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Tony Schwartz is Interviewed about Donald Trump; Dan Hurley is Interviewed about UConn's NCAA Title; Trump Expected to Speak at Courthouse. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired April 04, 2023 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of questions from your interview with Tim Parlatore, the other attorney, about whether Tacopina has a conflict of interest here. And I asked (INAUDIBLE), you know, has Tacopina been sidelined? He said - he said, Joe's a great lawyer. He's got a trial coming up in two weeks, and he needs to focus on that.

And he is representing former President Trump in this battery and defamation trial brought by the former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll. That has been winding through the courts for years. And it's now actually coming to a head. That will be a civil trial just down the street in about two weeks' time. So, he says that that is really the focus of Tacopina. He was brought in to represent Trump in that case just in the past several months. So, that is now also coming to a head. You kind of have both of these major cases colliding.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and I think it speaks also to the level of conflict and infighting inside the legal team in and of itself.

Kara Scannell, fascinating reporting. Really good reporting. Thank you for that.

Poppy, obviously notable to know that Trump himself is expected to be the one to utter those words, not guilty, as he is in court today based on what Kara is hearing from her sources.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. That will be remarkable. We won't see it, right, because there won't be video cameras inside the courthouse, but we'll get some still photos, perhaps, of that moment. Really notable.

So, let's bring in someone who's talked a lot to Trump. Tony Schwartz, co-author of "Trump: Art of the Deal." You were the ghostwriter on this book. We all know where you stand on the former president since then, regret working with him and for him on this.

Can you just respond to that reporting from our Kara Scannell, that not only will the former president speak today in that hallway heading into the court, but it is expected that he may be the one to actually plead not guilty to the judge, not his lawyers. TONY SCHWARTZ, CO-AUTHOR, "TRUMP: THE ART OF THE DEAL": Well, my

fantasy is that he has a Freudian slip and goes guilty as hell, which is -

HARLOW: We won't, but -

SCHWARTZ: He won't.

HARLOW: What do you make of that as someone who spent so much time with him?

SCHWARTZ: Well, I make of it that he has a desperate, relentless need for attention, and he wants to control a situation in which is feeling somewhat out of control. And so it's no surprise that he wants to stand up and I think he'll be predictably unhinged in his remarks. They'll be way over the top.

HARLOW: One of the things that is striking to me, when we booked you for the program, I thought, he hasn't really been on recently. I mean I remember having you on a lot when the president was running for the first time for office. Why? Why do you want to talk now?

SCHWARTZ: Look, this is an historic day. And not only for all the reasons that have been said, but because I think that this is not in and of itself the end of this story. No matter what happens, there are a series of additional potential indictments, of which three we know, three more yet possibly to come. And I'm sure -- no, of course, I'm not sure. What my -

HARLOW: We don't know if any more indictments will come, but three additional probes.

SCHWARTZ: But my suspicion -- potential indictments I said. Yes. There are -- I think that one of them or more is very likely to happen. And I -- so I think this is a real shift in the momentum. Trump has spent his life running from this. He's a career criminal. He's almost surely committed countless crimes. So this is a -- this is a big day.

HARLOW: You call him a career criminal. He himself hasn't been found personally guilty.

SCHWARTZ: Yes, well, the -

HARLOW: Trump Org., Trump world, that's another thing.

But let's move on because you - look, again, as someone who spent so much time writing this book, "The Art of the Deal," with the former president, he's going to address the country, the world tonight from Mar-a-Lago. What would you expect him to say?

SCHWARTZ: Well, I think almost certainly he will say this is, you know, a political -- this is all political. That he didn't even have an affair with Stormy Daniels. He won't say that, but that has been his -- that has been his argument all along.

HARLOW: He's denied it.

SCHWARTZ: I think he will just look for every possible way to smear whoever he can who he thinks is coming at him.

HARLOW: Yes.

SCHWARTZ: That's what he does.

HARLOW: Just, ask you quick -- are you surprised at all that he is not only attacking the judge that he will be before today, but also overnight he posted on his social network that D.A. Bragg should indict himself?

SCHWARTZ: I mean, he is, as I said, unhinged. And he has gone to such extremes that, no, Poppy, I am not the slightest bit surprised by anything he's willing to say if he somehow thinks it makes him more likely to be not -- not so much to be left -- to be found innocent, but to prevail in the public sphere, or at least this sphere of his followers. If he feels he can push his own case, he'll say anything.

He is deeply sociopathic. He doesn't have a conscience. I mean, literally, there is no conscience. So there is no right and wrong. So when he comes onto the playing field in a football game, he is playing without rules while the other team is required to play with rules.

[08:35:08]

HARLOW: Well, look, the rules apply in the court of law, where he'll be today, again, making - making history as the first president ever to face criminal charges.

Appreciate your perspective.

SCHWARTZ: Thank you.

HARLOW: Thank you very much, Tony.

Don.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Poppy.

Let's get started with the "5 Things" you need to know on this Tuesday in 2023.

We are just hours away from a huge moment in American history. Donald Trump is set to appear in court and become the first U.S. president, past or present, to face criminal charges.

More than 70 million people in the south and Midwest are under severe storm threats today. Forecasters warning of damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes. Many alerts cover the same areas battered by at least 50 tornadoes over the weekend that took the lives of 32 people.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has ordered an investigation into the previous board of Disney's special self-governing district. Last month, the outgoing board quietly handed its powers over to Disney ahead of a state takeover. Disney CEO Bob Iger slammed DeSantis' recent actions yesterday as anti-business.

Voters in Chicago heading to the polls today to choose their next mayor. Progressive Brandon Johnson and moderate Paul Vallas are locked in a tight runoff election that has focused heavily on the city's recent spike in violent crime.

The University of Connecticut Huskies taking home their fifth NCAA men's basketball national championship title after beating San Diego State 76-59. The Huskies had one of the most dominant runs in tournament history.

Now those are the "5 Things" to know this morning.

More on these stories all day on CNN and cnn.com. And don't forget to download the "5 Things" podcast every single morning.

Now you're up to date.

Coming up, more on the epic win by the UConn Huskies last night. We're going to ask the coach, Dan Hurley, about his team's historic run. He is here live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:41:11]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The coach's son is going to dribble out his dad's championship, 76-59. Every dog has his day and this day belongs to the Huskies. UConn has its fifth national championship in school history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I mean what a victory. Amazing. UConn clinching the men's NCAA championship in a thrilling game against San Diego State last night. Someone to my left is smiling. It's not Poppy. I'll explain. They dominated the entire tournament, winning every game by double digits. This is the fifth national championship for the team. A point of pride for UConn's head coach Dan Hurley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN HURLEY, UCONN HEAD COACH: Well, you know what, we're UConn. We got - we got the four national championships coming in, right? We've been striving for number five. Now we got our own. Now we got our own. We got our own. Let's go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Now we got our own. We got a win.

HARLOW: There he is.

LEMON: (INAUDIBLE) coach here this morning, Coach Dan Hurley is here. Thank you. Congratulations. He's doing the hand gesture.

Congratulations. You're exhausted, but tell us how you feel. Tell us how you really feel.

DAN HURLEY, HEAD COACH, UCONN HUSKIES: Yes. Yes, you know, Don and Poppy, just - you know, obviously an exhilarating feeling. It's the - you know, it's the pinnacle of college basketball. Obviously, you know, March Madness. You know, next to - you know, next to the Super Bowl is, you know the biggest yearly sporting event in our country. So to be able to climb that mountain and to win such a difficult tournament to win and get that fifth national championship just feels incredible.

HARLOW: And you - you didn't do it alone. Obviously, you did it with your team. But you did it with your son. Who, by the way, says, according to our Coy Wire, says that he is like your therapist. What's it like to do this with your kid?

Look at that.

LEMON: Yes, amazing.

HURLEY: Yes, you know what, that - yes, it's - it's incredibly enjoyable. And I was able to actually -- he got in all six NCAA tournament game and he got playing time in all six of the games. So, obviously, that's going to put me in a great position with my wife. I will not be in the doghouse much at all now with how much he just played.

But, you know, just having somebody, you know, like you could go up to him in practice and say, hey, Andrew, you know, we're not as bad as I think we are, are we? And he'll say no, dad, we've got a great team. Even when it's not going so good. So, it's awesome to have him around.

LEMON: Let's talk a little bit more about that because you weren't favored. You guys weren't favored. You were unranked. And it's just about ignoring the noise and doing what you do best and just being optimistic. That's a life lesson there really.

HURLEY: Yes, and -- no doubt. And, you know, we went into the season being an unranked team and, you know, but we -- you know, we showed great potential, you know, throughout the season. And we just had such great leadership from our older players, Andre Jackson and Adama Sanogo. We had such a great locker room in terms of, you know, the collective vibe and the unselfishness and the focus on just continuing to improve because the team knew that it had the potential to get into the NCAA tournament and to be one of the toughest teams to beat in it.

HARLOW: Yes.

[08:45:05]

HURLEY: So, you know, all credited to growing great players. It's a -- it was an awesome group.

LEMON: Yes. HARLOW: We're going to let you go to sleep soon, but according to your wife, this all is because of the pair of lucky fire breathing dragon somethings. What is she talking about?

HURLEY: Yes. Gosh. Shout out to, you know -- and I don't - obviously, I don't have any endorsement with them, but, you know me undy (ph). It's a great underwear company that, you know, I got the -

LEMON: Where is this going?

HURLEY: I got the boxer briefs. Boxer briefs or - yes, no, they're like -- my wife says that they're like underoos (ph) for adults. So, you know, and I had a -- I had a pair of like red dragon underwear that were pretty close to undefeated this year when I wore them at games.

LEMON: Now I know.

HURLEY: And, don't worry, Don, we watched them. We laundered them in between games.

HARLOW: Told you.

HURLEY: So, it was not -

LEMON: I saw -

HURLEY: But they were close to undefeated.

LEMON: I saw the interview. I was -- I wasn't sure where you were going with that. You made me a little nervous, but I saw the interview where you talked about that. So, OK, now I do get it.

HARLOW: Couldn't let him go without that.

LEMON: They also talked about wet sneakers too in that interview.

HARLOW: Yes, yes, yes.

LEMON: We are so happy for you. And I know we're going to let you go because you know how we feel on this show. I think you've had 10 minutes sleep and I'm not exaggerating, where you can't even find the right words. You're like, what is the word? What am I talking about?

HURLEY: No, you guys are the best. I am a big fan, and I appreciate you having me. And so happy we got that fifth.

HARLOW: Happy for you.

LEMON: Yes, congratulations, Coach (ph).

HARLOW: Thanks, Coach.

So happy for them.

LEMON: Yes. I wasn't sure where he was going (INAUDIBLE). HARLOW: Don was nervous when I started talking about fire breathing dragon things.

LEMON: I was like, oh.

COLLINS: I know I could see it on his face. We should note -- even from this far away, Don, I can still see it.

LEMON: Yes.

COLLINS: We should note, we are at a different type of court that is in the headlines over here where I am sitting from this vantage point. Former President Trump, as we all know, is getting ready for his arraignment. It is going to be an historic moment. We're learning new details about what he may do once inside the building. Our special live coverage continues next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:47]

COLLINS: All right, welcome back. History is about to unfold at the building you are at there. The Manhattan criminal court. That is the building where Trump will set -- is set to turn himself into and become the first ex-president in the United States to ever face criminal charges. We are learning new details about what today is going to look like. And while initially he was not going to speak until he returned to Florida tonight, we are now told by a Trump attorney that Trump is expected to speak in the hallway outside of the courtroom before and after his arraignment. He is also expected to enter his own plea of not guilty. That is according to Chris Kise, what he told our CNN's Kara Scannell.

For now I want to bring in CNN senior political correspondent and the anchor of "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY," Abby Phillip.

Abby, obviously you covered Trump right alongside me at the White House. You know him very well. And the fact that he wants to be the one to enter that not guilty plea isn't totally surprising. But what do you think is legal team is making of the fact that he wants to also speak before he even goes into that room and appears before that judge?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, honestly, Kaitlan, his legal team probably -- they understand their client. They've given up on that at this point.

LEMON: Right.

PHILLIP: I think they know that Trump wants to speak. They know that they probably can't do anything about it. Even if they told him not to he might still do it.

This is actually really reminiscent to me of, you know -- it's a completely different situation, but when Trump was in the hospital for covid, and he made an entire spectacle of that situation, basically turning it into a campaign ad ahead of the 2020 election.

And I think that this is how he sees this moment. It's an opportunity for him to be defiant. And his attorneys, they know their client as well as we do. They know there's probably nothing that they can do to stop him from doing that today and trying to really rally his supporters around this indictment, which he sees as evidence of him being politically targeted.

LEMON: Abby, can we talk about this? It's just - it -- the oddity of it, the contradiction of it -

PHILLIP: Yes.

LEMON: Because he wants to speak, right, before and after in the hallway, but yet his team doesn't want cameras in the courtroom, and they don't want a mug shot.

PHILLIP: Right.

LEMON: So then, you know, from the reality show person who loves the cameras. So, what gives here?

PHILLIP: Yes, and they argued in court yesterday that it would -- cameras in the courtroom would create a circus like atmosphere. I mean, I think that there's always this dichotomy. There is what is good for Trump from a legal perspective, and then there's what's good for Trump from a political perspective. I think that the attorneys are trying to control what they can control inside of the courtroom.

What happens outside of the courtroom is less under their purview, and that's going to be how this is going to play out. You're going to have attorneys saying on the one hand that they - that they have confidence in the legal process. They have confidence in the judge. And then Trump, going on his social media platform, and attacking that very same judge, that dichotomy is going to play out. The question is, will what Trump does outside of the courtroom start to affect what happens inside?

And I do think that there is a concern here that the judge might be deliberating on, which is, is Trump going to try to taint his own case, and that's when I think you'll see the judge potentially stepping in here.

HARLOW: Yes. Well, that's fascinating.

[08:55:00]

And Cy Vance, who preceded Alvin Bragg in that position as district attorney, warned over the weekend about what Trump says and these things that are said outside of court and how that could affect actually Braggs' case, Abby, potentially negatively for the former president.

PHILLIP: Yes. I mean, look, I think that this is already going to be an uphill climb. You're in New York City. This is the year 2023. People are -- there is no one on this planet unfamiliar with Donald Trump. It's going to be really challenging to find an impartial jury in this jurisdiction. But that's going to be the task here. And they're going to have to find a way to prevent the defendant in this case from making that job even more difficult.

You know, talking to lawyers over the weekend, they were talking about whether there would be a gag in this case. I think that's definitely something that could very well be on the table.

LEMON: And, Kaitlan, as we look at - we were looking at pictures of the courthouse center -- 100 Center Street, where you are, also Trump Tower. We saw what happened yesterday. The spectacle with the airplane and what have you. The attention. This president loves the attention. And as you have been reporting, now he wants to speak in the hallway before and after.

So, we're going to see what kind of spectacle it will be. I know all eyes will be on it and you guys will be down there covering it -- or you will be down there covering it.

COLLINS: Yes, I am actually planning to go inside. There's going to that camera in the hallway where Trump's expected to speak. We had actually planned to go in just to be able to at least watch him going into the room. I will be in there.

But also what's important to note is that new attorney that they just added yesterday to the defense team, Todd Blanche, is also going to be appearing in the courtroom today. That's notable because the other thing that Kara Scannell learned earlier from Chris Kise is that they do expect Joe Tacopina to instead start shifting his focus to another case. He had initially believed he was going to be the lead defense attorney in that room today. It doesn't appear that is going to be the case. We'll see how it plays out, though, Don and Poppy.

HARLOW: Fascinating.

LEMON: All right, Kaitlan. All right.

HARLOW: Kaitlan's going inside.

LEMON: Be well. Do some good reporting, as you always do.

HARLOW: Thank you.

LEMON: And we'll see you later tonight, I'm sure today on the air and then tomorrow morning.

HARLOW: Our coverage of the Trump arraignment continues with "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" right after this.

LEMON: Have a great day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:00]