN WADE, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR IN TRUMP'S ELECTION SUBVERSION CASE: Early '22 was the start of any intimate sexual relationship with the district attorney.

VALENCIA (voice-over): As did Willis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When did you start dating?

WILLIS: When I started dating Mr. Wade? It was right around then.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: April 2020.

WILLIS: Twenty-two, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty-two.

WILLIS: It was around then, yes. I don't know, like -- you know, it's not like when you're in grade school, when you send a little letter and it says, "Will you be my girlfriend?" and you check it.

VALENCIA (voice-over): But then there's the money trail. Defense attorneys pressing on whether or not Wade paid for Willis when the two vacation together, trying to suggest that he used money he made from his taxpayer-funded contract at the D.A.'s office on Willis.

Both maintain that they split their vacation expenses.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So all of the vacations that she took, she paid you cash for?

WADE: Yes, ma'am.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Willis confirming the same in her testimony.

WILLIS: Because we went out multiple times. That probably went to the level of more than $100. But if were doing tit-for-tat like that, I probably paid for as many meals as he paid for. And so I did not receive any gifts from him.

VALENCIA (voice-over): And at times forcefully pushing back with the defense attorney who first launched the allegations.

WILLIS: These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.

VALENCIA: Earlier, I spoke to Bishop Reginald Jackson, who prayed with Fani Willis before the hearing began. He said that on Thursday, Fani woke up ready to testify and was eager to meet this head-on.

There was times during Thursday's hearing that got deep into the personal lives of both Willis and Wade, with at one point Willis throwing Nathan Wade under the bus for allegedly making sexist remarks.

Her testimony is expected to continue Friday morning at 9 a.m. But it may be days before we reach a decision here. The judge has already said he is not going to rule from the bench.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: New details and concern over why a Republican lawmaker's cryptic warning about a threat to U.S. national security and possible connections to U.S. funding for Ukraine. Details coming up in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Well, leaders continue to warn the Israeli prime minister of the potential dangers of a ground offensive into Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians in Gaza are now seeking refuge.

[00:30:07] On Thursday, both the U.S. president and the British prime minister raised their concerns with Benjamin Netanyahu. For the second time this week, Joe Biden urged Israel not to proceed with military operations without a credible plan for protecting civilians.

Germany, Australia, Canada, New Zealand also have fears of a potential humanitarian catastrophe if Israel goes ahead.

The U.N. says there's an urgent need to help children suffering from severe malnutrition, as Rafah has become a tent city for displaced people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN GRIFFITHS, U.N. EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR: It is -- will not be our fault if people suffer. It will be the fault of those who decide to make them suffer. We will do whatever we can. We will not leave.

We will try to increase. We will work, as we must.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Rafah is on the border with Egypt, which is now building a buffer zone, a large wall, over fears that Israel's military campaign could send hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing to Egypt.

The U.S. and its allies have disrupted a large Russian cyber espionage operation. The director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, says the Russian military intelligence agency was using a network of more than 1,000 hacked Internet routers to target the U.S. and other governments, military security, and corporate organizations to gather intelligence.

Director Wray also repeated warnings that hacking teams backed by Russia and China have been seeking a foothold in U.S. energy and telecommunication networks for years.

More fallout Thursday over the Republican House intelligence chairman's warning about what he called a serious national security threat from Russia.

Chairman Mike Turner caused an uproar Wednesday when he revealed new U.S. intelligence that turned out to be about Russia's abilities to place a nuclear anti-satellite system in space.

Biden administration officials are downplaying the threat, but some Republicans are calling for Turner to be ousted as chairman. Others are questioning his motive in disclosing the new intelligence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): We put out, you know, our concern with Chairman Turner gaslighting the country on these things. And I worry that the motivation to draw so much attention to this is less about intelligence and national security, and more about a politician who wants to send $60 billion to Ukraine and wants to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESMAN: There is no immediate threat to anyone's safety. We're not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I want to assure the American people there's no need for public alarm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says the U.S. has been aware of Russia's pursuit of anti-satellite capabilities for months, if not years. President Biden has been briefed throughout.

Kirby denied the administration gave the Republican chairman the greenlight to publicize the new intelligence on Wednesday.

Right now to legal cases involving former U.S. President Donald Trump, one involving hush money in New York, the other in Georgia's election interference case.

Bernarda Villalona is a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. She is with us this hour from New York.

Thank you for staying up.

BERNARDA VILLALONA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: OK. So let's start with the case in Georgia. So what would happen if there is, in fact, a ruling that Willis should be removed as prosecutor, that she is, in fact, disqualified? And what are the chances that that could happen?

VILLALONA: So if Fani Willis is removed or disqualified as a prosecutor on this case, what will happen is that the special counsel, prosecutors will appoint another prosecutor, because neither she or Mr. Wade or her office will be able to prosecute the matter. So it will go to the hands of another prosecutor.

Then, unfortunately, that prosecutor could make the decision not to go forward anymore against Donald Trump or the co-defendants.

Is it likely that this judge is going to rule that Fani Willis should be disqualified? I don't think so. I don't think from the evidence that was presented today, there was any evidence that suggests that there is an actual conflict of interest that will require disqualification.

Again, the case doesn't go away. If anything, it just goes to the hands of another prosecutor, what -- that will make the ultimate decision about going forward on the charges.

VAUSE: Listening to the testimony in the case today, did you get a sense that this wasn't so much about proving any kind of conflict of interest, but more about trying to smear a reputation?

VILLALONA: Oh, absolutely. This was all about smearing her reputation. It was all about taking all the attention away from the actual charges that Donald Trump is facing.

And even like Fani Willis said, like look, those are the people right there that are on trial for trying to steal the election in 2020.

So it was definitely about smearing her name, smearing her office, and taking attention away from Trump and also delaying the proceedings.

VAUSE: Because it was notable that, you know, Fani Willis was not taking a backwards step in all of this. I want you to listen to a few choice moments when she pushed back hard on some questions from Trump's lawyer.

[00:35:08]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIS: It's ridiculous to me that the -- you lied on Monday. And yet, here we still are.

The lie. That's one of your lies.

You've been intrusive into people's personal lives. You're confused. I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.

No, no, no, no. This is the truth, judge. It is a lie. It is a lie.

We're going to answer it since you said it.

Don't be cute with me. And then think that you're not going to get an answer.

(END VIDEO CILLP)

VAUSE: Do you think her testimony and her demeanor helped or hurt her? Or does that to come down to your political views, in some ways?

VILLALONA: It showed that she was human. That's what it showed. Her testimony and her demeanor showed that she was human.

Because here you have these defense attorneys trying to attack her integrity and attack her demeanor and attack her reputation. So it just showed the human side of who Fani Willis is and that she is definitely a strong black woman that is not going to back down to intimidation or to a smear campaign.

She's going to keep her eyes on the prize. And that is prosecuting Donald Trump and the codefendants for trying to steal the 2020 election. And she was ready for it.

VAUSE: She definitely seemed ready.

The other big legal hearing for Trump was in New York. Here's a little more now from the former president on this trial, which now is set to begin in about almost six weeks. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's an election interference case. Nobody's ever seen anything like it in this country. It's a disgrace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: I think he's confused. The election interference case is later this year. This trial is on falsifying business records.

But now we have that start date for the first trial. How will the other three trials actually be impacted, now that this one's about to start?

VILLALONA: Well with so many cases, of course, he's going to get confused. So we're set to go forward on March 20 with the New York case. And that's why he's charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records.

So as of now, it seems thinks that this is definitely a firm trial date. They're going to start picking a jury on March 25.

In terms of the other cases, it doesn't -- those other cases don't have firm trial dates yet. That's why the New York case is going to go forward. And a New York judge had already said that he reached out to the judge in Washington, D.C., to get a better idea of when that case is going to start.

So that's why New York is going forward, and Donald Trump is going to have to sit down for his trial.

VAUSE: It's interesting. This is one of the cases where a contractor was fully paid by Donald Trump.

But just speak to the significance of, you know, what we are seeing play out on March 25 when the jury is selected and they're seated, and Donald Trump walks into that courtroom -- because he has to be there; it's a criminal trial -- and takes time away from the campaign trail for this history-making moment.

VILLALONA: Well, as the judge said, it doesn't matter that he's on the campaign trail, that he's out there working. Your criminal trial is set for March 25th, where you have to answer for your charges.

And March 25 is supposed to select a jury. I think it's going to take at least a day, if not a few days, to try to select a jury of 12 plus six alternates, those that can say that they can be fair and impartial in listening to the evidence.

Once the jury is selected, they're going to start with the testimony.

And we know that the key witness in this case is going to be Michael Cohen, who used to be his former attorney and who has pled guilty to charges; in addition to the documents, the papers, the ledgers, the invoices, the checks. All of this is going to be evidence that's going to be presented against Donald Trump.

It's not known whether Donald Trump is going to decide to testify in this criminal case, because he did testify in his New York civil case. I think is highly unlikely.

But the trial is supposed to last about six weeks or so. So I think it will probably about three weeks. And then we'll find out from the jury is Donald Trump guilty of these 34 counts of falsifying business records where he faces a maximum of four years on each of these counts.

VAUSE: Wow.

VILLALONA: And four years in jail.

VAUSE: This will be must-see TV, I guess, in many ways.

Bernardo Villalona, thank you very much in New York. Appreciate your time.

VILLALONA: Thank you.

VAUSE: Up next here on CNN, a landmark victory for the LGBTQ-plus community in Greece. An historic vote. Details after the break.

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[00:41:24]

VAUSE: The Greek Parliament voted Thursday to legalize same-sex marriage, the first majority Orthodox Christian country to establish marriage equality.

CNN's Elinda Labropoulou brings us all the latest now from Athens.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been a historic day right here in Greece. In the Parliament right behind me, a very significant legislation for human rights has just been voted in.

LABROPOULOU (voice-over): Same-sex marriage has been approved. Same- sex couples now have the same rights as heterosexual couples in Greece, and they're also allowed to adopt and have full parental rights.

The bill stopped short of providing surrogacy to same-sex couples. This is a very controversial issue in Greece. And the prime minister, who introduced the bill initially, made it clear that he will not be tackling this issue.

As a result, some activists say that more could have been done, but overall, there's huge relief about having this right for the first time.

We spoke to people here who said that, for the first time, they felt visible. They felt that they existed. They feel that now society is much more on their side.

And it was something that they were not necessarily expecting to see from a center-right government like the one that Greece has now, but something that the prime minister has managed to have voted in.

Elinda Labropoulou, CNN, Athens, Greece.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Thank you for watching. Michael Holmes, my friend and colleague, will be here at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. WORLD SPORT is next.

Have a great weekend. See you next week.

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[00:45:35]

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