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Trump's Attorneys Trying to Block Release of Special Counsel Jack Smith's Final Report; Donald Trump Jr. Arrives in Greenland for Private Visit; JetBlue Says, Two Bodies Found in Wheel Well of Plane. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired January 07, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: With Donald Trump just days away from his inauguration, his son, Don Jr., lands in Greenland, as the incoming president continues to suggest he wants to buy it.

This as his aides are trying to block the release of the special counsel's report on two big Trump investigations. Trump's former fixer, Michael Cohen, he will join me live in just a few moments.

Plus, breaking overnight, a grisly discovery on a JetBlue flight, two bodies found in the landing gear.

And later, the Musk factor, foreign leaders accusing the world's richest person of meddling in their domestic politics and spreading disinformation.

Good morning. You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We will get to Donald Trump Jr.'s trip to Greenland in just a moment, but we begin with Donald Trump's new legal fight just a day after Congress officially certified his election win. Trump's lawyers have reviewed a draft of the special counsel's final report on two federal investigations into the president-elect. They're now trying to block the report's release and threatening legal action if it's made public.

CNN Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid joins me now. Paula, tell us more about this report. When it could be released, why do they want to block it?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So, we expected that this would be released on Friday, but what has happened here is that Trump's lawyers are saying no, not so fast. Because look, the special counsel, he is required by regulation to release this report detailing his investigative decisions. This is the same thing we saw with Robert Mueller. It's the same thing we saw with Robert Hur, who investigated President Biden. And it's up to the attorney general once he or she receives the report, whether they make it public. And it was expected that Garland, like he has with other special counsel reports, would make this one public. But now Trump's co-defendants are trying to block the release of this report, because, over the summer, some people may remember that the Trump appointed judge, Aileen Cannon, ruled that Smith's appointment was improper, illegitimate. Now, that, of course, was appealed, but it was never resolved because Trump was reelected. His case was dismissed. That question is just hanging out there.

Now, as you noted, his lawyers were able to review the report. Of course, they weren't happy with it. They're calling it a one-sided narrative. Of course, it's a one-sided narrative. It's the prosecutor's report. But they are asking for an emergency hearing on this request. And we expect later today, the special counsel is going to weigh in. They're likely going to emphasize the attorney general's power over this report. But there is a legitimate legal question here, Jim, and it's one that has never been contemplated in the history of the United States, and that is when a special counsel is deemed ineligible by a judge. And that is appealed but never resolved because the defendant is elected president.

What happens? Can you release his report? No one knows, Jim. So, this is a question that could be litigated, but in terms of the time it takes to answer this, they don't have much time. They have about a week-and-a-half. And it's possible that we could play out the clock here. Trump becomes president and that report is not officially released. So, we're watching this very closely.

ACOSTA: Yes, so if his team takes over the Justice Department, that release has not occurred. They could just say, we're not releasing the report and that's it, it's done.

REID: I mean, they've made it pretty clear that anything related to Jack Smith is going to be tossed. There are still the two cases with the defendant, the co-defendants. But I think there's a lot of pressure on Merrick Garland because he has been widely criticized for not moving quickly enough on the Trump cases. What is he going to do here? Well, this is now appears to likely be in the hands of a court, a court that has jurisdiction over the attorney general over a case that he is seeing right now, overseeing. So, it's not like he can just decide to go at this on his own, or maybe he does. Maybe that's the last chapter of Merrick Garland. He goes rogue, but I highly doubt it.

ACOSTA: Historians are going to spend a lot of time chewing over whether he was too judicious, took too much time with all of this. We'll, of course, continue to follow up.

Paula Reid, thank you so much.

One of the most notorious January 6th defendants is asking Trump for a pardon. Former Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced 22 years in prison. His lawyer has written a letter to the president-elect saying his client is nothing more than a, quote, proud American who believes in conservative values.

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But take a listen to what Tarrio said on video just days before the January 6th insurrection.

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ENRIQUE TARRIO, FORMER PROUD BOYS CHAIRMAN: There's ways that you can enact change. You can get armed and go to the Capitol.

As crazy as that sounds like, yes, I think that's the way that you make the biggest noise.

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ACOSTA: Trump has repeatedly pledged to pardon the rioters and attackers on day one of his second term, but it's still unclear who would receive them.

And more trouble we should know for Rudy Giuliani, a federal judge is holding him in contempt for not giving information to the two former Georgia election workers he defamed in 2020. Giuliani was ordered to play Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss nearly $150 million. So far, he's turned over luxury watches, furniture and baseball memorabilia, but he's still holding back details about other assets. Giuliani claims he is cooperating.

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RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: I've already been deposed for hours on this case. I've given him and them hundreds and hundreds of pages of discovery. It's literally this high, but they want more. And they won't be held in contempt because I haven't given them enough.

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ACOSTA: Giuliani is set to go to trial later this month over whether he could keep his $3.5 million condo in Palm Beach, Florida.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr., as we just said a few moments ago, just arrived in Greenland. Take a look at this. He posted this video from inside the cockpit as the plane approached the island. President-elect Trump has been floating the idea of the U.S. acquiring Greenland, which is a Danish territory. Greenland says their island is not for sale.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us now. Fred, what are officials in Denmark and Greenland saying about this visit?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, they've been saying for the last couple of years, ever since the first Trump administration, that Greenland is not for sale, and they continue to say that as well.

It's quite interesting to see that video of what they call Trump Force 1 descending there into new Greenland, which would appear to be a Trump action figure in the cockpit, on the cockpit dashboard there. We do have some sound actually now from Don. Jr. after he landed in Greenland. He, of course, claims that all of this is just a private visit, despite some of the talk from his father. Let's listen in. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP JR., PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SON: We're a little pressed for time because we only have a couple hours of daylight, so we got to see everything, but we're really excited to be here. Thank you guys so much.

Here is tourists seeing it looks like an incredible place. We've been talking about going for a while. I was actually supposed to be here last spring, some of the stuff I do in my free time, but just really excited to be here, awesome country. The scenery coming in was just spectacular. So, I'm very excited to be here. Thank you.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)?

TRUMP JR.: He says, hello. We were talking to him yesterday. So, he says hello to everyone in Greenland.

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PLEITGEN: Now, he was asked afterwards, after that took place, whether his father still wants to buy Greenland. He refused to answer that question. He simply sort of went on and left the terminal building there. But, of course, we have heard on social media posts from the president-elect that he believes that having Greenland become part of the United States is, as he puts it, a necessity for the U.S. He also says he believes, or he has heard, that Greenlanders are MAGA, as he put it.

And, again, Jim, this is something that really stems from the first Trump administration, when at that point in time, he believed that acquiring Greenland was nothing more than a large real estate deal. Of course, both Greenland and Denmark see that very differently. Both of them have said that the island simply is not for sale, despite the fact that, of course, it isn't a very strategic location. We do have to point out the U.S. does have substantial military assets on Greenland, like the Thule Air Base, but also a missile defense radar as well.

Another thing that's very concerning for the U.S. is that the Chinese have also tried to get in on Greenland as well. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right. Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much.

Let's discuss all of this now with President-elect Trump's former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen. He's also the host of the Mea Culpa podcast and YouTube channel, The Michael Cohen Show. Michael, good to see you again. Thanks for coming on. I really appreciate it. There's a lot to talk about.

MICHAEL COHEN, DONALD TRUMP'S FORMER ATTORNEY: Good to see you, Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes, we were covering some of this at the top of the program, but let's talk about Greenland. Trump has repeatedly suggested the U.S. should buy the Danish territory. Have you ever heard him talking about doing something like this? Has this come up in the past? What's with this fixation on Greenland and Canada and the Panama Canal and so on?

COHEN: Yes, let's also not forget that Mexico is not out of play as well. Basically, you won't need walls anymore. You'll have the shoreline. Greenland is a little bit different. Yes, it's a strategic location, but we have strategic locations in other parts of the world as well, like we have an air force base in Qatar. Does that mean we're going to take over an annex Qatar? The answer is no. We have talked about things like this, but this is something again that's new.

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You know, I want to sort of bring up a point, which is correlated to this, which is we as Democrats have to start living in reality, all right? Following Don Jr. to Greenland, talking about the Panama Canal, talking about annexing Canada and making it the 51st state and whoever the prime minister will be, will be the governor.

Remember that on January 20th, a lot of people get angry at me because during the campaign, you say certain things which are vitriolic because you want your candidate to win. But here's the reality. The reality is that on January 20th of 2025, Donald Trump is going to be placing his hand on the Trumpy Bible, and he will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. Not only do they now have the White House, but they have the Congress, they have the Senate, they have the House.

So, a lot of the things that you hear coming out of Trump, expect that they're going to happen. And when we start listening to Democrats turning around and saying, this is never going to happen, we're not going to allow it to happen, I want people to remember that the plurality of Americans, that the majority of Americans voted for Donald Trump, and if this is part of his agenda, he will try to get it through.

ACOSTA: You take it seriously, Michael.

COHEN: Yes. But, yes, I'm saying that, exactly, we need to. But where we really need to get serious is going back to grassroots. And we need to start getting the citizens so that we can talk about changing things in 2026. But expect what Donald is saying to become a reality.

ACOSTA: And then because, Michael, one of the things that you've heard from his aides is that, you know, when he is talking about Greenland and Canada and the Panama Canal, he is just trying to get some leverage over some of these leaders, and this is all strategic and so on. Do you take that seriously or do you take what he is saying seriously that he would like these places to be part of the United States? And, I mean, you know, what are the consequences of that? You know, I can think of several.

COHEN: Well, let me be clear about something. This isn't the only country that's actually doing things like this. We see Putin now invading Ukraine. And then the conversation is that after Ukraine, he intends to go into Poland. We see China intending on taking Taiwan. So, why not? If they're going to annex additional property and we'll call it a real estate transaction, well, why should Donald not do the same thing?

ACOSTA: Yes. I want to ask you about Special Counsel Jack Smith's final report on these cases against Trump. Trump's lawyers wrote to Merrick Garland yesterday urging him not to release it. They argue that doing so would interfere with presidential transition and so on. What are your thoughts on all this? I mean, we brought this up with Paula Reid. Did Merrick Garland just simply take too long with all of this?

COHEN: Yes, not only did Merrick Garland take too long, and I've been critical of Merrick Garland for a very long time. It's too bad he didn't become a Supreme Court judge because that's where he belongs, where they can spend four, five, six months coming up with a decision.

These cases needed to move expeditiously. Not only did this case not move expeditiously, neither did the Alvin Bragg case. They waited, as Mark Pomerantz put it, over a year too long. So, all of these issues now that are going on with sentencing and with the criminal conviction, I hate to say it, and people will get angry at me, I was very clear when I spoke to Vanity Fair. I believe that they should toss the case. There is no repercussion that is going to take place to Donald Trump on that case.

As far as what Paula Reid said, I agree with her completely. Merrick Garland waited too long to bring in Jack Smith, plain and simple. He is going to -- meaning Donald Trump is going to shut that down. This case will never see accountability for whether he did or he didn't.

Now, where she's also correct is that this case with Jack Smith has not been decided yet. So, to release a report that has not been validated, that Jack Smith, as the special counsel, has not been validated, I think, goes against process. And we have to start expecting, process needs to be first, whether you like Donald Trump or you don't.

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Michael, I mean, I do want to ask if you throw out, if you dismiss, the Alvin Bragg case, doesn't that allow Trump to escape accountability? Okay, yes, you know, the judge in that case has said he's not going to go to jail and so on. He's not going to put him in jail before he's sworn in as president. But should that felony conviction be erased? Should the jury's work be thrown out?

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COHEN: And what does it really mean at the end of the day? Judge Merchan declared it an unconditional dismissal. Meaning, as what you just said, there will be no probation, there will be no incarceration. So, you sort of committed a crime. 12 jurors, independent jurors made that determination, but there is no accountability, there's no repercussion. So, if it makes people feel good to be able to say, oh, he's the felon president, why does that make you feel good?

We got to go back to the reality, which is banks for felons. Usually, you lose your bank accounts. You lose your credit cards. You can't do any business. You know, no bank will give you loans. None of this is taking place with Trump. So, what's the point? That's the only part I'm trying to say. If there's no accountability, what's the point?

ACOSTA: And I guess, Michael, I mean, folks might be listening to this and say, well, what's going on with Michael Cohen? Why does he want to let Trump off the hook? What do you say to that?

COHEN: I don't. I don't. I don't, and this is not about bending the knee. This is about living in reality. Donald Trump is going to be the president. He defied all odds. He turned around and he got the nomination. Not only did he get the nomination, he won the general election. So, he's not the same as you and I. I went to prison for, in part, many of the things that Donald Trump was found guilty on those 34 counts. Why does the justice system treat me differently? Because he's president of the United States, or at this moment, president- elect. It's a different system.

ACOSTA: But doesn't that raise the question? And I did want to ask you this. What would be your advice to the people who are going into this new administration to work for Donald Trump? What should they be on the lookout for? Should they be concerned that they may end up like you?

COHEN: Well, I think that they should be. In fact, just take a look at Rudy Giuliani, who you were talking about a moment ago. You know, as you know, the old mythological character, Icarus, right, you fly too close to the sun. Unfortunately, those wax wings fall and you fall down to Earth and you get splatted. It's exactly what happened to me. It's what happened to so many people that were in the orbit.

Again, my only call is to the Democrats to start to wake up and understand that Trump is a better messenger than we are. We need to change the message. We need to start speaking to the citizens of this country for 2026 if we want to ensure a democratic republic doesn't get hurt.

Now, mind you. That also brings to the question, there's an additional point that has to be brought up here, which is we don't know yet what they will try to do or not to do. And as a result of that, we should all just take a deep breath and wait. And if in fact --

ACOSTA: You were -- I mean, I talked to the DNC and you were worried --

COHEN: Yes.

ACOSTA: But, Michael, I talked to you at the DNC and you were worried at that time that Donald Trump is elected, there will not be another election You were worried about that,

COHEN: And I still remain concerned about that. However, at this point in time, we do need to wait to see what moves that they make, especially considering he has set up an administration that is 100 percent loyal to him and him alone. Not the Constitution, not America, but to Donald J. Trump.

ACOSTA: And when you hear about Kash Patel, somebody like that being named FBI director, what goes through your mind? COHEN: Like I said, you know, I want to wait to see what they decide to do. But based upon Kash Patel's book in his comments, I think we all have something to be concerned about.

ACOSTA: All right. Michael Cohen, good to talk to you. Thanks so much.

COHEN: Great to see you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. I always appreciate it.

We are following breaking news and maintenance crew in Florida just found two in the wheel well of a JetBlue plane. CNN's Carlos Suarez is gathering new details from the airport in Fort Lauderdale. Carlos?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, the bodies were taken by the Broward County medical examiner. And at this hour, the Broward Sheriff's Office is trying to figure out just how the victims were able to access the aircraft in the first place. The stowaway incident is the latest to face an American airline. We've got the details coming up.

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ACOSTA: Breaking news, a shocking discovery on a JetBlue plane. Two bodies were found in the wheel well.

CNN's Carlos Suarez is in Fort Lauderdale where the plane landed. Carlos, what else do we know?

SUAREZ: Jim, good morning. So, the Broward County medical examiner has taken the bodies for identification. And at this hour, the Broward County Sheriff's Office is investigating this entire incident.

This JetBlue flight landed here at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport from New York City a little after 11:00 night. Now, the airline says that after the plane landed during a post-flight maintenance inspection of the aircraft, two bodies were found in the wheel well of this aircraft.

Now, the exact details surrounding just how the victims were able to access the aircraft remain unclear.

Here now is a call between a Broward County dispatcher and some other agencies here in South Florida in the moments right after the bodies were found.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A gate technician in the landing gear area noticed two males who appear to be Signal 7, advised they are not moving in the landing gear area.

The caller is refusing to go near patients to do CPR. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: All right. So, it is important to note that the medical examiner's office here has not said whether the bodies that were found were, in fact, males.

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Jim, this is just the latest incident involving a stowaway and a U.S. Airline. Back in November, an unticketed passenger was able to fly from New York City to Paris. And then a month later in December, there was a stowaway that was caught on a flight out of Seattle. And then also there was a body that was found on a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Maui. Again, Jim, the investigation well underway out here, the airline still trying to sort the details out here, trying to figure out exactly just how these victims were able to access the plane to begin with. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right, Carlos Suarez, thanks for that update. We appreciate it.

Still ahead, the celebration of Jimmy Carter's long life, heads to the nation's capital today as the 39th president makes a final trip to Washington.

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