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Donald Trump to Be Arraigned Today; NYPD Ramps Up Security Ahead of Trump Arraignment; Trump Taps Todd Blanche as New Top Attorney; 70M+ Face Storm Threat Today from Dallas to Milwaukee; UConn Wins College Men's Basketball Tournament. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired April 04, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. We're all here, all three of us. You see Kaitlan there is downtown at 100 Center Street, where it's all happening. Everyone will be -- This is going to be a significant day in American history. A significant day.

[06:01:05]

For the first time ever, we're going to see a former president surrendered to authorities on criminal charges. Again, you can see Kaitlan down at the courthouse. She'll be reporting there.

It is Tuesday. It's April 4, 2023. We're going to get started with the five things to know for today.

First up, of course, Donald Trump expected to be arraigned in the afternoon before returning to Mar-a-Lago for a news conference. He added a new attorney to his team just yesterday. We'll discuss.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And overnight, the judge has decided not to allow TV cameras in court today, but still photographers will be allowed to take pictures before those proceedings begin.

Also today, 70 million Americans are facing the threat of severe weather this morning, including tornadoes. That threat spans areas that were already recently hard-hit.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Also voters in Chicago heading to the polls to elect the city's next mayor. Election officials report turnout today, far ahead of previous run-offs.

And the UConn Huskies have done it again, winning their fifth NCAA title and a strong win over San Diego State.

CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

LEMON: So you know, if you open the paper this morning, if you turn on the news, if you listen to the radio, whatever it's --

HARLOW: This.

LEMON: -- you know what the big story is going to be? It really is unprecedented. And you saw yesterday. I mean, just coverage. The former president's plane and his trip from Mar-a-Lago down in Florida --

HARLOW: On all the screens.

LEMON: -- on all the screens. There is what folks used to call it, Trump Force One, in the beginning, them taking off from the West Palm Beach airport and then landing here at LaGuardia. It was a scene.

And the center of it all will be where Kaitlan -- Kaitlan, where you are right now. I mean, appropriate to call it 100 Center Street, right?

COLLINS: Yes, I mean, it's what it happens to be named, but also just to see Trump, this native New Yorker, who obviously now is a Florida resident, but to return to where he was born and raised, this time in a way that he never has before.

We keep using the word "unprecedented," but this truly is a moment where he is coming to New York facing criminal charges, and it's never happened before.

Later today, he'll go into this building right here behind me, Don, as you noted, 100 Center Street. That's where it's all going to happen today.

HARLOW: Kate --

LEMON: And then we -- go ahead.

HARLOW: Kaitlan, I was just thinking about you, as like you were the chief White House correspondent while Trump was president, someone who while he was running said, I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone, and nothing would happen, essentially, paraphrasing.

Just the remarkable evolution of what has happened, going from covering him in the White House to now, sitting in front of where he will face a judge with criminal charges.

COLLINS: Yes. Jeff Zeleny and I were doing the math yesterday, the idea that it's been eight years since he announced that he was running for president the first time that he actually did indeed run for office.

It's just notable to see how this story, specifically, has followed him, when he was at the end of his campaign, during his time in the White House, and now is an ex-president launching a third presidential run.

LEMON: Yes. Well, yesterday he arrived on Fifth Avenue, and now he will be leaving, departing Fifth Avenue to go down to 100 Center Street. Standing in the middle of Fifth Avenue or at least sleeping there overnight. He's going to face accountability now.

Just hours from now, Donald Trump set to turn himself in and become the first ex-president in American history to face criminal charges.

Right now, he is at Trump Tower, as I said, on Fifth Avenue, as he prepares for his arraignment in Manhattan this afternoon.

Just a breakdown right now of what to expect today. The court hearing is set to happen in the 2 p.m. hour. After that, Trump is planning to fly back to Florida, give a speech at Mar-a-Lago tonight, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes. And of course, this all kicked off yesterday, Don, as you noted when Trump arrived here in New York City. His private plane there, which Trump aides refer to his Trump Force One, landed at LaGuardia airport.

Then a motorcade brought the ex-president to Trump Tower, where he met with his legal team on the eve of his surrender, had dinner last night.

[06:05:09]

The judge has decided overnight he will not allow news cameras into the courtroom today to broadcast that brief but historic court hearing. The judge will allow some photos to be taken before the proceedings begin. So we will see parts of this.

In the ruling, the judge acknowledged, quote, "This indictment involves a matter of monumental significance, and it cannot possibly be disputed. Never in the history of the United States has a sitting or past president been indicted on criminal charges. Mr.. Trump's arraignment has generated unparalleled public interest and media attention. The populace rightly hungers for the most accurate and current information available. To suggest otherwise would be disingenuous."

Obviously, Trump's team said they did not want cameras to be in the courtroom. We should note CNN's chief national affairs correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, is live this morning for CNN THIS MORNING outside of Trump Tower.

Obviously, Jeff the big question is what the former president himself is going to do today. What are you learning about his plans today?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kaitlan, good morning.

We do know that the former president will leave Trump Tower early afternoon likely, to head downtown where you are for two stops. He'll be stopping at the district attorney's office, and then he will be going into criminal court.

It sounds like a receipt [SIC] -- a routine procedure, but it's anything but that, of course. For the first time, a former American president will indeed be indicted.

But what he will do is learn what criminal charges he is facing.

And I am told that he was huddled here in Trump Tower overnight, and he'll be meeting with his lawyers and political advisors again today.

And that is the central question. What exactly are the charges? He's facing some 30 criminal charges or so.

But this will be a fairly brief hearing. He will be inside the courtroom for likely 5 to 10 minutes or so and then leave New York and fly back to Florida.

But this is the very beginning of a legal road for the former president.

Of course, important to remember: this is one of at least three potential cases he's facing. There's a Georgia case, a federal case investing [SIC] -- investigating his potential involvement in the January 6th insurrection.

So this case begins here in New York.

But one thing has advisors are stressing: they said that they hope, at least, that he lets his lawyers do the talking here in New York. And that he will sort of handle the politics of this in his speech tonight from Mar-a-Lago.

But that is the central test facing this former president. Can he keep these two separate? Will the judge issue a gag order?

Of course, his attorneys are arguing against that, saying it would simply be a violation of his First Amendment rights and his ability as a candidate to speak.

But one thing that's clear, Kaitlan. Mr. Trump arriving here as a former president and a current frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race, as well.

But this is the beginning of a road now where both of those are linked. The presidential campaign is inextricably linked with this criminal cases, as well -- Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes, and if you want a window into his mindset, last night on Truth Social, he was writing that Alvin Bragg, the district attorney, should indict himself, Jeff Zeleny. We will stay with you. Thank you so much.

As we know, Trump has told his supporters to gather here in New York. He wants to see protests. He warned recently of, quote, "death and destruction" if this indictment did happen. Of course, it has happened.

New York City's mayor says right now, though, there are no credible threats to the city at this time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: While there may be some rabble rousers thinking about coming to our city tomorrow, our message is clear and simple. Control yourselves. Not a playground for your misplaced anger.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: That's Mayor Adams there.

CNN's senior crime and justice correspondent, Shimon Prokupecz, is here outside the courthouse.

Shimon, obviously, we got here this morning. We saw the NYPD still putting up barricades as they are preparing for what this day is going to look like. How are you seeing them preparing?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So, Kaitlan, I just want to show you already. We've already seen one big difference here on Hogan Place. This is where the district attorney's office is. See a lot of the court officers.

Right now, it's all court officers that are running the security outside the building. They're not used to something like this. They're usually inside the building, so it's a little different for them.

But we're already seeing one big difference. And that's out here on Hogan Place. We were able to walk up and down this street yesterday. That is now entirely shut down.

This is where the former president is expected to surrender; where that motorcade will eventually pull up; and where he will go inside. And as you can see, there are court officers telling us we have to keep moving. So we're going to keep moving here, Kaitlan.

But this is where he's going to surrender. The motorcade will pull up. He'll go into those doors.

And then all across the courthouse here, across the street from where you are, you see all of these barricades. And then across from where you are on the other side, that is where some of the protesters and supporters of the president are going to gather there.

[06:10:09]

So we're going to go across the street.

So things are a little different here, Kaitlan. They're not letting us kind of move around as much as they were yesterday. As you can imagine, security here is a little more strict; it's a little tight. And so we're going to go across the street.

So everyone right now is just sort of waiting. We do expect to see more law enforcement here. More police officers in the coming hours as we get closer to the arraignment.

Once the former president gets here, everything inside the courthouse is going to stop. That means the only case that they're going to be hearing when the former president is here will be his case. Every other case will stop.

And then once his case is over, the arraignment is done, then some of the other cases will continue. But for as long as he's here, this entire place is essentially going to be on lockdown, Kaitlan. COLLINS: So Shimon, no other judicial proceedings will be happening

while Trump is in the building. Is that right?

PROKUPECZ: Yes that's right. So what they're doing is they're going to stop at some point once he's here, and then they're going to break for lunch or whatever it is.

Look, there are several trials going on. There are arrangements going on. There are other things going on. So this is a huge disruption for the courthouse. And that's why they're trying to time everything so perfectly. Get him here. Get him in. Get him through the system, get him arraigned and get him out quickly so that they can open things up and continue the daily business that they normally would here at the courthouse, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes. Certainly not business as usual today.

Shimon Prokupecz, thank you.

Don, Poppy. Obviously, you can see just the heightened security already as they are bracing --

HARLOW: Yes.

COLLINS: -- for Trump's arrival today.

LEMON: Yes, and it will be needed. It's good. It's good that they're doing it.

HARLOW: That's exactly right.

And on top of this, Trump added a new lead counsel, a new head lawyer, if you will, to his legal team on the eve of his arraignment. Let's talk about that and what to expect today inside the courthouse.

Former Manhattan assistant district attorney Jeremy Saland is here and CNN senior legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid.

Good morning, good morning. Good morning again.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again.

HARLOW: So let's start with you. Just can you -- can you walk us through? We saw from everyone what's going on outside. What happens inside today?

REID: So it will be a pretty brief proceeding. We know we'll get a glimpse of the former president in the hallway as he enters the courtroom. Our request to have cameras inside for the proceeding has been denied. There will be a few still pictures, though, that we will get: likely the former president sitting at the table with his attorneys, his team of, as present count, three different attorneys.

And the judge will go over the case. They'll get the charges for the first time, which will be hugely significant, right? They say they're going to fight, but none of us know exactly what he's been charged with. It will be pretty brief.

And then he'll come back out. We're not going to see too much. This is just an initial appearance. Nothing too -- nothing too substantive.

LEMON: Jeremy, the hiring of a new attorney, is this normal? Should we read anything into this?

JEREMY SALAND, FORMER MANHATTAN ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I think you shouldn't. And what I mean by that is that Trump is unpredictable himself, and whatever he thinks is going to work to his benefit, he's going to pursue.

And he has a good attorney. Joe Tacopina is certainly someone who's established and knows the ropes. And so does his new counsel. If you have the means to hire multiple attorneys who really know the ropes, who really know what they're doing, why not do so?

The question, then, becomes who's leading this? Who's the boss, if you will, other than Donald?

LEMON: Can I just -- can I just ask you? And that is when I said don't read anything into this, because Joe, a good attorney, but he has spent a lot of his time on television. And you know, fighting this case, representing Donald Trump on television.

Perhaps, maybe not able to get into the minutia of what should happen in court, because that's his role, and that's what he's been doing? Could that be part of the strategy: to have someone who's solely focused on the courtroom? And you know, what's next as far as legal strategy?

SALAND: It certainly could be. But again, you're not talking someone who's new and naive. This is someone who's been around the block.

So it could also be that Donald Trump doesn't sometimes know whether he's coming or going; and whatever the feeling of the moment is, that's where he's going to go. So I wouldn't read into it too much.

LEMON: OK.

HARLOW: So let's talk about this indictment when it's unsealed. Our reporting -- CNN's reporting is, you know, 30-some counts here. You're an attorney. Talk about what you'd be looking for, as you quickly read through that, which likely won't be that long, even though there's a lot of counts. Usually, they don't have a lot of detail.

REID: Yes. We fully expect that there will be at least one felony here, right? That would certainly be news, if this was just the 30- some-odd misdemeanors. So we fully expected there'll be at least one felony here.

And then we're looking, how extensive is this case? Are we just talking about the hush-money payment made to Stormy Daniels? Or are they pursuing something more extensive?

For example, we know they've asked questions about the hush-money payment to Karen McDougal. Is that part of a charge that they're making, or is that just to establish a pattern? Are they charging conspiracy? What exactly are the charges and how are they supported?

Because we're told by our sources that this does not just rely on the testimony of a few witnesses, but this is a case that is heavily supported by documents.

My question is what documents and what are they supporting?

[06:15:02]

HARLOW: If -- if they do charge conspiracy, then it would be a much more detailed indictment. They have to tell a story.

REID: Yes, hopefully -- we all hope, I think, that it would be a speaking indictment, so that they will tell the story of what is going on in this case.

Because one of the biggest outstanding questions is why now? This conduct occurred seven years ago. This has been investigated for about five years. Why is this all suddenly coming to a head now?

And the indictment is the first opportunity to tell that story.

LEMON: A speaking indictment is for -- also for those of us who are laypeople and not recovering attorneys.

REID: Yes, exactly. Speak on it, Alvin Bragg. We'd like to know the story. What's going on here?

HARLOW: And he will speak later today.

REID: Yes, his press conference.

LEMON: Thank you, Paula.

Thank you, Jeremy. Good to see both of you.

SALAND: Thank you.

LEMON: Our special coverage of Donald Trump's arraignment continues.

Also this: communities in the Midwest and South reeling from devastating storms, now bracing for more. The threat that they're facing next.

Plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 76-59. Every dog has his day, and this day belongs to the Huskies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Hope your March Madness brackets had UConn winning it all and all those upsets along the way. The Huskies now have their fifth national title. We'll look at the biggest moments of the night ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: More than 70 million people this morning in the Midwest and the South are under the threat of more severe weather, many of them in the same area that got slammed with at least 500 confirmed tornadoes that killed 32 people over the weekend.

[06:20:03]

Our meteorologist, Derek Van Dam, joins us again from Arkansas. This morning you're in Little Rock. Yesterday, you were in Wynne.

And again, destruction behind you.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Poppy. Here we go again, right? You are looking at what 165 mile-per-hour winds are capable of.

Look at the threats for this area. This is a heavily-treed city. Right? So these trees fall. They topple easily in 100 mile-per-hour gusts. And of course, when they land on homes, it can be catastrophic.

And now the threat looms heavy for the people who reside here, because yet another potential severe weather outbreak today.

Now we need to get into some details, because this impacts over 70 million Americans. And I want you to see in my graphics, because there's two different outbreaks that we're anticipating today.

One across the North. That's the Midwest. So Davenport, keep an eye to the sky. You're under a moderate risk today. That is for the afternoon and evening.

But further South, from Missouri into the Ark-La-Tex region, including Little Rock, where I'm located. That is more of a late evening to overnight period. So the potential there exists for what we call nocturnal tornadoes. That means tornadoes that occur under the shroud of darkness.

Those often take people off-guard, because they're sleeping. They don't have their warnings available to them. And of course, that catches them off-guard.

So greatest probability of tornadoes today, we've hatched out those areas. You need to be weather aware, and you need to prepare yourself to take cover at a moment's notice.

You can see these storms and how they'll fire off in two different rounds today. Again across the North, that's the Midwest; and then the overnight tornadoes tonight where I'm located in Little Rock.

You know, I spoke to somebody last night, as we arrived late this evening, late last night to just kind of do a site survey, understand what we're getting ourselves into.

And they said to me, Derek, you know, we are so happy that you're on the ground doing that. But as a native Oklahoman, I was hoping that we wouldn't have to deal with this again. I am indeed scared.

So I wish that I could change the weather, but that's just not the fact -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes. Derek, thank you for the reporting. And a tragedy for all of those folks. Thanks very much.

And now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The coach's son is going to dribble out his dad's championship. Seventy-six-59. Every dog has his day, and this day belongs to the Huskies!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The Connecticut Huskies back on top of college basketball world. UConn dominated the game from start to finish against San Diego State to win their fifth national championship.

Coy Wire was there to watch it all. He's joining us live from Houston this morning.

Jealous of your sun, by the way. All right. Good morning. What stood out to you?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Top of the morning. Well, to be honest, Don, the free burgers, shakes and fries that the entire UConn Huskies men's teams gets from the Way Back Burgers franchise. As a college kid, could you imagine? That's like hitting the jackpot.

But UConn a four seed in this tournament. They turned in one of the most dominant performances of any team in any March Madness ever.

Coach Dan Hurley's Huskies play with heart. I asked coach, what makes your team so good?

He said, We don't have an Achilles heel. We'll out-rebound you, play harder, beat you at the rim. And we can make the three.

And they did all of that against San Diego State.

The Huskies, they stormed out to a 16-point lead in the first half, shutting down any efforts of an Aztecs comeback. Final score, 76-59.

It's UConn's fifth national title, all of them since 1999; more than any other men's program during that span.

Adama Sanogo, a junior from Mali, winning the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. And as you heard, Coach Hurley's son, Andrew, he had the ball in his hands as the clock hit zero before rushing over to give Dad a big old hug.

I caught up with Coach Hurley on his way to the locker room to celebrate the biggest moment of his career. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: What kind of emotions are you feeling?

COACH DAN HURLEY, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM: All types of emotions, obviously. Yo! Yes! Yes, baby, let's go.

You know what? You just -- you're so proud that you're able to deliver on the promise you made to university that we could get this program back. And then the promises you made to the players that we can do something special like this together.

WIRE: When I talked to you yesterday, when I talk to you, Coach, you said you got emotional thinking about the fans and all the love they give you. What message do you have for them now?

HURLEY: I'm crazy. You know, I'm a maniac just like our fan base. So I think that's why we're such a great fit for each other. And I just can't -- We cannot wait to get back to Connecticut and celebrate and share it with them.

WIRE: Congrats, champ.

HURLEY: Yes. Let's go, baby. All right. Appreciate you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now Don, another incredible storyline. UConn guard Jordan Hawkins scored 16 points, and he joined his cousin, Angel Reese, who stars on your LSU's women's team, both crowned national champs on the same weekend.

[06:25:02]

HARLOW: I love that.

WIRE: Incredible stuff, Don. Congrats to UConn and the LSU Tigers.

And you said you wish you were here with me. You're jealous of the assignment. Well, next month, we're going to the F-1 race in Miami. So Don, I can see you in one of your Miami Vice suits, and we'll go down there. And we'll do our thing.

HARLOW: He's leaving to go to Miami now. He's going to see you there.

LEMON: Out of here! I can't believe it.

Coy, also, I do have to say, though, I'm digging the outfit this morning.

HARLOW: Yes. I was just thinking the same.

LEMON: You think? What were you thinking?

HARLOW: I was thinking that it looks good on whoever wears it.

LEMON: Oh, OK.

HARLOW: That means you, too.

LEMON: I get no props for --

HARLOW: That means you, too.

LEMON: I'm joking.

HARLOW: Total props.

LEMON: Coy, you look great. I really love it. And you did a great job. Congratulations, seriously. And we're just obviously joking about the assignment, but you were the perfect person.

WIRE: Thank you, Don.

HARLOW: Are you really going to F-1?

LEMON: Yes, of course he is.

WIRE: Yes, well, we're all going now. I'm just throwing it out there. You know.

HARLOW: Yes..

WIRE: See it, believe it, you can achieve, that sort of thing.

HARLOW: Kaitlan got to go last year.

LEMON: He's manifesting it. Manifesting.

HARLOW: All right. Thank you, Coy.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Coy.

HARLOW: All right, well turning the corner now, this morning detained "Wall Street Journal" journalist Evan Gershkovich is reportedly appealing his arrest in Russia. We're going to be joined by one of his very close friends, who calls him a brave reporter.

LEMON: I want to get you outside now, take a live look. This is Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. The former president will leave there just a few hours on this historic day ahead of his arraignment. Our coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]