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Trump Expected to Arrive in New York City Today and Surrender Tomorrow; At Least 32 People Dead After 50-Plus Tornadoes Rip Through Seven States; Oil Prices Surge as OPEC Plus Set to Cut Production by 1 Million-Plus Barrels a Day. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 03, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: UConn are conquerors, winning by an average of 20 points per game this tournament led by one of the most fiery leaders you'll meet, Coach Dan Hurley.

[07:00:10]

I caught up with both coaches in the locker room yesterday, and I found out that both are superstitious. Coach Hurley has no shame over his lucky fire breathing dragon under roost, and he says he's not changing anything now. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN HURLEY, UCONN HUSKIES HEAD COACH: I would be a complete idiot if at this point, I mean -- and I don't know if you know this, but it's been the same suit, it's been the same dress shirt. My guy, Chris Mastrangelo, has hit the dry cleaner, you know? So, it's the same socks. Obviously, the dragons have gotten the most attention.

WIRE: The same shoes. How long you've been wearing them?

BRIAN DUTCHER, SAN DIEGO AZTECS HEAD COACH: They've been through two Gatorade basks, two cutting down of nets, three cutting down the nets, you know, regular season title, conference tournament title south regional title, same shoes. And they're wet, but I'm still wearing them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Both coaches are so fun, so motivational. It's easy to see why their players love them. March Madness has turned into Amazing April, can't wait to see this place rocking tonight.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Amazing April, I love it.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I mean, with all of the unpredictability and all the upsets, I can't blame them for wearing the same shoes, same socks, same shirt. Coy Wire, I know, hopefully, you'll be changing your outfit. We'll see what happens tonight. Thank you.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Coy.

COLLINS: And CNN This Morning continues right now. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump heads to New York to prepare for a moment we've never seen before in U.S. history.

JOE TACOPINA, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We will take the indictment, we will dissect it. The team will look at every potential issue that we will be able to challenge and we will challenge them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a huge security concern and a huge security effort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No matter what your status is, in the United States of America, you're not above the law. No person should be targeted by the law either.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least 32 are dead after a series of tornadoes hammered the south and Midwest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many of three tornadoes is winds of 136 to 165 miles per hour.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The warnings that came from meteorologists certainly save lives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My family couldn't get in contact with me. The cell towers were down. Everybody was scared. My sister thought I was dead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator John Fetterman is opening up about his battle with clinical depression.

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): I stopped engaging some of the most things that I love in my life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need more leaders that are willing to speak honestly about the challenges that they're facing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Russia to immediately release not just Evan Gershkovich but also Paul Wheelan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last time the Kremlin held a U.S. journalist on spy charges was during the cold war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And also an explosion in a cafe in downtown St. Petersburg, Russia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This explosion killed one of Russia's most prominent, pro-war military bloggers Vladlen Tatarski.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Call a jump shot, good, good, good, good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been an incredible final fours and it is living up to all of the hype.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: LSU has captured its very first national championship.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so happy for everybody back home in Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Wow, an amazing win. And here we are, though, at this very historic moment in U.S. history. Just hours from now, the former president, Donald Trump, set to return to New York City as he prepares to turn himself in tomorrow to face criminal charges.

Live look right there, the plane, Trump plane in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump says that he is planning to leave around noon and then arrive here in New York City around 3:00 this afternoon.

Sources telling CNN that Trump was surprisingly calm over the weekend despite the initial shock of the indictment. We're told that he played golf and he chatted about how he could use the criminal charges to boost his presidential campaign.

Secret Service has been helping to coordinate security at the courthouse in Manhattan. Sources tell CNN it isn't certain if Trump will have his mug shot taken because his appearance is widely known, and there is concerned it might leak. We're not expecting Trump to be handcuffed because he'll be surrounded by federal agents.

COLLINS: So, as we wait to see what that actually looks like in real- time, I want to bring in CNN's Senior Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid and our Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller here. Good morning to both of you.

John, you know, I was watching Trump's attorney yesterday on the Sunday shows. They still seem to not know exactly what tomorrow is going to look like. They said a lot of that still remains -- it's up in the air, basically.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, I think they've laid out the choreography of tomorrow. The big thing for them tomorrow is it will be their first detailed look when the indictment is unsealed at exactly what the district attorney is alleging and exactly what the district attorney is saying he has.

[07:05:02]

COLLINS: Yes.

LEMON: They said they don't know because, again, it is unsealed. They don't know what the charges are, right?

I want to play something, Paula. This is Donald Trump's attorney, Joe Tacopina, what he said on CNN's State of the Union yesterday. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TACOPINA: We will take the indictment. We will dissect it. The team will look at every potential issue that we will be able to challenge him, we will challenge it. Of course, I very much anticipate emotion to dismiss coming because there's no law that fits this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Motion to dismiss and other challenges.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting about that is Joe, like the rest of us, has not actually seeing the indictment. So, it's expected that they will file a motion to dismiss. That's not surprising at all but they have to see the case first to decide and how exactly they're going to, quote/unquote, attack this.

Look, if this is based on any kind of novel legal theory. You can absolutely expect legal challenges there. There are other moves that they might have to make to preserve their eventual opportunities for appeal. Like, for example, Joe, I believe, has said that they're not even thinking about a change in venue right now, but they may need to actually file a motion just to preserve their options later on.

So, until they actually see the charges, he can't really plot a course of attack, but he's clear he's going to attack it.

HARLOW: Walk us through, John, what we're going to see tomorrow. We talked last week about the security perhaps here in New York City, because they don't know, no one knows, I suppose, other than Trump, maybe his team, what he's going to do, if he's going to stop, if he's going to talk when he arrives in New York tonight, he's going to do that tomorrow outside the courthouse. How do you get the tens of thousands of officers ready for the unknown?

MILLER: So, here's what we know. He will arrive sometime today. Late in the day, he will go to Trump Tower. They will put in a very well- worn and experienced Trump tower security plan for his stay there overnight, and in the morning, he'll go to the courthouse.

That's where he's going to come into the district attorney's office, be taken into custody with his Secret Service detail in tow. He will be booked, so he'll be fingerprinted. He'll get a nice number, which is the New York State tracker that shows you've been arrested and charged with a felony.

He will be taken through a back route internally through the building to the courtroom where a judge will be ready to arraign him. And at that time, as Paula would agree, they will enter a plea of not guilty, reserve all rights to challenge it on all levels.

But here for the first time that the details of that indictment because they'll be handed that piece of paper when it's unsealed. Typically, in a case like this, they say, does the -- it's a legal requirement. Does the defendant waive the reading of the indictment in court? I'm assuming with as many counts as there is, that's a lengthy document. Everybody usually waives it, especially because they have it already. And then he will leave the way he came, go straight to the airport, straight back to Mar-a-Lago. But that's the opening of the next chapter, which is when does he fire back and how, how does he fight this, and as you just intimated, how does he use this?

COLLINS: Yes. And he's already fighting back and he's already trashing the judge, which he's going to appear before tomorrow, which is remarkable in and of itself.

MILLER: Of course, salesmanship, at least.

COLLINS: But not surprising for Trump. I mean, he often does.

I was struck by what Lanny Davis, Michael Cohen's attorney, said yesterday to Dana Bash, which is that they believe the payment to Karen McDougal, who also says that she had an affair with Trump, may be part of this case.

REID: Well, it's certainly possible. Based on our reporting, we know that investigators have asked about that $150,000 hush money payment to Karen McDougal. What we don't know, though, is whether those questions were to establish a pattern of other hush money payments or if they're looking specifically at other crimes that could have been committed in the context of that specific payment.

So, I see where Lanny could get that, but our reporting is not clear that that's definitely something that's under criminal investigation.

LEMON: Just quickly, where are we on cameras in the courtroom?

REID: I'm so glad you asked, Don. We don't know yet right now until 1:00 P.M. The district attorney or Trump lawyers, they can file any objections to the judge that they have for potentially having cameras in the courtroom. CNN is one of the media organizations that is pushing for this, arguing that there is no more important public interest in the arraignment of a former president of the United States. But this judge does not tend to be in favor of cameras.

LEMON: They may want to cut down on the circus, so we don't know.

REID: We do. We're just asking for one or two cameras, one or two audio devices. It's not much, Don. It's a small request.

MILLER: I actually argue that having cameras in the courtroom does cut down on the circus. A, it means far fewer reporters have to be there because you can watch it on the feed and report it the same way. More importantly, though, there's a process in the courtroom as opposed to the scrum on the courtroom steps or whatever happens later at Mar-a-Lago. And it's a civics lesson for the public to watch that process where the judges in control and not the circus, which is usually outside.

COLLINS: Really good point.

LEMON: Good point.

HARLOW: Paula, thank you, great reporting, John, you as well, thanks very, very much.

This morning, parts of the south and the Midwest are bracing for another round of severe storms.

[07:10:01]

Those are some of the same areas were more than 50 tornadoes were reported Friday. The death toll from this storm has now risen to 32 people. In Arkansas alone, at least five people have died. In Little Rock, employees and customers at a restaurant, they were forced to hunker down in the kitchen as the storm and the tornado just tore through.

Joining us now is a managing partner of that restaurant, Stephanie Caruthers. Stephanie, thank you for being here.

Terrifying, right, but it doesn't begin to describe what you guys went through. Did you know that your -- go ahead.

STEPHANIE CARUTHERS, HELPED RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS SEEK SAFETY DURING TORNADO: It really was. It really was really scary for a while, yes.

HARLOW: One of the things we talked about a lot, is it often just you have almost no warning or very little warning, especially when these hit at night, did you have any idea that you guys were in the path even?

CARUTHERS: We did. There were reports that, you know, a storm system was brewing and that we were going to have bad weather on Friday. And so when everybody's watching there, watching the news reports, but you kind of go about your day. We're used to these kinds of things in the south. We call ourselves tornado alley.

So, you know, you're aware, but you really kind of just go about your day and think, oh, it's another tornado watch, another tornado warning. And until we got the warnings on our phones, and then at that point, I was like, maybe we should -- maybe we should turn the T.V. on in the restaurant and see what's really happening, and then it became really obvious when they're showing the rotation with the radar, and it was like, wow, and they're tracking the storm literally by building landmarks.

So, when we see -- I saw the places that we're so close to us, you know, literal street names or, you know, building landmarks, I was like, wow, we need to -- so, that, of course, you go outside and look around, but that's what we do. And it was it was eerie.

And so that's -- it's like this is this is serious. We need to take this very seriously and be prepared. But the mornings that we received were very good.

COLLINS: Yes. Stephanie, I know exactly that feeling that you're talking about. I'm from Alabama. And it's when you go outside, and you can just feel that it is different in the environment, you can see the sky, there is a weird color, it's that weird, almost currently chilling wind.

What is the damage looking like? We're looking at these pictures. It looks it looks like you got hit pretty badly.

CARUTHERS: We did. The damage around our block is certainly not as devastating as some areas west of us. The landscape is forever changed, as you know, being from Alabama. But it is a very densely populated area. It's very large apartment complexes, so many homes.

Our building, we're not allowed to go in our building right now. I know they're working to get power restored around us. Some buildings, I'm sure, will have to be taken down, you know, right around us.

The interior of our restaurant is not damaged but it's just the exterior. Our main building has a glass atrium. So, that is the biggest concern at this point so that everyone is can safely into the building.

COLLINS: Yes. And we know how long it takes to fix that. And that devastation, Stephanie, we're thinking of all of you all, glad you're safe and keep us updated on how the rebuilding goes because we know how long how long that takes, and we appreciate you joining us this morning.

CARUTHERS: Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

LEMON: Thank you, Stephanie. Be well. The whole thing that's over in like a minute or less.

COLLINS: And you know how quickly that goes.

LEMON: I know. And then -- but it takes years to rebuild and then some things, obviously lives and mementos that you can never get back in a minute or so, crazy. I'm glad that she's okay. We'll keep checking on that.

In the meantime, all prices spiking overnight after Saudi Arabia, Russia and they're all producing allies made a surprise move to cut production. The White House is blasting the announcement by OPEC Plus. It's raising fears that gas prices could jump.

Let's bring in CNN White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond. Good morning, Jeremy Diamond. How are officials responding to the move?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, Don. They're certainly not pleased with this move by OPEC Plus, and that's because cutting oil production means higher oil prices, which we're already seeing being reflected in the market, and that could lead to higher gas prices. Gas prices, of course, have been such an important driver of inflation here in the United States, and that's where the major concerns come in from U.S. officials.

Now, this production cut of over a million barrels per day isn't expected to kick in until May, and it could last until the end of the year. It adds to a 2 million barrel per day cut that OPEC Plus announced back in October. [07:15:04]

And so this is a significant concern for the White House.

Saudi Arabia says that this is intended to try and stabilize oil markets. But the White House just doesn't see things that way. This is the same in from the National Security Council. They say, quote, we don't think cuts are advisable at this moment given market uncertainty, and we've made that clear. We will continue to work with all producers and consumers to ensure energy markets support economic growth and lower prices for American consumers.

Now, you'll recall that back in October when OPEC Plus announced that two million barrels per day cut, the White House was furious. PRESIDENT Biden vowed that there would be consequences for Saudi Arabia. Those consequences, though, they never really became a reality. And now we come to this point where this new surprise cut is being announced, similar concerns being expressed by the White House.

Now, how is this going to affect gas prices remains to be seen, but right now, gas prices are about $3.51 a gallon. That's about ten cents higher than they were last month but still down from a year ago when they were at $4.20 a gallon. But, again, concerns about gas prices and also the broader inflation picture, which we know has been a top priority, a top issue here at the White House trying to combat that much. Don, Kaitlan?

LEMON: Jeremy Diamond at the White House, thank you very much, Jeremy.

HARLOW: The top diplomats in the United States and Russia, Antony Blinken and Sergei Lavrov, talking over the weekend about quite a lot. The former national security advisor, John Bolton is here to discuss that and more, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

COLLINS: All right, welcome back. Secretary of State Blinken speaking to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, over the weekend, demanding the release of The Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich. Gershkovich was arrested in Moscow last week on charges of espionage. He is currently being held at a notorious prison, that's until May 29th, at least that's what we know for now.

Lavrov says that his faith, though, is up to the Russian courts, and he scolded the U.S. for, quote, politicizing the arrest.

Joining us now is former Trump National Security Adviser and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. Good morning, Ambassador, and thank you for being here.

I wonder what you make of Evan Gershkovich's arrest.

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, I think this is an act of state terror by the Russians. I think they know exactly what they're doing. This is a trumped up charge of espionage, and I think they're trying to set up a trade of some kind.

I hope the administration doesn't fall for it. I think instead of begging the Russians to let him go, if they don't produce pretty quickly, I would try and take more decisive action, for example, going to our NATO allies and saying, look, we ought to expel Russian ambassadors from all of our capitals, because if they've arrested the journalist from one country, they could do it from another as well.

It's one more step in Russia becoming completely rogue state. And I think if we don't draw a line here very clearly, very quickly, it's only going to get worse.

COLLINS: Do you think that's a step that the U.S. should take when it comes to expelling the ambassador?

BOLTON: Absolutely. There is no excuse for this arrest at all. This is a total put-up job. It's directed right at the administration because of the war in Ukraine. And if that's the way the Russians are going to behave here, as I say, if you don't challenge the behavior decisively early, it only gets worse.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, I mean, everyone is hoping for Evan's release obviously and for his safety while he's there.

Also this week, we saw -- last week, we saw General Mark Milley of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warning about this access between China, Russia and Iran, and the threat that it poses not just to the United States but also more broadly to the world. Do you share the same concerns that he's voicing in front of Congress?

BOLTON: No, absolutely. I think this has been developing for some time. I think Russia is on the way to becoming very much the junior partner in a Chinese-led international axis. In addition to Iran, I'd certainly had North Korea as a partner country.

And I think what it demonstrates is why the United States has to think globally when it thinks in terms of its international strategy and why it is that the, sad to say, increasing calls for isolationism in the United States are badly misguided.

So, this is a challenge to us. Hopefully, our political leaders will wake the population up to it to the to the dangers we face really in Europe, in the Middle East, in South Asia and East Asia, and this should be something that people pay more attention to. The idea that arose at the end of the cold war that we're at the end of history, that there are no more threats in the world, you'd think that would have been dispelled long ago. It hasn't, sadly. This is a good point to do it.

COLLINS: Yes. You're clearly referencing there the 2024 GOP primary field that we are seeing shape up right now.

Obviously, there are so many important headlines happening around the world when it comes to what's happening in Russia and in Ukraine and with China. So much of the focus, though, this week is obviously on your former boss who is going to be arraigned here in a New York courtroom tomorrow. But I wonder what you make of how he is benefiting politically from this. Because they've already said that the Trump campaign, they claim that they have raised $5 million pretty much since his since this word of this indictment came down last week.

BOLTON: Right. I think this is music to Trump's ears. But I do think that it's the outcome of the case and potentially the outcome of the other cases that's really more important, not just the indictment. And I think tomorrow at the arraignment hearing, it's really a very important moment.

And the question is whether the judge in the case will have control of his courtroom or whether Trump will have control of his courtroom as this plays out. A lot of people have said it will take a year for this case to go to trial, putting it right into the think of campaign season.

[07:25:01]

I have a recommendation for the judge, actually. I think tomorrow after Trump pleads not guilty, and they would normally come to scheduling discussions about pre-trial motions and the like, I think the judge ought to say, you know, Mr. Trump, I bet you and I and District Attorney Bragg all strongly believe in that old saying, justice denied -- justice delayed is justice denied. And I'm here to make sure justice is not denied to you.

So, we're not going to delay this case in the normal way. I'm going to put it on a rocket docket. I'm going to set a trial date of, let's say, July the 5th, this summer. I'm going to say to the defense attorneys, if you have dispositive pretrial motions, arguing the case should be dismissed because it's insufficient legally, because it's -- there's prosecutorial misconduct here, that's malicious prosecution, I want all those motions filed in three weeks.

The D.A.'s office will have two weeks to respond. We are going to move this thing because this cloud needs to be resolved for you as a candidate and for the public. And so we're not going to have delay injustice here. Justice will not be denied. We're going to move quickly. I'd like to see the Trump team's response to that.

COLLINS: Why? How do you think they'd respond?

BOLTON: Because I think the Trump team is going to say, oh, it's such a complicated indictment, it's going to take many, many months to analyze it, and this and that. Delay benefits Trump here. That's what I say. The real test tomorrow is the opening scene in whether the Trump team dominates how long this how this case proceeds or whether the judge dominates it.

COLLINS: Well, Trump has been trashing the judge, saying that he, quote, hates him. Obviously, this was the judge that oversaw the proceedings when it came to Allen Weisselberg at the Trump Organization. Do you think that there should be like a gag order in place when it comes to what we're seeing the former president, how he's weighing in on this?

BOLTON: Right. Well, I think there are two basic arenas here. One is what actually happens in the courtroom, and I think I've just addressed how I think that ought to go. The other is what happens outside the courtroom. And it is normal in cases that draw a lot of attention that judges do imposed gag orders.

Now, this is this is sensitive, in the sense Trump is a candidate for president, and it doesn't really matter much what the judge says, Trump is going to say he's being persecuted. But I do think that a defendant can be restrained from attacking the judge, attacking the D.A., basically trying to pollute the jury pool. That's what Trump's public strategy is, to so rile public opinion that he can later say, you know, it's just not possible for me to obtain a fair trial, of course, largely because of what he's been doing.

So, I think the judge can take preliminary action to try and make sure that doesn't happen. I think he probably should.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, I should note, Trump is already arguing that. And I should also note, your former colleague, Bill Barr, the former attorney general, says he believes this is a weak case when it comes to the merits of it. We'll see what the judge decides and how that proceeds tomorrow.

John Bolton, thank you for joining us this morning.

BOLTON: Thank you.

LEMON: All right. They haven't seen the indictment yet, but some Republicans are already rushing to defend the former president as he faces charges. Will it come back to haunt them? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]