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Pjotr Sauer is Interviewed about Evan Gershkovich; Rep. Byron Donalds is Interviewed about Trump's Indictment; NASA Names Astronauts for Moon Mission. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 04, 2023 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:30:23]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

That is a live look at the skies over New York City this morning, where former President Trump is waking up and starting this historic day.

In just hours, he will turn himself in behind me at the building, 100 Center Street, as the first American president in history to ever face criminal charges. Sources tell CNN that Trump is facing more than 30 counts, all related to business fraud. The grand jury indictment, though, is still under seal. We don't know the details. Neither does Trump's legal team as of this moment.

One of his advisers described his mood yesterday as he headed from his home in Florida here to Manhattan as defiant and focused.

Our live coverage continues throughout the morning.

Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: We'll get back to you in just - we'll get back to you, Kaitlan, in just a minute down there where everyone is really focused.

But also we want to continue to focus on the story and the developments of the detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is appealing his arrest in Russia, according to Russian state media. "The Wall Street Journal" reporter is being held in prison in Russia, where they hold most espionage suspects. American detainee Paul Whelan was also held there before he was sent to a Russian penal colony.

Evan faces up to 20 years in prison on these espionage charges. His parents fled the Soviet Union. His colleagues say he fell in love with Russia, with its culture, with its language. He made Moscow his second home. He also worked to hold the Kremlin accountable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVAN GERSHKOVICH, DETAINED "WSJ" REPORTER: No longer is Russia fighting Ukraine, but the whole west.

Nothing that might even be taken as a sign of dissent is allowed in Russia right now.

It's massively early to say Russia's, you know, a dying power. They are worried, extremely worried, about what I think everybody has seen as an increasingly erratic government in Moscow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Well, friends and colleagues are calling, of course, for his release, as well as his family.

Pjotr Sauer is a Russian affairs reporter for "The Guardian," and here's what he writes about Evan. Quote, he left a comfortable job at "The New York Times" to fulfill his longtime dream of working as a reporter in Moscow. He wanted to be on the ground, he told me later, where the action happens.

And Pjotr Sauer joins me now.

Thank you so much for being here.

PJOTR SAUER, CLOSE FRIEND OF WSJ REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH WHO'S BEING DETAINED IN RUSSIA: Thank you for having me.

HARLOW: I'm so glad because you know Evan. We just saw videos of him and we read his remarkable reporting, and we know his passion for Russia. But can you just tell us about him, the man?

SAUER: Yes. I just want the world to know what kind of guy Evan is. You know, and he is the nicest, smartest, most honest guy I've probably ever met, you know? And it's really shocking what's going on right now with him and with his rest.

HARLOW: We don't know a lot about the conditions he's under. We do know the jail he's at, which is the Lefortovo prison, and that's where Paul Whelan was held.

SAUER: Yes.

HARLOW: An official at that prison described him as being cheerful and making a lot of jokes. Even in these conditions, does that sound like your friend?

SAUER: Yes, that - that sounds exactly like Evan. You know, he had this infectious smile. He -- that's why he was such a good journalist as well, he made everyone feel at ease. Both friends and colleagues and people he was interviewing. And, yes, it did give me some sort of - it gave a smile on my face to hear that he's cracking jokes, being himself. But, of course, he should not be in jail.

HARLOW: Why did he want to be a journalist so much? And why did he want to be in Russia doing that journalism in this moment?

SAUER: Yes, so - yes, Evan was an all-American kid. You know, he grew up in Jersey, captain of his high school soccer team. But because of his parents who were Soviet immigrants, he always had this sort of fascination for Russia and for the region. So, you know, when he got the chance, he took the job in Moscow and, you know, right away used his understanding of Moscow and of Russia to show the world what was going on and how the country was changing.

HARLOW: You know, this morning I was reading Nicholas Daniloff, who, of course, is the only other journalists before Evan -- you know, it's been since his arrest on espionage charges in 1986, right?

SAUER: Yes.

HARLOW: And he was held there for so long. Here's what he writes in "The Wall Street Journal" this morning. Reporting in Russia has always been risky. He goes on to say, we need to protect and honor the bravery of foreign correspondents, photographers, stringers all over the world, reporting in difficult and dangerous circumstances, and to my fellow Russia correspondent Evan Gershkovich, courage. Courage.

What do you think?

SAUER: Powerful words. Evan will need to have a lot of strength, a lot of courage. I know he's strong, but we need to keep on supporting him, you know?

[06:35:04]

He took the decision -- he thought it was his duty to keep on reporting out of Russia, to let the world know what was going on in the country. You know, it was very important, his decision. But now I think it's our duty to really let the world know what's going on with Evan, his conditions, his case. It's of, you know, it's a very, very important case for the world.

HARLOW: And when he was arrested, he was reporting in Siberia, talking to average Russians about the war in Ukraine.

SAUER: Yes.

HARLOW: Did he ever talk to you about the - the danger? Did he feel like this was a risk for him?

SAUER: No. Yes, we talked every day. I mean we talked two hours before his arrest. We just exchanged texts. And, of course, it's something you talk about. You know, should I still be here? Is this -- is this the right place to be? But he felt, you know - yes, no one benefits from Russia being a black box. You know he needed - he needed to explain the story. He always told me, I want to get the story right.

He was an accredited journalists from foreign ministry, so he had all the right to be there. He was just doing his job, you know?

HARLOW: Yes. Well, such a valuable and invaluable job, I should say, for the world.

SAUER: Yes. Yes. Exactly.

HARLOW: And the reporting you do as well.

Pjotr, thank you very much for the work you do, for sharing a bit with us about your friend Evan.

SAUER: Thank you.

HARLOW: We are all thinking about him and hoping that they can bring him home.

SAUER: Thank you.

HARLOW: Thank you.

SAUER: Yes, I hope so. Thank you very much.

HARLOW: Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes, we certainly are. Of course, that is something that's so important. And we will definitely stay on top of that story.

We're also monitoring the other big news today because in just a couple of hours former President Trump is going to arrive here to the building right behind me, 100 Center Street, for his arraignment.

The former president has continued to go after the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, in this situation, questioning his intentions, saying that he should indict himself, as Trump wrote last night. House Republicans are also criticizing Bragg as well. We'll discuss that, next.

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[06:40:35]

COLLINS: All right, welcome back. We are now hours away from seeing former President Trump leave Trump Tower and arrived here at the lower Manhattan courthouse. That is where he is going to be arraigned on charges related to business fraud. We are still waiting to see what the indictment looks like. Since it was announced, though, we have seen Republicans rallying around the former president, talking about this prosecution, saying -- they've been sharpening their attacks towards the Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg as well.

House Republicans are vowing to investigate his handling of the case and are even seeking his testimony on Capitol Hill. Bragg, however, so far has refused to cooperate with that, saying he does not believe there is legislative purpose.

Joining us now is Republican Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida, who we should note serves on the House Oversight and Reform Committees.

Good morning, Congressman. Thank you for being here.

Obviously, we've been talking about this indictment for Trump today. We're going to see him at the building behind me in just a matter of hours from now. Do you think the indictment helps or hurts him politically?

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): Well, look, it absolutely is going to help him in a Republican primary.

You know, you -- as we speak, Republican voters are rallying around President Trump simply because what they view is an indictment that makes no sense at all, an indictment that is pure politics, a political persecution of a political enemy, something that the American people frankly despised in our country, simply not for.

COLLINS: And what about with the general election? I mean you're arguing it helps him in the Republican primary. We've seen how the potential 2024 rivals for Trump for that GOP nomination have responded. But what about a general election because CNN polling has shown that there are voters who improved of this indictment.

DONALDS: Well, two things. One, I saw the report about your polling. I would say first that people are just responding to it based upon, you know, how you structure the poll, whatever. Not going to comment.

But I think that as the facts of this things start to really roll out, people are going to be against this. Look, you can be against Donald Trump. You could be for Donald Trump. Those things don't matter. What we don't do is turn the criminal justice system against a political opponent.

I think you compare this mockery of the criminal justice system with the fact that Joe Biden has been an absolute terrible president, won't negotiate on debt ceiling, has left the southern border completely wide open, our economy is a mess, our adversaries across the global are on the move. You put all those things together, it actually helps Donald Trump become the 47th president of the United States.

COLLINS: I understand that Republicans, many of you, disagree on the merits of this case, the strength of it. That's even something we've heard from some legal experts. But when it comes to the underlying conduct here, and what's at the heart of this, do you think Trump is innocent?

DONALDS: Well, look, innocence is something that we're going to see. Of course, I believe he's innocent because in our system of justice, unlike what Nancy Pelosi said, you're innocent until proven guilty. But putting that aside, you have a prosecutor who, by the way, is not paying attention to the felonies that are being committed in Manhattan today, yesterday, last week, last month. He has decided he wants to focus on some random FEC quasi issue that even the FEC did not go after, that the Department of Justice did not go after, and he's using some misdemeanor in New York state law. In my view, Alvin Bragg is outside of his jurisdiction as a prosecutor, number one. And, number two, every basic legal analyst, every person who knows the law has said he's created this theory that's never existed.

So, ask yourself, what Republican, or independent, or, frankly, American would not think that this is bogus and it's political. COLLINS: But do you think it's hard to argue that when we haven't

actually seen the indictment yet? I don't think so. I think it's very easy to argue that. When we see the indictment, obviously it will be out later today, I think it will just put more hair on this situation for people to see now the details about how hard he's trying to jump through these legal hoops. But the baseline issues that have already been leaked and been reported on, I probably doubt that they'll they're fray - they 'll go much further away then what we already know. We'll see when the indictment comes.

But these initial judgment about the indictment of a former president, when it's not crystal clear in the minds of the American people or the media, for that matter, what the actual elements of the situation are, that is why you have high skepticism and, frankly, you have people who are disgusted by what they're seeing from Alvin Bragg and from the - and from his D.A.'s office right now.

[06:45:16]

COLLINS: Oh, so just to be clear, is there anything in this indictment, Congressman, that could potentially change your mind of how you are viewing this?

DONALDS: Well, look, I've got to see what he's got. But, you know, this is going to be the layup. This is going to be the action before the arraignment. I'm not impressed. Not at all. Especially when Alvin Bragg, he ran on getting Donald Trump. Like, he didn't run on safe streets in Manhattan, he ran on getting the former president. So already his mindset and his political judgment is tainted. To make a move like this makes no sense. It's not very clear, except if you're trying to, you know, be a star, say you're the one that got him so on and so forth. I's really unfortunate.

I know the reporting has been about how historic this is. This isn't historic. This is an infamous day in America.

COLLINS: Well, it is historic just by the nature of it. But -- and to be fair to Alvin Bragg, when it comes to what he was saying when he was running, both of the candidates who were running for the district attorney's spot were asked about how they would handle a potential Trump investigation. He cited his experience with it.

You're on the House Oversight Committee. You're chairman of your committee, and along with other Republican chairman, have sent letters to Alvin Bragg asking for his testimony. Something that the council for the D.A.'s office here in Manhattan has pushed back on. Did President Trump asked House Republicans to investigate Alvin Bragg?

DONALDS: No, I don't believe so, and I'm not going to speak for the chairmen. But to my knowledge, that has not occurred.

You have members of Congress who have actually watched the weaponization of various agencies of the federal government. Whether you want to talk about the FBI, CDC, et cetera, we already know that the FBI and CDC have suppressed free speech in the United States at the social media companies. So, our concern is that you have elements of these agencies who have been sending information to Alvin Bragg's office because, let's be very clear, you've got elements of our agencies who want to get rid of Trump too. Obviously, that's something that was going on with the Mueller probe, et cetera.

So, that's our concern. We want to make sure that you don't have aspects of the federal government trying to aid and abet through the back door the political persecution of a former president.

COLLINS: OK. I should note, those are your allegations. And we should note that we have not actually seen the indictment when those requests to Alvin Bragg for his testimony went through.

Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida, thank you for joining us this morning.

DONALDS: Thank you.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And, Kaitlan, politics in the law, as you can see, definitely meeting today in a big way.

Up next, we have some other stuff we're following. We're meeting the four astronauts who will take part and NASA's first crewed moon mission in 50 years. Who they are and what makes this mission so historic. That's straight ahead.

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[06:51:49]

LEMON: I mean can you imagine any better gig than being one of those astronauts? NASA's announced a team of -- for its first crewed moon mission in 50 years. These four astronauts will fly by the moon on Artemis II. This mission is historic in more ways than one. For the first time, a woman, a black man will participate in a lunar flight. It will also be the first time a Canadian will travel to deep space.

Ed Lavandera knows all about this. He sat down with the crew. He joins us now.

Ed, good morning to you.

How are they feeling?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just to be clear, I know nothing about space travel, but these four astronauts were a -- where the toast of the town yesterday. They got a phone call from President Biden. They were featured at center court at the Final Four game last night here in Houston. These are the four astronauts returning to the area around the moon in more than 50 years.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, you're Artemis II crew.

LAVANDERA (voice over): NASA calls this moment the launch of the Artemis generation and the space agency has unveiled its first cosmic rock stars.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen.

CNN sat down with the crew of the Artemis II mission.

LAVANDERA (on camera): Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins, Borman, Lovell, Anders, those are all iconic astronauts that touched the moon or grace the edges of the moon. Your names go next to those guys. How did you find out about this? And how does it feel, quite frankly?

CHRISTINA HAMMOCK KOCH, NASA ASTRONAUT: The leader of our flight operations directorate said to us, and he said, how would you like to go flying on Artemis II? My answer to him was, sir, it would be an honor.

It's amazing to be a part of this team that's going back to the moon and on to Mars. And it's exciting times that we're actually making this step.

LAVANDERA (voice over): If all goes as planned, the Artemis II crew will orbit the moon next year for about 10 days. They will aim to travel farther into space than any humans have ever gone. They'll fly in the Orion spacecraft, paving the way for future Artemis missions to land on the moon again and ultimately journey to Mars.

LAVANDERA (on camera): I think for most people who watch space programs, that since the end of the space shuttle program, that space travel has become the game of billionaires and the wealthy who traveled to the edges of space. Why is this so important?

VICTOR GLOVER, NASA ASTRONAUT: No one aspect of human space exploration is that it unites and it lifts. I love -- you keep using that word, Jeremy, lifts. It lifts people up and it pushes you to do things that - that seem impossible.

REID WISEMAN, NASA ASTRONAUT: When you go out and do something that pushes the boundaries, you always learn things that you didn't expect to learn. And we will have breakthroughs left and right. It's going to be phenomenal.

LAVANDERA (voice over): It's been more than a half century since astronauts returned to the moon. Apollo VIII astronauts were the first to see the surface up close. Their mission and films captivated the world. The voices of astronauts beamed back to earth felt like science fiction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good luck, a merry Christmas, and God bless all of you.

LAVANDERA: Christina Koch kept this iconic image of the earthrise taken by that first crew in 1968 on her bedroom wall as a little girl.

[06:55:07]

LAVANDERA (on camera): Over the last few days I've gone back and watched a bunch of old film of the Apollo guys. And it's white guys with crew cuts.

LAVANDERA (voice over): The Artemis II crew is making history by putting the first person of color and a woman on a lunar mission.

KOCH: Well, I don't look great in a crew cut, but, more importantly, it's an honor to be a part of this program at a time when we, as an organization, as a country, have recognized and decided that it's important to go for all and by all.

LAVANDERA (on camera): When you see the earth rise for the first time, have you thought about what that moment is going to be like?

JEREMY HANSEN, NASA ASTRONAUT: I think it's going to be pretty emotional. I'm going to be seeing that image with -- with three friends. We're going to be in a tiny capsule. I think there's going to be some hugging.

LAVANDERA: Do you think, in our lifetimes, we will see somebody landing on Mars?

HANSEN: I do.

WISEMAN: I certainly hope so.

GLOVER: I think we will get there in - in our lifetime.

To think that humans will be walking on Mars in 20 years is completely reasonable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Guys, you couldn't ask for four more charismatic astronauts making this initial launch. They are scheduled to take off in November of 2024. And if all goes well, there would be a moon landing sometime in 2025. We'll see if all of that works out.

Don and Poppy.

LEMON: I love that last shot in your piece where they're kind of looking into the camera. Well done. Poppy was commenting -

HARLOW: Best assignment. I think his beats Coy's.

LEMON: You think so?

HARLOW: Yes.

LEMON: Well, if he gets - especially if he gets to go up there (ph).

HARLOW: And Mars in 20 years maybe. Wow.

LEMON: Yes. All right, thanks, Ed.

HARLOW: That was cool.

LEMON: Nice work. LAVANDERA: Ambitious stuff.

LEMON: Straight ahead in our 8:00 a.m. hour we need to tell you -- he's right on, it is ambitious stuff -- the Artemis II commander, Reid Wiseman, will join CNN THIS MORNING live. Again, this is historic.

HARLOW: So cool.

LEMON: And this is historic as well. Kaitlan, outside of the Manhattan criminal courthouse right now.

COLLINS: A lot of historic moments happening this morning.

HARLOW: Yes.

COLLINS: Some different than others.

We are live outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse this morning where there is expected to be an historic moment because in just hours from now former President Trump is going to arrive here to the building right behind me where he will be arraigned.

Up next, we're going to walk through the logistics of what it's like to move the former president from where he is now at Trump Tower here to the courthouse. Obviously, the security challenges that comes with that and the Secret Service as well. This is CNN's special live coverage.

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