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CNN This Morning
Biden To Deliver Morehouse Commencement Speech Today; Trump: Rights Of Gun Owners "Under Siege," Urges Them To Vote; Closing Arguments Could Begin This Week In Trump Hush Money Trial; War Cabinet Member Gantz Delivers Ultimatum To Netanyahu; Election Interference Case; More Cross-Examination for Michael Cohen; Trump Hush Money Trial; Flag Controversy; Justice Alito's Upside-Down Flag; Bannon Conviction; 30 Million At Risk For Severe Weather Today; Scheffler "Not Himself," Struggles Day After Arrest; Biles Is Back; Clark Clocked. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired May 19, 2024 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[07:00:00]
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): -- of Alzheimer's as well. Sometimes I feel a little rusty. Sometimes I worry that I make mistakes that maybe my friends and family are too polite to tell me about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to look at your body composition.
GUPTA (voice-over): So that's why I decided to do something quite personal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your muscle mass, your body fat.
GUPTA (voice-over): Quite revealing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That wasn't quite right.
GUPTA (voice-over): I went through a battery of tests to assess my own risk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like we get a cholesterol test every year and check your blood pressure. Got to do the same thing for the brain.
GUPTA (voice-over): And what did I find?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll just say it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN HOST: Sanjay Gupta's full documentary, "The Last Alzheimer's Patient," premieres tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on The Whole Story.
Another hour of CNN This Morning starts right now. VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Good morning and welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Sunday, May 19th. I'm Victor Blackwell here with everybody, Isabel Rosales, Meteorologist Elisa Raffa, Coy Wire. We've got a lot going on for you this morning.
Here's what we're working on for you. President Biden is just hours away from delivering a commencement address. It's dividing one of the oldest HBCU campuses in the country. We're live at Morehouse College where the school's president is vowing to shut down the ceremony if protesters go too far today.
ROSALES: And another round of fiery cross examination is expected when former President Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen takes a stand in the New York hush money trial tomorrow. Is the star witness's testimony enough to sway the jurors? We will talk to the legal experts ahead.
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And a severe threat is growing in the central plains today. Nearly 30 million people at risk for damaging winds. Winds could get up to 100 miles per hour in parts of Kansas. We're tracking that for you this morning.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: And world number one golfer Scottie Scheffler has had a whirlwind of the past few weeks. He won his second masters. He had his first child. And then at this weekend's major in Valhalla, Louisville, he has been arrested, continuing to play and fairly well until the third round. We'll show you how he did.
We have some Simone Biles coming up too. Can't wait to bring that for you this morning as well.
ROSALES: Well, a busy campaign weekend wraps up today for President Biden and former President Donald Trump. President Biden is set to deliver a commencement speech to Morehouse graduates here in Atlanta in hours after mingling with voters on Saturday.
And Trump addressed the NRA in Dallas yesterday urging gun owners to get out and vote. Both took the time to deliver barbs to their opponents.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, he -- I think it's fair to say I won't use the exact phrase I'd use if I was still playing ball, but my opponent's not a good loser. But he is a loser.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you took the 10 worst presidents in the history of the United States and added them up, they would not have done near the destruction to our country as Joe Biden and the Biden administration has done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Former President Trump is expected back in New York tomorrow. His, of course, hush money trial continues. Today, President Biden faces the possibility of protest, maybe some unrest as college students across the country are protesting his policies related to the war in Gaza.
We've got two of the best in Atlanta right now. We'll go to CNN's Nick Valencia in just a moment, but we're starting with White House Correspondent Arlette Saenz. Arlette, I see you are near those seats where the President will be soon. What should we expect? What's the goal for the President?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, President Biden will be here at Morehouse College to celebrate the roughly 470 graduating seniors, a moment that's really intended to be a moment of celebration, but also is coming against the backdrop of a bit of controversy as there has been frustration among some students and faculty on campus with the fact that Morehouse College continued to invite Biden to speak at the commencement here.
That frustration stems from the fact that they oppose the way that the President has handled the conflict in Gaza. That is something that Biden and his advisers are very aware of, that the frustration exists among young people, including on college campuses like this.
Now, ahead of the speech, the White House deployed a senior adviser, Steve Benjamin, here to Morehouse College to sound out the students and faculty. That was roughly a more than two-hour meeting and I'm told about half of it focused specifically on issues relating to Gaza.
But the other thing that Biden's adviser insists to me is that he wants to ensure that he's making this speech about the students. He understands what a big moment it is for these students, for their families. I can tell you when I got here at 5:30, there were so many families already here. There's hundreds of people waiting for this speech at this commencement ceremony that doesn't even begin for another two hours.
[07:05:06]
And so the President has been seeking counsel from some Morehouse alumni, prominent alumni, including professor, Eddie Glaude, Cedric Richmond, among others, and really the message that he's gotten is trying to find ways to celebrate these young men.
Of course, this is also a key voting block for President Biden. Black voters made up a core part of his support back in 2020. There have been some signs of narrowing in support among that group. So this will also be an important message.
Those students have told us that they don't want to hear a campaign speech from President Biden, but he very clearly faces a very delicate balancing act as he's trying to celebrate these students, even as there is frustration, discontent among some about his handling of the conflict in Gaza.
ROSALES: And Nick, you told us about an hour ago that the mood was one of excitement. I mean, this is a commencement. You're outside of Morehouse. What are you seeing?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Isabel, it's been active here since even before the sun came up. A lot of excitement. This is a huge day, a big moment, an auspicious day for so many of these families and these graduates. But, of course, there's anxiety surrounding this because of whatever lead has talked about the, you know, the controversy surrounding the president coming here.
His opposition to a ceasefire in Gaza has really gotten people here riled up and we've seen one demonstrator here show up here. Margo, come on in here. I want to talk to you about why you showed up. What brought you out here so early this morning?
MARGO RACHAT, SPELMAN ALUMNA: Well, somebody needs to stand up for the students who can't raise their objections. They've put the students in a very difficult situation, and we're not OK with this watching this. There's a lot of objections, so we don't want to spoil this day for the graduates, but at the same time, Biden is not worthy of an honor from Morehouse or any HBCU.
VALENCIA: What do you think of the message going out by student activists over the weekend to turn their back on the president during his commencement speech they say as he's turned his back on Palestinians?
RACHAT: I commend them. I celebrate our students. I'm glad that they're instilled with that, that those values to basically stand up for what's right and to show their solidarity with the people in Gaza that we haven't forgotten them.
VALENCIA: I found what you really -- what you said off camera really interesting. You're a lifelong Democrat. You voted for President Biden in 2020, but you're not planning on voting for him in 2024. What do you make of the progressives and liberals who say a vote not for Biden is basically handing the election to President Trump, and that would be even much worse in their eyes.
RACHAT: Well, it's not my job to vote for a candidate because Trump is worse. Like, it's their jobs as Democrats or any candidate to earn my vote. So if a Trump presidency comes to, you know, comes into existence, but Biden's decisions, this is the Democratic Party failure to give us someone to vote for, not just vote against Trump.
VALENCIA: This has really animated the conversation and activists right now in May. November's a long way away. You think people are going to be, you know, taking this momentum into November?
RACHAT: We've been protesting since October, November, December. They've had plenty of time to change course to -- or find some other candidate, but there have been thousands of dead children each day since, you know, the first protest started.
So I can't vote for a genocide candidate. For every dead child, I will not vote for Biden. So I think it's their jobs to change course correct. Give us a reason to vote for them.
VALENCIA: Thank you, Margo, so much for taking the time with CNN. A strong, strong message here from the first demonstrator we've seen show up here ahead of President Biden's commencement address, which gets underway here in just a couple of hours.
Isabel, Victor?
BLACKWELL: A message that the White House and the campaign hears loud and clear.
Nick Valencia, Arlette Saenz, thank you both.
Meanwhile, former President Trump, he was in Dallas last night.
ROSALES: CNN's Steve Contorno reports from Trump's 9th address to the NRA.
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: The National Rifle Association endorsed Donald Trump for president at their convention in Dallas on Saturday, but the former president said he needs more than the backing of gun owners in this election. He needs their votes.
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TRUMP: We've got to get gun owners to vote because you know what? I don't know what it is. Perhaps it's a form of rebellion because you're rebellious people, aren't you? But gun owners don't vote. What is that all about? I've heard that. I heard it a few weeks ago.
If the gun owners voted, we would swamp them at levels that nobody's ever seen before. So I think you're a rebellious bunch. But let's be rebellious and vote this time, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CONTORNO: Trump went on to boast that he, quote, "didn't move an inch on gun laws" when he was president. And he has said the nation's gun owners have been, quote, "under siege under President Joe Biden." He vowed to unravel all of Joe Biden's gun policies if he is elected to a second term and said he would also fire the ATF director, the nation's top gun regulator.
His appearance in Dallas drew a strong rebuke from the Biden campaign with this statement coming from Vice President Harris, "At a time when guns are the number one cause of death for children and teens in America. Donald Trump is catering to the gun lobby and threatening to make the crisis worse if reelected."
[07:10:08]
It remains to be seen how much the NRA can assist Donald Trump this cycle. Eight years ago, they put upward of $30 million toward helping him defeat Hillary Clinton. But the organization has faced a number of crisis in recent years, including scandals related to financial mismanagement that have threatened its relevancy and its coffers.
Steve Contorno, CNN Dallas.
ROSALES: Steve Contorno, thank you. Well, Nikki Haley may have dropped out of the race for president, but she's still the thorn in Donald Trump's side as she racks up votes in the primary, despite not campaigning. So far, Trump has made no moves to appeal to Haley voters and has yet to contact Haley to ask for her support.
While Trump may not have Haley's support, he does have plenty of GOP lawmakers pushing to New York -- rushing to New York to support him in his hush money trial. Closing arguments in that trial could start as early as this week.
CNN's Manu Raju joins me now live. Manu, thank you so much for joining us. Good morning to you
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
ROSALES: What can you tell us about who might be at Trump's trial this week?
RAJU: Yes, we expect more and more Republicans from Capitol Hill to run up to New York, defend the former president. The former president's been eager to see that kind of defense, even though there's been enormous criticism, mostly from Democrats, but some Republicans too, including one Trump critic, Mitt Romney, who said that they are demeaning themselves by running up to defend the former president amid these allegations, these tawdry allegations of him falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a adult film actress whom he was allegedly having an extramarital affair with.
But I put that question to some of those people who rushed up there to defend Donald Trump, including one of them, Senator Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, someone who is up for reelection this year, about whether he has any concerns about the underlying allegations in this case.
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RAJU: But what about just his conduct? Criminal charges aside, the conduct of allegedly having this extramarital affair.
SEN. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: That's not the charge here.
RAJU: But does it raise any concerns for you about his conduct?
SCOTT: That, you know, the -- I support the President, and I think everybody else supports the President. I mean, this is -- I think about what's important. Border was secure, economy was good, we weren't at war, and the opposite of happened under Biden.
RAJU: What about his character? Does it raise any concerns about the President's character?
SCOTT: That's a decision each person gets to make.
RAJU: Let's -- so what you think about it. Does it raise any questions about his character? (END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And that's the ultimate question here is that when in this comes to a verdict, potentially as early as this coming week, the jury could get this and there could be a verdict this week, whether it is an acquittal. Of course, whether he's convicted, that is not a question. We certainly don't know the answer to.
But if there is a conviction, how will Republicans in particular deal with this? A lot of them are saying like Rick Scott, they'll be with the former president.
ROSALES: And the big question as we get closer to November is, who will be Trump's VP pick? There's been a lot of lobbying about that. Manu, what are you hearing?
RAJU: Yes, there has been a lot of lobbying. In fact, a lot of those members, potential candidates, have been up in New York, meeting with the former president, defending him. And one of those members who was up there, Ralph Norman, he's a member of the House Freedom Caucus, he was one of the supporters of Nikki Haley.
He told me that he personally urged the former president to pick Nikki Haley as an effort to unify the party.
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REP. RALPH NORMAN (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: She ought to be his VP.
RAJU: He's sort of --
NORMAN: Well, politics changes. Nikki Haley, you can hate her. You can't hate her voters. Who else defeated, what, 12 others? So -- and I told the president this Saturday. And Nikki Haley is the logical choice. And if not her, who? Tell me somebody who can relate to the people like she can. There's nobody.
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RAJU: And of course, a big question of this election overall is where will those Nikki Haley voters go in November? There are still a significant amount, small number, but still sizable enough in these early primary states who continue to vote for Nikki Haley, even though she has dropped out of the race for many weeks now.
So, so many questions here for the former president as he decides who to pick and how to deal with those voters who may not be for him just yet.
ROSALES: Yes, and if ego can be set aside for those logical choices too.
Manu Raju, thank you. Tune in to watch Inside Politics with Manu Raju today at 8:00 a.m. Eastern and 11:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
BLACKWELL: A member of Israel's war cabinet gives Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a major ultimatum. A new timeline for laying out a plan for Israel's war with Hamas and what Netanyahu is saying about it. That's ahead in a live report.
ROSALES: Plus, an election year oddity. Both the judge and prosecutor and former President Trump's election interference trial right here in Fulton County, Georgia, they are facing each other on primary races on Tuesday. How they're balancing campaigning and the court cases, that's up a little later.
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ROSALES: Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz is giving Prime Minister Netanyahu an ultimatum. Lay out a plan for the war against Hamas by June 8th or Gantz will leave the government. Netanyahu's office responded saying that Gantz's demands would be a, quote, "defeat for Israel."
BLACKWELL: And look at this in Gaza, the people rushing the aid trucks that are coming in from that new floating pier. They're trying to climb onto the moving trucks to take boxes of food. In Rafah, United Nations says 800,000 Palestinians have evacuated the city, which was nearly half of the city's population just a month ago.
[07:20:07
Journalist Elliott Gotkine is live in Tel Aviv. Hello to you. First, take us to this ultimatum and then what Netanyahu's response has been.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Victor, this was an ultimatum laid down in a press conference last night by Benny Gantz. Now, he is one of three members of the war cabinet, along with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. And what he said was that if Netanyahu doesn't come up with this six-point plan that he outlined, by June the 8th and steps to fulfill this plan, then he would leave the government.
Now, to be perfectly honest, there's not that much different in Gantz's six-point plan, things like destroying Hamas militarily, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, returning the hostages who were abducted on October the 7th to Israel. There's not that much in his plan that differs from stated government policy.
What I think he's really trying to get at is that Netanyahu's dithering Netanyahu's way of leadership and the way that he is in Gantz's view, beholden to the far-right elements in his broader governing coalition. This is what is hampering Israel's gains in this war.
Netanyahu's response was more of a rebuke than a response. He said that what Gantz said were were -- was basically just not words that that really meant anything. That if he were to adhere to Gantz's instructions that this would be handing Hamas victory and also abandoning all of the hostages. It's also worth noting, and this is key, that even if Benny Gantz were to leave this -- BLACKWELL: All right, obviously, we're having a technical issue with
Elliott's shot there. But Elliott Gotkine can thank you for that report.
ROSALES: Yes. And Michael Cohen will be back on the stand tomorrow to face more grilling from Donald Trump's defense team. Will his testimony end up sowing reasonable doubt in the jurors mind? That's next.
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[07:26:23]
ROSALES: Welcome back. Some local political races here in Atlanta have national implications. Both the prosecutor and the judge in the Fulton County election interference case face elections this Tuesday. D.A. Fani Willis and Judge Scott McAfee are on the ballot.
BLACKWELL: Now, the outcome of these races could affect whether or not the case against Donald Trump is dropped.
ROSALES: Yes, that's big. CNN's Sara Murray has a look at what the challengers and incumbents are saying about their campaigns.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The criminal case against Donald Trump in Fulton County, Georgia, is effectively at a standstill because of a variety of legal issues. But in the meantime, the judge and the prosecutor in that case, keeping busy on the campaign trail. They are both on the ballot this coming Tuesday.
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MURRAY (voice-over): In the criminal case against Donald Trump in Georgia, it's not just the defendant who's campaigning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I run against Judge McAfee.
MURRAY (voice-over): In an election year oddity, both the judge --
JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE, FULTON COUNTY'S SUPERIOR COURT: When I got into this job, it wasn't for the spotlight.
MURRAY (voice-over): -- and the prosecutor.
FANI WILLIS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF FULTON COUNTY: I think the campaigning is going great.
MURRAY (voice-over): -- are also on the ballot. Their campaign's adding another layer of uncertainty to the politically charged racketeering case against Trump and his co-defendants.
TRUMP: What has taken place here is a travesty of justice.
MURRAY (voice-over): The incumbents in Georgia are favored to win. But juggling reelection bids and the Trump case is proving a high wire act for Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee and District Attorney Fani Willis. Willis, balancing community appearances.
WILLIS: They're probably a little nervous because they know. They write all these speeches and then I say what I want to say.
MURRAY (voice-over): And intense public scrutiny.
WILLIS: I'm sorry that folks get mad when everybody in society can be prosecuted.
MURRAY (voice-over): The threat of being disqualified from the Trump case still hanging over Willis with an appeals court set to take up the issue, part of the continuing fallout from previous comments she made about the case and her past romance with this former fellow prosecutor who was forced to resign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Workplace romances are as American as apple pie.
CHRISTIAN WISE SMITH (D), CANDIDATE, FULTON COUNTY DA: Can I talk about that?
MURRAY (voice-over): Willis faces Democratic primary challenger Christian Wise Smith, an attorney who struggled to gain traction in prior bids for office. Now some Democrats worry his bid to oust Willis could endanger the Trump case.
SMITH: Would I drop the case? Let me say this. I think the case is in grave jeopardy right now. You know, we're going to take a deep dive in it and look at the best way to go forward.
MURRAY (voice-over): Judge McAfee also hitting the campaign trail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are honored by the presence of Judge Scott McAfee and his family today.
MURRAY (voice-over): And far outraising his opponent with help from several players in the Trump case. Former Democratic Governor Roy Barnes, a witness in the disqualification matter, appeared at a fundraiser for McAfee with Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican and possible witness in the case.
Defendant Ray Smith, a former Trump attorney, donated to the judge before Smith was indicted. The donations aren't banned under ethics rules, but McAfee's opponent, defense attorney and talk radio host Robert Patillo, said, "It makes it seem like we're running a kangaroo court."
MURRAY: Do you think there's been a fairness issue in this case so far?
ROBERT PATILLO, CANDIDATE, FULTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE: I think there's a public perception of that. And I think that when the public has a perception that there's not fairness in a trial that's how you end up with a system being broken.
MURRAY (voice-over): McAfee told CNN, Patillo missed the point of the fundraiser. "I believe it reflects a bipartisan appreciation for fairness." He donated Smith's campaign contribution to the Boy Scouts.
Patillo, who's primarily running on criminal justice reform, also criticized McAfee for the pace of cases, including the Trump matter. The judge defended his docket at a recent campaign appearance.
MCAFEE: It's not as simple as just setting a trial date. There's so many things that go into a pretrial.
MURRAY (voice-over): Whoever prevails in the nonpartisan race is likely to inherit the Trump case.
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[07:30:02]
MURRAY: Now, that nonpartisan judicial race is going to be decided in the election on May 21st. As for the Democratic primary for district attorney, whoever wins that, whether it's Christian Wise Smith or Fani Willis, they will face off against a Republican opponent, GOP Attorney Courtney Kramer come this fall.
But in deep blue Fulton County, Kramer has an uphill fight. So, it is really this Democratic primary that is the race to watch.
BLACKWELL: Sara Murray, thank you so much. All right. Now, to the ongoing legal fights for Former President Donald Trump. His New York hush money trial is expected to go to the jury this week, potentially with cross-examination of Trump's former fixer Cohen to wrap up. Of course, that depends on what kind of case the defense puts forward.
Here to talk about it, CNN Legal Analyst and former U.S. Attorney Michael Moore Good to see you.
MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST AND FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Good to see you.
BLACKWELL: All right. So, let's start with Michael Cohen, because he'll be back on the stand at the start of this week. There was this big moment, I'm talking about that October 24, 2016 phone call, the text messages. He testified that the phone call was with from about the Stormy Daniels matter. Todd Blanche, the defense attorney, showed text messages to Cohen and of course to the jury showing that they were talking about, around that time, harassing phone calls that he'd received and he was asking for help. Todd Blanch made it a big moment, said you lied. How much damage did it cause?
MOORE: Yes. And I am glad to be with you. It was a big moment. I mean, I just can't get around that. And it was a devastating moment against the government's case, against the state's case here.
The issue is that this call is -- has been played up, it's sort of the key call where Trump approves everything, he gives his stamp of acknowledgement and this, I know what's going on and the states sort of played that up. What they didn't do was prep the witness for this second reasoning for the call and it's now got them into a position of having to debate what happens and how much you -- information you can get in 96 seconds, which is how long the call lasts.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
MOORE: That's ridiculous. I mean, that's just nuts, to -- that that's what we're talking about. But nothing -- and then -- and they didn't bring this out on direct examination. And so, when it gets brought out on cross-examination, it makes it look like that there was a completely different reason for the call.
So, then you take that and couple it with the text messages, where Cohen is texting with the body man for Trump, saying, I'm being harassed by some 14-year-old, help me out, here's the number, here's the information, and all that, it clearly makes it appear, and I think more than appear, it clearly shows that the call was something for a different purpose. And that's bad, because it's Trump is now one step removed from approval.
They've corroborated certain things. They've corroborated him signing checks. They've corroborated, you know, that there's this cheat sheet from Weisselberg. The problem is we used to -- it's Sunday, we used to kind of do this song in Sunday school. The foolish man built his house upon the sand, right?
BLACKWELL: Yes, yes.
MOORE: The question now is if they built their whole case on the sand they're not planning to bring in Weisselberg. And so, you've just got Cohen and they're having to rest solely on his credibility. And that -- this was a bad blow against that.
BLACKWELL: How do -- does the prosecutor repair, rehabilitate Cohen once they get another shot at it?
MOORE: You know, it'll be tough. But I mean, they're going to have a chance. What will happen Monday is either they'll continue with a couple hours of cross-examination or there's a possibility that, I think, the defense could just say we don't have anything else and try to catch the prosecution flat footed.
At that point, they'll come in and try to say, well, but didn't you mean this? And isn't it true you saw this document and they'll try to bring some stuff up like that. But the problem they've got is that he's sort of got these known flaws in him for the lying and other things that he's done both in the case, I think, and before the case, and trying to clean that up is a problem.
They may be able to put a band aid on it, whether or not it gets them past the beyond a reasonable doubt standard of did Trump commit these business record falsifications for the purpose of violating federal election law, that's going to be another thing.
BLACKWELL: You know, the Stormy Daniels cross-examination went on longer than the direct. And a lot of the legal experts that I've spoken with and heard from say that some of it, for the defense, didn't really lead anywhere. It seemed personal, directed from the former president. This might be different where the more time you have Michael Cohen on, you are making some headway. How long do you think that they'll keep with him on this?
MOORE: Yes. I mean, I think two hours will be more than enough on Monday if that's what they do. I mean -- but I could also justify, if I were in Blanche's shoes, saying, you know, let's just end it now. We've done so much damage. And they get a chance to recross.
So, the state will come in and they'll try to rehabilitate Cohen through redirect examination. And then the defense gets another chance to come back and to recross on any issues raised during that redirect. And so, they're not going to be finished with him on Monday. At least the first thing Monday morning, they'll get their second shot. It may be Monday afternoon.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
MOORE: But they're also trying to play the calendar because there's this question of when do we have closing arguments? When does the jury get the case? It's already a short week because of the holiday week and other things next week. And that's going to come into play.
BLACKWELL: Michael Moore, thank you.
MOORE: Glad to be with you.
BLACKWELL: Elisa Raffa will have more on weather for us after the break. Elisa, what are we looking at?
[07:35:00]
RAFFA: We have a severe risk that's growing in the Central Plains. A level four out of five risk. We could be looking at winds up to 100 miles per hour. We'll track that for you. That's coming up.
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BLACKWELL: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says that his wife chose to fly the American flag upside-down at their home just days after the January 6th insurrection.
[07:40:00]
ROSALES: A 2021 image obtained by "The New York Times" shows the flag upside-down, a symbol used by Trump supporters who believe the election was stolen. CNN's Jessica Schneider has those details.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: This court is facing multiple ethics questions, all while its public approval rating is plummeting. We heard a call from Democratic Senator Dick Durbin calling on Justice Alito to recuse himself from the Trump immunity case. But so far, no sign that Justice Alito or Justice Thomas will recuse despite this mountain of criticism and questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How have you enjoyed your husband being on the court so far? MARTHA-ANN ALITO, WIFE OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SAM ALITO: Well, it's been quite an adventure, as you can well imagine.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Martha-Ann Alito has largely stayed out of the spotlight since her husband joined the Supreme Court nearly two decades ago, and his far-right views came under attack during a grueling confirmation process that left her emotional and Senator Lindsey Graham jumping to his defense.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Guilt by association is going to drive good men and women away from wanting to sit where you're sitting.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): But now, her husband is putting her squarely in the spotlight because of this picture published by "The New York Times" showing an upside-down flag that became a symbol of this Stop the Steal movement after the 2020 election flying outside of the Alitos home in the days surrounding Joe Biden's presidential inauguration.
Justice Alito has laid the blame on his wife in this statement to "The New York Times." I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag. It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.
JOHN E. JONES III, FORMER CHIEF JUDGE, U.S. DISTRICT COURT: I have met Justice Alito, decent person. I think this is just beyond the pale at this point. You can have people doing this. I have a wife who has very strong opinions about things. I took some real shots when I was on the federal bench. But you keep that in the house.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Martha-Ann is just the latest Supreme Court spouse at the center of controversy. Ginni Thomas exchanged texts with Trump's then chief of staff, Mark Meadows, pushing him to challenge the 2020 election results.
JOHN EASTMAN, FORMER TRUMP LAWYER: We've got petitions pending before the Supreme Court.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): And she communicated with John Eastman, the architect of the fake electors' doors scheme, and the man who pressured Mike Pence to refuse to certify the results. Thomas has so far not recused and current cases being decided by the court.
JAMES SAMPLE, SCHOOL OF LAW AT HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY: The issue here is not that a justice's spouse can't do things. The issue here is that a justice is responsible to the high court calling of the rule of law.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Justice Thomas and Justice Alito, reliable conservatives on the court have also indicated they could be leaning toward Trump and hundreds of capitol rioters and cases this term.
ASSOCIATE JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS, U.S. SUPREME COURT: There have been many violent protests that have interfered with proceedings. Has the government applied this provision two other protests in the past?
ASSOCIATE JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO, U.S. SUPREME COURT: The president may be criminally prosecuted by a bitter political opponent. Will that not lead us into a cycle that destabilizes the functioning of our country as a democracy?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHEIDER (on camera): And the decision from this court about whether or not Trump has immunity from criminal prosecution could come any day now, that will affect whether or not Trump's criminal trial here in Washington can and will move forward, all while these two justices seem to show no sign of recusing themselves.
ROSALES: Jessica Schneider, thank you. And a programming note, tune in tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern for "How It Really Happened." "Gardner Art Heist: Stealing Beauty." Which takes a deep dive into a half a billion-dollar art heist in Boston. More than 30 years ago.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:45:00]
BLACKWELL: The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to start former Trump adviser Steve Bannon's prison sentence. Now, this move comes after a federal appeals court upheld Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction. Bannon was found guilty in 2022 of two counts of defying a subpoena by the House January 6th Select Committee is in the investigation, of course, into the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
He was sentenced to four months in prison. The judge who presided over Bannon's trial has given him until tomorrow to respond to the Department of Justice request.
ROSALES: The Los Angeles Police Department says it is aware of a video appearing to show Sean Diddy Combs assaulting his then girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in 2016. The disturbing surveillance video shows Diddy shoving, dragging, and kicking Ventura during an altercation inside of an L.A. hotel. The footage matches allegations in a now settled lawsuit filed by Ventura last year. The L.A. County District Attorney's Office says Combs will not be prosecuted because that incident happened beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted.
BLACKWELL: Miraculous ending to a scary incident. No injuries reported after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing on a highway in Spokane, Washington. Listen to this. State officials say the plane ran out of fuel in one tank as it started -- was being piloted by trainee. Now, the plane landed on a construction site on the highway.
Officials say there was no damage to the area or the plane. And the plane had enough fuel in its second tank to take off from the highway and then return to base.
ROSALES: That is incredible. Well, this morning, 30 million people across the Central U.S. and Southeast, they are at risk for severe weather with damaging wind gusts, hail, and possible isolated tornadoes. BLACKWELL: CNN Meteorologist Elisa Raffa joins us now. That's a lot going on. What's the latest?
[07:50:00]
RAFFA: Yes, we have a growing threat in the Central Plains. The red bullseye is at moderate risk. Level four out of five includes much of Kansas, including Dodge City. That's where we could find a possible derecho setting up or a line of intense winds that could be upwards of 80 to 100 miles per hour. That's what we're really watching for. It could also have some very large hail to the size of tennis balls and a couple of tornadoes cannot be ruled out.
We're really going to juice up the atmosphere. A lot of humidity with daytime highs above average getting into the upper 80s. Those dew points surging, that lets those storms really grow tall and some of them can spin.
You can see the storms really fire up kind of later on this afternoon, maybe not until after 4:00 or 5:00. There's what could be our derecho. Again, it's a line of intense storms that organizes and pushes that damaging wind threat, and that could happen across Kansas with some winds up to 100 miles per hour.
We'll continue with the storm threat in parts of Iowa as we go into Monday. The storm system kind of lingers a little bit. So again, looking at a multi-day severe weather outbreak, looking at that slight risk level two out of five across parts of Kansas and Nebraska and Iowa on Monday. And then already on Tuesday, another big bullseye, that level three out of five in the orange from Madison, Wisconsin, down into Kansas City, all from the same system.
This is the time of year. We are in the heart of severe weather season. April was incredibly active for us across the U.S. Much above average. On average, we get 192 tornadoes in April. But look at May, 275 tornadoes on average. And again, this is the month after an incredibly active April, we're already starting out May incredibly active.
Here's our tornado reports to date from January 1st over 800. Average to date, it would be about 640. So, incredibly active and staying that way through the next couple of days. So, please stay weather aware with us. Guys.
ROSALES: And, hey, soon enough, we'll be talking hurricane season. Elisa Raffa, thank you.
Coy Wire has more for us on sports this morning, right after the break.
COW WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. Stay right here with us. We have your news and highlights, including Simone Biles, a jaw dropping performance in her season over ahead of the Olympics, we'll have that. And Caitlin Clark getting another welcome to the W moment, but hear how she bounced back yet again. And what her opponents had to say about her. That and more coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:55:00]
ROSALES: With all the uncertainty around his arrest and criminal charges, the number one golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler struggled Saturday.
BLACKWELL: Coy Wire is with us now. Scheffler says he wasn't himself.
WIRE: Yes. After a solid second round, you know, on Friday, the morning of his arrest there, he -- Scottie Scheffler said that his head was still spinning from everything that happened. So, by the third round yesterday, it appeared that maybe that emotional roller coaster got to him a bit after missing a birdie putt on the opening hole. The world number one and reigning masters champ would go double bogey, bogey and bogey over the next three holes.
So, he'd go from three shots off the lead to eight shots back by the end of the day, finishing two over par. While the rest of the field played Valhalla really well with low scores, pretty much across the board.
Here's a look on top at 15 under Xander Schauffele, who's looking for his first career major. And two-time major champ, Collin Morikawa. Here's Scheffler on his struggles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, WORLD NUMBER ONE GOLFER: I was definitely did not feel like myself today for sure. But, you know, yesterday happened and I did my best to recover from it and come out here and compete today. And, you know, I did a great job yesterday.
I was coming out and competing, riding the adrenaline. And yes, this morning was definitely not my usual routine for a round, if that makes sense. But you know, at the end of the day, I came out here, hoping to have a good round, wasn't able to get it done, which is pretty frustrating, but I'll come back and try again tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: All right. We'll see. Let's go. NBA playoff action now. Incredible comeback in game 6 between the top seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavs. Dallas was down 16 at halftime, but Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving take over. Kyrie scoring 18 of his 22 points in the second half. Doncic dropping 29 points, finishing with his third triple-double. His third straight. That fadeaway J there late in the fourth gave Dallas the lead.
But the youngest team in the playoffs fight until the end. MVP runner up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with the alley-oop to Chet Holmgren. Thunder back on top. Game high 36 points for SGA. But this is what he'll remember, if you're thinking about it all offseason, fouling P.J. Washington with just two seconds left. It was for a three pointer. So, Washington will hit the first two free throws then take the lead and he missed the third on purpose. The Thunder threw up a prayer, but it goes unanswered. Mavs stunned the Thunder. 1-17 1-16. They advance to the Western Conference finals for the second time in three years.
WNBA rookie phenom, Caitlin Clark putting up a team high, 22 points for Indiana Fever, facing the Liberty in New York. But her first week in the W continues to be a rough one. A blasted on this screen here, set by reigning league MVP, Breanna Stewart, in the first. The Fever are 0 and three now in the season.
Clark's struggling with eight turnovers in this one. As the League's best, like Sabrina Ionescu just continue to show Clark how it's done. You know, winning 91 to 80, bringing in a league record, $2 million in a ticket revenue, though for this game, showing that the Caitlin Clark effect is real.
Simone Biles starting her season off with a bang, flying through the air at the U.S. Classic in Orford, Connecticut on Saturday. Look at this. That's the most difficult vault in women's gymnastics, the Yurchenko double pike. It's now named after Biles. And then watch this in the floor routine, pulling off a triple double first pack. Looks like Victor on a Friday. Yes, baby.
[08:00:00]
