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CNN International: Court Resumes In Trump Hush Money Trial; Judge Excuses One Juror In Trump Hush Money Trial; EU's Top Diplomat: We Are On The Edge Of War In Middle East. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired April 18, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, and welcome to CNN's special coverage from New York. I'm Rahel Solomon.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Omar Jimenez, outside the New York courthouse where we're following Donald Trump's hush money trial, as jury selection continues. This is CNN Newsroom.
All right. Jury selection is back underway after a day off for this historic criminal trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Unlike what we saw earlier this week, Trump did not speak with the media before entering the courtroom. And while seven jurors were seated when we started today, one of those jurors was excused this morning over concerns about their identity being made public. Now, six more jurors are needed to fill out the panel, as well as up to six alternates. Now, the court has been working through another group of potential jurors, excusing more than half already, either because they said they couldn't be fair and impartial, or because they have other conflicts. Still, with the speedy pace we've seen so far this week, we could be, keyword "could be", on track to start opening statements as soon as Monday. But, we will see.
CNN's Zachary Cohen joins us now from Washington. Thanks for taking the time. Thanks for being here. Look, the judge has scheduled a hearing next week on social media posts, that prosecutors argue violate Trump's gag order. What more do we know about that?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. Prosecutors raising seven more social media posts from Donald Trump today in court before jury selection got underway, and they were saying that these posts do violate the gag order on Donald Trump because they do specifically address the jury pool and the potential jury pool in this case, and we're seeing this happen all in real time. Donald Trump posting on his day off outside of court yesterday about reposting something from a Fox News host. It's essentially a theory that there were liberal activists that were trying to infiltrate the jury. There is, of course, no evidence to support that. But, prosecutors say that that does violate the terms of the gag order, and they're asking the judge to reprimand Donald Trump as a result. But, look, we also had a juror excused today. We had seated seven. We
had seven on Tuesday. And this morning, one of those seven was excused because they found that they couldn't be fair and impartial anymore because of concerns that their identity had been compromised. The jurors in this case are anonymous. They're supposed to be anonymous to protect the integrity of the trial. This juror said that enough information about their identity had been out there publicly. And they received calls and texts from family members, from colleagues, from friends questioning whether or not they were a juror. So, the judge letting them go.
We're back down to six, meaning we need six more jurors to be seated, plus about six alternates to be seated in order to have this trial move forward, as you mentioned, to the judge, was hopeful that we could get opening statements started on Monday. It will be interesting to see how this challenge with the jury, how these developments with removing -- losing a juror this morning, does that impact the timeline? But, jury selection is moving forward. It's underway right now. They're currently going through that 42-question questionnaire with the remaining jurors. There are 39 remaining jurors after about half, more than half were eliminated because they said they couldn't be fair and impartial. Nine more were excused because they had other conflicts.
So, we're going to work through this 39 remaining juror list one by one, and they're going to go through this 42-question questionnaire, and then, ultimately, that pool will be narrowed down, and we'll see how many jurors are seated as a result.
JIMENEZ: And Zach, I know that -- look, both sides, they have strikes that they're able to do. Both sides have used their strikes up to this point. Do we know what the concerns have been from either side about either, why they decided to use them, what their concerns have been about the prospect of jurors that they've decided to strike?
COHEN: So, we know that there has been two distinctive strategies from prosecutors and from the defense jury. Prosecutors are looking at jurors that can put aside any sort of political beliefs or bias they might have and listen to the judge's instructions and essentially look at the evidence impartially and factually and apply that standard to the burden of proof. Defense attorneys are asking a lot of questions about people's opinions about Donald Trump. That really is at the center of what they're using to decide if they want to seat a juror or not. So, it's really those are the two different standards that are being applied here by the two sides, and that is why both sides have used six of their strikes so far, meaning they both four remaining.
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JIMENEZ: Yeah. Appreciate that, Zach. Thanks for taking the time. Obviously, look, we've got a process ahead, a process that is ongoing. As we've seen it, it can be a tough panel to make. Again, 12 more people are needed -- are now needed in total before this trial can move on toping. That's, of course, stalking out the six more impaneled jurors, and then the up to six alternates as well. Joining us now to talk about the process is Jury Consultant Alan
Turkheimer. Alan, thank you for being with us. Really appreciate it. Now, look, when you're consulting for a jury, when you're trying to figure out what potential jurors will be most receptive to your case, if you're Donald Trump, what are you looking for in this particular case?
ALAN TURKHEIMER, JURY CONSULTANT: Since it's such a blue county, New York County overwhelmingly against Donald Trump --
JIMENEZ: Yeah.
TURKHEIMER: -- in politics, you really want to weed out the bias and just make so sure that once you accept a juror that they're going to decide the case, that they're going to be neutral, that they're going to start out neutral, and that they're going to give your client a fair shake, but they're going to follow the judge's instructions, that they're going to listen to the evidence and that they're not going to let any outside influence affect how they make decisions in the case. And as there was one juror that I believe he is still on, he said something to the effect of he is fascinated or he has some fascination and wonder with Trump. That sounds like a pretty good juror to me.
So, I think that's probably what they're looking for. But, they're certainly spending most of their time trying to decide what they don't want a juror so that they can make sure that juror does not end up on the jury.
TURKHEIMER: And look, this is one of the most high-profile cases in recent memory. Obviously, there was a concern over the identities of these jurors getting out for their safety, but, of course, for their well-being and their ability to be fair and impartial jurors here. We've already had one dismissed over those very concerns. How difficult is it in a high-profile case to not just impanel a juror and hear them say they're going to be fair and impartial, but also keep them anonymous over the course of a high-profile trial as this one?
JIMENEZ: It's a challenge. Even in just standard run of the middle trials, jurors show up. And a lot of times, they don't think they're going to end up being selected for whatever reason. And so, when they go through the process, as soon as they're sworn in and paneled, that can be pretty jolting. And to a lot of jurors that has a big impact on how they see things. And now, that can be for a regular case. So, think about this case, Donald Trump, such an unprecedented trial. So, it's not that surprising that a juror who might be seated then all of a sudden realizes, wow, I didn't think I was going to be picked. I'm going to sit on the trial of a former President of the United States in this hush money falsifying business records case.
So, it's going to be a challenge to do that. And I think that the judge is doing a good job of making sure that the -- there is a significant number who are going to self-eliminate so they don't waste time doing that and then will get to it. So, he is being efficient, and it can be done. But, there are hiccups along the way. And I think what happened with this one juror was probably one of them. It's not unheard of, but it's also not that common. JIMENEZ: And look, there were suggestions earlier this week that we could potentially be opening statements by Monday. I'm not going to throw that possibility out just yet. But, obviously, as you mentioned, sometimes complications come up. We started the day with impaneled. Now, we're down -- or with seven, excuse me. Now, we're down to six. We will see what happens. Alan Turkheimer, thanks for joining us. Really appreciate it. Rahel.
TURKHEIMER: Thanks.
SOLOMON: All right, Omar. We'll check back with you soon.
In the meantime, we want to get to the Middle East. "On the brink of a regional war that will send shockwaves to the rest of the world", that was the warning from the EU's top diplomat. As the G7 meeting of foreign ministers began in Italy today, the talks there are centered on the showdown between Israel and Iran, the war in Gaza, and Russia's war in Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging allies to get much needed military aid to Ukraine as soon as possible.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY FO STATE: But in this moment, it is urgent that all of the friends and supporters of Ukraine maximize their efforts to provide with -- Ukraine what it needs to continue to effectively defend itself against this Russian aggression. And in particular, for the United States, that means passing the supplemental, the extra budget request the President has made for Ukraine that we now hope will be before the House this weekend.
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SOLOMON: All right. Let's get out to CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau, who is with us now from Rome. Barbie, with so much on the agenda, with so many priorities for the G7, just give us a sense of what's on the agenda here.
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. It really was like playing Whack-A-Mole, just trying to get to all of these various crises, and there are so many to deal with, as you mentioned, urging Israel restraint when they retaliate against the attacks on their country by Iran last weekend, was a top priority.
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Of course, so were sanctions, the language around these targeted sanctions that they'll be placing on Ukraine, also was a topic. And of course, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza with some countries, including Italy, calling for an immediate ceasefire, and discussing just how to continue to get aid into that region. It really, really was a day of great conversation, not just at the roundtables, but at the bilateral meetings that were held throughout the day. Rahel.
SOLOMON: And Barbie, we know -- I mean, since October 7, there has been a sense, there has been a concern about a wider escalation in the region. But, that has taken on a whole new meaning after these recent attacks from Israel and from Iran. Just give us a sense based on the G7 leaders there, what is the sense of alarm or concern about a wider escalation of this war?
NADEAU: Yeah. There were so many people that were guests to this, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister and also the EU's Foreign Minister, Josep Borelli (SIC). What he said when he walked in was really just a very ominous sort of warning to the rest of the world. Let's listen to what he had to say.
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JOSEP BORRELL, EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: We have to ask Israel for a restrained answer to the Iranians attack. We cannot escalate. We cannot go step by step, answering every time higher to a regional war. I don't want to exaggerate but we are on the edge of a war, a regional war in the Middle East, which will be sending shockwaves to the rest of the world, and in particular to Europe.
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NADEAU: I mean, regional war is not the language that people want to hear. But, this meeting, the foreign ministers of the G7 meeting, really paves the way to that bigger meeting that's going to be held in the southern Italian region of Apulia with the leaders, including President Biden, with the G7 leaders in mid-June. And everyone is wondering what all of these crises are going to look like then. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. It's -- the juxtaposition between the beautiful island of Capri and all of these really difficult situations that these world leaders are grappling with could not be more stark. Barbie Latza Nadeau live for us in Rome. Barbie, thanks so much.
And in Gaza, hospital officials say that 10 people from one family were among those killed in an airstrike in Rafah, among the victims, five children between the ages of three and 16. And the death toll has now risen to 14 people, including eight children, following the strike at a refugee camp in central Gaza. Israeli military says that the incident is under review. Now, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, the death toll since the start of the war has risen to nearly 34,000. CNN cannot independently verify these numbers.
But now, amid the suffering, a small, a small glimmer of hope. For the first time, humanitarian aid making it into Gaza via the Ashdod port. The World Food Programme says that food aid was also delivered through the Erez crossing into northern Gaza.
Now, let's bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks, who joins us in Beirut. Paula, this comes amid international pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza. What more can you share with us about this port that aid is now going through, and how much more aid will this mean for people in Gaza?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, it's certainly welcome news that there is another crossing that can be functional. But, we're hearing still from humanitarian aid groups that it is not sufficient for what is needed. The call is for a complete ceasefire, because many groups have said that the only way to prevent this onset of famine, which is believed to be possible anytime from now until the end of May in northern Gaza, is to flood the Gaza Strip with aid. But, the fact that there is another crossing opening, is certainly going to be welcome us.
But, what we are seeing as well is the aid drops are continuing. And so, there are attempts to try and get humanitarian aid in any way possible. But, of course, it is not just getting the aid in. It is, what can you do once you're in there? How do you distribute it safely? How do you manage to take these trucks around the Gaza Strip when roads have been destroyed, when there is still airstrikes going on, and the security situation on the ground is desperate?
Now, we are hearing of continual airstrikes through the past 24 hours, for example. There have been significant strikes. You mentioned a family of 10 being killed in Rafah, half of them children, when they were killed in an Israeli airstrike. It's worth pointing out that one of those surviving family members did point out they had been displaced a number of times. So, they had moved from Gaza City where they lived more than two or three times and ended up in Rafah where the Israeli military had told hundreds of thousands of Gazans to go to so they would be safe.
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And of course, there is that ongoing concern that this military operation could start in Rafah, a ground offensive that no country in the world is supporting at this point, so that Israel says that it can root out the last bastions of Hamas, as it puts it. But, there is still a devastating death toll and humanitarian toll within Gaza. We've just heard recently from UNICEF saying that more than 13,800 children have been killed within Gaza since October 7. And the UN group that's in charge of gender equality and women's say that one child is injured or dies every 10 minutes. They are staggering statistics, staggering numbers, which show just how desperate the situation is within the Gaza Strip.
So, yes, it is very welcome news that there is another crossing from Israel into Gaza to allow humanitarian aid in. But, it is a drop in the ocean. It is significant because it is allowing humanitarian aid in directly to northern Gaza, which is the worst hit by far of the entire Gaza Strip. But, the overwhelming message from the humanitarian groups is what needs to happen is a complete ceasefire, whether it's permanent or temporary, and then, at that point, they can flood the Gaza Strip with aid. It is the only way, they say, to prevent famine. Rahel
SOLOMON: Yeah. Paula, I'm just wondering, what can be made of the diplomatic push? Because as you lay out so well there, on the one hand, you do have these additional crossings and even if it is a drop in the bucket, as you point out, it is significant. It is a change. On the other hand, you have this this push into Gaza or Rafah imminently, which, as you laid out, no world leaders want. And so, what do you make of the diplomatic push that has been made as of late because you sort of have these two objectives where you're not really seeing how effective it has been? HANCOCKS: Well, we've certainly seen significant resistance to what the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has to do to try and defeat Hamas, which is to have this significant ground offensive in Rafah. There is anywhere between a million, a million and a half Palestinians currently sheltering there that have been displaced, many of them, from other areas in the Gaza Strip. And at this point, there has been no public acknowledgement or plan shown of how they will be evacuated out of harm's way. So, there is certainly the diplomatic push against Israel doing that.
But, on the other hand, you also have this diplomatic push trying to de-escalate the situation in the wider region following those Iranian strikes on Israel over the weekend, and the expectation that there will be some kind of response from Israel. They've made it clear that it is necessary for them to respond to this unprecedented attack. But, of course, the concerns that whatever the Israeli response might be, that it could escalate the situation.
Now, U.S. officials familiar with what may happen say they believe or they get the impression that Israel is not looking to escalate the situation, is not looking for a wider regional conflict. And they hope that that would be reflected in the ultimate decision that they make. But, there is disagreement within Israel itself. There is disagreement within the war cabinet as to what exactly this response should be against the unprecedented attacks by Tehran. But certainly, there is great concern and there is diplomatic posturing and pressure on all sides to try and contain what is already a regional tension, not a regional conflict necessarily, but you have multiple fronts where these tensions are simmering over at this point. There is significant diplomatic efforts around the world to try and contain what is already a quite significantly tense situation. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Paula Hancocks live force there in Beirut. Paula, thanks so much.
The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote later today on a Palestinian request for full UN membership. The General Assembly granted the Palestinians non-member observer status in 2012. But, the U.S. is expected to block this latest measure since it would effectively amount to recognizing a Palestinian state. Here is the U.S. Ambassador to the UN.
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LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: President Biden has said categorically that we support a two-state solution. We do not see that doing a resolution in the Security Council will necessarily get us to a place where we can find a solution, a two-state solution moving forward.
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SOLOMON: All right. Coming up next, the U.S. economy and global growth, what the International Monetary Fund is expecting, and it comes with a warning. CNN's Richard Quest is at the IMF meeting in Washington, and is going to provide his insights put up next.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. And you are looking at some beautiful tulips at the IMF's Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. And spring and growth, it reminds us all of economic growth. Doesn't it? When it comes to growth, the United States economy is outpacing other advanced economies. That's according to new IMF figures. But, it also comes with a warning. The International Monetary Fund is reporting that the standout growth could also make America's inflation problem harder to solve. The IMF upgrading its forecasts for U.S. economic growth to 2.7 percent this year. That's 0.6 percentage points higher than its January prediction.
Let's bring in CNN's Business Editor-At-Large and Anchor, Richard Quest, who is at the IMF meetings in Washington, and joins us now. Richard, I think about that expression, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When I hear this prediction, stronger growth but harder inflation to solve, is that a good thing? Is that a positive development?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Glass half full glass half empty, Rahel. In the room just behind me, I've just seen go in there, Jay Powell, the head of the -- the Chair of the Federal Reserve, and Janet Yellen, who is, of course, the U.S. Treasury Secretary. Now, Jay Powell has admitted this week that he -- it is getting much harder to get U.S. inflation down to its two percent target. And therefore, an immediate cut in rate, some had hoped in the June meeting, maybe not on the cards. That is a positive in a sense. The markets take it as a negative. And if you're paying higher interest rates on your mortgage, then most certainly it's a negative.
But, it does show the -- and judging by what the IMF Managing Director told me a short while ago, of all the economies that are around at the moment, it is the United States that's doing the heavy lifting at the moment of keeping the world's economic growth high. China is there, but it has got so many entrenched problems that are still to be dealt with.
SOLOMON: Richard, without getting into the politics so much, but indulge me for a moment, why is that? Why is it believed that the U.S. economy is outpacing all of these other advanced economies? We were dealing with the same issues. We were dealing with COVID. We were dealing with high inflation. What's the difference here?
QUEST: That's a really good question. I think it is, again, the glass half full glass half empty. The U.S. is less regulated in many ways in terms of labor force. You can hire and fire much more cheaply and much easier.
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Therefore, the labor market tends to respond quicker to economic developments. Now, if you are in Europe, you say, well, that means you've got no job security. If you're in the U.S., particularly in some of the right-to-work states, you say, well, that means we can employ. We can move things fast. Secondly, the administration will move very fast. Both the Trump administration before, and of course, the Biden administration, they put in place extremely good, robust, expensive policies, and particularly those Biden stimulus packages when he came back. Put it all together, there is a robustness. There is an easiness in the U.S. economy that you don't find elsewhere, particularly if you want to compare it, say for example, to Europe, the Eurozone.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Fascinating. It sort of brings us back to the beauty in the eye of the beholder expression. It brings us back to the glass half full glass half empty.
QUEST: Exactly. Exactly.
SOLOMON: It's a very poetic, Richard Quest, live for us in Washington. Good to see you, my friend.
All right. And here is a quick look at some of the other stories making headlines in the U.S.
Federal law enforcement is on high alert for any potential threats to the American Jewish community ahead of and during the Passover holiday, which begins next Monday. FBI Director Christopher Wray saying that his agency is particularly concerned about so-called lone actors targeting Jewish gatherings or events. There has been a dramatic upward trend of antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
Still no word on what caused service disruptions for some U.S. emergency call centers on Wednesday. Law enforcement agencies in at least four U.S. states reported problems with receiving 911 calls. Now, in several cases, including the city of Las Vegas, authorities asked people to text 911 for life-threatening emergencies. Now, full service is back on and back in in some areas, although it's still unclear why the disruptions included a mix of both landline and mobile service.
All right. Still ahead for us, both Donald Trump's team and the Manhattan DA's Office are having to make up lost ground. That's after one of the seven jurors seated so far was excused this morning. We're going to get back to this historic criminal trial after a short break.
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JIMENEZ: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez outside the New York courthouse, where jury selection is back underway for the criminal trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump. One of the impaneled jurors was excused earlier over concerns about their identity being made public.
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You're looking at some live pictures there. The court has been working through another group of potential jurors after already excusing more than half. So, I want to turn the conversation to our nation's capital. Joining
us is Defense Attorney and former Federal Prosecutor, Shan Wu, and our CNN reporter Zachary Cohen.
Zach, quickly, can you just catch us up with what we've been seeing over the course of today?
COHEN: Yeah. Absolutely. Today started with that conversation about the seated juror from Tuesday. We started the day with seven jurors. We now have six because the judge did dismiss one of those jurors, the juror who raised concerns about their ability to be fair and impartial because they felt their anonymity had been compromised. They said that they had been getting calls and texts from family, friends, colleagues, essentially asking if they were one of the jurors that's been described in public reporting. The judge saying, yes. OK. That -- because that impacts your ability to be fair and impartial, you can be removed.
So, we've now moved into the jury selection phase of today's proceedings. We started the day with 96 -- a panel of 96 potential jurors. More than half of them were dismissed outright because they said they could not be fair and impartial in this case. Another nine had other conflicts. So, they were let go. And we're currently going through that 42-question questionnaire with the remaining 39. There is currently jurors in the juror box, and they're answering questions like, what sort of media do you consume? Have you ever attended a Trump rally? These are all things that could impact whether or not the defense or the prosecutors wants to try to strike them from the jury ultimately at the end of the day here.
So, we are working through jury selection. But, like you said, maybe having to overcome a challenge of losing a juror this morning. The judge has said that he wants to potentially try to start have opening statements and start this trial on Monday, eventually to see if the challenges with choosing a jury moved that timeline back or not.
JIMENEZ: Yeah. And Shan, one of the issues that was brought up today is concerning over whether Donald Trump has gone past the limits of the gag order that was imposed here, and in particular about Trump putting out a quote from another television host, describing the types of jurors or the potential or imagined types of jurors that we're seeing. And I'm curious, just to get your take on, do you think this gag order goes far enough, and do you think Donald Trump has broken the limits of the gag order so far?
SHAN WU, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I don't think the gag order goes far enough. There is a potential loophole, I mean, certainly, if I am going to call it a repost or quoting on the other person violates the spirit of the gag order. But, if you're reading the actual order, it talks about him actually making the statement or directing others to. So, he has got an argument. He didn't do that. He is just quoting somebody.
So, to remedy that, I think it would be better for the gag order to be broader and simpler. I mean, to use an analogy, I think it might want to take a Will Smith kind of style, which is just keep the juror's names, to keep the jurors out of your mouth. Don't even talk about them, I think that would be much easier to follow rather than trying to nuance it the way it's done. And then, of course, you have to follow it up with very strong enforcement of any violation.
JIMENEZ: So, let's hope it doesn't go all the way Will Smith-style there. But, Shan, just to follow up a little bit on what you were saying, because as Zack mentioned, he laid out, obviously, how court has been going today. There is a lot of potential jurors that have been coming in time after time, a lot to get through. A good portion of them have indicated right off the bat that they don't think they can be fair and impartial here. Are you surprised with how swiftly the process has been going to this point? Why or why not?
WU: Not too surprised, because this judge and the prosecutors and the lawyers, they're very familiar with the state court process, that Manhattan courtroom, and the state court prosecutors deal much more in high volume, very common high-profile cases. So, I think Judge Merchan is doing a very good job of just moving very workman-like through the jury selection process. There is an adjustment I think he might consider making. I don't know the logistics of the physical setup. But, in lots of cases I've been in, when you're doing more individual questioning about something about a juror's work or some particular concern they have, that's done more in private.
So, here, there are a lot of people involved, Secret Service, etcetera. You could just have a whole separate room, a separate courtroom. When they're going into those details, then they could be moved. For example, I understand one of the concerns was the general details about a juror might end up outing them even though the press may not be reporting or isn't telling people's names out there. If they're going through the answers to those questionnaires, like what kind of work they do, who your employer is, rather than depending on the press keeping that quiet or other jurors hearing about it, those sorts of things could be taken into a more private scenario. It adds a little bit of logistical delay to it, but that might be one way to deal with it.
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JIMENEZ: And Zack, based on how things have been going to this point, look, the judge has maybe optimistically indicated we could get to opening statements as soon as Monday. But, outside of just empaneling this jury, are there other issues that the prosecution is either hoping to bring forward or the defense is hoping to bring forward before we're actually able to make its opening statements?
COHEN: Yeah. As you mentioned, we do have that hearing on the gag order next week. We -- that that is one outstanding issue that we still need to tackle. But, look, I think the only person who feels that this process is moving too quickly has been Donald Trump. He posted the other day that he felt that the judge in this case was rushing the trial. But, as Shan said, Judge Merchan is sort of moving through this process in a very workman-like way.
And Donald Trump is in the courtroom again today, as he was on Tuesday, watching these jurors, potential jurors answer questions about who they are, where they work, what sort of media they consume. Have they read any of Donald Trump's books? He is apparently very engrossed in this process today. That's what the poll reporting says. He is leaning back in his chair and craning his neck to get a better view as these jurors answer these questions from the jury box.
So, ultimately, this is -- seating this jury is the number one priority and the number one thing that has to be accomplished before opening statements in the trial can move forward.
JIMENEZ: Yeah. Well, Zachary Cohen, appreciate the reporting. Shan Wu, appreciate your perspective, as always. We're going to continue to follow this, excuse me, as day three of this trial continues and as jury selection continues. You've already seen how difficult it can be to this point. But, as both of them have mentioned, the process does seem to be moving along smoothly and swiftly so far. We will see. Rahel is back after the break. And as Speaker Johnson fights for his job and key aid packages, we're going to be hearing from Republican Congressman Cory Mills. Stay with us. All that more coming up.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Taking a live look now at the really cloudy skies over Washington, D.C. right now, the nation's capital, and the storm clouds have definitely been brewing over the head of the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Speaker Johnson is moving forward with a plan to bring separate aid bills for Israel and Ukraine to the House floor. Now, it's not a popular decision with some in his own party. But, the Speaker says that the vote is the right thing to do. Listen.
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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): My philosophy is you do the right thing and you let the chips fall where they may. I don't -- if I operated out of fear over a motion to vacate, I would never be able to do my job. I can make a selfish decision and do something that's different, but I'm doing here what I believe to be the right thing. I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important.
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SOLOMON: All right. Joining us now from Washington with the latest is CNN's Chief Congressional Correspondent, Manu Raju.
[11:40:00]
So, Manu, give us a sense -- I mean, this is an issue that could ultimately cost Johnson his job. Give us a sense on where things stand this morning with these bills.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Yeah. Look, it can, and the question would be, how many members will actually vote to oust Kevin McCarthy -- Mike Johnson. I'm going to speak to Matt Gaetz. Mr. Gaetz, Mr. Gaetz, so, you would have been opposed to moving forward on a motion to vacate. Now that they're talking about possibly changing those rules, have you changed your mind? REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): I hope we don't have to go down that road. It was very puzzling and concerning to me that Congressman Van Orden, in a conversation we just had on the floor, repeatedly was insisting that we call a motion to vacate to the floor. He was demanding it in kind of a unhinged way.
RAJU: So, I mean, where are you on whether or not you would support a motion to vacate at this moment?
GAETZ: I didn't support one when I woke up this morning.
RAJU: So, do you support one now?
GAETZ: We got more time in the day.
RAJU: What do you think of just in general about his --
GAETZ: No. Let me clarify that. I think a motion to vacate is something that could put the conference in peril. And Ms. Boebert and I were working to avoid that. Our goal is to avoid a motion to vacate. But, we are not going to surrender that accountability tool, particularly in a time when we're seeing America's interest subjugated to foreign interests abroad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And explain what was going on with Mr. Van Orden.
GAETZ: He kept demanding that we file a motion to vacate and demanding that we do it in a privileged way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what does that mean? I mean, does it surprise you in this climate that people might be saying that? And we've heard this from Mr. Massie. We've heard this from Ms. Greene.
GAETZ: The only thing I gleaned from it is that Mr. Van Orden is not a particularly intelligent individual.
RAJU: What did you -- spoke to the Speaker. What was that conversation like?
GAETZ: Tense.
RAJU: Why?
GAETZ: Because we don't want to pass this bill. We do not -- the only way -- yeah. We -- the only way we've got in the House of Representatives is blocking the Senate supplemental. And so, if he is ready to throw in the towel on that, what are we doing here?
RAJU: And what did he say in response?
GAETZ: I think that he views the Ukraine issue very differently than we do. We're worried about America's border. He seems to be more worried about Ukraine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about the House working its will? The idea that many on your side have said we want the House to work its will, the idea that you might have a coalition of some Republicans and Democrats getting together on that, isn't that reflective of what you wanted to do, even though it might not reflect what's your policy goals are because it's not all Republicans for something?
GAETZ: Well, my goal was to have open amendments. You want to put these bills on the floor and have absolute open amendments? I think that that would be far more palatable than the path we're currently going on.
RAJU: Do you have confidence in the Speaker right now?
GAETZ: It's diminishing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Gaetz, you said that you went into the conversation looking for assurances that he wasn't looking to change a motion to vacate and he didn't get that. Can you characterize what he did say when you looked for those assurances?
GAETZ: He was equivocating.
RAJU: And it sounds like it's going to come in the rule that they're going to do that today?
GAETZ: We sought clarification that a change to the motion to vacate threshold would not be in the rule, and we did not get the answer that we wanted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he continues --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you elaborate on that?
GAETZ: What was that? I'm sorry. I didn't hear you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was his answer to that?
GAETZ: He was equivocating. We didn't really get an answer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If the Speaker continues to push forward with his plan, putting these bills on the floor, you said your confidence in him is already diminishing, is there a red line for you?
GAETZ: Well, not really. For me, I want the Speaker to be as good a Speaker as he can be. I have the same goals for the last guy. But, when they drift away from that and -- look, when we voted for Mike Johnson for Speaker, he had -- he was fresh off of a vote against Ukraine aid.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
GAETZ: He was publicly advocating for a warrant requirement on FISA --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
GAETZ: -- and the central thesis of his campaign for Speaker was single-subject spending bills.
RAJU: How do you explain that?
GAETZ: Well, I certainly don't explain it with a rubric of success.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has different responsibilities as Speaker, though. It's natural. I mean, he -- some people said, well, he changed his position on Pfizer based when he was on the Judiciary Committee, that when you're in the speakership, your role changes. You have to be the Speaker of the House.
GAETZ: I don't think that being elected Speaker is a permission structure to surrender your deeply held beliefs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But, he says putting the bill on the floor -- sorry to interrupt you, Congressman, he says putting the bill on the floor for aid to Ukraine is the right thing to do. What do you say?
GAETZ: I think the right thing to do would be insist on securing America's border.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
GAETZ: There is $250 million in this Ukraine bill for the World Bank, with no even constraint that that money go to Ukraine. We're funding Sub-Saharan African nations that don't even like us. One of the countries that could get money from the World Bank provision is Niger, where America currently has 1,100 service members who can't get food, medicine or mail, because the Nigeri (ph) government won't allow diplomatic overflights. So, we're not just funding our allies in this bill. We're funding our enemies, and we're doing so forsaking the American border. That's what our voters focused on.
And Ms. Boebert and I want to get this Congress aligned with where the American people's interests are. That is securing the southern border of the United States, not securing the eastern border of Ukraine.
RAJU: Did you get anything from throwing out Kevin McCarthy?
GAETZ: Yeah. We got Hunter Biden under oath. We got thousands of hours of additional --
RAJU: The policies haven't changed.
GAETZ: Well, I think that the policy on Mayorkas impeachment changed. Kevin McCarthy was blocking the impeachment of Mayorkas.
[11:45:00]
Mike Johnson allowed us to impeach Mayorkas. I think that is the type of proactive action to get border response that this House wants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congressman --
GAETZ: So, I think that -- I think -- let me finish answering Manu's question. So, I think we got more January 6 states. We got the impeachment of Mayorkas. We got Hunter Biden under oath. But, on spending, Mike Johnson felt iced in to the Kevin McCarthy spending regime that was negotiated during the FRA. I think we should have liberated ourselves from the Kevin McCarthy deal when we liberated ourselves from Kevin McCarthy. Unfortunately, Mike Johnson has been on the path.
RAJU: We will pull out of here. And Rahel, I'm pulling out of this right now. This -- if you're still with me? So, just to break down kind of everything that just happened there, so, Matt Gaetz, of course, was the leader of the effort to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership. And right now, he is very much upset about the direction of this foreign aid package, which includes Ukraine aid, which includes Israel aid, which includes Taiwan aid. It does not include border security provisions which people like Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert, who are right there, have been demanding. They just engage in a very tense, as he said, tense conversation with the Speaker on the House floor about all this. It's not that the Speaker is not going in this direction.
And interestingly, he indicated that there would -- could potentially be a change on the floor of the House by tomorrow to make it harder to oust a sitting Speaker. That could make it difficult for people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who are coming after him right now because of his decision to move forward on foreign aid. So, a bit of news here from Congressman Matt Gaetz about how all this will play out, because you can see, major tension right now with the GOP, as the Speaker makes his move to move ahead on his aid package. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, look, he was asked point blank, period, do you have confidence in Speaker Johnson? He said, I'm losing confidence. A lot to watch here. Manu Raja, thanks for bringing that to us live.
I want to continue the conversation now and welcome in Congressman Cory Mills, a Republican also from Florida. Congressman, so good to have you today. I'm not sure how much of that you heard. But, any response or reaction from your fellow Florida congressman?
REP. CORY MILLS (R-FL): Well, I was actually on the House floor during that discussion. So, many things were said. I was standing next to Byron Donalds and Lauren Boebert as well, Matt Gaetz on the other side. We tried to have this conversation with the Speaker, advising what we feel prioritize the three key things, America, Americans, and American interest. I think that we also tried to advise the Speaker and what is best for the institution, what is best for the conference, and what is best for the country.
To kind of quote Matt Gaetz, and I echo his sentiment in every way, is we are losing competence, and it's diminishing by the day on what Speaker Johnson is willing to do to try and go ahead and protect the Republic. SOLOMON: So, where do you stand, one, on this if it comes to pass a motion to vacate? Where do you stand? I heard you say that you're losing confidence. But, would you vote to actually oust Johnson?
MILLS: I mean, I'm not there right now. I will tell you that I think that if you look at the direction of things, and my colleague laid it out well, Speaker Johnson would vote against Ukraine funding. He understood the priorities of America, which is economy and securing our border. And we're waning on this, and we're starting to think about the ideas that another $60 billion to Ukraine is in somehow beneficial to America, when we know for a fact that the EU Sanctions Chief David O'Sullivan -- Dan O'Sullivan (SIC) said they have 190 billion Euro in frozen Russian assets that they're making 3.5 billion in profit on. Why are we not calling and talking to the EU who are at a greater threat of the fall of Ukrainians than America and allowing them to step up and do what they're supposed to be doing?
And I have to argue the fact that our border is the priority. We have 70,000 to 100,000 people dying of fentanyl overdose, with Angel families that are going and increasing by the day, as we saw with Laken Riley, or even one of our own Florida House Representatives Kiyan Michael whose son was killed by a guy who had been deported three times. We have to prioritize American economy because our economic deficiency, our default is the greatest domestic threat to America.
SOLOMON: Congressman, I take your point that Speaker Johnson's perspective on Ukraine and funding the war in Ukraine has changed. But, I want to play for you something that he said during an impassioned speech. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: I think that Vladimir Putin would continue to march through Europe, if he were allowed. I think he might go to the Balkans next. I think he might have a showdown with Poland, or one of our NATO allies. To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: So, Congressman, my question is, you are a veteran yourself. You have been to the frontlines of Ukraine since Russia's invasion. Your reaction to what he said there.
MILLS: It's a completely false premise. Vladimir Putin is not going to do anything which is going to actually enact Article 5 of NATO. You're not going to have a global war at a scale that Putin has to face.
SOLOMON: How can you be so sure?
MILLS: Because Putin, while he actually may be reckless in the eyes and he wants that perception, think about how protective and controlled he has been and even utilizing artillery and other things to not impact other nations, not to mention the fact that Poland's military and their defense mechanism has been building up at a faster rate than Russia. Russia is at 13 percent inflation, the highest they've ever seen.
[11:50:00]
They're at a stalemate for a war they say they can win in months. And do you think they're now going to go ahead when they couldn't beat Ukraine, they going to start challenging NATO nations? This makes no sense whatsoever.
SOLOMON: Do you wonder, Congressman, or do you worry, President Trump said he supports Speaker Johnson, do you worry about the message that this sends if this comes to pass, if there is a vote on whether to oust Johnson? What message this sends to Republican voters? What message this sends to voters in your district? I mean, he has only been Speaker for six months. And of course, we know what happened to McCarthy. I mean, do you worry about that?
MILLS: Well, of course, I worry about. I worry about the conference. I worry about upcoming elections. I worry about the optics. But, I worry more about the American people. At the end of the day, I am here to represent the people of Florida's 7th district, and I'm going to continue to try and protect them and put America first. And while I hope the Speaker does the right thing, while I want the Speaker to be successful, and while I didn't support the last motion, I want to make sure that he understands the priorities of America, which is our border and our economy. It's not Ukraine.
SOLOMON: And then, last question here. I mean, he said to my colleague Jake Tapper, Congress -- excuse me, Speaker Mike Johnson said that he couldn't get the border deal in this this round. It's just sort of the practical nature of politics. He has a one seat majority here. It just wouldn't work practically speaking. Your response.
MILLS: Well, first of all, I think they're trying to talk to the ideas that having our border to this bill would somehow not be germane. Even though H.R. 2 is sitting in the Senate right now, we could have requested that the Senate take up H.R. 2 for consideration before we are willing to pass their supplements or review it. We could have also done things like put H.R. 1 as a policy writer, which would essentially make this entire thing a pay for. That's the Low Cost Energy Act, which would guarantee domestic security and domestic energy production, while simultaneously guaranteeing that we stop adversarial reliance and start getting things like the cost of goods now, start being able to heat and cool our homes at a cheaper level, start getting our fuel costs down for hardworking everyday Americans who go back and forth to work or drop their kids off.
These are the priorities. We should be thinking about policy writers if we're going to push these bills on the floor or forcing a jamming the Senate to do what is right, not continuing to jam ourselves and destroy our conference.
SOLOMON: OK. Congressman Cory Mills, we appreciate the time today. Thanks so much.
MILLS: Thank you.
SOLOMON: We're going to have more news after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. And here are some of the international headlines we're watching for you today.
In Indonesia, an erupting volcano has triggered the evacuation of an entire remote island. The volcano has been erupting since Tuesday, and there are fears that it could partially collapse into the water and caused a tsunami. All 800 of the island's residents have been moved temporarily to a neighboring island for safety.
And here in the U.S., parts of Ohio have been dealing with severe storms. The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado Wednesday night caused damage to homes and vehicles, as you can see here, also brought down trees and powerlines. The storms have now moved off to the northeast.
All right. Before we go, one more thing. North Korea has a new hit song. It's called "Friendly Parent" and it's dedicated to the leader Kim Jong Un.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
So, the lyrics there praise Kim Jong Un as not just a friendly parent but also a great leader. The song debuted this week during an evening concert and ceremony in Pyongyang. Now, Kim Jong Un did preside over the event, which also celebrated the completion of a new high-rise apartment development, and a sign atop one of the buildings reads "Heaven on Earth."
[11:55:00]
All right. Well, we know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. My thanks to my colleague Omar Jimenez, who is live outside of the courthouse in New York, covering that historic trial of Donald Trump. Stick with CNN. One World, it's coming up next.
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