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Blinken in Bahrain in High-Stakes Middle East Trip; Blinken's Meeting with Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas; Nearly 90 Percent of Gaza Population Displaced; Hunter Biden Makes Appearance on Capitol Hill; Paris Immortalizes David Bowie. Aired 10-10:40a ET
Aired January 10, 2024 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Coming up this, hour the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. Of course, the U.N. gets ready to vote on a
resolution condemning the spate of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
This after a multinational effort has been put in place to safeguard shipping in one of the world's most critical waterways.
U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to Bahrain while on a regional trip to the Middle East. He is set to return back to
Tel Aviv this evening to work on reducing the impact of Israel's bombardment on Gaza civilians.
Ecuadorians are in a state of shock after armed gunmen interrupted a live television broadcast in one of several violent incidents across the
country. The president has declared an internal armed conflict, ordering security forces to remain on high alert.
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ANDERSON: U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken is in Bahrain this our. This is a surprise leg in part of his trip to the Middle East amid the
Israel-Hamas war. Bahrain in 2020 normalized ties with Israel.
Earlier in the West Bank, Blinken met with the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. He reiterated U.S. support for a Palestinian
state. They also talked about minimizing harm to civilians and increasing aid to Gaza.
Delivering some of that aid has been challenging. The U.N. says Israel has repeatedly blocked efforts to bring medical supplies to one hospital in
northern Gaza to fuel, water and sanitation facilities there.
Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv where Antony Blinken will return in a few hours. Natasha Bertrand is at the Pentagon.
Natasha, I'll come to you momentarily because it's important for us to understand why secretary of state Antony Blinken is in Bahrain and what is
going on in the Red Sea.
Let's start with you, Jeremy.
What do we understand Antony Blinken to have achieved on this trip?
This is a multistop tour; very specifically he was with the war cabinet and Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday in Tel Aviv. The understanding is there is a
lot of pressure coming from the State Department and the top diplomat from the U.S. on Israel to protect civilians and ensure more humanitarian aid is
brought into Gaza.
What has he achieved at this point?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Becky, I think it may be too early to say exactly how successful this trip by the U.S. secretary of
state has been in the region. He's really been to all the major players in the region before landing in Israel and ultimately now going to Bahrain
before he returns to Tel Aviv this evening.
There were a number of issues on the agenda. It's still unclear to what extent he's been able to draw concrete achievements from those. He's been
focused on trying to prevent this war between Israel and Hamas from exploding into a broader regional conflict.
For now it has not exploded to that kind of conflict but we don't know what kind of concrete diplomatic achievements may have resulted from this trip.
We know that the United States over the last 1.5 months or so have pressuring Israel to ramp down its military campaign in Gaza and to begin
to prepare for the next phases of the war and for what postwar Gaza reconstruction looks like.
The most concrete achievement on that front is the fact that a United Nations team is going to be allowed to go into northern Gaza to assess how
quickly Palestinian civilians can return to the north, now that the fighting has largely but not entirely subsided there.
It's not clear exactly what Israel -- how quickly Israel will allow those civilians to enter. We know the defense minister Yoav Gallant has
previously suggested those civilians won't be allowed to return unless all Israeli hostages are released.
Beyond that, there are the ongoing hostage negotiations. No concrete achievements on that front, either. There appears to be a lot of shuttle
diplomacy and activity in the region with a lot of key players meeting in key capitals in the region to talk about the prospects of reviving another
hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
So again a lot of movement on these fronts, a lot of talks and negotiations on these fronts.
[10:05:00]
It is hard to see exactly what's been accomplished. Of course, today as the secretary of state's in Bahrain, it comes as we've seen increased activity
from Houthi rebels, firing drones and missiles toward shipping lanes.
The U.S. has a heavily vested interest in keeping that shipping lane safe and we will see what this trip to Bahrain yields going forth.
ANDERSON: Absolutely. Let's bring in Natasha Bertrand at this point.
Because Antony Blinken making that surprise trip to Bahrain, what is this crisis tour of the Middle East. Bahrain the only Arab nation involved in
what is known as Operation Prosperity Guardian.
That's the coalition set up to thwart these Houthi attacks. It's one of the four countries who have recently normalized relations with Israel.
It's also, of course, home to the U.S. 5th Fleet. So a number of reasons why perhaps we can understand why Antony Blinken is in Bahrain it today.
And we know that the escalation of this conflict is something that is really concerning to the Biden administration at this point.
What are you hearing there?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly why, Becky, they're so reluctant to strike the Houthis inside Yemen. They don't
want this conflict to expand any further. They don't want to upset a very delicate truce and peace that has been brokered by the U.S. and U.N. inside
Yemen last year.
I should say in 2022, something the U.S. is very proud of and doesn't want to upend. The Houthis are testing that proposition every day. The U.S. of
course responded by shooting down over a dozen, roughly 21 missiles and drones, launched by the Houthis overnight against Red Sea targets.
The U.K. also helped to shoot those down and is one of the largest attacks that we've seen against the Red Sea, targets of the Red Sea since all of
this kind of began.
The U.S. is now likely going to feel like it is having to respond, especially because the U.S. and the coalition, about 13 other countries,
they released a statement earlier this month, saying that, essentially, it was the last warning to the Houthis that if they don't stop these attacks
they're going to bear the consequences.
The U.S. as of right, now they've been examining options to strike the Houthis inside Yemen. We previously reported that the president has been
given options to potentially strike certain infrastructure as well as targets that the Houthis have been using to launch these missiles and
drones from.
But again, this is not something the U.S. has been eager to, do they may be given no choice at this point because the Houthis have continued their
attacks but it remains to be seen whether they are going to take that very dramatic next step, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you. Both. Thank you.
Trying to avoid an escalation of this war, then, is squarely in focus for Antony Blinken. Also top of his agenda on this trip is establishing a plan
for civilian life in postwar Gaza -- or at least in principle trying to get some sort of plan agreed to by the Palestinians and by the wider region.
Antony Blinken making a real effort to try to bring on board Arab allies around the region for what is known as a sort of day-after plan for Gaza.
Earlier, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas told Mr. Blinken that his government would reject any attempt by Israel to relocate
Palestinians from Gaza.
On Tuesday, Blinken said he had received renewed assurances from Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel will not forcibly remove
Palestinian civilians from Gaza, despite comments made to the contrary by far-right members of Mr. Netanyahu's cabinet. Take a listen at a U.S.
secretary of state Antony Blinken.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow. They must not be pressed
to leave Gaza.
As I told the prime minister, the United States unequivocally rejects any proposals advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.
The prime minister reaffirmed to me today that this is not the policy of Israel's government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: However, many in the international community, especially the U.N., have refuted that position. Paula Gaviria Betancur is U.N.'s special
rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons.
She said that looking at how Israel is continuing to conduct its offensive, quote, "Israel is seeking to permanently alter the composition of Gaza's
population with ever- expanding evacuation orders and widespread and systematic attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure."
[10:10:12]
Paula joins us now live from Bogota in Colombia.
Given Secretary Blinken's visit and the assurances he has received from Israel, do you still hold that belief?
PAULA GAVIRIA BETANCUR, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS: Thank you, Becky.
First, let me say, this is his fifth visit to the region. We haven't seen any changes in the protection, effective protection of the civilians in
Gaza. So I obviously fully support the call for the Palestinians in Gaza to be able to return home as soon as possible.
And I obviously welcome Secretary Blinken's statement that the deportation of Palestinians across borders would be unacceptable. And I obviously look
forward to hearing directly from the State of Israel authorities followed by concrete actions to that effect.
But however, this is only words for the moment. It doesn't change the facts on the ground, namely that Gaza has become unlivable as a direct result of
Israel's actions, as we all know through the destruction of civilian infrastructure, destruction of homes, facilities, the lack of access to
humanitarian aid.
You know the numbers; 1.9 million of Gaza's population has been displaced, it is 88 percent that have been reduced to a minimum portion of the land.
Obviously this is nice messages.
At the same, time while Blinken stated yesterday that the prime minister has informed him in private that the resettlement of Palestinians outside
Gaza, is not the policy of Israel, we have not heard any key republic (ph) statement from the prime minister to this effect.
On the contrary, we have heard that he requested the United States to pressure Egypt to open its borders so there could be voluntary immigrants
from Gaza. So we need to see, we need to see, Becky. But obviously words we want to hear.
ANDERSON: Two things I want to interject with.
Firstly, what then do you make of the concession that Antony Blinken is certainly platforming that he got from the Israelis in allowing the U.N. to
get into northern Gaza and get an assessment on reconstruction done on the ground?
What do you make of that?
BETANCUR: I'm cautiously optimistic about this assertion. It is obviously important. But I would underline that the assessment should be allowed full
and unsupervised access to conflict affected areas.
Obviously the safety of those involved must be guaranteed. We all know Israel showed a complete disregard for the United Nations and the like and
have killed already nearly 150 staff.
So a first step, a comprehensive construction with meaningful participation, inclusion of the Gazans is necessary so the reconstruction
must include measures to document and ensure accountability for the human rights violations already occurred.
As we know and Israel might return (ph) my assessment, historically they have refused to allow human rights investigations in Gaza. So let's see.
Let's take these words with caution but obviously optimistic that this is going to happen.
ANDERSON: And, of course, the U.N. now has an envoy. I'm not sure if she's actually on the ground, Sigrid Kaag. She's given the role of U.N. envoy for
humanitarian aid and reconstruction. Clearly, this would be, one assumes, under her remit if and when she can get that job going.
There have been reports flying around suggesting that Israel is calling for conditioning American aid to Arab countries on their willingness to receive
refugees from Gaza. And Egypt, of course, is one of those countries whose president has categorically rejected a forced resettlement of Palestinians
in his country.
He calls it a red line, as have the Jordanians. This suggestion even on a temporary basis, the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza, for
example in the Sinai on a temporary basis, to your mind, is that viable at all?
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BETANCUR: It's a huge risk because of what we've seen for the past 95-96 days of what Israel has been doing. It's forcibly transferred the bulk of
Gaza's population. And we know those forcibly transferred and the different public messages that we've heard of the intentions of the deportation, I
wouldn't trust. I think it's risky.
I think the only option now is a cease-fire. It has always been a cease- fire. And I wouldn't trust that type of midterm solutions.
ANDERSON: You've heard those reports flying around, haven't you?
BETANCUR: No, I'm hearing from you. I'm hearing from you right now.
ANDERSON: Interesting.
Human Rights Watch says there are signs that Israel is taking actions that render a return of Palestinian civilians to their homes in Gaza impossible.
Do you agree with that characterization?
If, so what then of these displaced people?
You say in principle you welcome the idea of a U.N. mission to assess the infrastructure on the ground so that Palestinians might be able to return
to northern Gaza.
At this point, as you look at the situation on the ground and suggest the temporary resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza is not a viable
option, many people will agree with you. Many, many people agree with you on that.
How, eventually, are these civilians going to be resettled?
And how long will it take?
BETANCUR: It will take a long time, that's true. We've seen another process of reconstruction. It takes a long time and that's why we have to
start planning now, keeping people safe, prioritizing their voluntariness. It's a right and a choice of everyone to go back. They have to retain that
right.
So we have to start thinking and documenting the amount of damage. Numbers say that 88 percent of the houses in the north have been destroyed. And the
rest of the country 85.
So yes, we have to start documenting, asking people about their willingness to return, if they feel safe, if they're willing to take back their lives,
as I bet they want to. But obviously different conditions have to be given.
Safety is the first one. And conditions are not there yet. We don't see safety conditions yet for the moment. But temporary housing can be made.
Temporary solutions can be made if the final decision of the people of returning or relocating in other parts of the country is preserved.
So I do think that can be started and we can start doing that for the time being.
ANDERSON: Israel is set to appear before the International Court of Justice this week in what is a high stakes and unprecedented case under the
U.N.'s genocide convention.
South Africa, of course, brought on the case, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
What is your assessment?
And what should come or could come out of this, if anything?
BETANCUR: As you, know Becky, I've joined my colleagues in the special procedures warning that Israel's actions may amount to acts of genocide.
That will be, as you say, determined the case brought before the International Court of Justice, which has asked the court to implement --
South Africa has asked the court to implement provisional measures to halt Israel's attacks on Gaza, which may amount to genocide.
So South Africa has had its statements of genocidal intent from the government officials, which i mentioned at the beginning of the interview,
the use of indiscriminate attacks on civilian structure and the denial of humanitarian aid, as some of the reasons to undertake the case.
What we say with the different (INAUDIBLE) is that we hope that (INAUDIBLE) decision on the preliminary measures requested will be respected and
obviously implemented by all the parties.
ANDERSON: You hope.
Are you confident?
BETANCUR: Hope is the last thing that you lose. We have to keep up.
ANDERSON: Good to have, you Paula, thank you.
You can follow all the big stories coming from this region in our "Meanwhile in the Middle East" newsletter.
[10:20:03]
That is -- it drops three times a week to your inbox and includes more on a story that we've just been discussing, South Africa's case against Israel
in the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of breaching its obligations under the genocide convention through its actions in Gaza.
Israel firmly denies that.
You can read the newsletter by scanning the QR code on the bottom of your screen or signing up at CNN Digital.
Just ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, troops are on the streets as Ecuador spirals into crisis, propelled by surging gang violence. The latest on the
hunt for the man who sparked this latest episode.
Plus, why Donald Trump's legal team is arguing the former president can't be prosecuted even if his actions were criminal.
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ANDERSON: This just in to CNN. Hunter Biden has made an unexpected appearance on Capitol Hill. He is inside the U.S. House Oversight Committee
meeting.
That's one of the committees set to begin the process of holding the president's son criminal contempt of Congress for not complying with a
subpoena to sit for deposition last month. That subpoena was part of the impeachment inquiry into his, father president Joe Biden. I think well
worth us listening in to some of this committee hearing.
REP. JARED EVAN MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): The chairman said the witness can choose whether to come to a deposition or to a public hearing in front of the
committee. The witness accepted the chairman's invitation. It just so happens the witness is here.
If the committee wants to hear from the witness -- and the chairman gave the witness that option -- then the only folks that are afraid to hear from
the witness, with the American people watching, are my friends on the other side of the aisle.
I don't know if there's a proper motion, Mr. Chairman, but I'll make a motion. Let's vote. Let's take a vote.
Who wants to hear from Hunter right now today?
Anyone?
Come on.
Who wants to hear from Hunter?
REP. JAMES COMER JR. (R-KY): The motion is out of order (ph).
MOSKOWITZ: No one. So I'm a visual learner. And the visual is clear. Nobody over there wants to hear from the witness -- oh, there's one, thank
you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you yield for a question?
MOSKOWITZ: I'm not there yet but I will eventually. So there's no one -- other than one or two -- that want to hear from the witness. The majority
of my colleagues over there, including the chairman, don't want to hear from the witness with the American people watching.
[10:25:03]
So, Mr. Chairman, I just want to hear from you.
Will you acknowledge that you invited the witness on television to choose whether he could come to a public hearing?
And do you stand by your words or do you renege that invitation to the witness?
COMER: To answer the question, I've said repeatedly, after the deposition, Mr. Biden can come in front of a public hearing.
MOSKOWITZ: Mr. Chairman, I don't want to play the video but that is not what you said on television multiple times. We have the quotes. We can put
them up. You said the witness can choose between a deposition --
(CROSSTALK)
COMER: Listen, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Biden doesn't make the rules. We make the --
(CROSSTALK)
MOSKOWITZ: No, you got -- no, Mr. Chairman, you make the rules. And the rule you made is that he can choose.
(CROSSTALK)
COMER: That -- the rule is --
MOSKOWITZ: Those were your words. Reclaiming my time --
COMER: He was issued two lawful subpoenas --
MOSKOWITZ: Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman.
No, you issued those subpoenas after he took you up on your invitation to come.
And then you were like, oh, no, no, oh, my God, what did we -- what did I do?
I invited him to come so the American people can hear his side of the story. I put my foot in my mouth, so now I must bury him in the basement
where we can decide what we're going to release to the public so that we can continue to tell that story.
Mr. Chairman, you have said multiple times that this is not about Hunter. It's about Joe Biden.
And even this morning on "Mornings with Maria," she asked another simple question -- the question you have been asked multiple times, which is, do
you have evidence to impeach the President of the United States?
Before you said, "I hope so."
Today you said, "I think so."
And the answer is you don't. And you still don't. And so we continue to be here and have these charades.
To my colleagues, who talk about lawful subpoenas -- I appreciate the gentlelady's -- the gentlelady from South Carolina, who voted to hold
people in contempt.
Listen, I'll make this bipartisan. I'll vote for the Hunter contempt today. You can get my vote. You can get my vote.
But I want you to show the American people that you're serious. Here is the subpoena to Representative Scott Perry, who did not comply.
I'd like to enter this into the record.
Here is the subpoena to Mark Meadows -- I'd like to enter this into the record -- who did not comply. Here is the subpoena to Jim Jordan, who did
not comply with a lawful subpoena. I'd like to enter that into the record.
Here is the subpoena to Mo Brooks who did not comply.
I'd like to enter that into the record.
Here is the subpoena to Mr. Biggs who did not comply.
I'd like to enter that into the record.
And here's the subpoena to Mr. McCarthy, who did not comply.
I'd like to enter that into the record.
There's an amendment coming to add some of those names into the contempt order. You vote to add those names and show the American people that we
apply the law equally, not just when it's Democrats.
Right, it's a crime when it's Democrats but when it's Trump and the Republicans, it's just fine. No, show that you're serious and that everyone
is not above the law. Vote for that amendment and I'll vote for the Hunter Biden contempt. I yield back.
COMER: The gentleman's time has expired.
The chair recognizes Ms. Greene from Georgia for five minutes.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Excuse me, Hunter, apparently you're afraid of my words --
(CROSSTALK)
GREENE: Whoa.
(LAUGHTER)
(OFF MIKE COMMENTS)
GREENE: Oh --
I would like to reclaim my time, Mr. Chairman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- burst the bubble --
COMER: The gentlelady -- order.
GREENE: Wow, that's too bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (OFF MIKE COMMENTS)
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
COMER: The chair recognizes Ms. Greene from Georgia.
GREENE: I think it's clear and obvious for everyone watching this hearing today that Hunter Biden is terrified of strong, conservative, Republican
women, because he can't even face my words as I was about to speak to him. What a coward.
And this is also a coward that sat right here in front of Micki Babbitt (sic), Ashli Babbitt's mother, who was --
ABBE LOWELL, HUNTER BIDEN'S ATTORNEY: I want to make a statement.
QUESTION: What kind of crack do you normally smoke, Mr. Biden?
LOWELL: : Let me start again.
Hunter Biden was and is a private citizen. Despite this, Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father.
And despite their improper partisan motives, on six different occasions, since February of 2023, we have offered to work with the House committees
to see what and how relevant information to any legitimate inquiry could be provided.
Our first five offers were ignored. And then in November, they issued a subpoena for a behind-closed-doors deposition, a tactic that the
Republicans have repeatedly misused in their political crusade to selectively leak and mischaracterize what witnesses have said.
Last fall Chairman Comer made an explicit offer that people like (INAUDIBLE) and (INAUDIBLE) give him the option to attend a deposition or
a public hearing, whichever they chose.
[10:30:10]
Hunter chose a hearing where Republicans could not distort, manipulate or misuse that testimony honor (ph) and then ignoring that invitation and
proving once again that they cared little about the truth and wanted only to, quote, "move the needle of political support," which was a quote
Chairman Comer confessed was his true purpose.
The Republican chairs today then are commandeering an unprecedented resolution to hold someone in contempt, who has offered to publicly answer
all their proper questions.
The question there is what are they afraid of?
Thank you.
QUESTION: Mr. Biden, why did you show up today --
QUESTION: Mr. Biden?
Did you show up --
QUESTION: Why did you show up today?
Why did you put your dad on speaker phone if he had nothing to do with your business?
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: You put him on speaker phone multiple times to talk to your business partners.
Why did you do that?
(OFF MIKE COMMENTS)
QUESTION: Why did you not talk to him during business meetings?
(OFF MIKE COMMENTS)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): OK, what you've been watching, pure congressional mayhem. The House Oversight Committee was holding a hearing
to find Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for not agreeing to appear for a deposition.
The thing is, Hunter Biden showed up at the hearing, apparently surprising all the Republicans, including the committee chair and just set off a
theatrical explosion. And you just saw Hunter Biden and his lawyer Abbe Lowell, leaving that building right there.
(DOMESTIC PROGRAMMING)
ANDERSON: Described as just another day on Capitol Hill, a total circus.
[10:35:02]
CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us from Washington with more.
Hunter Biden showing up last minute to a House committee hearing on holding him in contempt.
What does it, show what are we supposed to take out of this apart from the sheer chaos of the whole carnival as it were?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: It's always something to watch. But in this sort of circumstance, there are some legal
things where everybody is trying to call each other's bluff.
The House subpoenaed Hunter Biden come and testify. He initially arrived on Capitol Hill on that date and time and didn't testify and now showing up
that hearing where he was going to be held in contempt.
One of the things that his lawyers know very well is that the House and Congress don't have a lot of ways to enforce a subpoena quickly, to compel
someone to show up in front of them and to answer questions.
One of the things that made it even harder for them to enforce a subpoena like that and force the questions is if the person is right there in front
of them or even responds in some way through their attorneys.
So Hunter Biden's team is essentially calling the bluff of Congress, of this House committee, led by Republicans right now.
And on top of that, something to remember is that, when he got that subpoena a few weeks ago from the House, it was before he was facing two
separate sets of criminal charges, federal criminal charges, that are quite serious.
And that Hunter Biden and his team have vowed to take to trial. Just tomorrow, Hunter is set to be in California, in Los Angeles, in a federal
courtroom, responding to some very serious and lengthy tax related allegations, entering a pleading of not guilty.
So there is really a possibility that, even if he were responding to the subpoena in Congress, just as they had asked originally, he wouldn't even
be able to answer questions because he might want to take the 5th.
So a lot of moving parts and there's not a lot Congress can do other than create that scene.
ANDERSON: Katelyn, I'm exhausted just listening to you. The subpoena is, of course, is part of the impeachment inquiry into his father, President
Joe Biden. Right. We have provided, I think, excellent -- well, you have, provided some excellent context for what we have just seen.
Also, while I've got, you I need to pick your brains on what is going on in Iowa. We have five days left before what are the crucial caucuses there.
We've got Donald Trump with a very, very busy week.
Where are we at this point?
POLANTZ: Trump is in Iowa today but not every day this week because yesterday he was in federal court in Washington, D.C., listening to legal
arguments of whether he has immunity and can avoid the criminal trial he has upcoming related to his actions after the 2020 election.
His team and Trump himself are saying he should be immune because he was serving as president at the time and they are making legal arguments to get
him excused from that level of accountability in the court system, having to face a jury or a trial.
We don't know when the opinion is going to be released from that appeals court. It's three judges making the decision. They will write an opinion
that will be very monumental and very important not just for Trump but for the future of the presidency. That's something we're watching.
And then tomorrow, Trump is lined up to be in another court in New York, where he is in the middle of a civil fraud trial that's been going on for
several months, not before a jury, before a judge.
And the closing arrangements for that civil fraud trial, whether Trump and his businesses defrauded the State of New York, those closing arguments are
going to be tomorrow.
The judge has already found liable. And so it's a question of how much money the judge is going to be fining Trump and if he's going to be banned
from doing business. So a lot at stake there too.
ANDERSON: When U.S. politics met criminal prosecution. It is all happening. And we are, what, nine days into 2024, a year that will be one
extremely busy for you and your colleagues in D.C. and around the country for what will be this extremely consequential election.
Good to have you.
We'll be right back.
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[10:40:00]
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ANDERSON: Paris has honored the late great David Bowie with his own street.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): The new Rue David Bowie was unveiled on Monday in what would have been the singer's 77th birthday. The street is located in
southeast Paris, a district which has long celebrated Bowie's legacy. He died in 2016 after an 18-month battle with cancer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: But his legacy goes on and will always go on.
That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD I'm Becky Anderson. Stay with CNN.
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