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Trump's Bid to Throw out Hush Money Conviction Denied; Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) is Interviewed about School Shootings; Trump Hosts Executives at Mar-a-Lago. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired December 17, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLICIAL COMMENTATORS: On top of this.

HUNT: Well, I mean, and also I think - it does - if they're going to get a - do we think they're going to tell the House Intelligence Committee the same thing that they're telling the American public or not?

ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think they are, which is that - and to your point, some of these things are just planets in the sky that are looking weird through like some (INAUDIBLE).

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I - yes. Yes, I mean - yes.

THOMPSON: Sometimes they are planes. Now it will be curious if there's like any specific intelligence, you know, like actual like intelligence, surveillance or anything else going on. I doubt that that was the case, that they would hide it, at least from the American people at this point. So -

WILLIAMS: Yes.

BEDINGFIELD: Can I just say, there's no incentive for - from my perspective, in having lived through the Chinese spy balloon, I was in the White House trying to communicate around this, when we did - when -

HUNT: That was a fun assignment.

BEDINGFIELD: Oh, let me tell you. When we did determine that there was a national security nexus, and we said so. There is no incentive. I get that it's, you know, it's an exciting conspiracy theory there. There's no incentive for the White House to tell the House Intelligence Committee something different than they're telling the public. That will instantly become known, first of all. And, second of all, the story is spiraling out of control. They should put public parameters around the story.

WILLIAMS: Yes, that's - and the thing is -

BEDINGFIELD: And I think that if there were more to say, they would. WILLIAMS: And to your point, the White House can't know everything

that's in the sky. Now, I would think that by now we'd have a sense as to where the planet mercury is at any point. OK, fine, assuming not. That's a reality. However, the public - it doesn't sit well with the public that the White House can't say with - definitively what's actually up in the sky.

The other problem is that it's very easy now to spread conspiracy theories.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes.

HUNT: Yes.

WILLIAMS: That we live in an era in which, when people don't have full information, or even when they do, it's very easy to just get on the internet and start spreading - spreading nonsense (INAUDIBLE).

THOMPSON: Yes.

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: What - what start -

HUNT: Last word.

TODD: What's perceived as malevolence is often incompetence.

WILLIAMS: Yes. Oh, yes.

HUNT: For sure.

All right, straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, a legal setback for President-elect Trump. His bid to dismiss his hush money conviction denied by a New York judge.

Plus, TikTok, Netflix, Apple, some of the biggest names in tech making the trek from Silicon Valley to Mar-a-Lago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:36:47]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENT-ELECT: This was a rigged, disgraceful trial. But the real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people. They know what happened here. And everybody knows what happened here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Was that seven months or a lifetime ago? Seven months since Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Despite his election victory in November, his conviction in the New York hush money trial will not be tossed out due to the Supreme Court's decision on presidential immunity. Trump's lawyers argue the conviction should be set aside due to

evidence and communications related to Trump's time in the White House. But in a 41-page decision, Judge Juan Merchan writes in part that if it was, quote, "logical and reasonable to conclude that if the act of falsifying records to cover up the payments so that the public would not be made aware is decidedly an unofficial act, so too should the communications to further that same cover-up be unofficial."

Trump's transition team reacted to the decision, issuing a statement that reads in part this, quote, "today's decision by deeply conflicted, acting Justice Merchan in the Manhattan DA witch hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Court's decision on immunity."

Elliott Williams -

WILLIAMS: Yes.

HUNT: Can you help us understand - just - could you just explain this?

WILLIAMS: Yes.

BEDINGFIELD: Come on. Make it make sense.

WILLIAMS: Just let them cook.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes, make it make sense.

WILLIAMS: It's absolutely the right decision. However, this is not the final word on that very question. What the Supreme Court decided is that presidents are immune for - for actions that were taken in their official capacity, right? President Trump's conduct that he was convicted of here was largely in his private capacity as a business owner. However, there are a few little bits of evidence that came up in trial that involved conversations he had in the White House. What do you do with those?

HUNT: Signing the checks while he is -

WILLIAMS: Signing checks, talking to Hope Hicks, his personal aide. So, how do you handle those? Are those official acts or not?

This will end up going to a federal court at some point to decide the question. It's an open -

HUNT: Does that mean it goes to the Supreme Court eventually?

WILLIAMS: It could. It could if the Supreme Court takes it on.

Now, the simple fact is, he cannot go to jail while he's president of the United States. That's not me making a moral point. The law, as of right now, actually says that. So, a lot of this is an academic question likely until after he leaves the presidency. But this is a thorny area of law that doesn't have a lot of precedent in American history. And everybody's just sort of figuring out what to do with that.

BEDINGFIELD: To say the least.

HUNT: Does it have any precedent in American history?

WILLIAMS: Believe it or not, it does not. But this open question of how to resolve that immunity question.

HUNT: Brad, the politics of this?

TODD: I think that the vast majority of the country has decided that they were the jury in all of Donald Trump's cases, and that those are done.

I think it's a question of whether Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts want to take up this thorny issue for the future at some future date.

WILLIAMS: Right.

TODD: I think - I don't - I don't see Juan Merchan entering our national conversation much after this.

THOMPSON: Just one little bit I wanted to add was, a lot of the lawyers for Donald Trump are now in the administration, including staff secretary role, DOJ roles. It's going to be really fascinating to see, you know, how they deal with some of these legal issues once they're in power.

HUNT: Yes, for sure.

All right, coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, that deadly school shooting in Wisconsin leaving two dead and six others critically injured.

[06:40:07]

Congressman Marc Veasey of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force will be here to discuss.

Plus, palling around with the president-elect. Tech CEOs pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago, trying to get on Donald Trump's good side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENT-ELECT: In the first term, everybody was fighting me. In this term, everybody wants to be my friend. I don't know. My personality changed or something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard them and then some people started crying. And then we just waited till the police came. And then they escorted us out. I was scared. Why did they do that? Why?

[06:45:02]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was getting ready for lunch, so it was basically lunch time. And then I just heard sobbing. And there was a teacher and she was screaming like, oh, my leg, help, help!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: That little girl, just eight years old. She walked into school for her typical Monday morning, ended up leaving that building now facing a lifetime of trauma. Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, the latest site of a deadly school shooting. A 15-year-old female classmate, now identified as Natalie Rupnow, opened fire at the K-12 school. Those students witnessing what was at least the 83rd school shooting of 2024. As you can see, it's a number that seems to grow year after year.

The mother of one survivor says it makes her question her entire understanding of safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If your kids are - have school, they are not OK. If they are at church, they are not OK. If they are outside, elsewhere, they are not OK. Well, where are they going to be safe?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, joining us now is Democratic Congressman Marc Veasey of Texas. He is the vice chair of the New Democrat Coalition and currently serves on the house Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

Congressman, thanks very much for being here.

REP. MARC VEASEY (D-TX): Good morning.

HUNT: So, I know you - and I'm interested to hear what your personal experience with guns in the classroom was like. I know you were working as a teacher and you had something - obviously this is - this - in this case people died. But you understand what it's like, what happens when a student brings a gun into a classroom?

VEASEY: Yes. Yes. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

HUNT: What was your experience?

VEASEY: So, it's interesting. I wasn't a certified teacher. I was a long-term sub. I ended up being at this high school for an entire year. It was just sort of a weird circumstance how that happened. But the classroom, literally, that was right next door to mine, there was a young student that was about 14 years old, a ninth grader, that brought a gun to school. It was a nine millimeter gun.

And what happened was that there was another student that saw the gun and was scared and told the teacher. And so they sent the campus security in to check everyone. They couldn't find the gun. And they were getting ready to leave the classroom. And it - this was a very old high school in Fort Worth. And one of the campus monitors picked up this jacket that was sitting on the stage that was inside of the classroom and dropped the jacket and heard this loud thunk. And there was a nine millimeter wrapped up in the jacket.

And what happened was, this young 14 year old was being bullied. And he was afraid. And he bought this gun, this nine millimeter, for $10. And they asked him, where did you buy a gun for $10? And he said he bought it from a drug addict. And he wasn't taking - he wasn't going to take being bullied on by this gang member anymore.

HUNT: So, what does that say? I mean, the - the way that you're telling that story, and I think as - and just watching that little girl take it back to Wisconsin with that popsicle in her hand, SpongeBob, just the level of normalization of this happening in this country is something that I - I struggle with as someone who has two little kids in school. How - do you think that this has become normal in America? And is there anything that can be done about it?

VEASEY: I think that people are frustrated with it. But what I really think has happened here is that, you know, it's another case of the groups. And when you talk about the groups and the groups being out of control in D.C., the king of the groups is the NRA. They have way too much power, way too much control over Republicans and even legislation that, you know, 80, 90 percent of the public supports, we can't get through because the Republicans would rather listen to this group than listen to the American people and get some things done.

I don't think that it's going to cure everything if we pass some of these more common sense gun safety legislation packages, but at least we're showing the American public that we're trying to do something about this. And - and we need to do that.

Look, there are a lot of guns that are just floating around out there that are on the black market, that have been stolen, guns that the police aren't even - that the police don't even know have been stolen. But it doesn't mean that we shouldn't do anything. We have to - to pass just some basic common sense gun legislation.

HUNT: Do you think that there would be any path in Congress for legislation related to ghost guns, especially in the wake of the CEO killing -

VEASEY: Right.

HUNT: Where a ghost gun was apparently allegedly used in that murder? Is that an area where you think Republicans and Democrats could find some common ground?

VEASEY: We would have to go to the NRA website and see what the NRA says about ghost guns, because if the NRA has a problem with us doing something about ghost guns, then that means that with the Republican presidency and a Republican Senate and a Republican House, that means nothing's going to get done on ghost guns. [06:50:02]

And so, do I think that most Americans would like us to not let someone that is clearly as crazy and demented as this guy that killed the UnitedHealthcare CEO, never be able to make a ghost gun again. Absolutely, I think most Americans don't want anyone like that to ever be able to make a ghost gun again. But do I think that this body that's led by Republicans are going to do anything? I think that they would do something if the - if the NRA told them that it was OK.

HUNT: Would you be willing to support or vote for measures that would add security to schools, whether that was resources in the form of armed officers, or simply funding for schools to hire people like that?

VEASEY: Yes, absolutely. I would definitely be for schools being able to add more security. But we're not going to be able to add enough security. I mean this was a private school. So, think about all of the private schools that are out there, little small private schools with like ten, 20, 100 people, versus the public schools that have more people. We're not going to be able to put a security guard in every school, but we certainly can add more money so schools can have this enhanced protection that they need, and then look at mental health services for kids.

We know that a lot of kids are being influenced by things that we didn't have to worry about when I was a kid growing up that they see on their phones, or they see on their devices, that could be influencing them in a very negative way. And so we really need to sit down and unpack that and figure out a way so we can protect our kids.

HUNT: All right, Congressman Marc Veasey for us this morning. Sir, thanks very much for being on the program.

VEASEY: Thank you.

HUNT: I appreciate your time.

All right, 51 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.

A powerful 7.3 earthquake hitting the island nation of Vanuatu earlier today. That is just east of Australia. The U.S. embassy there among the structures heavily damaged in the quake. Right now one person is confirmed dead. It's unclear how many are injured. Officials fear that people may be trapped under the rubble.

The leader of Russia's nuclear protection forces killed in a bombing in Moscow. Russian officials say the bomb was hidden inside an electric scooter and detonated remotely outside an apartment building today. A source with knowledge of the operation telling CNN, Ukraine's security service was behind the assassination. The Russian general was wanted by Ukraine for using chemical weapons.

Happening today, presidential electors will convene in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., to cast their votes for president and vice president. Barring any so-called unfaithful electors, President-elect Trump expected to win 312 electoral votes. Vice President Kamala Harris expected to get 226 votes.

Quote, "I do not need to be involved in circuses." Republican Congresswoman Victoria Spartz announcing yesterday that she will not sit on committees or caucus with Republicans unless she sees an improvement in House leadership, signaling the challenges ahead for House Speaker Mike Johnson as he navigates the slimmest of House majorities. The Indiana representative says she'll remain a registered Republican, but instead will focus on helping Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with their government efficiency efforts.

All right, let's turn now to power brokers in the private sector preparing for a second Trump term.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH MEYERS, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly visited Mar-a-Lago on Friday and had dinner with President- elect Trump. And in a huge compliment to Cook, Trump spent the whole dinner checking his iPhone.

Siri, who is this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Donald Trump will continue to host a procession of top executives at his Mar-a-Lago club this week, scheduled to meet with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos today and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Wednesday. Past guests have included Apple CEO Tim Cook, TikTok CEO Shou Chew, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Some coming to the Florida resort with checks in hand, looking to curry favor with the president- elect. For Trump, the meetings stand in stark contrast to how he was received back in 2016.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENT-ELECT: I did have a dinner with Tim Cook. I had dinner with sort of almost all of them, and the rest are coming. And this is one of the big differences, I think, between - we were talking about it before, one of the big differences between the first term. In the first term everybody was fighting me. In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: And if you let that fight go on, he says, or maybe my personality changed or something.

Panel is back.

Brad Todd, what do you make of how the president-elect framed these change in attitude toward him?

TODD: Well, I think the fact that big tech's making the pilgrimage is notable. No industry has given a higher percentage of its money to Democrats than maybe retired college professors. I mean that's where tech executives would rank.

[06:55:04]

I think big tech has a big problem. In a populist Republican Party, the most partisan vertically integrated industry is in the crosshairs. And it's also a place where Democrats can agree. You know, we have such a tight Congress. There aren't many places where you can get agreement. But Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley agree on big tech and big tech regulation. So, if big tech doesn't figure out a way to snap out of its current political problem, they could see a lot more regulation this time.

WILLIAMS: Yes. All true. Now, another way, and I think a more cynical way to look at those meetings is that it's entirely rational for companies to pay money to curry favor with politicians. It happens on the left, on the right, and you're seeing it with tech here. That is partly why people are turned off by politics. And a lot of the people - the very people who were animated to vote for Donald Trump were turned off by this we scratch their backs they scratch ours idea, that you can just pay money or write a check and get to sit down with the president, whoever it may be.

So, I'm curious as to how over the years, the next four years, how those voters see and respond to things like.

TODD: I think Donald Trump's brand is strong enough of being against Silicon Valley right now to endure a few meetings.

WILLIAMS: But it's the money. It's not just Silicon Valley. I just mean the idea of marching down to pay, you know, homage to a president that you gave $1 million to. This isn't limited to Donald Trump. It's - this is across American politics, and it turns people off.

THOMPSON: I think at the moment they might actually appreciate that all these people are being so obsequious to like their champion.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

THOMPSON: But also, lets also be clear that Donald Trump has not changed at all. What has changed is people's attitudes and reactions to him. Some of these same people would have not have gone down there for fear of backlash, not just from the wider public, but from their own staffs. And clearly, Donald Trump has broken through.

The only thing that's changed about Donald Trump is, you definitely see that after the last - in 2016, he felt under fire immediately from, you know, the Russia and FBI and everything else. You definitely see a different level of confidence this time.

HUNT: Yes. And Maggie Haberman put it this way, "he has enjoyed a steady stream of vanquished opponents and critics and business leaders who once spurned him, arriving to pay respects, seek jobs, simply watch him press play on the iPad that he uses to control the music from the patio during dinner hours. At least in part, that's because Mr. Trump has bent the Republican Party to his will. In recent days, the president-elect has posted on his website Truth Social an AI- generated image mocking Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, for his weight, an article in support of people arrested in connection with January 6th. After six weeks of staying largely out of sight, Mr. Trump has been busy showing people that Washington is what has changed, not the incoming president.

BEDINGFIELD: Well, it also illustrates that people have learned about Trump since 2016. They've learned that the personal obsequiousness is so important to getting him to hear you out, listen to you, potentially advocate for what you want from a policy perspective. So, Elliot's right that they're - this is a - unfortunately, a kind of, broadly speaking, a long standing tradition in politics and one that I think does - I agree, does turn people off.

But the - the personal nature of this and the big public display of going to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring, that is a pretty -

HUNT: And like a literal pilgrimage.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes. That is a pretty Trumpy - that's a pretty Trumpy phenomenon. And it - it - I - I will - I will, you know, give him his due. I agree that it illustrates he's bent Washington and the broader powers of corridor to his -

HUNT: Yes.

BEDINGFIELD: To his will and his way of doing things.

TODD: And I think also it points that Joe Biden is nowhere to be found right now. He had - last had a press conference in July. Trump had an hour-long press conference. World leaders are coming to see him. The leaders of the biggest corporations are coming to see him. It's almost like he's president in waiting, or maybe almost president in fact. It's really a unique phenomenon.

HUNT: It is a remarkable situation.

All right, I'll leave you with this. Do you have a celebrity look alike? Start your own contest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON KELCE: News flash. Any overweight white guy with a beard looks just like me. What are we talking about? That - it's an easy competition. There is absolutely nothing unique about any of these gentlemen other than they are large people with beards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Large people with beards. Oh, America loves Jason Kelce. That was Jason on ESPN reacting to becoming the latest celebrity to inspire his very own lookalike contest in 2024. In recent months, there has been a social media avalanche of lookalike contests. Many of the celebrities seem happy to play along. "Twisters" star Glen Powell got wind of a contest happening in his hometown of Austin, Texas, in November and taped a message for everyone who gathered because he was overseas filming another movie, with a surprise for the winner. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLEN POWELL, ACTOR: Today, the winner of the Glen Powell lookalike contest wins their parents, or any family member of their choice, a cameo in my next movie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Another actor found out about a contest he inspired, took it a step further.

That's the moment Timothee Chalamet crashed his own lookalike contest.

[07:00:02]

No one knew he was going to show up. This was back in October at this social media organized event to decide the, quote, "best. Tim." The gathering got so large at one point that New York Police detained the organizer for creating such a large event without getting a proper permit. The Academy Award nominee left before the winner was crowned, but he did meet up with the best team winner just last week in New York during a screening of his upcoming movie. (INAUDIBLE).

Did you guys see the Jack Schlossberg one? That was when everyone here in D.C. was talking about -

THOMPSON: Very D.C.

HUNT: Very D.C.

All right, thanks to our panel. Thanks to all of you for joining us this morning. I'm Kasie Hunt. Don't go anywhere. "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.