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Quest Means Business
Trump Budget Bill Blocked In Committee By House Republicans; Trump Announces Trove Of Deals On Planes, A.I., Energy; Russia and Ukraine Hold Direct Talks In Istanbul; Cassie Ventura Finishes Testimony In Sean "Diddy" Combs' Trial; Authorities Investigate Murder Of Mexican Beauty Influencer; Novo Nordisk CEO Stepping Down As Shares Tumble. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired May 16, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:14]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: You know, this wraps another strong day on the Dow this week. In fact, it was a strong week across all the
major indices. Not going to lie, a bit surprised given all the headwinds in the economy in the United States and beyond. We will get to that.
For now though, those are the markets and we are getting to the main events.
Deal or no deal? U.S. President Donald Trump ramps up the pressure on countries to finish off trade deals, while his own party struggles to move
forward on a budget bill.
Novo Nordisk will replace its CEO after losing its edge in weight loss drugs.
And France has pushed for investment amid calls to reform E.U. bureaucracy.
Live from New York, yes, its Friday, May 16th. I am Paula Newton in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
And a good evening.
Tonight, Donald Trump is facing a blow to his domestic agenda as he returns from the Middle East. Five, just five hardline House Republicans voted no
in committee on his, "big, beautiful bill." They're demanding more spending cuts on the package. The vote is, in fact, a major setback for the
President, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who will now be forced to spend the weekend negotiating.
Meantime, Mr. Trump is renewing his tariff threats. He said there are just too many countries to deal with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We have at the same time, 150 countries that want to make a deal, but you're not able to
see that many countries. So at a certain point over the next two to three weeks, I think Scott and Howard will be sending letters out, essentially
telling people it would be very fair, but we will be telling people what they will be paying to do business in the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Kristen Holmes is at the White House and Lauren Fox is on Capitol Hill, and we go first to you, Lauren, right?
Let's all take a deep breath here. This bill was making its way through these committees all week. So how much of a setback is this right now for
the President's agenda?
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, today, this bill could not get out of the House Budget Committee and this was really the last stop
for this piece of legislation. Typically, what you do in the Budget Committee is you kind of just staple all the various pieces of the
legislation together. All of these various committees have been holding markups over the last several weeks.
And this was sort of that last opportunity before they went to the House Rules Committee and then ultimately got to the House floor for that up or
down vote.
The problem that they ran into is there are a number of conservatives on this Committee who have been steadily voicing concerns over the course of
the last several days, and those concerns really started to intensify last night.
Meanwhile, the Committee Chairman, Jodey Arrington, decided to go ahead with the scheduled hearing and then went ahead with the vote, despite the
fact that outside the four conservative holdouts were telling us over and over again on camera that they were not going to support this legislation,
that they had serious concerns, that they wanted to see further changes. And yet the Committee held the vote, the bill failed to make it out of
Committee.
And right now, there is a huge question mark of whether or not they're going to be able to get this passed by the Memorial Day recess deadline.
That was really ambitious, set by Speaker Mike Johnson, so that is the key concern right now.
And we should just note that it is not just conservatives who have some hang ups with this piece of legislation. There are also swing district
Republicans who are still trying to find agreement on key issues and are willing to stall this bill if they don't get what they want and you can see
there the push and the pull from conservatives and moderates in the Republican conference and the challenge ahead for Donald Trump's agenda on
the Hill.
NEWTON: Yes, and I cannot stress enough, because it is not just the politics on the Hill, but also the economics of this that so many people
are watching so carefully.
A busy weekend there, Lauren. Grateful to you.
Now Kristen is at the White House for us. Tariffs, Kristen? You and I both know, they were supposed to be accompanied by this extension of these tax
cuts. This was what was supposed to soften the pain for companies and consumers. And yet, the President now throwing doubt on whether or not he
can even negotiate.
You know, that can mean some very tough decisions right now for the White House and beyond.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, essentially what we heard from him today was tick-tock, get on board, to these countries,
150 countries. You want to make a deal with us before we raise your tariffs. But he also, in the same breath, essentially admitted that it was
moving too slow, that it was too difficult to have these conversations with 150 different countries.
One of the things we have to keep in mind here is that we've been told that all of these trade deals, these negotiations are basically run by one of
two people, either the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, or the Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick.
[16:05:14]
They've basically split the list of countries. It is only two people and a lot of countries and there seems to be an acknowledgment now that some of
these deals might have some nuance to them. They might take some time.
So even though Donald Trump is saying time is running out, he also seems to be acknowledging that some of these countries might be coming to the table
with something, but it has just been too hard to get through this whole list.
So what that actually means for the deadline remains unclear. He was a little bit squishy in the next coming weeks, he said, that both of these
Secretaries would be sending out these letters about increased tariffs.
But one of the things just to keep in mind here, when it comes to the timing, we are really coming down on that deadline, that self-imposed
deadline that Trump put on April 9th, saying it was going to be 90 days until -- that these countries had to negotiate a trade deal.
So far, we have about one-and-a-half trade deals that have been negotiated. If you kind of count both the U.K. and China, but neither one of them are a
fully done deal. We are not entirely sure what is in all of it, and China seems more like getting back on the table and opening up the door, but not
necessarily a finalized deal.
And yet, we are several weeks into this 90 days, and that's what they've had to show for it.
So clearly, there is a lot of complications here. Really, the people who are going to be most concerned about this in trying to find out the most
details other than us, is going to be the American consumers, Wall Street, American businesses, all of the people who feel like they are going to be
the most impacted if tariffs in some of these specific countries go up.
NEWTON: Yes, front of mind, right? The warning from Walmart talking about uncertainty and the fact that those price increases are likely coming soon.
Kristen Holmes for us at the White House, thank you.
Now the President is on his way back from the Middle East, bringing an end to a trip that was filled with deals. Now, Boeing, yes, a major winner
there. Qatar Airways and Etihad both said they would make major purchases from the manufacturer. The company, however, has been plagued by quality
control issues and production delays.
The President also announced partnerships on artificial intelligence chips. "The New York Times" and Bloomberg both report those deals have caused
rifts within the administration. Some officials are concerned those chips could make their way to China and become a National Security issue.
Edward Luce is the U.S. national editor for "The Financial Times," and he joins us now.
Listen, it really does feel like a Friday after this week. I have to tell you, quite a week for President Trump as he transforms both American
foreign policy, but also economic policy.
I am curious, what is your takeaway from the week given he is facing headwinds, as we just discussed on his domestic agenda and now still
risking a recession at home?
EDWARD LUCE, U.S. NATIONAL EDITOR, "THE FINANCIAL TIMES": Yes. Well, I share your thank God it's Friday sentiment, Paula.
It has been a very revealing week, actually, because what we've seen emerge around the world, from the Gulf to China to the U.K. to brussels is a very
diverging set of responses to Trump.
In the gulf, you have sort of open transactionalism. You have real sort of ego stroking of Trump, and he loves it and it is reciprocal that that was
kind of a love fest across the Gulf this week and big headline numbers. I don't know whether these $1.2 trillion promises of investment in America by
the Qataris and the Emiratis will actually materialize over 10 years. Trump will be long gone, presumably by then. But he loves this kind of headline
number.
China, at the opposite end of the spectrum, really standing up to Trump and also getting results because they've de-escalated both sides to much, much
lower tariffs and the U.K., I guess, predictably, not making itself popular in Brussels by kind of bending the knee with a three-page agreement that is
full of placeholders. I mean, there is not much detail there, so even that's not really a deal.
And then Brussels, finally the E.U., they're going to start negotiations. There was some doubt about whether there would be any, but they are
standing a bit more firm. So very different approaches around the world to Trump.
NEWTON: And head spinning in a way, because many of the countries you mentioned there are allies, supposed allies of the United States and many
others could be seen as adversaries. You have written about that as well.
But I do wonder, given what we just discussed, the tight deadline on tariff negotiation, the headwinds on any kind of fiscal policy on Capitol Hill,
how much leverage does Donald Trump actually have to plow through with some of his goals? I mean, there is only so much he can do, given that
Republicans on Capitol Hill are being emboldened by their own constituents, right, that are telling them, listen, this isn't what we signed up for.
[16:10:04]
LUCE: Yes, I think, you know, it is not an exaggeration to say the walls -- the economic walls are closing in on this administration quite rapidly, and
you see a sort plunge in consumer sentiment, really, really sharp plunge from the Michigan survey.
You see rising inflation expectations, genuine sort of disaffection amongst some Republicans, which is new. We haven't seen much of that. And Trump
said himself, this really quite ambitious deadline of negotiating deals with more than a hundred countries in the matter of a couple of months. It
is not realistic.
And as I said earlier, even the one sort of real trade deal or supposedly completed trade deal that with the U.K. isn't really a trade deal. It's
just lots of blanks that have to be filled in and it is those blanks that is where the action is.
NEWTON: Yes, and they were basically in trade balance anyway. And again, they are not as important as China, Mexico, Canada and the E.U. for that
matter.
I do want to touch on what you wrote about this week, and that's Trump's self-dealing.
You pointedly write, is this America first or Trump first? These are moves that are hard to defend, really. I just want to recap. Qatar offered a $400
million plane. You know, that palace in the sky to replace Air Force One, a new Trump International Hotel and Tower in Dubai, proposed; new Trump Tower
in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
You know, you cannot deny the fact that while this was -- these were deals for America, you know, this is really coming after deals for Trump, Inc.
How do you think Donald Trump will defend these deals? But I think, more importantly, does he have to defend them because it doesn't seem like there
is a lot of outrage about this, certainly in certain corners of the United States.
LUCE: Well, I mean, talk about flooding the zone. There is so much happening. It is hard to pause on sort of one outrage or gigantic conflict
of interest before another displaces it in your mind. And, you know, this is an effective -- it has proved to be an effective method for Trump over
the years.
It does give an advantage to states like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates over countries like Canada, the E.U., and Britain. Normal
democracies cannot promise big extravagant numbers because they don't control their economies. It is up to the private sector to announce whether
it wants to invest in America or not.
These Royal Kingdoms, some of which, you know like Saudi Arabia, are actually named after the ruling family, the House of Saud. They can because
there is no division between public and private. And I think that's kind of a, you know, reflection of where Trump likes to be, too. He does not see
conflicts of interest. He acts as if there is no difference between the Trump Organization and the U.S. government, and that makes it easy for him
to do business with the Gulf countries.
It also gives them a huge advantage over the democracies in striking bilateral deals with the United States and calling Trump's dogs off, if you
like.
NEWTON: I guess, I am very curious just to see when Corporate America and the executives will speak up about this, because notably, it is
shareholders, investors and then consumers as well that are being hurt by this.
Edward Luce, we will leave it there for now. A good weekend to you. Appreciate your time.
LUCE: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now just in to CNN, the Supreme Court has blocked the President's use of the 18th Century Alien Enemies Act for deportations. Now, parts of
the case are now being sent back down to a lower court. It is a setback for the administration, which was using the Act to expedite deportations.
We will continue to keep an eye on this. And yes, it is not your imagination. This keeps bouncing between courts, and we will see where some
of this lands.
Delegations, meantime, from Russia and Ukraine, took part in direct talks today for the first time in years. Ukraine's European allies say Moscow
made unacceptable demands. We will have a report live from Kyiv next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:16:54]
NEWTON: European leaders say Russia made unacceptable demands during its first talks in years with Ukraine. The Ukrainian side said it handled
itself calmly at the talks in Istanbul. A Turkish official told CNN, the meeting was more positive than expected. Now, the countries agreed on a
prisoner swap involving 1,000 troops per side.
Ukraine's Defense Minister, meantime, says the next goal is to have the two leaders meet. Of course, Zelenskyy accused Putin of being too scared to go
to Istanbul himself.
Nick Paton Walsh has been following all of this from Kyiv and obviously, I am curious about the reaction there where you are, but I have to ask you
the pointed question, does Europe have the leverage to convince either Russia or the United States that, yes, it is time to get to the table here.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Ultimately, no. and we've seen that play out over the last week. The
Europeans were back on Saturday where their four biggest militaries France, Germany, United Kingdom and Poland, their leaders stood here next to
Zelenskyy in Kyiv and demanded a ceasefire to begin on Monday, saying they had the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump for that to occur, and
indeed the backing of the White House for sanctions if it didn't, and that then morphed into Putin's suggestion, brushing aside the idea of a
ceasefire of direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on Thursday.
Zelenskyy turned that into a potentially a meeting between the three Presidents Trump, Putin and Himself. And then we have these quite junior
talks that occurred today for barely two hours. Ukraine sending its Defense Minister, but the Russian delegation, not particularly senior at all.
It does appear, yes, that they agreed on a substantial prisoner swap, a thousand on each side. But remember that occurs relatively regularly at a
much smaller quantity. They also agreed to continue talking about a potential presidential meeting. Bear in mind that Ukraine has openly
offered Zelenskyy at a meeting on Thursday with Vladimir Putin that Putin rejected.
And the final point, the Russian delegation saying the next talks would focus on the sort of the modalities they called it, of a potential
ceasefire.
Now, bear in mind also, too, that Ukraine has said the ceasefire it wants is 30 days long and unconditional. So Russian conditions that might
potentially set are not obviously going to be compatible with that idea.
So very limited progress from here. And I think what this has done essentially is conjure the idea that Russia is engaged in a peace process
that is potentially intractable. But certainly isn't a senior enough level for major decisions to be taken just yet, and now appears also to, in the
guise of the White House, to entirely be leading to a bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin.
I think Trump took some of the wind out of the sails of Europeans, who hoped that potentially pressure was building towards what the French
referred to as massive sanctions against Russia if it ignored the ceasefire and didn't take these talks particularly seriously.
Well, Trump simply said, nothing can really be expected to happen until I meet Putin in person. He even offered to go and fly directly from his trip
around the Gulf, but said he might prefer to go home and see his grandson.
So a lot moving very fast here, a lot of noise, but ultimately the peace process we are involved in hasn't changed an awful lot since Saturday
morning prior to the immediate demand of a ceasefire from the Europeans.
[16:20:06]
A lot of pressure now on Trump to potentially back the allies, who he was seen in a picture on a phone call with on Saturday, apparently, according
to the Europeans backing their ceasefire proposal.
And again today, seeing the same European leaders, this time in Albania, not Kyiv, apparently also too, hearing their thoughts on the failed peace
process that we've seen in Istanbul.
So minor progress, but ultimately, at this point, Russia dictating the schedule, the personnel who attend and frankly, the next steps as well, it
seems.
NEWTON: Grateful to you, Nick, as we continue to follow this quite painful process. Appreciate it.
Now, we do want to return to our breaking news out of Washington. The Supreme Court has blocked the President's use of the 18th Century Alien
Enemies Act for deportations. It is a setback for the administration. And Joan Biskupic is in Washington, and of course, we are glad to have you
there to try and parse all of this.
How significant is it? Because it does seem as if this just gets bounced around from court to court to court, and we are not anywhere near a
resolution.
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: We are definitely not anywhere near a resolution, but what is important here is that this is such
a setback for President Donald. Trump, who has tried to invoke this 1798 Wartime Era Act to deport in a speedy way Venezuelan migrants.
And what the Supreme Court said today is that he cannot do that, at least for even a longer period. You might remember that it was about a month ago
when the justices stepped in to stop a group of Venezuelan migrants who were being held in Texas to stop them, kind of almost on the spot from
being forced to get into busses and get onto planes and being deported.
This time, what the justices have said is that these individuals have not been given sufficient notice and due process at this point, and they've
sent the case back down to a lower U.S. Appellate Court to decide just exactly the merits of Donald Trump's attempt to invoke the Alien Enemies
Act, which, as you probably recall, has only been used in wartime, just only three earlier times in American history.
But President Trump has tried to use it to, as I say, speedily deport people out of the country. And the court is essentially saying, wait, it
clearly does not appreciate what has happened. It does not appreciate the kinds of filings that the administration has made about why it should be
able to do this. I think there is a real lack of trust on the part of the administration's lawyers and what they've been telling the justices.
So they've said with only two justices dissenting here, that everything has to be put on hold, that this Act cannot be invoked for these individuals
until the Trump administration can make its case sufficiently, make its case to a lower court judge on why it should be using these extraordinary
measures to move people out of the country without sufficient due process.
NEWTON: Yes --
BISKUPIC: I will just mention one more thing. Only two justices publicly dissented, and it was Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas who are on
the far right of the bench, and so it will be probably several weeks, if not months, before we have any kind of definitive answer on whether
President Trump is able to take these extraordinary steps to try to deport Venezuelan migrants.
NEWTON: Yes, and it is significant because those in the conservative majority did, in fact, side with the liberal justices, as you point out.
BISKUPIC: Yes.
NEWTON: Joan, very grateful to you. Thanks so much.
BISKUPIC: Sure. Thank you.
NEWTON: And we go to France now where President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to host a major business summit. Monday will mark the eighth
edition of the Choose France Summit, which is aimed at bringing in foreign investment.
In particular, President Macron has tried to market France as a leader in artificial intelligence. Richard Quest, in fact, sat down with the French
leader in February. This was a memorable interview.
The President told him that France can't depend on other nations for A.I. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: We need an A.I. agenda because we have to bridge the gap with the U.S. and China on A.I., otherwise we will
consume, we will use the A.I. being produced and invented in the U.S. and China, but we will not be able to control ours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: "Control ours." Pascal Cagni is the French Ambassador for International Investments, and I welcome you to the program, and it is good
to speak to you in a week when things like A.I. have been so top of mind.
You know, France has been at this, including you, for about eight years now. You've had some success. But forgive me, you're at middle age with
this program, right? You have more ambitious plans. How do you plan to achieve them?
PASCAL CAGNI, FRENCH AMBASSADOR FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS: The truth of the matter is, is that over the eight years, you've got in excess of $47
billion, which has been announced, 173 investments. And what we are going to announce, which has just been said by President Macron today, is another
more than 50 projects and 20 billion dollars.
[16:25:10]
So the truth, France make a huge difference. For decades, France has never been on the top spot. Today, we've got an extra -- there are actually more
than a thousand project, far ahead of U.K. and Germany. So maybe this a question of opinions, but I think if there is something we've been doing
extremely well through the reforms, is to really attract new investment in France.
NEWTON: I guess you are the best in terms of Europe, that is true, but more can be done. France, I will point out, is ranked first in Europe, in fact
for A.I. and quantum research. But you've seen the competition around the globe for these investment dollars. Is it enough? I mean, we saw front and
center the A.I. race, for instance, globally.
This is really savage competition, given even what Donald Trump just talked about on his trip. How do you plan to compete? What is that comparative
advantage?
CAGNI: Remember, I am a former executive of Apple, right? So I love competitions and it is true that as stated by President Macron, what we did
on the 11th of February with the $109 billion of investments at the A.I. Summit was essentially to state that a continent like ours, a continent of
485 million inhabitants, representing up to 18 percent of the total GDP, needs to basically have its own LLM, needs to have its own application,
needs to have its own champions.
Obviously, your seven magnificence in the U.S. have been showing the way for essentially two or three decades, but time has come so much that just
10 days ago, we had also the Choose France for Sciences, where we are suggesting that any of the scientists in the U.S., which are willing to
join us in Europe to basically help addressing some of the challenging issues that the world is facing, would be welcome.
So we are going to compete. We do compete. We are demonstrating that whatever the GDP growth overall, we continue to attract amazing talent.
You're going to have new people presence at the Choose France forums, the large capital market platform. Mr. Schwarzman from Blackstone will be
present. Mr. Englander from Millenniums, we are going to have also a large investment also in the area of videos, in media, in tourism.
So I think we do our job trying to attract and demonstrating that we have unique assets.
NEWTON: You do your job, but how do you match it really with what is at stake and what is needed? Top CEOs, I don't have to tell you because you
are one, have bluntly stated what is obvious to many. The French bureaucracy, high taxes, they handicap businesses at times.
Some in France have suggested that you -- go ahead -- I was going to say, do you need --
CAGNI: All right, I think we need to be softer, right? The time is fast -- we reformed the country.
NEWTON: Go ahead.
CAGNI: Sorry. We have reformed the country, we have been basically reducing tax. We flex up the workload. That's the reasons why suddenly France
become, over the last eight years, a much more attractive. I am not telling you that everything is perfect, but right now, it is absolutely possible to
do business in France.
The proof is that we've got tons of investment. I know I've been living and working for many years in the Anglo-Saxon way, it is a choice of life the
way we basically manage our employees.
I am not saying that we shouldn't extract productivity. The Draghi Report actually clearly stated that and we intend to put the $800 billion at
stake. We are working on that target time after time.
So I believe the old preconceived ideas about the fact that because of the bureaucracy or because of the too strong presence of the States is not
possible to do business is kind of gone.
When you have Google, Microsoft coming up and developing some data centers as well as R&D centers, I think they are buying somewhere resources or
talent, and they are not afraid of the old preconceived idea about Europe. Right?
I am sorry to tell you this, but I strongly believe the things have changed.
NEWTON: Yes, you do not have to apologize. We will have CEOs and we will have you back next year to understand exactly what the report card is. The
data will speak for itself.
Pascal, again, grateful to you. Appreciate it.
CAGNI: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, one of the accusers in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs has finished her testimony.
Cassie Ventura, said in a statement afterwards that the experience was both challenging, but empowering. The latest on the sex trafficking trial after
the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:32:27]
NEWTON: Hello. I'm Paula Newton, and there's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when we'll tell you why Novo Nordisk, one of Europe's largest
companies, just ousted its CEO.
And we'll speak to insiders from the British film industry now rattled by President Trump's threats to put tariffs on foreign made movies.
Before that, though, the headlines this hour, peace remains elusive between Russia and Ukraine after the countries held their first direct talks in
more than three years. While there have been no signs of a major breakthrough in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a large scale
prisoner swap, Turkey's foreign minister sees this moment as a, "Important day for world peace."
Now, in a major blow to U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda, five House Republicans have blocked his so called big, beautiful bill. They joined
Democrats in voting against the legislation in committee, arguing it needed to include a bigger overhaul to Medicaid. Republican leaders plan to work
right through the weekend toward another vote on the bill.
The former director of the FBI denies his social media post was a threat to President Donald Trump. James Comey posted a picture of seashells spelling
out the numbers 8647. 86 meaning to get rid of someone or expelled them, and 47 being a reference to President Trump's term in office. Comey, a
Trump critic, later took down the post saying he didn't intend for the picture to be seen as a threat.
The ex-girlfriend of Sean Diddy Combs says testifying against him was both challenging and empowering. Cassie Ventura is one of the accusers in the
sex trafficking trial. She was cross examined Friday before leaving the witness stand.
Ventura said Combs was intoxicated during a 2016 assault captured on surveillance video. She also told the court that she received treatment for
PTSD after leaving Combs. Her attorney later read a statement on her behalf. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG WIGDOR, CASSIE VENTURA'S ATTORNEY: This week has been extremely challenging, but also remarkably empowering and healing for me. I hope that
my testimony has given strength and a voice to other survivors, and can help others who have suffered to speak up and also heal from abuse and
fear.
For me, the more I heal, the more I can remember, and the more I can remember, the more I will never forget.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[16:35:05]
NEWTON: Combs, a reminder, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of racketeering, conspiracy sex trafficking and transporting for prostitution.
CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson is in New York for us.
Joey, you've been at this all week, kind of seeing what's gone on on the stand. Obviously, a heartbreaking testimony and very difficult to really
interpret at times. What were your takeaways as the defense wrapped up its cross examination of Ventura?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Paula, good to be with you. So the big deal here, obviously, as we look at the charges with racketeering, are
you running a criminal enterprise, is the defense has to refute a number of things. Right?
In criminal enterprise, you have drugs. We heard a lot about them. You've got guns. Heard about that. You have all of this illicit behavior that
they're engaging in, if it's criminal and coerced, right? Sexual behavior, and that's significant, so they have to refute that to many degrees.
In addition to this notion of coercion, were you coerced into this? Or was this something that was a natural by product, meaning the freak off the
sexual activity of your relationship? It was just what you did. That doesn't make it criminal, maybe immoral, right, maybe disreputable, or what
have you, but not criminal.
So, the defense really needed to, in cross examination, hone on those things by bringing in the e-mails Paula, the text messages saying, hey, you
know what? When are we doing them again, being enthusiastic about it, seeming to take ownership of the fact that she's doing it, not only
participating, but helping to orchestrate and make them happen.
So, that was a big deal. The other issue, we saw the videotape over and over and over again, which seems to depict him as a monster. So they needed
to the defense, humanize him to some degree by talking about the fact that she did, right, and that is Cassie I'm referring to, he was charming, he
was engaging, he was loving, all things she embraced. And when he took drugs, he then began to act in this way. So they needed to come up with
some excuse.
Finally, what the defense needed to do was to say, hey, look, she had an opportunity in this 10 year relationship to leave, to go out on her own,
because she was somewhat resourced to do so. Very talented model, actor, singer, and so she wasn't constrained by him at all. In that regard, she
could have found her own way.
And so, if the defense makes headway on that, now you're going somewhere, because it eliminates the notion that he was running this criminal
enterprise. Eliminates the notion that it was sex trafficking. Hey, you were doing this as part of your life. It eliminates the notion that this
was criminality. It was just an illicit relationship that was beyond complicated.
NEWTON: Yes, Joey, you and I discussed this earlier in the week, right? How complicated this is because, as you pointed out, he is an admitted abuser,
she is clearly a victim. That is not what's at dispute here.
So, when you see what's transpired this week and the scope of the charges, what more will the jury see going forward that really relates to the
charges at hand, which are not, as you reminded us about domestic abuse?
JACKSON: Yes, they're not at all. And so, I think what the prosecution needs to do is to continue to connect the dots. I think in terms of the
racketeering, right? Was he running Sean Diddy Combs an enterprise predicated upon criminality, or was his -- this his brand, and it was
legit, and he just sort of veered off into this dark side of life because it was who he was, doesn't mean it's a criminal enterprise.
So, what the prosecution has to do is to continue to lay the foundation of these drugs, of these guns, of this coercion, of this kidnapping, of these
abuse to establish a pattern of criminality and to show that he was using various people in his organization to set things up that are illicit, that
are illegal, that are really unseemly to the jury.
And then what they will do by bringing in other women, other victims, is to continue to show this pattern of abuse, pattern of coercion. Because
coercion, Paula, is what gets you -- gets you to the sex trafficking.
If you're moving people throughout different states, and you're doing it by force, by fear, by coercion, by fraud, that's what gets you there. If it's
just a consensual relationship by freaky people, that's a whole different avenue.
So, they will prosecutors continue to lay that foundation, and then, of course, the foundation of flying in prostitutes from all over the place to
engage in these activities.
If they're able to connect those dots and not be refuted by the defense, then the prosecution has an opportunity here. If they're not able to, then
it goes another way.
Remember, at the end of the day, it's not about what anybody else thinks, but those 12 jurors that have to be unanimous in making a conclusion one
way or the other after all of the evidence has come in.
NEWTON: I think you've laid it out very well in terms of what we might see in the evidence in the days to come. Joey Jackson, thanks again, and we'll
talk to you next week. Appreciate it.
Now, President Donald Trump is threatening to put a tariff on movies. Coming up, we'll visit a U.K. shop that makes some of Hollywood's most
iconic costumes to hear how they're dealing with the real threat.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:43:05]
NEWTON: In 2024 the International Energy Agency found a staggering 80 percent of new electricity generation worldwide came from clean energy
sources. Over the last year, Africa alone increased its renewable energy capacity by nearly seven percent. Our Connecting Africa correspondent
Victoria Rubadiri looks at one of the continent's largest operating solar plants located in Egypt.
(CONNECTING AFRICA)
[16:46:03]
NEWTON: The CEO of the pharmaceutical company behind the weight loss drug Wegovy is stepping down. We will dig into the reasons why Novo Nordisk
shares have fallen by more than 30 percent this year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: In Mexico, authorities are investigating the murder of the Mexican beauty influencer Valeria Marquez. She was killed as she live streamed a
video on TikTok. CNN's Gabriela Frias explains why the 23-year-old's murder may be part of a worrying trend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GABRIELA FRIAS, CNN EN ESPANOL ANCHOR (voice over): Valeria Marquez giggling just seconds before she was shot dead during a live stream on
TikTok.
The 23-year-old beauty influencer was addressing followers when a male intruder entered her beauty salon in the city of Sapopan, state of Jalisco
in central Mexico. Authorities are now investigating it as a suspected femicide, the killing of a woman or girl for gender based reasons.
We are working to find those responsible and determine the motive behind this situation, Mexico's president said. Obviously, we express our
solidarity with the family during this unfortunate situation.
Earlier on in the live stream, Valeria, who came on the scene after winning the Miss Rostro or Miss Face beauty pageant in 2021 shares with fans that
someone had come to the salon while she was out with, "An expensive gift for her."
[16:50:09]
Were they going to take me or what? She asks.
The state prosecutor said it was that same man who returned later and killed the young woman who was buried Thursday.
The Jalisco Attorney General's office says they're investigating the case as a possible act of gender based violence, another heartbreaking example
as Mexico continues to grapple with attacks targeting women.
Just two days earlier, another woman, Yesenia Lara Gutierrez, a major candidate from the ruling party in the state of Veracruz, was also gunned
down during a live stream, alongside three other people.
Two murders that have sent shockwaves through a country with one of the highest femicide rates in the world, with 847 reported cases nationwide
last year alone, and a poor track record of bringing perpetrators to justice.
Gabriela Frias, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Yes, President Trump's top economic adviser says the White House expects to announce dozens of trade deals in the coming weeks, in fact.
Now, Kevin Hassett spoke to CNN's Casey hunt earlier this hour. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN HASSETT, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: You saw that we've got a great deal with China, with the U.K. I expect that we're going to be
announcing 20 to 25 more deals in the next week or two, and they're all going to have, at some point, they're going to have a characteristic that's
visible to everybody about where they need to go in order to finish up.
And so, I think uncertainty about tariff policy is very close to resolved because of the deals that we've shown that are really a nice temp --
they're a nice template for everybody to see. OK, this is what -- this is what we need to do.
And again, one of the main things that we've been getting out of these negotiations is that foreign countries are opening up their markets to U.S.
producers, to U.S. goods in a way that's never been seen before, and that's really, really great for American businesses and workers and for wages and
everything else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: OK, you heard him. The uncertainty will be close to resolved shortly. OK.
The CEO of Novo Nordisk maker of blockbuster weight loss drug, Wegovy, is stepping down in what the company says is a mutual agreement. Now, shares
in the Danish drug maker have tumbled more than 30 percent this year in Copenhagen.
Anna Stewart has been following all of this, really at the top of their game. It's a cautionary tale here -- a tale here, then so quickly loses its
edge. Why? How?
ANNA STEWART, CNN COMMENTATOR: Lost its crown as Europe's most valuable company some time ago. If you look at the share price over the last 12
months, you can see quite a spectacular fall. I think $300 billion has been wiped off its share price, with the share price down more than 50 percent,
you can see there.
This is a tale of competition, really, Paula, you have Wegovy and Ozempic which were blockbuster drugs that were made by Novo Nordisk. They couldn't
make enough of the stuff, to the point, in fact, that actually in the U.S., the FDA, the drugs regulator, decided to allow copycats to be made up, in
fact, until the end of next week, in response to the shortage. So, that was one issue.
Secondly, Eli Lilly, a rival drug brand in the U.S., has made some really successful weight loss drugs. They've also got Zepbound for diabetes and
Mounjaro as well. They're very, very competitive. This isn't a situation of competition. It was probably always going to happen.
Unclear what a new CEO will be able to do to really turn this around. Not least given this is a sector that could face potential headwinds.
Currently, it is exempt from tariffs by the U.S. president, but it's very much on his list. It's being investigated as we speak.
NEWTON: And you mentioned tariffs again, the T word, as it were. It seems no corner or crevice of the globe, Anna, can outwit Trump's trade war. That
would be to use the word "Mission Impossible." Yes, I greet you with that on Friday.
That blockbuster "Mission Impossible" is releasing with a lot of Hollywood drama here, more than anyone ever needed, because these valued cultural
exports could yet be diminished by tariffs if Trump has his way.
STEWART: I mean, it's one of the many things on his list. He has threatened to put tariffs on U.S. movies that are made in any way, shape or form
overseas.
Now, a lot of Hollywood Studios rely on production overseas for all sorts of reasons, often financial, often tax incentives, often cheaper location
costs, often cheaper labor costs, and also some very niche sort of industries that are made outside of the U.S, like costume making, Paula.
And I actually had the great pleasure of visiting a very old costume maker in East London, got completely lost in the labyrinth of archives. Have a
look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEWART: Oh, this looks fun, I can see bonnets already.
STEWART (voice over): We're stepping into another world, certainly a different era.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the main alternative (ph). Here's a famous pink dress in the "Marie Antoinette."
[16:55:01]
STEWART: Wow, that's beautiful.
STEWART (voice over): From "Marie Antoinette" --
KIRSTEN DUNST, ACTRESS: I'll do it again.
STEWART (voice over): -- to "Les Miserables." And more recently, "Snow White."
GAL GADOT, ACTRESS: The fairest of them all.
STEWART (voice over): British company Sands Films has been making period costumes for films like these for some 50 years.
STEWART: OK, well, looking through the endless rows of costumes, this is one you may recognize. This was in the movie "Little Women."
Now, clearly, this is based on an American novel. It was produced by an American company, Columbia Pictures, and it was largely filmed in
Massachusetts, but the costumes were designed and made here in South East London.
STEWART (voice over): Some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters are made in Britain, like the latest "Mission Impossible."
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: I need you to trust me one last time.
STEWART (voice over): Whether it's the location or in the case of "Barbie," the Warner Brothers studio in Leavesden, Hertfordshire.
Last year, Hollywood spent more than $1.8 billion in the U.K., employing nearly 200,000 people in the industry. And President Trump isn't happy
about it.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have the nice side and everything's good, but they don't do very much.
STEWART (voice over): His threat to slap tariffs on foreign made films has its skeptics.
OLIVIER STOCKMAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SANDS FILMS: I would say it's impossible to put a tariff on the film, because the film is a non-tangible
asset. That is the -- that's the issue at stake. That's what they want to do, is to bring back employment in Hollywood.
Now, to do that, they would have to make the financial environment for the film production to find it more attractive to do in Hollywood than to do it
in Pinewood or in Hungary or in -- or in -- or in Australia for that matter.
STEWART (voice over): Businesses like Sands Films aren't worried. They plan to be making costumes for all the eras and sizes for decades to come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STEWART (on camera): I haven't spoken to anyone who's particularly concerned from the British film industry here, not least because it's very
hard to know how you'd even implement a terror for movies.
But Paula, I'll probably go see "Mission Impossible" now made in Britain. Why not?
NEWTON: Why not? Indeed. And I was delighted to hear that you were the person on this story. Thank you for bringing it to us. Have a great weekend
and a great weekend to all of you. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Paula Newton. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
