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Mississippi Sentences "Goon Squad" From 115 To 45 Years In Prison; Arizona Supreme Court Revives Civil War-Era Abortion Ban; Biden: "Still Negotiating" Ceasefire Talks. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired April 10, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Weisselberg is among 13 former Trump associates now convicted of a crime. 13. Several of them have actually wound up in jail. Peter Navarro, only in recent days is off to jail. How remarkable is all of this that 13 of Trump's associates have been convicted, and several of them wound up in jail?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Wolf, it certainly is a pattern. And I think it's unlike anything we've seen in American history to have this many lawyers, associates, advisors of a president or former president be in some cases indicted and others convicted and as you say, and others in prison. And I think it's -- really underscores the stakes of the Trump trial, which starts next week because I think the question a lot of people naturally are wondering as well.

All these people have been punished to varying extents for things they did with, for, and around Donald Trump. Well, how about Donald Trump himself? We will get at least the beginnings of an answer as we see that hush money trial play out in Manhattan starting on Monday.

BLITZER: First time in American history that a former president of the United States will face a criminal trial. It's going to be pretty amazing to watch all of this unfold starting Monday. We'll, of course, have special coverage of all of that. Elie, thank you very, very much.

HONIG: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Elie Honig giving us an excellent analysis as usual. There's other news that we're following right now, and it's new this morning. A long-awaited day. Those are the words of the attorney for the victims of six former Mississippi law enforcement officers who just received state prison sentences ranging between 15 and 45 years for the torture and abuse of two black men.

The officers who call themselves "The Goon Squad" pleaded guilty to torturing and sexually assaulting the men they were sworn to protect in their community. One of them -- one of those men was actually shot in the mouth. The case has garnered national attention for the racism and the inhumane acts committed back in this 2023 incident. Last month, all six were sentenced to federal prison terms ranging from 10 to 40 years. CNN Senior National Correspondent Ryan Young is joining us right now. You've been covering this for us for a while, Ryan. Describe the feeling of the courtroom. And you were there when the sentences were being handed down.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Wolf, we've been covering this case now for over eight months. And I can tell you when you think about how this started, this all started because the officers were upset that two do -- two victims could be dating a white woman. And that's what started this whole home invasion.

Standing next to me is Malik Shabazz. He is the man who represents both Eddie Parker and Michael Jenkins. You said today, this really meant something because it's never happened in Rankin County that officers will be charged and face penalty.

MALIK SHABAZZ, ATTORNEY FOR TWO MEN ASSAULTED BY "GOON SQUAD" DEPUTIES: Yes, history has been made. The Goon Squad here in Rankin County, who have never been held accountable for all of their crimes had to appear and to be sentenced for their terrorism and torture of Michael Jenkins, Eddie Parker, and many others in Rankin County. Today was a historic injustice.

YOUNG: You spent time with both men. We've talked about this before. They're really suffering with the mental anguish about what was done to them.

This was a home invasion. They were brutalized. What stood out to you about how these men were treated for 88 minutes?

SHABAZZ: For almost two hours, they're being called racial names and the N-word, monkey, and boys, to be attacked on the basis of their race, to have police officers handcuff them, to essentially torture them, use sexual devices against them, to strip them naked, to ultimately shoot Michael Jenkins in the mouth, this is one of the worst cases of police brutality in American history. And that's why strong sentences have been given out in this case to these rogue deputies.

YOUNG: You're not done yet, though. You want the federal government to step into the -- right behind us where the sheriff's deputies are. You want them to do something about how this is run.

SHABAZZ: Absolutely. We're in discussion with the United States Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division Miss Kristen Clarke, her southern division, and we're expecting a pattern and practice investigation of the federal government into Rankin County Sheriff's Department. Bryan Bailey, he should be removed according to the NAACP here. And ultimately, the entire Rankin County Sheriff's Department must be cleaned out and transformed if the citizens of Rankin County are to be able to have confidence in justice.

YOUNG: How tough is it been for the recovery? Because I know, Mr. Jenkins, obviously had to learn how to talk again. But can you talk about the recovery because you've been -- you've spent a lot of time with them? SHABAZZ: It's tough. Michael Jenkins who had a shot at his jaw shattered, he's -- he can't do what he used to do. He's in -- he's in therapy, and they tried to take the manhood from these men. And when you -- when you conduct acts of sexual depravity that is designed to take the manhood from the victims, it could take years or a lifetime to recover.

I mean, can you imagine being captured by these six criminals in this house and then torturing and abusing you? I mean, that goes on like a lifetime. That probably takes a lifetime to heal from these attacks.

[11:35:18]

YOUNG: I want to thank you for stopping with us and talking to you.

SHABAZZ: Thank you.

YOUNG: Thank you so much.

SHABAZZ: Thank you, sir, for your commitment. Thank you, sir.

YOUNG: No, I appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you. Wolf, we've been covering this story for quite some time. There's still more work to be done.

There's a lot of questions to be answered. But we saw this play out in court today for the first time on camera. You understand why there's so much emotion that's attached to this, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. They're going to be -- six police officers are going to be spending a lot of time in jail right now. Ryan Young, thank you very, very much.

YOUNG: And a lot of time.

BLITZER: Still to come. We're getting a reaction to the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that revived a Civil War-era Law banning nearly all abortions. I'll speak to Congressman Jim Clyburn about that and more. Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[11:40:41]

BLITZER: This morning, outrage in Arizona after the state Supreme Court ruled the state must adhere to a Civil War-era Law banning nearly all abortions. The 160-year-old law predates Arizona's own statehood by nearly half a century and bans abortions except whereas is necessary "to save a pregnant woman's life." The law is on hold for 14 days to allow all parties to raise additional issues at a lower court. But if allowed to go forward, it would put Arizona among the states with the strictest abortion laws in the country.

Joining us now to discuss this and more, is Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina. He's also a national co-chair for the Biden-Harris campaign. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. As you know, President Biden is slamming this ruling in Arizona allowing a near-total ban on abortion rights for women to go into effect. The Vice President, Kamala Harris, will travel to Arizona this week. What kind of impact do you expect that this will all have come November?

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Well, thank you very much for having me, Wolf. I would hope that this decision there in Arizona will wake people up to exactly what's going on by the Republican Party at this particular juncture in our history. In 1864, certain (ph) law being adhered to a state's rights law. Let me just say. Once the camel gets his nose under the tent, the hump will soon follow. And that's what's happening here.

We got to look at the fact that a lot of laws that we have put behind us are now being placed in front of us. This is just one of them. We see what -- we saw what happened back in 1876 another law bringing in states right. This is a state's right issue. And if the Supreme Court of Arizona has its holding, adopted by the Supreme Court of these United States, we will see a revisit of state rights laws all across the board.

It has already happened with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It has happened with women's reproductive rights. Though that was not a civil rights law, but it was a state's rights issue.

The president is now saying he wants to see this issue of women's reproductive rights given on a state-by-state basis. So, one person can have a set of rights in one state and not have the same set of rights in another state. That's not the way to keep our country together.

BLITZER: So, do you think -- Congressman, do you think the Congress -- and you've served in the Congress for a long time. Do you think that Congress will ever take direct action to protect abortion rights for women nationwide?

CLYBURN: Yes, I think we can. It all depends upon the votes of the American people. I think that when people begin to see what is happening here, they are going to put in office in the House of Representatives and the Senate, people who respect the individual rights of Americans all across the board.

Yes, I do believe in the elections in November, the people of this country will elect to office people who respect their rights, people who believe in this country, and people who believe in a democracy, and not an autocracy. And I believe that we'll get there by this time next year.

BLITZER: Yes. I want to talk about another important issue right now, certainly, looking forward to the elections. The economy. As you know, the latest numbers out today. Inflation rose once again in March, a larger-than-expected jump. President Biden's former chief of staff is critical of him for focusing on talking a lot about infrastructures that have issues like inflation.

[11:45:03]

Listen -- there was audio obtained by Politico in which this was said by the former -- the president's former chief of staff, Ron Klein. Listen to this. I'll read it.

I think the president is out there too much talking about bridges. If you go into the grocery store, you know, eggs and milk are expensive. He's not running for Congress. I think it's kind of a fool's errand. How do you respond to that, Congressman?

CLYBURN: Well, I'm not an economist. I don't know how these issues really work, but I know this. I do know that people who have jobs because of this infrastructure law are very pleased to be back at work again. I do know that people who see these pants being put in their districts, like the Scout plant in Richmond County, South Carolina, the Volvo plant in Berkeley County, South Carolina, these battery plants are providing jobs for people that never had a good-paying job before. Those are things we need to talk about.

So, I do believe you have to do things on balance. But to say you've got -- you can talk about one because you talk about the other, I'm not there too, that's the way to do things. So, when I hear people talk about the economy and stop talking about the stock market and stop talking about the field, one day, I ask them about the people that I represent, who don't have free or 401Ks, but they're looking for jobs, and now they've got jobs. How do you balance that out? You got to have those discussions on both sides of the equation, not one or the other.

BLITZER: Good point. And another sensitive issue. I assume you've heard about this. It's been out for a few hours now. President Biden calling the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu's approach to the war in Gaza against Hamas a mistake.

That was in a new interview with Univision. And it comes amid growing discontent, as you know, well, among so many of your fellow Democrats. But will anything other than an immediate ceasefire, dampen the growing anger within parts of your Democratic coalition as far as what Israel is engaged into this war against Hamas in Gaza?

CLYBURN: All of this, I would say, is Netanyahu's most recent mistake. He has made mistake after mistake after mistake. He emboldened the Hamas in Gaza. He negotiated for Qatar, or Qatar, whichever you prefer to fund them. Those were mistakes.

It was a mistake for him not to embrace the two-state solution which he has never embraced. Look, this is his most recent mistake. And I agree with the headline I saw this morning.

You throw, Hamas win. But Netanyahu must go. That to me, will rectify all the mistakes. If the people of Israel, get rid of Netanyahu, he is a mistake.

BLITZER: Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina. Congressman, thank you very much for joining us, and we'll continue this conversation down the road to be sure. And we'll be right back with more news.

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[11:50:03]

BLITZER: Now, to the Israel-Hamas war. Only moments ago. while in the Oval Office with the Prime Minister of Japan, President Biden was asked about movement in the ceasefire talks. And he said, "They're still negotiating." Still negotiating. Meanwhile, sources tell CNN that Hamas says it's unable to return the 40 Israeli hostages needed for this first phase of a potential ceasefire, claiming it does not have enough living hostages who match its criteria for release.

CNN's Chief National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt is here with me in the NEWSROOM. He's got details. Alex, first of all, what can you tell us about this proposed framework deal and Hamas, they don't know where these 40 hostages are?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This could be a real complicating factor, Wolf, because the way that we've understand this deal that has been fiercely negotiated for weeks, if not months now, is that in the first phase of a ceasefire, which would last around six weeks, Hamas would be expected to hand over 40 of these Israeli hostages who have been held for more than six months now. And the hostages who would be expected to come home are women, all of the remaining women, elderly, wounded, and sick men. If you've been following this closely which CNN has, there have been fears that Hamas may not have 40 of these hostages they would be expected to release.

And now, we are told, my colleague Jeremy Diamond and myself, that Hamas has actually told the mediators, we don't have or we can't locate 40 of these women, these elderly men, these sick and wounded men. So, this is a real concern. And it -- and it really does raise fears that there could be more hostages who had been killed than we have anticipated.

Now, Israel has been asking repeatedly for a list of the hostages who remain, those who are alive, and those who are dead from Hamas. Hamas has not handed over that list. Hamas has said as they have before, we need a break in the fighting in order to be able to find these hostages who are believed to have been spread out among different factions of Hamas, different groups, even held by families.

[11:55:10]

There is a push by Israel that if there are not 40 in these categories, that they supplement the hostages to be released with some of the younger men. IDF soldiers, men who were of military age whom Hamas is believed to be holding on to for a later negotiation in which -- at which point they believe they could get more out of Israel.

BLITZER: What do you make of these most recent comments -- pretty tough comments against the Israeli government and Netanyahu by the president? MARQUARDT: I think it's quite remarkable. We have heard increasingly pointed comments by President Biden about what Israel is doing. He's talked about indiscriminate bombing. He's criticized the far-right wing government.

But in these most recent comments that we heard yesterday, in this Univision interview, he talks about how -- what Netanyahu is doing -- what he's doing is a mistake, how he doesn't agree with his approach. Very sharp comments about Netanyahu himself, clear that his patience is running out. We should note that these comments came just a few days after the bombing of these World Central Kitchen staffers.

It is clear, Wolf, that the frustration is growing significantly. But that has not yet resulted in a major change in U.S. policy towards Israel. And that is the big question. Will we reach that tipping point?

BLITZER: We'll find out sooner rather than later. No doubt. Alex, thank you for your excellent reporting, as usual.

MARQUARDT: For sure.

BLITZER: And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining me here in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer. I'll be back later tonight at 6:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Right back here tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Eastern in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS" with Dana Bash starts right after a short break.

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