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CNN International: Former "Fixer" Michael Cohen Testifies Against Trump; Russia Launches Cross-Border Offensive In Kharkiv Region; Jury Selection Begins In Sen. Menendez Bribery Case; Demolition Of "Key" Bridge Set For 5:00 P.M. ET Monday; One U.N. Staff Member Killed, One Injured After Attack In Rafah; Pro-Palestinian Protesters Interrupt Commencement Ceremonies. Aired 3-3:55p ET
Aired May 13, 2024 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:29]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: It's 8:00 p.m. in London, 10:00 p.m. in Kyiv, 3:00 p.m. in New York and here in Washington. I'm Jim Sciutto. Thanks so much for joining me today on CNN NEWSROOM.
And let's get right to the news.
The people call Michael Cohen. Donald Trump's wants loyal confidant, sometimes attack dog, is testifying under oath in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. Cohen, one of the star witnesses of this trial as prosecutors tried to show a direct link between Trump and the hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Sell companies, frantic calls, delayed payments -- the jury getting new insight into the behind the scenes operation to keep Stormy Daniels quiet, and why exactly and under whose direction Cohen made those payments.
Joining me now to discuss all this, Jeff Swartz, law professor, former Miami-Dade County court judge; Janet Jackson, criminal defense attorney, CNN reporter Alayna Treene, covers the Trump campaign, and Molly Ball, senior political correspondent for "The Wall Street Journal".
Good to have you all on.
Jeff Swartz, it strikes me -- of course, key to the prosecutions case is to get to Trump's directly involvement in and knowledge of these payments. We have a moment today with Cohen testifying that Trump said, quote, we need to stop this from getting out, speaks to intent and to push it out as long as you can just get past the election speaks to the tide of the election. Because if I win, well have no relevance because I'm president and if I lose, I don't even care.
It shows his involvement, does it not? I wonder as you heard that testimony from Cohen, how central it is to the prosecution's case.
JEFF SWARTZ, FORMER MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGE: It deeply shows his involvement in the context that he's directing people to get something done for him in the purpose he wants it done. The testimony that has come later this afternoon has really tied him
up with it. Cohen has testified that, in fact, he spoke to Donald and that Donald knew everything that was going to happen, exactly the scheme of how its going to get paid, and explicitly authorized him to get this done. And then Cohen describes how he falsified documents with the bank to isolate Donald Trump so that there would be no paper trail for him involving all of that.
So it really becomes abundantly clear during all of this that Donald Trump is actually directing this entire operation.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. I mean, to the point where he said stretch out the payments so you wouldn't have to make all those payments, which speaks to character issue, but I suppose in terms of relevance to the case, it's about direct knowledge and involvement in the minutiae.
Janet Jackson, the defense's case rests in part on saying the intent here of these payments was not to influence the election. It was simply to protect a man's family. So let's look at Cohen's testimony this morning. He testified that Trump was worried about the campaign, not Melania Trump saying, quote, don't worry, how long do you think I'll be on the market for, not long.
I wonder, how significant it was for the jury to hear that testimony?
JANET JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It was shocking. I mean, if I'm on the jury and I'm a woman, I'm outraged.
And I think this is where not having Melania Trump at the trial is a huge misstep. Now, maybe she wouldn't go, I don't know. But she really had to be in the courtroom to show that they are a real couple. You know, if my husband was on trial, it's unimaginable that I wouldn't be there supporting him. And when I have defendants, you want to have them -- people closest to them attending, not senators from Oklahoma.
I mean, it needs to really be the people that are involved in are supporting you. Her not being there and then him saying, eh, I don't really care, I'll get a new wife, I thought that was really, really damaging.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. I mean, it's -- juries are made up of human beings, right? And there are women on that jury, they're going to react to things like that.
Molly Ball, as we were just noting there, Janet was noting, Republican politicians turn up in that courtroom today, among them, JD Vance, sitting behind in Trump in court. Why exactly are they trekking to New York to be seen at Trump's trial?
MOLLY BALL, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, for Trump, this is as much about a political campaign as it is about a criminal trial. And the two have seamlessly fused in the way that he has been dealing with them to the point where he's using the trial to campaign on a daily basis, making statements outside the courtroom, and really using it to feed into this frame that it's him against the system both in the terms of this trial, where he is arguing that the trial itself has ginned up and political, and then as part of his political campaign, he is arguing that they are out to get him and that the trial is part of that and that's why people should vote for him because he represents this sort of threat to the established order.
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So, many of these Republican senators seem to be there to lend moral support or to be part of this political campaign. They may also be there as a sort of vice presidential audition. You know, Trump, as we know, values loyalty very much, and it is the ultimate loyalty, as Janet noted, one not shown by his own wife, to be able to stand by someone when they're on criminal trial.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, Senator Tuberville there as well.
Alayna Treene, central to the -- to the case of the prosecution here is the close relationship between Cohen and Trump through the years, not just as a lawyer, but as -- as a fixture, right? I'm a guy who fixed problems, including, prosecution alleges, this problem, Stormy Daniels and her story. How close exactly was that relationship?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Oh, they were incredibly close. I remember I used to be told that Michael Cohen knew more about Donald Trump than members of Trump's own family. That was the relationship between the two of them.
Remember, Michael Cohen in the past has also said that he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. And we've heard from several of the witnesses leading up to this, the prosecution did a good well, setting up the relationship before Michael Cohen even took the stand about exactly how close they were, how Michael Cohen wouldn't act unless he got Trump's approval.
And that's really what we're seeing lay out today, and most of this morning before they even gotten into the, you know, direct conversation around the payment all morning, they were laying out their relationships. So, the two were very close. I think it's also fascinating to just watch what's happening in the courtroom now, to have Donald Trump and Michael Cohen face-to-face after years of not seeing each other because the hatred between them is clearly very palpable.
Our reporters in the courtroom were doing great job of describing that, of how channel Trump won't even look at Michael Cohen because of this.
And so, he knows a lot about Donald Trump and he is a credible witness on that sense. I mean, of course, there are many questions about what Michael Cohen is saying, whether it's true because of that hatred between them. But he knew so much about Donald Trump and he really was key to a lot of this.
SCIUTTO: So, Jeff Swartz, to that point, Cohen's weakness is certainly not proximity. I mean, his weaknesses, his credibility.
How has the prosecution handled that here and how do they plan to handle it? Because of course, when cross-examination begins, I'm sure that's going to be where the defense is directing its fire.
SWARTZ: This is why for the first several weeks of this trial, they've been building this corroboration, these things that they know that happened, the things that they know that Michael was involved in, the attitude that Donald Trump was showing in order to corroborate Michael before he took the stand.
Well, now, the last thing that these prosecutors are going to do is they're going to self impeach him. That is, they're going to go through all of the crimes he committed, all the bad acts that he did, why he did them, he will blame them all in the furtherance to helping Donald Trump and he will further go to the point of saying that if it wasn't for Trump, he wouldn't have done those things and I regret them, and I was wrong and all the apologies that we anticipate coming.
So that's what they're going to do next. And that's how they're going to follow through. So that that part of it doesn't mean that they're trying to hide it from the jury. The jury is going to see that the state brought it out themselves and it takes some of the staying out of the cross-examination.
The only thing we have to watch for is, can Michael continue to hold his temper? Can he continue to be business-like? And if he can, he will win the day. And that's the issue here.
SCIUTTO: Janet, we talked about Michael Cohen's past. Well, lying, but also crime and he went to jail. But he did go to jail, pleaded guilty to making payments to kill stories, to hide affairs of Donald Trump, alleged affairs of Donald Trump to influence the 2016 election. Is that relevant to his credibility for this case? Because he went to jail for -- granted in a different case and different prosecutors, but he went to jail for, in effect, what Donald Trump has been charged with here.
JACKSON: You know, absolutely. I mean, the one problem is he does have a conviction not related to Donald Trump. It's related to the taxi cab medallions scheme that he was involved in. So that is a little bit more damaging and he can't blame that on Donald Trump.
But I think it goes towards -- you have to embrace him as kind of a slime ball. I mean, I think that's what the prosecution has to say is we talked about this yesterday. It does not only is he a slime ball, he's Donald Trump's slime ball. What other kind of lawyer would do that? I mean, he's risking his law license for this guy and, you know, recording his client playing it for packer. What he's doing is not lawyering. It's sort of a mob like, you know, sort of consigliore behavior.
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I think that you can't run away from that. That is who he is.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, it makes me think like Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, right? I mean, the folks who are mob and maybe, maybe not, maybe not clean guys, right? But their testimony seemed to have made a difference. Molly Ball, when you look at this and I know Trump is doing a bit of a victory lap whenever he comes out of there and he uses that as a campaign stop, but also to attack Cohen, the case, Joe Biden, you name it.
Does the Trump team think they're winning this trial in the court of public opinion, I'm talking about, in the political sphere?
BALL: I think they do. I think, number one, the fact that, you know, most Americans don't seem to be following the trial very closely. I believe the number in the new "New York Times" swing state poll this morning was 29 percent say they're following the trial closely.
I think there is a pervasive sense among American voters that this is old news, that this is stuff that we sort of already know about Trump, that everybody knows he's sort of tawdry and a womanizer.
And so, you know, to the extent that it's possible to win, when you're the first ever former president on criminal trial. There is a feeling that number one, he successfully used it to wrap the loyalty of the Republican Party around himself, the senators going there and everyone adding them, defending him. And number two, that it doesn't seem to be penetrating sort of the larger public consciousness as some new reason that they should turn around and oppose Trump. And we certainly see that in the general top lines of the politicals that it doesn't seem to be hurting him.
SCIUTTO: Alayna, devil's advocate for a moment.
TREENE: Yeah.
SCIUTTO: It is -- and I've heard Republican lawmakers say this to me as well, for folks to be reminded of the details of this, Stormy Daniels, et cetera, but also to hear the way he discussed his wife, right? Is the Trump campaign truly convinced they're going to escape from this?
TREENE: From what I hear. I think Molly makes great point.
SCIUTTO: No question.
TREENE: And I think that's why they thought this trial or this case I should say was actually the weakest of the criminal indictments that Donald Trump is facing. However, they really do not know how this is going to play in a general election when you talk about the politics. Of course, we are in the middle less than six months away from the presidential election. They have no idea how this is going to play with independent voters, specifically.
And, you're totally right. I think one of the key witnesses that they were the most worried about was Stormy Daniels. They had no idea what she was going to say once on the stand and they were very worried that shed be sharing some of these sorted details and that's exactly what we saw happen. And it was very embarrassing for Donald Trump. You saw him seething in the courtroom. He would left the courtroom very angry over that. And so that's where they're not so happy with this and they really do
not know how this is going to play in the election.
SCIUTTO: And in his own words, as Cohen testified this morning, Trump said at the time had the forgotten about it would have hurt him with women voters, right? I have to imagine --
TREENE: And now they're all hearing this on display, yeah.
SCIUTTO: Exactly. Alayna Treene, everyone, Jeff, every -- Janet, Molly Ball, thanks so much for all you. Do stay with me. We have much more to discuss.
Still to come this hour, a major shakeup in Moscow. Vladimir Putin has replaced one of his closest military advisers, architects for the war in Ukraine, just as Russia is making new advances on Ukrainian territory.
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SCIUTTO: Welcome back.
A Ukrainian general in Kharkiv warns the overall situation in the Northeast remains difficult. This as Russia claims to have captured at least nine villages after launching a new cross-border offensive on Friday. This is one of Russia's fastest advances since its the first days of the war.
And CNN's Clare Sebastian has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Center stage, but already on shaky ground, this was to be outgoing Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu's last victory salute. Much less ceremony, the Kremlin's announcement of his replacement Sunday.
DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON (through translator): Today on the battlefield, those who are more open for innovations, more open towards a quick implementation of the innovations, win. That is why it's natural that on the current stage, the president has taken the decision for a civilian to be in charge of the ministry of defense.
SEBASTIAN: The nominated civilian is Andrei Belousov, a career economist and former first deputy prime minister. That choice coming as the Kremlin made a rare admission that defense spending is approaching Cold War levels. Its factories pushed to their limits, its sanctions, and the labor force decimated by war.
MARK ESPER, FORMER U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Russia is moving toward a war economy. And it's true, 7 percent of their GDP now is focused on defense. They're on a war footing.
SEBASTIAN: That demand for weapons unlikely to slow. Ukraine frantically evacuating civilians in the Kharkiv region this weekend as Russia launched a major cross-border offensive Friday, taking advantage of a narrowing window of opportunity as Kyiv waits for promised U.S. aid.
An official video from a Russian military brigade purportedly showing a massive glide bombs hitting the Ukrainian border town of Vovchansk.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The idea behind the attacks in the Kharkiv region is to spread our forces thin and undermine the moral and motivational foundation of Ukrainians' ability to defend themselves.
SEBASTIAN: Russia's attack on Kharkiv may also be an attempt to form a buffer zone. This the aftermath of what Russia claims is Ukrainian attack on a residential building in Belgorod. Russian state media reports more than a dozen dead, Russian lives. The other spiraling cost of Putin's war and Shoigu's legacy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Thanks so much to Clare Sebastian there.
Joining me now to discuss, Tymofiy Mylovanov. He's a former Ukrainian minister of economic development, trade and agriculture, president of the Kyiv School of Economics.
Tymo, good to have you on.
TYMOFIY MYLOVANOV, PRESIDENT OF THE KYIV SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: So I wonder how worried you are about Russian advances in the northeast. And do you think that they will put Kharkiv at risk?
MYLOVANOV: Yes. I'm very worried. I've been told by multiple sources month ago that Russia is planning a broader offensive effort, trying to leverage the delay in the eight and this broader effort will basically mean the escalation and expansion of the frontlines and I've been told there are three areas. One is Kharkiv, and it would be on or about May 10 to May 13. So that came to be true.
And then the other two areas potentially Sumy and Chernihiv (ph) and the Zaporizhzhia, which has thousand north of the current east front.
So if Russia succeeds at doing this actually is going to escalate the war quite a bit in terms of sheer size of the frontline.
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So I'm worried about this now. Now, I'm not per se worried about Kharkiv falling. I don't think that's even realistic. They don't have the capacity to do that. But, of course, they can do a lot of damage to civilians and to infrastructure and people will die. So, that I'm worried about.
SCIUTTO: Did the months-long delay in U.S. military aid make this Russian advance possible?
MYLOVANOV: Oh, absolutely. For example, I was in Sumy region in the front lines, let's say in December, I think November or December. And already at that time, we diverted all artillery or most of the artillery to the Bakhmut and Avdiivka direction in the east of Ukraine. So that already it those areas north of Kharkiv, north of Sumy vulnerable, just because we had to concentrate weapons and munition in the areas where there was active fire.
Now, they're leveraging it. Absolutely. We do not have artillery, so it has to be infantry fighting them.
SCIUTTO: And you believe that Russia will attempt other advances to the south of where it is making a push now. What timeframe?
MYLOVANOV: So I'm not sure and I don't want to be a doomsayer. I think they can try south from (INAUDIBLE) and they can also try north, Chernihiv and Sumy.
Now we have seen some activity. In fact, President Zelenskyy today has mentioned Chernihiv and Sumy, and the spike in sabotage groups and shelling in that area. So, you know, I hope it's not going to happen and -- but, you know, I'm really anxious and I'm watching it.
SCIUTTO: In about a month, our best understanding is that more of the bulk of this U.S. military assistance will make it to the front line in both weapons and ammunition that though I know some has already made it there. At that point, does it give Ukraine the capability to push back or is really the focus at this point defending those frontlines.
MYLOVANOV: So I'm not the military expert and I'm not the commander. So this is not for me to say, but again, I can only say what my understanding is and what I've heard from people and what I've heard in the briefings. I think the focus is actually on defending the lines and in terms of time frame, you said it exactly right. It's the next month is going to be critical. The remainder of May and the beginning of June.
And if Russia succeeds at pushing through that, they will try harder. If they don't, they will activate again and amplify the stories about peace negotiations and de-escalation. So whether Ukraine is going to be able to push back in some new areas, I think that's absolutely possible. In the east of Ukraine, well, that will require a much more substantive preparation, so it's probably possible, but not immediate.
SCIUTTO: So big picture then how is Ukraine doing right now? You had this long delay in U.S. military assistance, which is causing problems on the battlefield. You have Russia attempting this big push. You have a shortage of manpower now among Ukrainian forces and you have worries about Russia expanding its own manpower perhaps another partial mobilization, I just wonder how you think Ukraine gets through the next several months.
MYLOVANOV: So indeed we are vulnerable right now exactly because there have been delays in -- partly in the U.S. aid package and it takes time to both mobilize people and to increase domestic and international capacity to produce weapons. But this delay has been both politically emboldening for Russia and materially limiting Ukraine.
So that's going to be the testing period. If we get through this, I think we will be okay. So we have to hold on. The U.S. is saying and, you know, agencies are saying, you can read these assessments publicly, that Ukraine is capable of doing this. But so far, Russia has not reached the true defensive line, because this is sort of gray zone, the buffer zone, that's they enter it.
And I think it's true. I've been there. I've visited. So I think were just its an empirical question. Will they put enough resources to penetrate through defensive lines? We'll know in the next two weeks. If they do, we're in trouble.
SCIUTTO: As you know, the U.S. has a presidential election in a few months time with two candidates with very different views of the Ukraine war. If Donald Trump were to win, what do you think that would mean for Ukraine?
MYLOVANOV: Well, so I think actually this politics is, of course, there, and the November elections are critical. But fundamentally, their view is not that different. I mean, I don't want to oversimplify the issue, Jim, but I think Ukraine is a strategic asset for them and Ukraine has to stand because if Ukraine falls, Russia will just be emboldened with running all kinds of cyber and whatnot disruption operations in Europe.
So I think, of course, Russia will try to trigger this elections as a kind of reason for this stabilization.
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So, of course, we are worried about how election will go, but we are much more concerned frankly is my real honest opinion about what will happen in the because if the elections itself, if the elections themselves are destabilized, and there's something like a repetition of January 6 or repeat, or someone doesn't admit one or the other party doesn't admit the election, there are riots, that's going to distract the United States really from Europe and from Ukraine. And then well be on our own is going to be an opportunity for Russia again.
SCIUTTO: Tymofiy Mylovanov, thanks so much for joining. We appreciate your point of view.
Just a couple of hours, crews will demolish a portion of Baltimore's Key Bridge. What this means for the crew, that's actually still onboard that cargo ship that hit it, coming up.
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SCIUTTO: Gold bars, luxury cars, envelopes stuffed full of cash -- not a movie -- some of the items prosecutors say that Democratic Senator Bob Menendez accepted as bribes. Accusations we should note he denies. Jury selection started this morning for Menendez's trial in New York. Prosecution claims the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee handed out favors that help benefit the Egyptian and Qatari governments.
Our Manu Raju caught up with Menendez on Capitol Hill just last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senator, your trial starts next week, if you're convicted, will you resign?
SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ): Really?
RAJU: If you're convicted, will you resign?
MENENDEZ: Really?
RAJU: Any thoughts about the trial as we head into next?
MENENDEZ: I'm looking forward to proving my innocence. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:30:01]
SCIUTTO: CNN's Jason Carroll, he is live outside the courthouse.
And it's interesting, Jason, there are two criminal trials underway in New York, one for a Democratic Republican candidate for president, and here a sitting -- or sorry, Republican, and a sitting Democratic senator.
Tell us what's happening in the trial here.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Federal courts are busy down here today, aren't they, Jim?
Well, in terms of this particular trial, jurors, the pool of potential jurors were excused for the day. Not one juror was sat, so there'll be back at it again tomorrow. Some of these prospective jurors being asked questions like, would it be a hardship for you to sit for a trial that's going to last for several weeks. And do you do you believe that just because someone is from New Jersey, it means that they are more likely to commit a crime.
So, just some of the questions potential jurors are being asked. But again, those potential jurors dismissed for today. So there'll be back at it tomorrow.
Once the jury has been sat, then were going to move on to opening statements, where both sides will be presenting the summary of their cases. The prosecution has made it abundantly clear what they say happened here. They say Senator Menendez and his wife accepted bribes over a period of time totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Also in gold bars and furnishings for their home, all in exchange for the senators favor and dealing with the governments of Egypt and Qatar and dealing with a criminal trial at home with one of the New Jersey associates.
For his part, Senator Menendez, you heard part of it there with Manu. He is remaining defined throughout all of this. He has maintained his innocence. He says the government is overreaching.
And we got a hint of perhaps what some of the defense might be. We're looking at some of the pretrial documents. There's one passage in particular that stands out. It says Senator Menendez intends to present a defense arguing in part that he lacked the requisite knowledge of much of the conduct and statements of his wife Nadine, and did not agree to join any of the charged conspiracies.
So perhaps when this trial does get underway, we'll be hearing from the defense that Senator Menendez, if there was wrongdoing, didn't know anything about it, and perhaps his wife did. His wife, Nadine Menendez, as you know, is going to be tried separately.
In terms of this trial, still have to get a jury sat. Again, there'll be back at that tomorrow -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: Jason Carroll, thanks so much.
In just a few hours, a portion of the Francis Scott Key Bridge will be demolished. That, of course, the bridge in Baltimore because it collapsed in March after a cargo ship hit it. The demolition had been delayed due to bad weather. The controlled explosions will help remove debris and free the cargo ship, which has still been stuck there.
Joining us now with the latest, Gabe Cohen.
I mean, it's remarkable. The ships been stuck there throughout. The crew stuck on board but tell us what we're going to see tonight and what that means for passage through that channel.
GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is a huge critical step toward reopening the channel. So in a little more than an hour, right around 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Jim, we're going to see this controlled demolition of one specific piece of the bridge wreckage, this massive chunk, thousands of pounds -- thousands of tons, I should say, that's still sitting on the bow of the Dali, weighing it down, preventing that ship from being taken away.
If we have this animation, yeah, the one you can now see on your screen, this really gives you a sense of what crews are doing. So, right now, they've been making these cuts, very precise, in chunks, in different parts of the steel of that ship. What you see they are, those are charges that they're going to be putting inside of it, then covering it with essentially tape, and then right around 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, weather permitting, they're going to detonate them all right at the same time. And we should see the still pretty much instantaneously break into many pieces and be thrust away from the ship.
To be clear, Jim, this is not going to look like a giant fireball, at least it showed and its not going to look like in the movies, its going to be these small puffs of smoke, like little fireworks going off. But this official say is what they need to get the ship and tow it out of there to keep it from being weighed down as it has been now for seven weeks.
And the new information we've gotten today is that if all goes according to plan, hopefully within 48 hours, they are going to be able to tow the Dali to shore and finally get the crew off of it, which of course is huge for them. But just a critical step toward getting the channel reopened and getting the port of Baltimore to function as normal because major implication there economically.
SCIUTTO: Very basic question, why did the corrupt stay on board the ship during this time? Is that so they would be prepared to sort of guide it out once it was free.
COHEN: Yeah, that's a great question. So one of the major reasons that has been given, first of all, there's an investigation underway. So that's a big piece of it, but also, they have been keeping the ship running all of this time, that officials here, investigators have said to make sure that the Dali is still safe and still functioning properly. They want the people who know the ship the best to stay on board, which is why the crew is still on it today, even as this demolition is happening.
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We've heard officials say that they're going to be kept at a safe distance. They're going to be on the other edge of the other side of the ship, potentially filling multiple stories down. But they want them there because if there is some sort of emergency, they are the ones who perhaps can be those first responders because they know how the ship functions.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, they don't want that thing floating free once again.
Gabe Cohen, thanks so much.
COHEN: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: This just into CNN, U.S. officials say they are monitoring reports now that a group of American medical workers is trapped in Gaza. We're going to the latest on that story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:38:41]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
SCIUTTO: Breaking news on the war in Gaza.
The U.S. State Department says it is aware of reports that a group of U.S. medical workers are currently trapped in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. This comes after the U.N. announced that at least one of their aid workers was killed today and other injured in an attack in Rafah further south.
So far, the war has left more than 35,000 people dead in Gaza. This according to the ministry of health there.
CNN's chief national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt, joins me now.
So, tell us what we know about these American medical workers. Where are they exactly, and why are they trapped?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: There's a hospital that is south of Khan Younis, north of Rafah, so southern part of the Gaza Strip, that is called the European Hospital. And we understand that there are around a dozen foreign doctors, both American and other nationalities who are now trapped at this European Hospital. That's according to at least one doctor, another person who has spoken to some of our colleagues at CNN.
They're there with an NGO called FAJR Scientific. They were supposed to leave this week. We're told in and were at a safe house, but then move to the hospital because they were told that they had to evacuate.
Of course, the fighting is getting fiercer and fiercer in Rafah. The Israelis and the U.S. still say that its a limited operation.
[15:40:03]
But, Jim is, you know, the Israelis have taken over the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing, which has been key to get not only aid into Rafah, but people out of the Gaza Strip. And so now, the State Department says they are aware of these reports. They are looking into them. They don't really have much more information, but they said that they are working with the Israelis and the Egyptians, not just because it is such a key crossing for aid, because there are going there are -- people of all nationalities are still trying to get out of Gaza through that very crossing.
SCIUTTO: So let's talk now about a U.N. staffer killed and others injured, attacked in Rafah. Was this an Israeli military attack?
MARQUARDT: The U.N. is putting a nationality -- isn't blaming one side or the other, but what it corresponds with the first -- the people who were stranded at that European hospital. This is also near that European hospital. They were on their way to the hospital when they came under attack.
You can see the damage done to that very clearly margin un in vehicle. There was one U.N. staffer who was killed, another one who was injured there from the department of safety and security. The Jordanian foreign ministry says that the injured staffer is a Jordanian citizens.
They do blame Israel not necessarily for the actual killing, but they say its as a result of Israeli was expansion of its military operations in Rafah, which, of course, the U.S. is very, very concerned about because they huge number civilians down in Rafah. SCIUTTO: Jordanian foreign ministry commenting on this, too.
Alex Marquardt, thanks so much.
MARQUARDT: Thanks, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Back here in the U.S. Divesting from DEI. The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is now the latest higher educational institution to cut funding from its DEI program, citing the need for more money for public safety. Of course, this has been a hot-button political issue as well. A member of the board of trustees pointed to recent campus protests as part of the reason why $2.3 million will now go to safety measures.
In April, a chaotic scene unfolded as police broke up, a pro- Palestinian encampment there. There were 36 arrests. The board of governors will still need to give final approval for that decision.
Pro-Palestinian protesters are taking their message from college campuses now to the graduation stage. On Sunday, about 30 Duke University students walked out of the commencement ceremony as the comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, was being introduced. Seinfeld has supported Israel throughout this war against Hamas in Gaza.
Here's some of what he said in his address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY SEINFELD, COMEDIAN: I totally admire the ambitions of your generation to create a more just and inclusive society. I think it is also wonderful that you care so much about not hurting other people's feelings in the million and one ways we all do that, every second of every day. It's lovely to want to fix those things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: That was far from the only protest to hit college commencement ceremonies over the weekend.
CNN's Camila Bernal joins us now.
Camila, tell us what we saw, what kinds of demonstrations and protests.
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jen, definitely some disruptions and protests, but really not at the level that many were fearing. And we're anticipating what we saw starting here in Los Angeles, where people getting arrested at Pomona College allege graduation. This is actually a graduation that was moved 30 miles from Pomona College to an auditorium here in Los Angeles because where are these students were supposed to graduate, you now see tents. There is an encampment, essentially on the stage where they were supposed to graduate.
So because of safety concerns, they move the graduation to Los Angeles and then you all those protests and those arrest. Also here in California over the weekend, at UC-Berkeley, the dean of students actually had to stop speaking in the middle of commencement because you've heard the chanting and the protesters. And so, she actually told the students that she was willing to speak to them after the fact, but pleaded to allow them to continue the commencement ceremony. So these students walked out and commencement did continue.
You mentioned Duke. Of course, Jerry Seinfeld there and students also protested and left after he started speaking, but it is important to point out that some of those boos eventually turned into cheering and also important to point out that Jerry Seinfeld has previously supported can actually met with some of the supporter -- of the survivors of the October 7 attack.
You saw a similar situation at Virginia Commonwealth University and that was when the governor, Glenn Youngkin, began speaking. There were some students that also walked out. So, a lot of these walkouts after the chanting and the protest.
And then just harder stands at the University of Wisconsin in Madison because some of the students actually turn their backs on the chancellor. And so, it was actually police officers that escorted these students out.
So you did see a lot of these disruptions all over the country, but it is also important, important to point out that there were many other graduations that went on as planned that were calm or that had very, very small protests.
[15:45:01]
So, we are tracking all of this. But again, some disruptions, not maybe as much, as many had anticipated, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. I mean, we should note 30 students out of thousands who were participating in the graduation ceremony at Duke. Just one example there, but are you hearing a plans for any more organized demonstrations, commencement ceremonies to come?
BERNAL: Yeah. I think there's still a lot of anxiety because it specifically this week, we have Columbia, which, of course, has been the epicenter of this movement and the protests. You also have NYU and then you have George Washington University.
And then the other really big thing coming up is that the president is going to be the speaker at Morehouse University. And so, there is that concern of what's going to happen when the president gets on stage. So, again, there's a lot of anxiety leading up to all of these events. But what we saw over the last weekend, it was that it wasn't as big or as dramatic as many thought it was going to be. So well see what happens in the coming days, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Camila Bernal, thanks so much.
To New York now where actor Steve Buscemi is recovering after he was the latest victim of a random string of assaults in Manhattan. Police believe this is the man who walked up to Buscemi last week, punch him in the face. He has not yet been caught.
As for Buscemi, he was treated for injuries to his left eye, his publicist says he's okay and appreciates everyone's well wishes.
We can to add to those well-wishes here.
Coming up next, we're going to check in on Trump's hush money trial where it stands this as the prosecution star witness, Michael Cohen, continues to testify on the stand.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Michael Cohen's testimony continues on the stand in Trump's hush money trial.
Checking back in again with Jeff, Janet, Alayna Treene, Molly Ball.
Jeff, prosecution, they say direct examination of Cohen will continue into tomorrow. What more do they need to establish with him based on what we've heard so far today?
SWARTZ: Well, yeah, they're still finishing up with the process of what happened with Stormy Daniels in the aftermath of "The Wall Street Journal" article. We're already at almost 4:00. The rest of the direct examination is going to relate to Michael and his problems and the things that happened when he was charged, what he was charged for, why he pled guilty, the fact that he did time, all of those things are going to come out, probably even some questions about things that he said in his book which would probably be used for impeachment.
[15:50:08]
So they'll probably take up most of the morning. I figured some time just before the lunch break or afterwards, we're going to enter into cross-examination and then we all just sit back and enjoy the ride.
SCIUTTO: Right.
Cohen, Janet Jackson, admitted to lying for Trump during his testimony this morning. Prosecution didn't dive deeper, getting him to discuss other instances of lying here.
What more do they have to do to get ahead of that issue, which is certain to be a focus of the cross-examination by the defense?
JACKSON: Yeah, I agree with Jeff. I think they will go into every one of these incidents. Now, they don't have to belabor it because it will still be asked on cross. So I just want to take the sting out, but they all want to end on something that is not him being a liar.
So I suspect they also have some tax or something else. They're going to end on tomorrow. But they have to he goes through his convictions and why he lied. And are you lying now and all of the things that they know are going to come out on cross.
But regardless, it is still going to be asked on cross. They don't want to spend too much time on each and every one of his lies.
SCIUTTO: Molly Ball, Cohen keeps testifying about the concern inside the Trump camp. And by Trump himself, in the wake of the "Access Hollywood" tape. And this is central to the prosecutions case here, because we heard this from other witnesses, David Pecker, among them, that they were worried that in the wake of "Access Hollywood", that the Stormy Daniels story would kill him. And that's therefore central to the prosecutions argument here that this was a hush money payment to kill a story to influence the election there.
Tell us a significance of that in the broader allegation against Trump.
BALL: Well, as you say, you know, I think there's two crucial things that the prosecution needs Michael Cohen for here for all of the salaciousness around the payments and Stormy and all of that, this is about were business records falsified with Donald Trump's knowledge that's something that they really do rely on Cohen and his credibility for, because he's the one who can say that. And the paper trail only goes so far in getting you there.
And then why was this done? Was this to prevent embarrassment to him and his family or was this primarily about the election? And that's something that we've heard Cohen speak to multiple times today. And again, that's something that they really do need Cohen to make that point because it's not something that they can reasonably rely on the paper trail to prove.
So, for all of the corroboration that they've been able to find in the paper trail and to point to, they really are going to need the jury to believe Michael well call in on those two central points.
SCIUTTO: Court is off this Friday because Trump's attending his son's graduation, he's getting exception there. He is also campaigning in Minnesota on Friday. We should note.
But you've covered this campaign very closely. Trump has consistently complained because he's in this trial, he's not able to campaign to the degree that he would otherwise, but I think you've told me that in fact, its not that far off his scheduled in the past for campaign events.
TREENE: It's not. He also hasn't been using every opportunity to campaign. So far, we've only seen him hold three rallies since the trial started, only two days of campaigning apart from that. He's done a lot of fundraisers. He has more fundraisers on Wednesday once this upcoming Wednesday, we know Wednesday is one of the days that he's not required to be in court.
But he's not going to be holding any rallies. He's going to be attending fundraisers in Kentucky and Texas. And so, it's interesting, I think a lot of it is, of course, a messaging strategy and its also when I think is resounding with his voters, I was at his rally in Wildwood New Jersey this week and another eyebrow-raising thing given where you have one day off of court, why are you going to New Jersey, which is not a critical -- SCIUTTO: Right, which would be a long shot, yeah.
TREENE: Not a critical battleground. But when I spoke to his supporters, there, they echoed that.
They said they're keeping him off the campaign trail. They really repeated everything Donald Trump is saying. So that's where I think a lot of this comes in from. But, of course, he's going to try to use that to his benefit and say look at what the judge is doing. I can campaign even though when he does has the opportunity to campaign, he's not necessarily taking it.
SCIUTTO: Well, sometimes, sometimes the facts matter, sometimes they don't. We've learned that.
Alayna Treene, Molly Ball, Janet Jackson, Jeff Swartz, thanks so much to all of you, as we continue to keep tabs on the trial there.
Please do stay with us. We're going to be following it all week long. Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington.
"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
