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Netanyahu Promises To Cross Biden's "Red Line" And Push Toward Rafah; Biden Approves Evacuation Operation From Embassy In Haiti; Women At The Center Of SOTU Republican Response Speaks Out; Congress To Vote On Bill That Could Ban TikTok; New Agencies Recall Image Of Princess Of Wales; Former President Talks About E. Jean Carroll, Again; Non-Profit, Philadelphia Eagles Create Jobs For Those With Autism and Developmental Disabilities. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired March 10, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: We do begin with breaking news. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hitting back at President Biden tonight. Netanyahu telling "Politico" and German news outlet Bild that he will cross Biden's red line and invade Rafah. The Israeli leader is also defending his policies in Gaza after Biden said that Netanyahu is, quote, "hurting Israel more than he is helping."

CNN's Scott McLean is following these new developments for us from Istanbul.

Scott, what more did we hear from the prime minister tonight?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Erica, yes, so first it's important to know that President Biden in an interview on Saturday said that invading Rafah was a red line for him, but he also couched it by saying that he's never going to leave Israel. He's never going to cut off all weapons, leave them without an Iron Dome or anything like that.

Clearly that did not come across as much of a threat to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said, as you mentioned, that the offensive in Rafah on the ground will press ahead as planned. He said that the fighting there could take two months, maybe six weeks, perhaps only one month, but it will happen regardless, despite warnings from the U.S. and from even Israel's closest allies, that going into Rafah, given you have well over one million people sheltering there and really no other safe place for them to go inside Gaza, would be catastrophic.

And he also said that that Israelis are by and large behind him. This was in response to President Biden saying that Netanyahu's policies are hurting Israel more than it's helping. Here's Netanyahu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Well, I don't know exactly what the president meant but if you meant by that done, that I'm pursuing private policies against the majority -- the wish of the majority of Israelis and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he's wrong on both counts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: Netanyahu, Erica, in this interview, also left open the possibility of an expanded military operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to allow Israelis displaced from their home in northern Israel to be able to go back. He said that if they can do it diplomatically fine, but if they need to do it militarily, they will. And this is concerning considering that Hezbollah is a much more formidable fighting force than Hamas is. It has hundreds, maybe thousands by Israeli estimates of rockets within firing distance of Israel. And it claims, Hezbollah claims to have some 100,000 reservists that it can call upon.

And so Netanyahu clearly not sending a lot of conciliatory signals in terms of any kind of a peace deal, whether that's with Hezbollah or with Hamas. In terms of Hamas talks, they were in Cairo last week, they left on Thursday but the Israelis were never there in the first place because they insisted on Hamas providing a list of the hostages who were alive and those who were dead, something that they could not provide.

And Hamas is also sticking in when it comes to what it's insisting on, including a full withdrawal of Israeli troops in Gaza and a permanent ceasefire, something that is going to be very difficult for Israel to agree to, especially when you hear comments like that coming from the Israeli prime minister saying that they will go into Rafah, they will not end this war until Hamas is completely eliminated.

I should also mention that we heard from the Hamas leader as well, Ismail Haniyeh, who said that he's still open to talks, continues to point the finger at Israel, and he also said that no hostages will be handed over until -- no hostages will be handed over until there is a deal which includes Israel establishing a permanent ceasefire and getting out entirely of Gaza -- Erica.

HILL: Scott, really appreciate the reporting tonight, and these late- breaking developments. Thank you.

We are also closely monitoring the worsening situation in Haiti. The German and E.U. Mission say they have now evacuated diplomatic staff from Port-au-Prince due to increased gang violence in the capital. President Biden approved an overnight airlift operation do get non- essential personnel out of the U.S. embassy. A spokesperson telling CNN Biden is deeply concerned in their words about the situation on the ground.

And all of this, of course, as gang leaders are threatening a civil war if the prime minister does not leave office. Haiti at this point is under a state of emergency until early next month.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann is joining me now from nearby Havana, Cuba, where he's been monitoring the situation in the region. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is in Washington tonight.

Priscilla, first, what more can you tell us about this decision to evacuate personnel from Port-au-Prince?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, this is a situation that U.S. officials have been closely monitoring for some time now, and I'm told that President Biden has been briefed and continually updated over a situation that he has found, quote, "deeply concerning." Now the State Department has attributed this operation to airlift non-essential personnel out of the U.S. embassy in Haiti to gang violence that was near the U.S. embassy compounds and the airport.

[19:05:11]

Now, the U.S. Southern Command said that this was a U.S. Military that assisted in this airlift or rather executed this airlift, that there was -- this was standard practice under these circumstances. And also said that there was no Haitians that were on the military aircraft. But of course this is an extraordinary move in a time in Haiti that has only worsened over time. We also believe that the prime minister is in Puerto Rico.

And we know that late last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with the prime minister about accelerating the transition for a more inclusive government because, as you said there, Haitian gangs have said that they would incite a civil war or that they would also suffer genocide if this prime minister were to stay in power. So clearly, this is a top concern for the United States, one that they are watching and also responding to minute by minute, including with this evacuation of non-essential personnel from the U.S. embassy.

HILL: And so, Patrick, as we watch all of that and we're hearing what, you know, what the concerns are among U.S. officials, we see what is happening on the ground there. These gang leaders threatening civil war if the prime minister doesn't leave office. What is the situation on the ground tonight? And where is the prime minister?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it says a great deal that embassy -- officials from the U.S. embassy, German embassy, European Union, do not feel safe because these are perhaps some the most closely guarded, carefully guarded places in Haiti that have been up until now been relatively safe. So if they're not safe then no one is safe and certainly for the majority of Haitians, tens of thousands of people caught in the crossfire, there is simply no refuge that they can go to.

Many of them have been left without food because aid organizations cannot reach them. And so they are on their own and the situation, the humanitarian crisis in Haiti gets worse and worse by the hour.

Ariel Henry is believed to be in Puerto Rico. The Haitian prime minister is under increasing pressure from both the U.S. and from other political parties within Haiti to come up with a solution that would essentially provide an off-ramp, give way to a transitional government, announce elections, and see if that is enough to stabilize this country, and to bring in an outside force from Kenya that would fight the gangs.

No word from Henry, though, what his intentions are.

HILL: Patrick, Priscilla, appreciate the reporting as always. Thank you both.

Tonight is a CNN exclusive. The woman at the center of the State of the Union response controversy speaking exclusively to CNN.

CNN's Rafael Romo has the story.

So, Rafael, the woman -- tell us more about who she is and why she has decided to speak out tonight.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, her name is Karla Jacinto, and I have known her since 2014. CNN profiled her story as part of CNN's Freedom Project, which seeks to raise awareness about modern-day slavery.

Jacinto says she's very careful about who she gives her testimony to and how and when she does it. So she was very surprised, Erica, she told me when she found out yesterday that she was involuntarily put in the middle of a social media storm. This storm was prompted by what appears to be the use of her story during the Republican response to the State of the Union address by Alabama Senator Katie Britt.

I reached out to Karla Jacinto in Mexico City for her reaction, and this is part of what she told me. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: At one point when I met you, years and years ago, you told me that you felt like at the beginning Mexican politicians had taken advantage of you by using your story for political purposes. Do you feel like that happened once again here in the United States?

KARLA JACINTO, ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING ADVOCATE: Yes. In fact, I hardly ever cooperate with politicians because it seems to me that they only want an image. They only want a photo. And that to me is not fair.

I work as a spokesperson for many victims who have no voice. And I really would like them to be empathetic. All the governors, all the senators, to be empathetic with the issue of human trafficking because there are millions of girls and boys who disappeared all the time. People who are really trafficked and abused as she mentioned and I think she should first take into account what really happens before telling a story of that magnitude.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Erica, Karla Jacinto also told me that Senator Britt got many of the facts of her story wrong. First of all, Jacinto says that, one, she was not trafficked by Mexican drug cartels but by a pimp that operated as part of a family that entrapped vulnerable girls in order to force them into prostitution. Two, she also said that she was never trafficked in the United States as Senator Britt appeared to suggest.

[19:10:02] Three, she was kept in captivity from 2004 to 2008 when President George W. Bush, a Republican, was in office as opposed to the current administration as the senator implied. And four, she met the senator at an event at the border with other government officials and anti- human trafficking activists, instead of one on one.

CNN has confirmed much of what Jacinto has said in prior reporting and her story hasn't changed since we first spoke. Jacinto told me no one reached out to her to ask for her permission to use her story as part of a political speech. Someone using my story and distorting it for political purposes, she told me, is not fair at all -- Erica.

HILL: It is really important reporting tonight, Rafael. What about the Britt camp? Has the senator's camp responded at all to this?

ROMO: Well, CNN reached out to her office today, seeking comment, but so far, we haven't heard back. Earlier today this is what Senator Britt had to say in an interview with FOX News about the story of Karla Jacinto. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But to be clear, the story that you relayed is not something that's happened under the Biden administration. That particular person.

SEN. KATIE BRITT (R-AL): I'm -- well, I very -- I'm very clearly when I said I spoke to a woman who told me about when she was trafficked when she was 12. So I didn't say a teenager. I didn't say a young woman. A grown woman, a woman when she was trafficked, when she was 12. And so listening to her story, she was a victims' rights advocate, who was telling this is what drug cartels are doing. This is how they're profiting off of women. And it is disgusting. And so I am hopeful that it brings some light to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Erica, one final thing. Earlier a spokesperson from Britt's office told CNN that the story was, quote, "100 percent correct," but would not confirm nor denied whether it was Jacinto's account.

Back to you.

HILL: Really fascinated. Rafael, appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

Well, something that is pretty rare in Washington these days. Democrats and Republicans agreeing on something. That something, the old TikTok. They're concerned about the company's potential links to the Chinese government. So concerned they want to potentially ban it. And now a bill is heading to the floor of the House highlighting that unity and what some say is hypocrisy from Donald Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:17:07] HILL: This week, a collision between lawmakers that fear for national security and the tens of millions, frankly more than 150 million Americans who spend a lot of time every day on the old TikTok app, a bill is headed for a vote on the House floor this week. That bill would force the sale of TikTok or if that does not happen, well, then the app would be banned in the United States.

Two men who are almost certain to be running for president are actually on opposite sides of the bill now. CNN's Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill with more on what we can expect to see this week as this bill heads to the floor -- Manu.

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: TikTok may be one of most popular apps in the country, but it's possible it could be banned in the United States. That's if a new bill that is steaming through the House ultimately becomes law, that piece of legislation would force the Chinese firm ByteDance to sell it. If it doesn't sell TikTok, then the popular app would no longer be allowed in the United States.

This has wide support in the House. In fact, passing overwhelmingly 50 to zero in the House Energy and Commerce Committee just last week. That is unusual. You rarely see that level of bipartisan support. And quickly after the House majority leader, Steve Scalise, announced it would be on the floor of the House this week, so it could certainly pass, then it will go to the United States Senate, which would have to take up the bill, pass it, see if it passes the same version. Ultimately see if it goes to the president's desk and whether the president would sign the final version of that legislation into law, which the White House has indicated it does support this measure.

Now that doesn't mean that TikTok isn't trying to stop this legislation. In fact, they are trying to kill it. That's what the top Republican who chairs that Energy and Commerce Committee told me on Friday that our office is being flooded with phone calls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS (R-WA): Yes. We've been flooded with calls. Record amounts of calls any member of the Energy and Commerce Committee that voted yesterday has been flooded. TikTok actually put up a notice where they blocked an individual to actually get on TikTok unless you called your member of Congress and told them, you know, not to vote for this legislation.

But that's just an example of how they can manipulate data and influence Americans for their agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now the lawmakers are trying to force ByteDance to sell TikTok because they are worried they say about the Chinese government interfering in the popular social media app, taking data and the like in Americans' private information and they're trying to stop them from doing that. TikTok has denied Chinese government interference in all of this, but that doesn't mean that it won't become law. We'll see how quickly the Senate would take it up after the House is

expected to pass it later this week. The president did say, though, if they pass the bill before the House, he will sign it -- Erica.

HILL: Manu, appreciate it. Thank you.

[19:20:02]

Joining me now to discuss Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton and former press secretary to first lady Jill Biden, Michael LaRosa.

Nice to see you both tonight. So Shermichael, Donald Trump for a long time did want to also ban TikTok. Now he does not. He also recently mended fences with the billionaire donor with a huge amount of money tied up in TikTok. What do you think this decision is about to? Is it about the money? Is it about national security? Or is it about a whole lot of young voters who really like TikTok in an election year?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, I think it needs to be about national security, Erica. The idea that ByteDance has argued that somehow they are absolved of influence from the Chinese government, any individual who's a specialist in national security, and I had the chance to speak with two today before this discussion, have alerted me that that is just unbelievable. We have no clue where all of that data is stored or China's ability to manipulate that data.

As a classic saying, he who controls the message controls the minds, i.e. young minds. And so I think a lot of national security experts and many of us in the political space should be concerned about China's ability to manipulate American people, particularly during a heightened partisan political climate.

HILL: So then is it a mistake for Donald Trump to say he is now against a ban on TikTok?

SINGLETON: Yes, I would absolutely think so. And obviously, look, the former president met with a wealthy individual who has a substantial financial stake in TikTok. We clearly know where this person's interests is. I would hope that the former president as a major candidate, the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party, will switch gears here and take a position that is in the national security interests of the United States.

HILL: As we watch to see how all this plays out this week, President Biden focused on defending democracy during the State of the Union. I was struck by some comments that Republican Nancy Mace made earlier today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): My voters in South Carolina, and they've moved beyond January 6th. My voters, they move on. They don't ask me about January 6th, maybe that's what you in the media -- you guys talk about in your cocktail parties. But voters are not talking about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: She says voters are not talking about defending democracy. Is that a winning issue for President Biden in 2024?

MICHAEL LAROSA, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY TO FIRST LADY JILL BIDEN: Well, the Associated Press went to a county in Pennsylvania recently, I think last month. It happens to be the bellwether. It's my home county, Northampton County, but it also happens to be a bellwether in the state that flipped from Trump to President Biden just barely. So that is ground-zero for President Biden's coalition of moderate Democrats, moderate Republicans, black voters, Latino voters, independents.

And unfortunately it did not resonate there and voters had deep concerns about whether, you know, that was a winning message. That said people really doubted our message on the soul of America four years ago because it really was about a battle for the soul of America and, you know, if -- like you said or like you showed in the clip, Erica, with Nancy Mace, if the president's team and they're smart and I trust those guys like Mike Donnell and Bruce Reed, who are the architects of the last message and the State of the Union, they will show the American people what democracy will look like under Donald Trump and you'll probably be seeing a lot of images of January 6th from now until November.

HILL: So you're saying that despite the fact that voters, right, said no, this doesn't resonate, you think they're still going to push through and you're saying it is a winning message.

LAROSA: I think it's going to be central to the theme of the campaign. But let's be clear, there's going to be a lot of messages because voters will want to hear about wages. They want to hear about prices, and affordability as well.

HILL: To that point, and thank you for setting me up quite well on this next question. I appreciate it. When we talk about those issues, we are talking about the economy. We know that there are a lot of great numbers when it comes to the economy, right? We look at jobs, we look at unemployment, we look at the direction the economy is headed.

I was struck, Shermichael, Ezra Klein suggesting that the Biden team might have found a winning message when it comes to the economy. He wrote, "Biden's refrain of the American comeback is a sharp one and the right message for an incumbent, there are good things happening."

That being said, we know, Shermichael, that voters aren't always feeling it. And if they don't feel it, it doesn't really matter.

SINGLETON: Yes. I mean, that's exactly right. I mean, I have a lot of respect for Ezra Klein. I formerly worked at Vox Media previously. He's a smart individual, but I'm going to have to disagree with him on this one, Erica.

Now I will, as a conservative give some credit to President Biden. We have seen job numbers increase. We've seen unemployment lower, and inflation has decreased somewhat. But Erica, when you actually begin to take a deeper dive into some of those labor statistics, what we find is that a sizable percentage of those numbers are jobs relative to the gig economy. So these are jobs that are Uber, Lyft, Instacart and other jobs relative to that.

So these are the sorts of jobs that will allow someone to retire in 30 years, put their kids through college, or take care of themselves during an immediate emergency.

[19:25:07]

We also know that the median household income has decreased rather precipitously, buying a home is really, really difficult for most Americans, particularly if you're younger and living in a larger city in part because inflation. And so my point is that overall erosion, if you will, of Americans' ability to buy more is a very real thing. And so while I will give credit to President Biden for the numbers coming down, for employment being low, we have not seen the wages with those jobs match the inflation for everyday goods and other things that Americans really rely on day-to-day.

And so is it a winning message? Potentially several months from now, but today it is not a winning message.

HILL: Shermichael Singleton, Michael LaRosa, we're going to have to leave it there. Really appreciate both joining us tonight. Thank you.

Stay with us here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Some breaking news just coming into us. More on that on the other side of this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:30:17]

HILL: We're following a breaking story involving the Royal Family and this photos, we'll show it to you now.

So this has been circulating worldwide. This is of course, Catherine, the Princess of Wales and her three children. But now, several major photo agencies, including the Associated Press, have issued a removal notice. They are refusing to now distribute this image of Kate and her kids because they say upon further inspection, they believe perhaps it was manipulated.

CNN's Max Foster has been digging on this story and joins me now on the phone. So what is the issue with this picture, which is I understand it, Kate put out with a Happy Mother's Day message?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR (via phone): Yes, so it was Mothering Sunday in the UK today and this photo was released by Kensington Palace. They told us it was taken by Prince William in the past week of his wife and three children. And we've got the first words from Kate as well, since she has her operation. Obviously, she's been out of action for several weeks. She thanked people for their well wishes in her recovery.

It was a big moment, because we hadn't seen an official picture of her that wasn't a grainy paparazzi picture the other day of her in a car. But this was, you know, a concerted effort by the palace to really emphasize their message that she has been doing well, which is the sort of briefing that I've been getting in recent weeks.

But then we hear from the major picture agencies today that they are withdrawing it and telling clients not to use it because they think it might have been manipulated. So touched up, perhaps in several places. We've got our current picture desk, sort of looking at whether or not we agree with that, but the major agencies have all agreed with each other that they no longer feel confident enough to distribute it.

So this is a major accusation against Kensington Palace that it has manipulated images.

HILL: Yes. But they're not, Max, and correct me if I'm wrong here, the agencies are not saying specifically why they believe it was manipulated, only that believe they believe that it was doctored in some way, essentially.

FOSTER: Yes. And you know, one of the agencies is talking about in several places. So, you know, in photography, this does happen. They might want to improve the color image. Sometimes they might merge two images that were taken at the same place to make it a better image.

The issue with these images coming from Kensington Palace that they are released to us for editorial reasons. So we see them as an honest -- an honest image that we can use in journalism, so we wouldn't expect them to be manipulated in any way at all. We would expect them to be clean. So it's quite a surprise to us that these accusations have come through.

I've tried to speak to Kensington Palace, and no comment from them yet. I'm sure they're aware that it is absolutely blowing up on social media, because it speaks to so many of the conspiracy theories out there right now.

HILL: Well, it does, and to your point, I mean, the story itself, even prior to this picture being released, has been blowing up now for weeks, because there has been so little information, no specifics on what the surgery actually was, except that it was abdominal and it would require a lengthy recovery.

You know, a couple of -- she is doing well, thanks for the well wishes moments, but again, that lack of specificity has to your point, fueled all of these wild conspiracy theories. Do you get the sense that that is a concern at all for the palace?

FOSTER: Well, you know, they are quite legitimate responses but they can't respond to conspiracy theories, you know, made up theories about what's really going on. You're absolutely right, we've had so little information and what does happen in that vacuum is that people want to know what happens in the gaps of the information, and there are plenty of people out there who make things up effectively.

But it has gone into absolute overdrive and the palace has been under a lot more pressure to reveal more information. I mean, to be fair to them, this is a woman in recovery from an illness. We don't know how serious it is and they feel that she does have a right to private information.

They are not giving out lots of details because that's not the tradition in the palace, but also she is a private person. But, you know, they're also aware that everyone is talking about it. Everyone is coming out with different theories. And it has got to the point where a lot of people are saying it is now in the public interest to give more information.

They're refusing to do that. That is very much William's policy. He does have a right to a private life, so I think it's a real challenge to them right now but they're not helping any of these conspiracy theories if they are accused of manipulating an image. We'll have to wait to see, you know from our own investigations whether or not that's true, but it's a big problem for them in terms of trust, if it is true.

[19:35:16]

HILL: Yes, it absolutely is.

Max stay with us. I just want to bring in our CNN commentator, Sally Bedell Smith who's with us.

Sally, as we look at this, so I was just checking the Twitter accounts, the X, sorry and the Instagram accounts for the Prince and Princess of Wales, the image is still up here, right?

SALLY BEDELL SMITH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.

HILL: That was posted, wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. So they have left it up. The fact that there is yet to be a response from Kensington Palace, I guess, in some ways is not surprising. They don't always operate on the timeline that we in the media would like, and not with the same sense of urgency.

But to Max's point, this has been blowing up for weeks and to now get to the point where three major photo agencies are saying, hey, we think this picture was doctored. What does that tell you about what could be happening within the palace?

SMITH: I mean, I think there's a lot there are, a lot of questions that need to be answered. And I think right now, given this unintended consequence, you know how well intentioned it was, which it clearly was. And I think they have, you know, they have said that they do not doubt the validity of the -- you know, this is an image of the Princess of Wales with her children. It's just, at certain aspects of it seem to have been manipulated.

But I think the agencies need to be more clear on what they mean by doctored and manipulated. I mean, look, every formal portrait that is issued to the press has been tweaked electronically and digitally in some way. So, I mean, it's sort of where do you draw the line? And if -- I mean, I think, you know, across social media, people have noticed that Kate isn't wearing her wedding ring, and George has one of his, you know, his fingers crossed, and that may or may well have been, what the situation was in the moment when Prince William took the picture.

HILL: Yes. There are so many questions.

SMITH: This is sort of come to a head and there has been -- you know, it's been accelerating the situation in recent -- even in the past few days, because people have counted the days, it's been 76 days, I think, since people have seen her in real life. If you exclude the paparazzi photo that may or may not be legitimate that we have, that we just saw the other day.

HILL: Yes, it is, to your point really fueling the questions. Sally, really appreciate you taking a moment to join us here.

Max, thank you for your reporting as well.

We're going to continue to stay on this and we will let you know as soon as we hear back about what these agencies are saying, the issues are, specifically with this photo that again, they have now recalled because they believe it has been manipulated.

And as we also wait to perhaps get more of an answer if it will come from Kensington Palace initially telling Max Foster, no comment, could there be more? Stay with us as we continue to follow this.

We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:42:57]

HILL: So far no comment from writer E. Jean Carroll after the former President Donald Trump attacked her once again. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just posted a $91 million bond -- $91 million -- on a fake story, totally made up story. Think of it. $91 million. I could say things about what it would cost normally, $91 million, based on false accusations made about me by a woman that I knew nothing about, didn't know, never heard of. I know nothing about her.

She wrote a book, she said things. And when I denied it, I said it's so crazy, it's false. I get sued for defamation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So all of that, by the way came, as you heard there, just a day after Trump put up that $91 million bond for a defamation verdict against him which he is appealing.

CNN legal analyst, Joey Jackson joining me now. Joey, I'm floored by this, right? This judgment was E. Jean Carroll and her attorneys had said, hey, make this a really, really big judgment because we don't want him to say these things again. He posts the bond because he is appealing and he says the things again. Could this lead to a new lawsuit?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Erica, good to be with you. It's troubling to be sure, certainly for his lawyers. You know, listen, it's a defamation claim, right, that initiated really these two lawsuits. But the issue behind defamation is defamations of false statements, right, that injure someone's reputation.

A jury in two separate instances determined that there was defamation here by the former president. Now, you may not like that as a verdict. The general population perhaps, they don't like it. The president we know doesn't like the jury having made that conclusion, right?

The first trial we know happened in May of last year, Erica, in which a jury had to assess whether the former president defamed E. Jean Carroll and whether he sexually assaulted her? The jury concluding that he did not rape her, but there was a sexual assault and there was defamation.

[19:45:06]

And then you had in January another jury render an assessment as to what the damages of defamation will be.

So two juries made a conclusion. If the president wants to go on the campaign trail and say that you know one, he doesn't like the system of justice, the system of justice is unfair. Those are opinions, have at it. But when you say something that is factual, which we just listened to, indicating that it never happened, when in fact, the jury concluded it did, yes, it opens him up to liability, and in fact, is just problematic.

Last point, Erica, remember the jury, right, made an assessment as to this punitive damage amount why he had to post this $90 million bond was to say, what would it take to stop him from -- stop attacking her? Well, a person of his means perhaps that'll stop him. Apparently, it didn't and that's why we're here and that's why we're having this conversation.

HILL: Really quickly, Joey, we have about 15 seconds. Could these comments in any way impact that appeal?

JACKSON: You know, I think it does, it certainly impacts it in a negative way towards him, right? An appeal is about the record of the case, an appeal essentially, Erica, is about what on the merits he can attack in an appeal, but it doesn't help your appeal when you're essentially doing the thing for what you are held accountable for.

Hard for judges to have I am believing, any sympathy, based upon that, but we'll see.

HILL: Yeah, Joey, my friend, always appreciate it. Good to see you. We'll be right back.

JACKSON: Thanks, Erica.

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[19:51:11]

HILL: Finally tonight, the Philadelphia Eagles are part of a special partnership with a nonprofit business dedicated to improving the livelihoods of people with autism and developmental disabilities, an initiative that as CNN's Danny Freeman reports, all began, popcorn.

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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the story of a kernel of an idea that just popped.

FREEMAN (on camera): Did you ever expect that you'd be making a whole business making popcorn?

SAM BIER, CO-FOUNDER, POPCORN FOR THE PEOPLE: Oh, no, definitely not. I never thought this dream could come that true.

FREEMAN (voice over): Thirty-three-year-old Sam Bier was on the autism spectrum. And for years according to his dad, Dr. Steven Bier, Sam had trouble finding a job that fit.

DR. STEVEN BIER, CO-FOUNDER, POPCORN FOR THE PEOPLE: Sam was working a job pushing shopping carts during the summer at a supermarket and he wasn't very happy, he wasn't very fulfilling.

FREEMAN (voice over): So the Bier family thought, why not create our own business?

STEVEN BIER: Not seasonal. It's not a fad. It's not dangerous to make, no knives. Sam, how'd you like to make popcorn?

FREEMAN (voice over): Soon after, Popcorn for the People was born. A nonprofit selling the tasty snack, hand-made by people with autism and developmental disabilities.

SAM BIER: I think this place can help people give the tools they need to extend to another business, help give the confidence, the optimism, the endurance I think that's what it means.

FREEMAN (voice over): There's very little data when it comes to employment and the neurodiverse community. But a 2015 report from Drexel University's Autism Institute found that four out of every 10 young adults on the autism spectrum have never had a paying job.

That's a much lower rate than young adults with other disabilities. But Popcorn for the People has 39 neurodiverse employees here in their modest New Jersey workplace.

STEVEN BIER: Many people who work here never had a job before. FREEMAN (voice over): Pop by pop, the business grew, selling popcorn at college football games on the Jersey Turnpike and then word spread south.

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JEFFREY LURIE, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES OWNER: Our collective effort --

FREEMAN (voice over): Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles has a brother on the autism spectrum. For years the Eagles have made autism research and care a core priority. Last season, they even set up a Popcorn for the People stand.

RYAN HAMMOND, EAGLES AUTISM FOUNDATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: I mean, who loves popcorn? Everyone, right?

FREEMAN (voice over): But Eagles Autism Foundation's Ryan Hammond knows good paying jobs are crucial for this community.

HAMMOND: I think people think it's hard, right? Or it's going to cost them money or cost them time or cost them uncomfortable conversations. I think the reality is, is that the neurodiverse community has so much to offer.

FREEMAN (voice over): So when she learned Philly area convenience store, Wawa, had an empty shop they didn't know what to do with.

HAMMOND: Without hesitation I was like, I would open a popcorn factory.

FREEMAN: When did you realize oh, man, this is a great idea.

DAVE SIMONETTI, WAWA SENIOR DIRECTOR OF STORE OPERATIONS: The second we heard it.

FREEMAN (voice over): Dave Simonetti is the senior director of store operations for Wawa. His stores already employ more than 500 neurodiverse people. Simonetti's daughter has Down syndrome.

SIMONETTI: Well, my daughter is only 12. But I liked the idea that she's going to have choices when she gets out of school. And she will have things available to her that maybe didn't exist 10 or 20 years ago, because of the work that folks like Popcorn are doing.

FREEMAN (voice over): Less than a year after the Eagles and Wawa came together to hatch this plan, a new Popcorn for the People factory was born. This one on Philadelphia's famous South Street plans to make and sell tens of thousands more bags of popcorn and hire 25 more neurodiverse employees like 23-year-old, Jarred.

FREEMAN: Have you tasted the popcorn?

JARRED SIOMINE, FUTURE POPCORN FOR THE PEOPLE EMPLOYEE: Yes, I ate the caramel. It tastes really good.

FREEMAN (voice over): Kylie Kelce, known as the First Lady of Philadelphia and is married to retiring Eagle star center, Jason Kelce is a passionate advocate for the autism community.

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KYLIE KELCE, AUTISM COMMUNITY ADVOCATE: To see something like Popcorn for the People who is encouraging those employment opportunities and allowing the autism community to find that independence, to find sort of that pride in their own work and earn their own paycheck, it's such a joy to see.

FREEMAN (voice over): The hope now is others will take this kernel of an idea and create more pop-portunities.

STEVEN BIER: It's literally a nonprofit version of the American Dream. We wanted to create one job for my son, did that and then another job and another job and another job. It's amazing. What flavor popcorn does Jake Tapper like?

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HILL: Sky is the limit. Such a great story. Danny Freeman, thank you for that.

And thanks to all of you for joining me this evening. I'm Erica Hill.

Up next, the premier of "Taiwan: Unfinished Business," a Fareed Zakaria Special.

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