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Prosecution Rests Its Case In Hunter Biden Gun Trial; Soon: Zelenskyy Holds Joint Press Conference With French President; Israeli Military Defends Bombing Of U.N. Scholl In Central Gaza. Aired 11:30a- 12p ET

Aired June 07, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now. In Delaware, prosecutors have rested their case in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial. The jury could soon hear from more key members of the Biden family.

It's the defense's turn to call witnesses. And the defense has indicated they plan to call on Hunter Biden's daughter Naomi Biden as they look to counter yesterday's testimony from Hallie Biden. She's Hunter Biden's sister-in-law turned girlfriend.

She detailed their past relationship and how he introduced her to crack cocaine and how she disposed of the gun at the center of this case back in 2018. Meanwhile, President Biden told ABC News he will respect the jury's verdict in his son's trial. Listen.

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DAVID MUIR, ANCHOR, ABC NEWS: Let me ask you. Will you accept the jury's outcome, their verdict, no matter what it is?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes.

MUIR: And have you ruled out a pardon for your son?

BIDEN: Yes.

MUIR: You have?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez is outside the court for us. And CNN legal analyst, and former U.S. Attorney Michael Moore is joining us as well. Evan, what's the latest that we're hearing from inside the courtroom?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the defense -- the prosecution has rested after 10 witnesses, four and a half days of testimony. Really, you know, a lot has been said. A lot of testimony has been heard by this jury over the last four and a half days. Really, not very much. I mean, there is not much in dispute in this case.

The fact that Hunter Biden bought a gun on October 12, 2018. That's not in dispute. The fact that he was struggling with drug abuse -- drug addiction during that period is also not in dispute.

What really has come down to is whether you know the defense and their case, which is just now getting started, and whether they can focus the jury on the fact that the prosecution has not provided any evidence that Hunter Biden used or was using drugs in October. Around the time -- exactly around the time when the gun was bought. Again, October 12.

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And October 23 when Hallie Biden testified that she found a gun in his truck. Panicked. Tried to make sure that her kids couldn't find it.

Disposed of it in front of a supermarket garbage can. And then, you know, that's where we are. But -- that's why this case exists.

So, we expect that, in addition to Naomi Biden, who we just saw arrive here at the federal courthouse, Hunter Biden's daughter, we also might hear from Jimmy Biden, the president's brother, who helped pay for some of his drug rehabs. And so, that the case that's going to be brought by the -- by the prosecution. They're going to take this case into next week before the jury finally makes a decision. Wolf.

BLITZER: Interesting. Evan, stand by. Michael, the jury seemed to follow Hallie Biden's testimony very intently, based on all of our reporters who were inside the courtroom. How much of an impact do you think her testimony had on the jury?

MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. I'm glad to be with you, Wolf. This -- I think it was significant. You know, you've got a situation here where the witnesses both for the state and now for the defense -- for the government, the defense, are people of character.

They are people who are respected in the area. They're -- certainly, the Biden name is no secret there in that area. And so, to have Hallie Biden come in and talk and sort of lay out what she saw, what she did, what she was exposed to, what she participated in, in some respects, you know, these are -- this is -- this is significant.

And it was a bad day for the defense to hear that, and a good day for the government, you know. And so now, you know the question will be in -- the problem for Biden, I think, is that he -- about everybody that he's around it seemed at the time that he was in some type of relationship with, he was either exposing or using drugs with. And that's a problem for him because the crime does not center on whether or not he just happened to have a crack pipe in his hand at the time that he checked the form when he bought the gun.

But they're telling -- painting a bigger picture of the troubles he was dealing with, what his life was like, and she filled in -- Hallie Biden that is filled in a big part of that story yesterday. BLITZER: Yes. Evan, you've been inside that courtroom every day. What's it like during the course of that really explicit testimony that we're hearing?

PEREZ: Well, Wolf, you can see the jurors really sit up in their seats taking notes. There are times when -- again, over four and a half days, there's been just an overwhelming amount of testimony from the prosecution. You can see sometimes the jurors are falling asleep.

But during the testimony of Hallie Biden, during the times that the prosecutors have played Hunter's own voice from his audiobook, more than an hour of it, you could see them paying very, very close attention. And you can see also that his family members, in some cases, are very upset about what they're seeing.

In some cases, you know, Jill Biden, the first -- the first lady, just avoids looking up at the screen when pictures of her son are shown where he is passed out with a crack pipe in the background. This is very tough stuff for the family to hear. And that's what we expect to continue next week.

BLITZER: Evan Perez and Michael Moore, to both of you, thank you very, very much.

Still ahead. A D-Day veteran tells Volodymyr Zelenskyy, "You are the savior of the people." And now, the Ukrainian president takes the world stage in a renewed plea for weapons and strong alliances. We'll be right back.

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BLITZER: Russia's war in Ukraine is looming large over the D-Day commemorations in Europe. And Volodymyr Zelenskyy is making sure world leaders remember. The Ukrainian president addressed France's parliament this morning, telling lawmakers that Europe is no longer at peace.

He also accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of crossing red -- a red line after a red line, just like Hitler did. And later in Paris, Zelenskyy sat down with President Biden, who announced a new aid package for Ukraine. And also did something that world leaders rarely do.

He publicly apologized, blaming what he called some conservatives in Congress for the delay in providing military assistance to Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader thanked President Biden and stressed the importance of continued U.S. support. Listen.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: And our meeting here is very symbolic. It's very important that you stay with us. This bipartisan support with the Congress.

It's very important that in this unit, the United States of America -- all American people stay with Ukraine like it was during World War II, how the United States helped to save human lives, to save Europe.

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BLITZER: Let's bring in CNN's Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen. Fred, you've spent a lot of time in Ukraine covering this war. What do we know about the new aid package that President Biden just announced that will be going forward to Ukraine?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the sixth aid package President Biden says, since the aid has been flowing again from the United States, there are certainly some pretty interesting and important things in there for the Ukrainians, Wolf.

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One of the things that the Ukrainians have been talking about and Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said in that very short segment that we saw there with President Biden earlier today, is the need for more air defense. And one of the things that's in that aid package is more interceptors for the air defenses. This, of course, Wolf, very important for the Ukrainians, not just to keep their city safe as they say from Russian missile attacks, but also right now on the front lines, where the Russians have been much more capable at using their air force to drop aerial bombs on the frontline positions where the Ukrainians are at.

They say they need more air defense capabilities. And, of course, also more air defense missiles to try and keep those Russian jets away. The other thing that's also a huge ticket item for the Ukrainians is artillery pieces were in there, but then also ammunition for artillery.

And that, of course, you know we've been talking about it so much. Has been a huge deal for the Ukrainians. They had what they called their artillery starvation when that U.S. aid wasn't flowing.

Now, of course, there's a backlog of the artillery ammo that the Ukrainians need. And again, on this new aid package, there are some more artillery shells also coming Ukraine's way. They are, of course, burning through a lot.

As the Russians firing at them, the Ukrainians trying to retaliate, trying to hold up those Russian advances. And then also armored vehicles, part of it as well, so important on the battlefield right now as the strikes by the Russians get heavier and heavier, Wolf.

BLITZER: As you know, Fred, Russian President Putin was not invited to these -- the current D-Day events due to the war in Ukraine. In the past, Russia, which was the So -- then the Soviet Union, a key ally of the U.S. and the other allied coalition during World War II in the fight against Nazi Germany. But the Russian president today still made his voice heard. Tell our viewers what he said.

PLEITGEN: Yes, he certainly did. It was at the St Petersburg Economic Forum, which is extremely important for Russia, extremely important for Vladimir Putin. He gave his keynote speech there. He's actually still on a panel debating right now. And there were two things that he was quite bullish on, actually. One of them was the Russian economy, which, of course, is one of the most sanctioned in the world.

He said that economy is still going strong. Of course, the data seems to show that as well. One of the things that the Russians have been saying is they believe a country of Russia size simply cannot be isolated on the international stage.

Of course, one of the things that the U.S., Wolf, has been so concerned about is China apparently giving assistance to the Russians. Not necessarily as far as weapons are concerned, but certainly for components that can be used to manufacture weapons. Those are something that the U.S. has been talking about a lot.

The Russians essentially talking about a new world economic order, as they put it. But then also, as far as the battlefield is concerned, Wolf, Vladimir Putin is still extremely bullish as well, saying right now the Russians don't need mobilization. At the same time, also saying that the Russians are advancing, Wolf.

BLITZER: Fred Pleitgen reporting for us from Berlin. Fred, thank you very much.

Coming up. How Israel is now responding to the international backlash after the IDF's deadly strike on a U.N. school earlier this week. Stay with us. You're on the CNN NEWSROOM.

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BLITZER: Israel today is defending its deadly bombing of a U.N. school in central Gaza. 14 children were reportedly killed. The Israeli military says it was "A precise intelligence-based strike that targeted Hamas militants." CNN's Paula Hancocks is joining us live from Jerusalem right now. Update our viewers, Paula. What do we know?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we know that the White House is speaking to Israel. Saying that they want more details about what had happened. Saying that Israel has the right to fight against Hamas, but the way it does so matters now.

There has been condemnation from the U.N. Secretary-General and others. We know that when it comes to these UNWRA buildings, at least 180 have been targeted since October 7

We also know that another U.N.-linked school has been hit by an Israeli air strike. This one further north in Al-Shati camp. Three killed there. Dozens injured according to the IDF. They say there was a container that they were targeting that had Hamas militants operating out of it.

We are hearing from those on the ground in Central Gaza that the intensity and the frequency of these Israeli strikes make it feel at this point as though it is the beginning of the war. Again, saying just how intense the attacks have been over the past week. Wolf?

BLITZER: Paula Hancocks reporting for us from Jerusalem. Paula, thank you very much.

And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining me here on the CNN NEWSROOM. I'll be back at 5:00 p.m. Eastern later today for a special two-hour "SITUATION ROOM." Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS "with Dana Bash starts right after a short break.

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SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr Sanjay Gupta, host of CNN's "CHASING LIFE" podcast.

Family mealtimes. It is a sacred time in our home. It's a chance to talk and to reconnect, especially during busy times. And research shows that eating together benefits family members of all ages, but it particularly helps children's mental and physical development.

Now, frequent family meals are associated with higher self-esteem, resilience, and academic performance. And also, lower rates of depression, obesity, and high-risk behaviors. But here's the issue.

The American College of Pediatrics reports that family mealtimes have actually declined by more than 30 percent over the last three decades. Probably due to the distractions of our daily lives. So, here are some tips on making family mealtimes a reality.

First, get everyone invested in a shared experience. Engage kids and loved ones in picking the menu and maybe even cooking together.

Second of all, meal prep. Weeknights can be chaotic. Preparing a meal in advance to serve quickly. That's a great life hack.

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And finally, remember this is all flexible. There's no shame in having conflicting schedules. Sharing breakfast or weekend meals that can be just as valuable as a school night dinner.

It's all about coming together. And you can hear more about how to optimize your health and chase life wherever you get your podcasts.

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