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CNN This Morning
Today: Day 3 Of Jury Selection In Hush Money Trial; G7 Foreign Ministers Meet In Italy On Middle East Tensions, Ukraine; Prince William Resumes Duties After Kate's Cancer Announcement. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired April 18, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Take a more moderate approach ahead of the November election. Just last week, you'll recall, Arizona State Supreme Court ruled in favor of upholding the 1864 law which prohibits abortions except to save the life of a woman. Abortion rights opponents gathered outside the state House today. A member of the Arizona chapter of Right to Life said, quote, this is not a political issue. It's a moral issue.
Abortion rights advocates were also on hand. They've been gathering signatures for a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion access in the state's constitution up until fetal viability, which doctors estimate is around 22 to 24 weeks. The news continues right here on CNN.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: It's Thursday, April 18th right now on CNN this morning, jury selection about to resume at Donald Trump's hush money trial. What prosecutors plan to ask the former president if he eventually decides to testify?
European leaders pleading with Israel to exercise restraint in its response to Iran's missile and drone attack.
And the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas shut down in the Senate before a single argument could be heard.
It is 5:00 a.m. here in Washington, 4:00 a.m. in Tennessee. There's a live look at Nashville. Good morning, everyone. I'm Jim Acosta in for Kasie Hunt. It's great to be with you. Jury selection in New York's Donald Trump hush money trial resumes in just a few hours. Seven jurors have been seated so far. Five more need to be selected to fill out the 12 person panel, plus six alternates.
In a filing yesterday, prosecutors for the Manhattan D.A.'s office indicated they plan to question Trump about his past run-ins with the law to discredit him if he chooses to testify. Prosecutors intend to ask the former president about the recent civil fraud trial that landed him a fine of more than $350 million, as well as the E. Jean Carroll defamation and civil sexual abuse civil cases. Trump owes her nearly $90 million. Last week, Trump said he intended to testify in the criminal hush money trial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, do you plan to testify in your trial in New York?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, I would testify, absolutely. It's a scam.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it risky for you to testify?
TRUMP: I'm testifying. I tell the truth. I mean, all I can do is tell the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And joining me to discuss former federal prosecutor Katie Cherkasky. Katie, good morning. Thanks for being up so early with us. What do you think about the strategy by the Manhattan's D.A.'s Office to question Trump about all of these other cases? It sounds like risky territory for Trump.
KATIE CHERKASKY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, anytime a witness takes the stand, they do put their credibility into question and open that door. So essentially what the prosecutors are trying to do here is go after any sort of convictions regarding fraud, any sort of issues with his credibility which he will bring into issue in this case if he does take the stand, even though those things would not necessarily come into evidence otherwise.
ACOSTA: Would you do the same thing? I mean, is that a good approach for the prosecutors at this point?
CHERKASKY: I think for the prosecutors, it's not really a risk. For Donald Trump, the question is whether he wants to take the stand, and certainly it is his option as a defendant. And there is much to be gained in many cases by a defendant taking the stand. But there are some risks and doors that can be opened that wouldn't otherwise be open to the prosecution in that case.
And again, with Trump, these topics are pretty well known. Of course, some of these jurors have indicated they don't have as much knowledge about his past as others. But you're going to be hard pressed to find people that don't have some general knowledge about these issues anyway. So it probably isn't too big of a risk here.
ACOSTA: Yes. And could the prosecutors go to the judge and say, I mean, if you listen to that sound we just played a few moments ago, Trump said, yes, he's going to testify and yes, he will tell the truth. I mean, can the prosecution bring that in and say, OK, this is what the defendant said?
CHERKASKY: Of course. I mean, it's obviously expected and required that you are telling the truth when you're under oath. And the credibility of any witness, including the defendant, is up to the jury to weigh. So even if people are attacked on their credibility, as, of course, Michael Cohen will be and Stormy Daniels, with regard to their own past credibility issues and convictions. The jury still has the right to DECIDE how much or how little to weigh their testimony.
ACOSTA: And how do you think the jury selection is going so far? I think there are some folks who thought, oh, gosh, this was taking a while. Then all of a sudden, they seated, what, seven jurors. It sounds like they're making decent progress. What's your assessment?
CHERKASKY: I agree. I think it's going much quicker than I would have anticipated. Both sides have what they call 10 peremptory challenges, meaning that they could challenge jurors for any reason. And then, of course, any juror that has an issue has to be removed for cause. That is ultimately up to the judge here.
[05:05:10]
So it seems like they have been able to see people in a lot quicker manner than I think a lot of people did expect. And certainly, it seems that they're on track to do opening statements on Monday, which is what the judge had kind of telegraphed if they were able to get through the rest of this at the end of this week here.
ACOSTA: Yes. And Katie, where do you land on this whole question? I'm sure you've heard it talked about, you know, whether there is a jury out there that could be fair and impartial when it comes to Donald Trump. Everybody has an opinion about Donald Trump. What do you think about all that?
CHERKASKY: I think it's very difficult with somebody as known as Donald Trump to find people that don't have an opinion one way or the other that could lead to some sort of bias. But I ultimately do believe in the jury system. I believe that there are people even in Manhattan that could be fair, neutral, impartial and judge the case based only on the evidence that's presented in court and what the judge instructs them on.
So I don't think it's impossible. Again, many people have said he only needs one juror, and that's not a nullification argument necessarily. It's just that you just need one person to believe that there's reasonable doubt in a criminal case, and many other jurors might agree with them at that point as well. So I certainly don't think that's off the table here. I do believe in the system.
ACOSTA: Yes. And Katie, what did you make the other day when there was this discussion about whether Trump was sort of scowling or mumbling or glaring at one of the jurors, and the judge sort of weighed in and warned the defense counsel on all of that. What did you make of that little tidbit that came out?
CHERKASKY: I think the judge is being hyper vigilant about the conduct of the parties in court, particularly Donald Trump. It is important that anybody not feel intimidated. It's a very unique situation, especially for these jurors to be in, knowing that they are going to be casting a judgment on former president here if they're selected. So I think the judge is being careful to ensure that there are no issues whatsoever, that there's no indications that somebody's being intimidated in some way, especially if they do end up sitting on that jury.
ACOSTA: All right. Katie Cherkasky, thank you so much for your time this morning. Appreciate it.
CHERKASKY: Thank you.
ACOSTA: All right. Coming up next, European leaders in Israel trying to keep the conflict with Iran from spiraling out of control.
Plus, Republicans failing at lightning speed in their bid to oust the Homeland Security Secretary.
And a tsunami alert after a volcanic eruption in Indonesia.
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[05:12:01]
ACOSTA: International pressure intensifying on Israel to use restraint as it decides how to respond to Iran's unprecedented drone and missile strikes last weekend. The British and German foreign minister's meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Wednesday, urging him not to escalate tensions with Iran. Iran's president now warning that the slightest attack by Israel will be dealt with, quote, fairly and severely. CNN's Nada Bashir is live from London for us. Nada, tell us more. What's the latest?
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, there is certainly ongoing debate within the Israeli government as to what a response from Israel with regards to Iran's retaliatory attack would look like. And of course, that pressure from the international community is continuing to grow, not least from some of Israel's closest allies, the United States. The Biden administration has called for restraint while expressing solidarity with the Israeli government.
That was certainly the message as well from both the United Kingdom and Germany, whose foreign ministers were meeting with officials in Israel yesterday, again calling for restraint, but also focusing on potentially expanding sanctions on Iran. But there has also been warnings from the European Union as a whole. We heard today, this morning from the E.U.'s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell.
He spoke ahead of the G7 foreign minister's meeting in Italy, again calling for a straight warning that the Middle East in his eyes is on the brink of a regional war and that the European leaders should stand together in calling for Israel's response to be one of restraint. But we have heard from the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. He spoke yesterday around a cabinet meeting saying that while he thanks allies for their continued support and solidarity, the decision on how to respond will be Israel's alone. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I thank our friends for their support for the defense of Israel. And I say this, both support in words and support in actions. They also have all kinds of suggestions and advice. I appreciate it. But I want to make it clear we will make our own decisions in the state of Israel and do everything necessary to defend itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: Now within Israel, there has been a reaction from hardline politicians. The far right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for a response, a strike that he said would inflict disproportionate toll on Tehran and deter Iran from carrying out any further attacks. Of course, division still within the country, many calling for action not to undermine Israel's key security alliances.
ACOSTA: Nada Bashir, thank you very much.
Happening now, the four ministers of the G7 nations meeting in Italy, they are putting a special focus on the Middle East conflict. The E.U. Foreign Policy Chief just said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEP BORRELL, EU HIGH REP. FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS & SECURITY: We cannot escalate. We cannot go step by step answering every time higher to a regional war. I don't want to judge a rate, but we are on the hedge of a war, a regional war in the Middle East.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:15:04]
ACOSTA: Leaders are also holding talks on Russia's war in Ukraine as aid remains blocked by some Republican lawmakers in Congress. CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau joins us live in Rome with more. Barbie, what can you tell us about these very important meetings? They're trying to keep this conflict from widening and escalating further.
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes. You know, they really got their work cut out for them in Capri off the coast of Naples, where they're holding this meeting. And now the three priorities they're dealing with regard to the Middle East are trying to urge Israel restraint in terms of their reaction to the drone attacks last weekend.
They're also trying to determine what kind of sanctions, targeted sanctions, to place upon Iran. And that's something that not all the leaders or not all the foreign ministers, let's say, agree on all of this, you know, talking about the priority, that was the priority before the attacks last weekend, which is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Italy, for one, is calling for a complete ceasefire, immediate ceasefire, Gaza.
So there are a lot of things that these foreign ministers aren't necessarily agreeing on, but they are agreeing one thing that they've got to do something to try to deescalate the situation, Jim.
ACOSTA: And the secretary of state meeting this morning with the Ukrainian foreign minister. What do we know about that? NADEAU: Yes, you know, the situation in Ukraine obviously is not going away anytime soon either. And there are a lot of leaders, a lot of countries here in Europe especially, that are growing weary of continuing to give financial support and weapons and things like that. But Secretary Blinken had these words to say, which are quite harsh in terms of what happens if they don't. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: Putin is allowed to proceed with impunity, we know he won't stop at Ukraine and we can safely predict that his aggression will continue. Other would be aggressors around the world, we'll take note, and unleash their own aggressions, and we will have a world of conflict, not a world of peace and security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NADEAU: And, you know, Jim, all of these meetings that are taking place right now in the G7 are paving the way to the larger meeting in June, middle of June, which will be held in the southern region of Puglia here, which we'll see President Biden and the other world leaders, other G7 leaders meeting to discuss what may be a very different world by then. Jim?
ACOSTA: Absolutely. With the way things are moving very quickly, that is certainly possible. Barbie Nadeau, thank you very much.
Coming up next, Prince William returns to his official royal duties.
Plus, look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know what's going on with the weather in Ohio, but I'll take the old weather back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Severe storms across Ohio, at least one tornado touching down, the details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:22:12]
ACOSTA: Twenty-one minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup. An Oklahoma man arrested for an alleged bombing in Massachusetts last week. Authorities say Sean Patrick Palmer targeted the satanic temple of Salem with a homemade pipe bomb, resulting in minor damage to the building.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot believe I just watched that tree fall. And how did not hit me. The wind blowing at me, but it didn't come at me, just landing on the car. So I'll take that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Overnight, severe storms across Ohio, that man was just talking about there, with at least one tornado touching down in Portage County. Those storms damaging homes and knocking out power, no injuries reported at this time.
911 service outages reported last night in at least four states, South Dakota, Texas, Nebraska and Nevada. Residents unable to make emergency calls, it's not clear what took the systems down.
Incredible images out of Indonesia of an erupting volcano on a remote island. Authorities have ordered hundreds of people to evacuate because it fears Mount Ruang could trigger a tsunami.
Prince William returning to his royal duties this morning for the first time since his wife, Kate, revealed her cancer diagnosis last month. In a few hours, he's headed to a food charity and youth organization in London. William has been absent from public engagements since the Princess of Wales announced she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy treatments. CNN's Max Foster joins me now from London. Max, you know, the whole world is pulling for the princess and hoping that the royal family is doing well. What's the latest? What can you tell us?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, she might appear in public if she feels well enough, but I think that's pretty unlikely. What we are seeing is Prince William carrying out his public duties. I think the messaging here really is that he -- she is well enough for him to return to work.
He hasn't just been, you know, out of the public eye because his wife is going through treatment. It's also because his kids were off school and they went back to school yesterday. So he has got a chance now to go back to work. But it's a very strong sign, I think, of how her recovery must be going well, otherwise he wouldn't be doing it. So we're going to see him at a surplus food distribution center outside London, and then he's going to go into London and see how that food is distributed at a youth center.
This is really, you know, keeping a stiff upper lip, if you like, keeping calm and carry on. He has a great passion for the environment and he's really displaying that today. Reporters, I'm sure, will try to throw him a question. Reporters will also be speaking to members of the public. He speaks to get any indication of the latest condition of his wife. But he doesn't usually say much. But I'm sure that'll be probably take all the headlines if he says anything. Jim?
ACOSTA: And how is the princess doing? Do we have any insights into her condition? Have things improved? Where -- I know it's sometimes fairly opaque. Where do things stand?
[05:25:10]
FOSTER: Well, it's completely opaque. And that was, that's intentional. The video that you were showing just earlier on was very much the princess's idea. She felt she was as open and transparent as she could possibly be in that video. And it's been made very clear to all the media organizations that they don't want us trying to follow every twist and turn, trying to predict exactly how well she is or, you know, what condition exactly she's got, what form of cancer. So they're not going to feed the machine until they're ready to do so. Jim?
ACOSTA: No, that makes perfect sense. All right, Max Foster, thanks so much in London for us, really appreciate it.
Coming up, the impeachment trial that ended before it could really get started.
Plus, what Donald Trump discussed with the Polish president over dinner last night.
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