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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Trump Unveils Sweeping Tariffs Of 10-50 Percent On Nations Worldwide; Interview With Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY); POLITICO: Waltz's Team Set Up At Least 20 Signal Group Chats For Crises Across The World; Politico Reports Waltz's Team Set Up At Least 20 Signal Group Chats For Crises Across The World; Two More Law Firms Make Deals With White House; Netanyahu Announces Escalation In Gaza And Vows To Increase Pressure Until All Hostages Released; Palestinian Man Tortured To Death In Gaza by Hamas Militants After Criticizing Group And Attending Protests; Trump's 25% Tariff On Foreign-Made Autos Takes Effect At Midnight; Actor Val Kilmer Dies At Aged 65. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired April 02, 2025 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: We've reached out to the Attorney General's Office and they said Bondi's remarks -- they basically pointed us to Bondi's remarks defending the Signal chat.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: And of course, we'll see what happens now that there's 20 more chats, at least, that POLITICO is reporting. What actually comes of this, although they are they're making it clear they hope it is a case closed.
All right, thank you very much, Andrew Kaczynski of KFile. And thanks so much to all of you as always for being with us. See you tomorrow, AC360 starts now.
[20:00:30]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360, saving the country had been looted, pillage, raped, and plundered by other countries long enough. The President unveils sweeping tariffs on all trading partners, which could raise the prices everyone pays on nearly everything, shake financial markets and cast a shadow on your 401(k).
Also tonight, new reporting on just how much National Security adviser Mike Waltz loves his Signal. As expected, the Yemen attack Signal chat was not the first time he did official business on the app or discuss sensitive information.
And later, the President's intimidation of private law firms rolls on. Now, two more major law firms prostrate themselves before the President and promised to give the white house $200 million in free legal work.
Good evening, thanks for joining us.
It is hard to overstate the potential impact of tonight's breaking news. And it's no exaggeration to say it has the potential to affect more lives and livelihoods in this country and around the world than virtually anything short of wars and pandemics.
Today, the White House saying that his administration was, "finally putting America first and promising a return to the glory days of American manufacturing," the President unveiled tariffs on virtually all goods coming into the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It's our declaration of economic independence. For years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. But now it's our turn to prosper.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The President signed orders imposing tariffs on at least 10 percent on all imports. Now, that's the baseline for many countries. The President said rates would be far higher, though not as high as he could make them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We will calculate the combined rate of all their tariffs, nonmonetary barriers and other forms of cheating. And because we are being very kind, we're kind people, very kind. You're not so kind when you got ripped off with your salaries. We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us. So, the tariffs will be not a full reciprocal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Some of the steepest rates would apply to products made in China 34 percent on cell phones, computers, home air conditioners, clothing and more, 24 percent on goods from Japan, everything from Toyotas to high-end whiskey, 20 percent on items from the European union, meaning pharmaceuticals like Ozempic, luxury leather products, sophisticated optical equipment used in making computer chips, wine.
In addition, the President imposed a 25 percent tariff on all imported cars, effective at midnight tonight. We're going to start being smart, the President said, and we're going to start being very wealthy again, which gets to a central issue with any tariff, regardless of what else it is intended to accomplish, mainly protecting domestic industries. Namely, that the President continues to believe that other countries pay the bill, which is not true.
As you know, he's been pitching the idea of a so-called External Revenue Service to replace the IRS and the income tax, which today, he suggested should never have been devised.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Then in 1913, for reasons unknown to mankind, they established the income tax so that citizens, rather than foreign countries, would start paying the money necessary to run our government. Then, in 1929, it all came to a very abrupt end with the Great Depression, and it would have never happened if they had stayed with the tariff policy, it would have been a much different story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Economists of all political stripes agree that whatever else tariffs did for the economy back then, raising them, which again, American importers and consumers pay actually deepen the Great Depression, which may be why you see headlines like this one recently in "Barron's," Wall Street's fear index is surging, it reads, a storm may be coming. The article notes that Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, the volatility index, has been climbing sharply, and also why the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank just revised its economic growth forecast downward for the first quarter to negative 3.8 percent.
Markets too have been reacting, take a look, these are the Dow, S&P and NASDAQ futures all trading down right now, setting the stage potentially for a rough day tomorrow.
Asian markets are just opening. They'll provide another early tell followed by Europe later tonight. Longer term there will be the question of inflation as the cost of imports and anything made with foreign parts rise, something Senate Minority Leader Schumer later tonight underscored.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): So when the average American family sits down and tries to figure out how they're going to pay for things, and they hear they may pay $5,000.00 more than they've had to pay before, and they may not be able to buy a new car, they may not be able to afford that new drug that grandma needs, they may not be able to take that vacation they were planning for, for a year. They're going to be outraged and they should be outraged. These tariffs are a disaster for the average American family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:05:23]
COOPER: Now to that point, just moments ago, the Senate, with four Republicans joining Democrats, adopted a resolution aimed at blocking the tariffs on Canadian imports.
The four Republicans were Senators Rand Paul, who co-sponsored the resolution, Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, and Lisa Murkowski. The resolution is expected to be dead on arrival in the Republican controlled House.
More on this right now from our chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be her guest on "The Source," the top of the next hour.
So does the White House seem concerned at all about how the financial markets are reacting to that? Because, I mean, this is going to hit a lot of Americans.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, and notice that President Trump made this announcement after the markets already closed here in the United States. And so, we'll see. We're already seeing some reaction in the international markets. We'll wait to see what happens when they open tomorrow morning.
I actually spoke with the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, right after President Trump had made this announcement in the Rose Garden about that very matter. He said really that less of what happens tomorrow, they'll be looking more at the underlying economic fundamentals here, he said, is really a barometer for what this looks like.
But on this overall, they are arguing that this is the right move, that this is something that President Trump promised when he was on the campaign trail. And so, they're taking these steps to rectify the global order when it comes to the economy.
But on this question, Anderson, of what happens in response to this with other countries who have vowed to retaliate, and we know we're going to hear from the leaders of Canada and Mexico as soon as tomorrow. I asked Treasury Secretary Bessent about what happens then. Are we fully in that trade war at that point? And this is what he told me earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And if countries retaliate, which some have said that they would. Some have said they wanted to wait and see. What is the White House's response going to be to those countries?
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Well, Kaitlan, one of the messages that I'd like to get out tonight is everybody sit back, take a deep breath. Don't immediately retaliate. Let's see where this goes. Because if you retaliate, that's how we get escalation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Saying don't immediately retaliate to these other countries, Anderson, that we have already noted -- several of them have said they will be. Some have said they wanted to wait to see what actually went into effect here. But obviously, when you look at these tariffs and the handout that the White House had earlier, this 10 percent baseline tariff for all countries, and then the reciprocal tariffs for what they say are the worst offenders, it's about 60 countries, I counted on the list earlier.
That is the question, how they are going to respond to this and what that looks like then for the American consumer, because they were arguing that they're not in a position to negotiate here for these other countries, though, Secretary Bessent told me that is essentially going to be something that is up to President Trump.
COOPER: All right, Kaitlan, we'll see more of your interview at the top of the next hour with Secretary Bessent. Joining me now is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Leader Jeffries, what's your response to these tariffs?
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): The Trump tariffs are going to raise costs on everyday Americans in an environment where there's already a high cost of living. Trump promised that he would lower costs, in fact, on day one. But what we've seen under his reckless leadership is that costs aren't going down in America, they are going up. Inflation is going up, the stock market is going down. Consumer confidence is going down. And the retirement security of the American people is going down.
This is not liberation day in America. Its recession day because Donald Trump's reckless policies are driving us toward a painful recession.
COOPER: He's saying, look, America has been taken advantage of by these other countries. He listed the tariffs they have on American goods coming into this country, and that long term, this is going to bring manufacturing back to America and make Americans wealthy.
JEFFRIES: We certainly need to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States of America, something that we, as House Democrats are committed to doing, building upon the work that was done in the prior administration. But these ham-handed tariffs done in such an over-the- top fashion is not strategic. Nothing that Donald Trump and Elon Musk and the administration have been doing over the last 70-plus days is strategic. Its chaos. Its crisis. Its confusion. There's a lot of corruption wrapped up into it, and it's causing great harm. They are crashing the economy in real time here in the United States of America.
COOPER: It's not really a surprise he's done this. This is what he ran on, though the details obviously were kind of open ended until they were revealed today. Do you think that this is in any way just a negotiation tactic that, you know, essentially we heard from the Treasury Secretary his advice to countries, all the countries of the world essentially is sit back, relax and take this and just -- let's see how, you know, just take it for a while, take it in and, you know, just breathe deep.
[20:10:12]
JEFFRIES: They seem to want other countries in the world to behave like House and Senate Republicans who have just been sitting back and taken it, orders from Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Not my expectation that you're going to see countries around the world do that. And it's unfortunate because there is an opportunity to work together in a manner that is designed to improve the economy.
Listen, on the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised pretty much every day that he was on the campaign trail, that he's going to lower the high cost of living in America. America right now is too expensive for everyday Americans, for hard working American taxpayers, for young people. We have to do better. This is the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and we should not have a situation where people are struggling to live day to day, paycheck to paycheck, can't get ahead, and can barely get by.
But what Donald Trump is doing through his mismanagement of the economy is actually making things worse when he promised to make things better.
COOPER: The Senate voted 51 to 48 tonight to adopt a resolution aimed at blocking the proposed tariff on Canadian imports for Republicans, I mentioned crossing the line to vote with Democrats. That's not expected to go anywhere. Realistically, what can Democrats do to fight against this?
JEFFRIES: Well, we have to continue to raise the public pressure so that the public is aware of the reckless nature of these Trump economic policies to hopefully give House Republicans some backbone as it relates to doing what is in the best interest of their constituents. I'm thankful for what was done in the United States Senate. That was bipartisan support, and there would be bipartisan support in the House if Congressional leadership were willing to allow the bill to be voted in an up or down fashion in the House.
But we don't expect that because House Republican leaders are basically taking orders from Donald Trump and Elon Musk. They don't work for the American people and that's shameful.
COOPER: Leader Hakeem Jeffries, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
JEFFRIES: Thank you.
COOPER: Joining me now is CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten, also our senior political commentator, David Axelrod, former senior adviser to President Obama and CNN business and political politics correspondent, Vanessa Yurkevich.
David, you heard Treasury Secretary Bessent's warning foreign countries not to escalate the trade war, just relax, think about it.
DAVID AXELROD, SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
COOPER: Let's see this play out, don't do anything rash -- anything rash would be unwise we're his words. Where do you see this going?
AXELROD: Look, I don't know what these countries are going to do, but they all have their internal concerns and internal politics. And I'm sure people in those countries are not eager for them to just lie down and take it from Trump. I think the question is, what is the end game here? You know, I was talking earlier to Larry Summers, the former Treasury Secretary, and Republicans were very eager to quote him when he predicted inflation because of the size of the Recovery Act under Biden.
And now, what he's saying is we can expect withering stagflation, rising unemployment, rising inflation and slower growth. That is precisely the opposite, as Jeffries pointed out, of what Trump promised. And the question is how long will voters stick with him? And how long will Republicans stick with him? So, there's a tremendous political gamble here for the President.
COOPER: Harry, what could these tariffs cost Americans?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Look, it's a little bit difficult to calculate, in part because Donald Trump has gone one way some days and then another day exactly what he was going to do. But its thousands of dollars, thousands of dollars. And when you know, the median household income in this country, were talking at least two percent of the median household income that this will cost American households.
And, you know, all I can say is, can the American household -- can the American consumer just catch a break? Gosh darn it. We had record inflation over the Biden administration. Then you come in here with Donald Trump claiming he is going to lower inflation, lower prices, and he comes in with tariffs, which we know historically, we know historically raise prices. And that is exactly what economists estimate is going to happen.
COOPER: Vanessa, what do you think this means for American consumers?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: I think this means prices are going to rise on just about everything that we import. We import $3.3 trillion worth of goods every single year, and at a minimum, there will be a 10 percent tariff on those goods.
Just think about food costs. This is something that Americans have been grappling with for years now and President Trump said he was going to bring prices at the grocery store down. Take a look at bananas, for example. We get those bananas mainly from abroad, from countries like Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras that are now seeing a 10 percent tariff. Think about things like wine, for example. That may be a luxury for some, but the idea is that we get a lot from Italy, from France. The European Union now, hit with a 10 percent tariff, and this is about can America produce these products?
The answer for something like bananas or for coffee is no. And Napa Valley, while wonderful, cannot produce enough for Americans to consume. So it is very much a tax on our food that we consume here in the U.S.
[20:15:34]
COOPER: David, the Treasury Secretary, suggested the tariffs might not be permanent. He told Kaitlan that he believes the administration is going to, "wait and see how this plays out." According to a source to CNN, Bessent told lawmakers yesterday that if the tariff rates -- that these tariff rates will be a ceiling and can be negotiated down. I mean, do you think that's likely? Do you think U.S. consumers and businesses will accept shouldering the economic pain in the meantime?
AXELROD: Well, I'll say two things. One is, one of the things that's killing businesses across the country here is the sheer uncertainty of this. You know, Trump is an impulsive improvisational politician, but businesses rely on predictability. And so, you know, the Treasury Secretary suggesting that just adds another element of unpredictability.
But here's my question, Anderson. The big project for Donald Trump is this massive tax cut that he keeps talking about, that Congress is considering. They want to do it under a procedure that would require them to offset some of the monies that the treasury will lose with either budget cuts or tax increases or a combination of the two. So, Peter Navarro said the other day, this will bring in $6 trillion over ten years. And you can see them using this as a way to pass this reconciliation bill.
Maybe after they pass the bill, they think they can reduce these trade barriers. But I think what you're seeing here is raising, essentially, raising a tax on American consumers to pay for a tax cut that is disproportionately going to favor very wealthy people in the country. And I think that's a big political problem when people start doing the math.
COOPER: Harry, how do and what does the data show? How do people feel about tariffs.
ENTEN: You know, one of the things that was so interesting in David's answer, as I was just hearing it, you know, he mentioned uncertainty in the market. And one of the things I love when I sort of delve into a topic a little bit more deeply as we've been delving into tariffs, is that there's actually a trade uncertainty index. It's now at a record high. It's now at a record high. Consumers, countries hate uncertainty and Americans hate uncertainty.
When we talk about the tariffs, we can talk about all goods. We can talk about those on cars, automobiles. What do we see is the same answer on both, Anderson. Poll after poll after poll, find that the majority of Americans are opposed to tariffs. They are opposed to them overall. They are opposed to them on automobiles and then, of course, there's this whole idea that Donald Trump is putting out there. You know what? Tariffs help the American worker.
Well, interestingly enough, IPSOS polled that. Do in fact, the American workers come out ahead when there are tariffs. What do we find? We find -- get this, just 31 percent of Americans agree with that idea, 48 percent, the clear plurality disagree. I look at the polling on tariffs over and over and over again. To me its oppose, oppose, oppose -- negative, negative, negative. The only thing that really polls in the majority is tariffs on China, but not on our allies like Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom. I mean, how many countries is it that were putting tariffs on? It's crazy.
COOPER: And Vanessa, what's the overall reaction internationally so far.
YURKEVICH: Well, any world leader that's awake right now is reacting to this. We have heard from Mexico that they're going to --
COOPER: Why some of them stayed awake actually. YURKEVICH: I think they were waiting to hear what was going to happen.
But ultimately Mexico is going to respond tomorrow. Canada, we know, has been planning a response for days. The European Union is working together to craft their response. Australia actually obviously condemned these tariffs but said that they were not going to respond because they didn't want to escalate this trade war.
I think the big question is, is there anything another country can do or say to deescalate? At a minimum, we're at 10 percent. Can that come down a little bit? We heard from Scott Bessent in Kaitlan's interview just now that other countries should not retaliate. Does that mean they're open to negotiation? I think that's what a lot of countries are trying to feel out right now.
COOPER: David, I mean, President Trump did campaign on this. I mean, he's been talking about this for decades. World leaders, I assume, kind of knew this was coming and he got elected on this.
AXELROD: I think that there was a suspicion that this was a posturing for the campaign. He also campaigned on lowering prices, by the way. But -- and that somehow this would all work out. And so, I think there's a bit of shock right now that we are where we are. I mean, we're in a trade war now that a lot a lot of folks didn't expect. But I'm sure these leaders have been planning you know, to some degree. Now, they've got to actually act on it, and it's going to be painful.
[20:20:14]
COOPER: Yes, David Axelrod, thanks so much. Vanessa Yurkevich, Harry Enten as well.
Coming up next, new reporting, the President's National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz, turns out used the Signal App for a lot of other sensitive government communications. Reaction from President Obama's former White House Chief Of Staff, Rahm Emanuel.
Later, the President's threats against prominent American law firms are paying off for him, and his administration. In just the last 24 hours, two more big firms gave in, promising some $200 million in free legal services to the President.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:25:07]
COOPER: There's new reporting tonight about that Signal group text shared with "Atlantic" editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. It was apparently not the first time the National Security Adviser Mike Waltz shared sensitive details on the commercially available texting app. The headline from POLITICO, Waltz's team set up at least 20 Signal group chats for crises across the world. So, that's 20 such chats, at least since January 20th.
According to the reporting chats about Ukraine, China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe were regularly conducted over the app by his team. One source told POLITICO that, "Waltz built the entire NSC communications process on Signal. Let's talk about it."
But first, the major news of the day President Trump's new tariffs. I'm joined by Rahm Emanuel, who served as President Obama's first chief of staff. He's also a former U.S. ambassador to Japan and served as mayor of Chicago.
Ambassador, what's your reaction to these sweeping tariffs?
RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR :I think they're both bad foreign policy and bad economic policy. Today, there's a plant in Iowa, a Whirlpool plant that makes household appliances let off 651 workers. So, if there's some renaissance in manufacturing, it's not happening. Why is that happening in Iowa? Consumer demand is down. People are depressed economically and now people are losing manufacturing jobs.
It's also bad foreign policy because allies that were going to buy and purchase defense equipment from the United States, they're now going to make it in Europe. So, were actually going to -- this nirvana, this liberation day of manufacturing jobs coming back to America. You have proof positive that it's not going to happen.
And then to add insult to injury, all these cuts in America's research and development, in its technology, its scientific advantage. That was the envy of the United States around the world. And we're destroying it also here. So, there's a short-term pain that is going to be catastrophic with the tariffs and a long-term pain where you're destroying the economic kind of vitality of America based around research and development in the science and tech area.
COOPER: Does it surprise you that a President who, at least in the past, has been very focused on the stock market, used it as a barometer, as a cudgel against administrations he didn't like and disagreed with, he doesn't seem concerned about the economic policy -- I mean, the effect his economic policy is now having on financial markets, not to mention, you know, people's savings.
EMANUEL: Donald Trump may not understand the impact of his tariffs on peoples pocketbooks, but the public understands its impact, which is why consumer sentiment is down, why they've rejected the tariffs and they've watched their 401(k)s go down. They get it, he doesn't get it.
They actually understand this. I tell you -- I will tell you this, if I -- if you had asked me three months ago prior to him getting sworn and the American people understand the tariffs, I have been very, very pleasantly surprised how quickly they're not graduates of Harvard's economics school, but they understand how the tariffs have affected their own economic livelihood in a very viscerally negative way. They get it, and that's why they rejected it.
COOPER: I want to ask you about the elections last night. Republicans obviously won both special Congressional elections in Florida last night, perhaps not as big margins as they'd had, but the counter to that, it was an election that President Trump was actually in. Democrats did well in Wisconsin, the Supreme Court race. What stood out to you? Is there a message there? EMANUEL: There's two things that stand out. One is in Wisconsin,
Democrats ran against Elon Musk and Republicans ran with Donald Trump and both Frick and Frack lost -- Elon Musk and Donald Trump. And the turnout for Democrats in Wisconsin was not just Madison and Milwaukee. It was -- it's a statewide victory.
Now, the second thing that was very interesting to me, if you go to the district where Pensacola is based, where Gaetz used to be, the congressman, in Escambia County. Donald Trump won it by 19 points. The Democrat won it by three. Democrats haven't won that county in a federal election going back multiple decades. It has a 14 percent active duty and veterans community, more than double the national numbers and it went Democrat.
Now, if you had told me Democrats were going to outperform in rural part of Wisconsin and in a veterans and active duty centered county, have a 22-point swing away from the Republicans, I would never say that's possible on November 8th, 2024. I will just say right now, in the Republican caucus, in Congress, you're in a Republican and a district that Kamala Harris won. You got a target on your back.
They are really nervous now because they can hear the foot -- the sound of the foot now coming and the foot traffic for their district.
COOPER: Just finally on the Signal kerfuffle, the White House clearly wanted this to be over now. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz turned out he used Signal to discuss sensitive matters before. POLITICO is reporting that they used that app to talk about up to 20 different crises around the world. Also, using a Gmail account, according to other reporting. I mean, do you think his position is tenable?
EMMANUEL: Well, no. I think, if I was a National Security Adviser Waltz, you have four people talking on record from the White House with knowledge. Next time you go to a meal, get a food taster. That's a bad sign for you. If four people inside are leaking on you. Second, you have a National Security risk. You know that China, Russia, and Iran are trying to get in our systems. The fact that you're so cavalier, you have all these conversations.
I would also say, if you look at in the first Signal scandal, Secretary of Defense Hegseth document what he types. It's clear he wasn't sitting at a computer typing that he was taking off of another Signal chat group and cut and pasting on that one. This is a problem massively throughout this administration. They're being cavalier with American security, and they're being cavalier with the lives of men and women who they're tasking with the responsibility to secure America.
[20:30:56]
COOPER: Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, thanks for your time tonight. Appreciate it.
EMANUEL: Thank you. COOPER: A lot more to get to, the president pressuring two more law firms and they have relented to the tune of $200 million and other concessions on how they do business. I'll talk it over with Former Federal Prosecutor, Jessica Roth. And later, what those new car tariffs taking effect at midnight could do to sticker prices.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:35:44]
COOPER: Welcome back. It began as an unprecedented attack on private law firms by the president, and it has paid off for him big time. Another major law firm has just made a deal with the president to provide tens of millions of dollars in free legal services to advance his initiatives. Now the second firm -- that's the second firm in just the last 24 hours, two others have previously cut deals as well. New York's Milbank, LLP is the name of the latest firm. They've agreed to do $100 million worth of free legal work for the president.
Milbank joins firms Willkie Farr & Gallagher, which also cut a deal along with Skadden Arps and Paul Weiss. Now, you can see that dollar figures next to each firm totaling $340 million. It's more than a third of $1 billion in free legal services by some of the top law firms in America. Services provided by private corporations to the President of the United States for whatever initiatives he chooses.
Now, in the case of Milbank, the president today said that would include, in his words, assisting veterans and other public servants, including members of the military, law enforcement and first responders, ensuring fairness in our justice system and combating anti-Semitism. Remains to be seen, of course, if that is how these high-powered attorneys are in fact used by the president.
According to a new report in The New York Times, the first firm to make a deal, Paul Weiss was prepared to commit to "Helping the administration launch a sovereign wealth fund." That firm pledged $40 million after the president signed an executive order that could have hurt its business. He's done the same with Jenner & Block and WilmerHale, which both have ties to former Russia Special counsel Robert Mueller. Neither of those firms have submitted, by the way, both are challenging the orders in court.
I want to talk about it right now with Former Federal Prosecutor, Jessica Roth. Why do you think some of these firms are agreeing to these demands pretty quickly?
JESSICA ROTH, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NY: Well, they have said in their internal explanations that it's a business decision and they've essentially downplayed what it is that they've actually conceded. They've said it's consistent with our principles that we would engage in these kinds of representations that we've agreed to, and we're not actually giving up our independence and choosing the matters that we're agreeing to.
COOPER: They're essentially saying it's like the pro bono work we might ordinarily do. ROTH: They're basically saying there's nothing to see here.
COOPER: Right.
ROTH: Actually, we haven't really agreed to do anything we weren't already prepared to do.
COOPER: I mean, I think for a lot of people this is unprecedented. I mean, this has not happened where a sitting president of the United States has gone after private law firms, threatening their business just because he doesn't like people who have worked for them. He doesn't like clients they have represented, which people are allowed to hire lawyers and law firms represent a whole bunch of different kinds of clients. Even their DEI policies, he's claiming he's going after them for.
It makes it harder, I mean, it seems like one of the threats of this is it makes it harder for anybody who's been wronged say by the government, to try to fight the government or if they've been fired unlawfully to hire, find a law firm who will hire them because what law firm is going to go after this administration?
ROTH: That's exactly right. I mean, what is at stake here is whether lawyers will take on unpopular clients and represent arguments that are unpopular with the administration. I mean, that is the larger issue at stake here. It is the rule of law and also whether lawyers will stand up and fight for the rule of law. Notwithstanding what some of these firms are saying about there's how there's nothing actually all that significant here, there's a tremendous amount of significance to these orders and the pressure campaign against lawyers and also the fact that these law firms are willing to accede to the president's demands.
COOPER: It's also the president has essentially threatened corporations, American corporations, if they do business with these firms, if these firms don't prostrate themselves to the president.
ROTH: It's guilt by association. He has targeted firms where he perceives there are enemies of his that are either personal or political, firms where these people work now, where they used to work years ago, and also all employees of the firm, clients of the firm, and all of this without any due process whatsoever.
So people should be incredibly alarmed by what's happening, because if you attack lawyers, if you chill lawyers from being willing to take on unpopular matters, or if they're just even thinking about what the president will think about the matters they pursue, then you're really harming the infrastructure of our system of law.
[20:40:00]
And I think you should see it also in combination with the attacks on judges who've ruled against Trump. He's trying to make it incredibly difficult for people to stand up to him and anybody who ever might find themselves in a position where their rights have been violated, or do they think their rights have been violated, should be very concerned because they may not be able to find a lawyer who will represent them in court.
COOPER: The New York Times is reporting that none of the top-10 law firms by revenue have signed onto a legal brief supporting Perkins Coie, which is one of the firms that's actually fighting back against the White House. The hope I think from -- I assume people at Perkins Coie and other firms that are fighting back would be that other big firms, they would sort of -- they would all stand together.
ROTH: They need to stand together. And this is a situation in which there has to be unified action, people speaking out against these plainly unconstitutional orders and this pressure campaign that is plainly unconstitutional. The fear among the firms who are not signing on or are agreeing to the demands of the president is that they will lose business. And some claim, it is an existential threat to the existence of their firms and that they have a duty to their employees, to their clients to continue on as a firm and also to do other good pro bono work.
The problem is that if people are looking out for their own interest individually as a firm and not for the larger principles at stake, that Trump is just going to keep picking off one firm after another as we're seeing. It's not stopping.
COOPER: Yeah.
ROTH: And the price is going up.
COOPER: He's emboldened and the price is going to get --
ROTH: He's emboldened. What? $40 million for Paul Weiss. Now, it's $100 million for these last two deals.
COOPER: Right.
ROTH: He's not stopping. And the -- or the terms of the orders when he imposes them are becoming larger and broader.
COOPER: Yeah.
ROTH: So, it -- there's no sign that it's going to stop.
COOPER: Yeah. Jessica Roth, appreciate it. Thank you.
In the Middle East today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a military escalation in Gaza, vowing to increase pressure until Hamas releases all the hostages. There are 59 hostages still held in Gaza, with 24 of them believed to be alive. The Israeli defense minister says that troops will seize more land in Gaza that would be "Incorporated into Israel security zones."
The civilians in Gaza continue to suffer terrible hardships. Last week saw several unprecedented anti-Hamas protests in Gaza by Palestinians. Protest is not something Hamas has ever tolerated in Gaza. And tonight, we have an update about what's happened to one of the young men who marched against Hamas. Some of the images you'll see are disturbing. Jeremy Diamond has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Look children, at what Hamas has done, this man shouts, as others gather around a body in prayer. The man they are mourning is Uday Rabie, a 22-year-old Palestinian from Gaza City. Rabie's family says he was killed by Hamas militants, tortured to death for publicly criticizing Hamas. Rabie 's brother Hassan told CNN his brother was abducted from the streets of Gaza City by a group of Hamas militants.
Six hours later, he was handed over, barely alive, cuts and bruises marking his back, arms, feet, and face, parts of his hair and one eyebrow shaved. Rabie's brother says, his body was delivered with a message. This is the fate of everyone who disrespects Al-Qassam Brigades and speaks ill of them, referring to the armed wing of Hamas. Rabie died hours later of his wounds.
You killed the boy, may God hold you accountable, one man shouts as another fires into the air. As his body is carried through the streets, the crowd erupts in chants calling for Hamas to get out. His family now demanding justice and retribution. Hamas' government media office did not reply to a request for comment. And the Al-Qassam Brigades has not publicly commented on the accusations.
Rabie was killed a week after he and thousands of other Palestinians took to the streets in Gaza's largest anti-Hamas demonstration since the war began. Rabie had already scuffled with Hamas members a month earlier, his brother said, and feared Hamas would kill him.
They want to take me, they want to kill me, he said in this video. I don't know what they want from me. A week later, he was dead.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, still ahead, if you are looking for a new car, the timing of the tariffs could not have been worse. How the tariff is going to affect in about three hours will impact what you might pay. And later, we remember the actor Val Kilmer, who has died. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:49:18]
COOPER: In news tonight, Asian markets have just started reacting to the president's sweeping new tariffs. In Japan, which is facing 24% tariffs, the Nikkei Stock Index is down about 3%. At midnight, the president's new 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles takes effect and new tariffs on imported auto parts starts next month. Car buyers have been rushing to dealerships, trying to lock in a deal before prices are expected to rise by thousands of dollars. Your CNN's Danny Freeman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ROSA SCOTT, PENNSYLVANIA CAR BUYER: I need to buy a new vehicle before the prices start going up too high.
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rosa Scott has been eyeing this new Jeep Wrangler for a while, but when she saw the dealership packed over the weekend, she knew she had to act.
[20:50:00]
SCOTT: I really wanted to wait a couple of months, but it might be too much then.
FREEMAN: So you -- you were hoping to wait a couple months to buy this car, but you were worried about tariffs in particular?
SCOTT: Yes, I was worried about the prices going up.
FREEMAN (voice-over): David Kelleher is the owner of David Auto outside of Philadelphia, which sells mostly Stellantis vehicles like Dodge, Jeep, and Ram. But he says new tariffs on imported vehicles will be felt across the industry.
DAVE KELLEHER, PRESIDENT, DAVE AUTO GROUP: When you're talking about GM, Stellantis, Ford, these gigantic companies, we're going to be impacted, make no mistake about it. Even though we're American companies, we're going to be impacted.
FREEMAN (voice-over): For some, the feared impact means a race against the clock.
KELLEHER: I have a customer that ordered an $86,000 2500 Ram. If that can get on a train today, it'll be without tariff. If it gets on the train tomorrow, it's going to have a 25% tariff. That $86,000 car becomes $103,000 car overnight and that customer, he's going to turn to me. I'm most likely going to eat that. That's a $20,000 hit.
FREEMAN (voice-over): For others, smaller changes add up fast. Take this new Jeep Compass, American car assembled in Mexico. It costs around $30,000 today. But with a 25% tariff, Dave explained, these cars could suddenly cost as much as $37,500.
KELLEHER: That kind of change in a price moves that payment $175 a month and our customers, they are middle-class people, they just can't afford that kind of bump.
FREEMAN: What would you advise someone who's looking to buy a car? Should they go out and buy today?
AARON BRAGMAN, DETROIT BUREAU CHIEF, CARS.COM: That has been our advice, is to go out and get a vehicle, frankly, as soon as you possibly can because --
FREEMAN (voice-over): Aaron Bragman with Cars.com says it's crucial to remember American-made cars will also be impacted, as most cars assembled stateside use parts from overseas, which are expected to be tariffed as well. BRAGMAN: It's not going to just impact new car prices. This is going to impact repair costs as well. So, it's a knock-on effect these tariffs are going to have not just in buying a new car, it's in maintenance, it's in ownership costs. It's a number of different areas that are going to site, frankly, cost to American consumers.
FREEMAN (voice-over): Across the country, customers said they were buying cars early due to the tariffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just knowing that tariffs went into effect and it's real. Now, I know that it's something I don't have to think about anymore.
FREEMAN (voice-over): But Kelleher is now worried for American workers who rely on imported cars for jobs.
KELLEHER: I think what the president is trying to do is admirable, bringing more jobs to the United States, bolstering the industries in the United States. This is great, great, great stuff. But I'm telling you right now, the impacts of these tariffs are going to make Americans lose jobs, there's no doubt about it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREEMAN (on camera): Now, Anderson, one important thing that experts we spoke with and this dealer pointed out to us is any foreign imported cars that are already on lots like this or lots across the country, they're here already, which means they got here to the states pre-tariffs, which they argue means you should be able to get them for pre-tariff prices. So if you're out there thinking, I'm worried that a car that I've had my eye on might have its price increase, you may have a little bit of time to get a deal if they're on a lot. Anderson?
COOPER: Danny Freeman, thanks very much. Up next, we're going to look back on the extraordinary life and career of Val Kilmer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:58:05]
COOPER: Late last night, we first got word that Val Kilmer has died. His career span decades, he played so many different roles so fully some called him a chameleon of himself. He once said, I see myself as a sensitive, intelligent human being, but with the soul of a clown. We certainly saw his comic side in his feature film debut, 1984's 'Top Secret', a slapstick spoof of Cold War spy movies. But it was 'Top Gun' released two years later that launched Kilmer into the stratosphere. He was Iceman, rival navy pilot to Tom Cruise's Maverick.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM KAZANSKY, PLAYED BY VAL KILMER, TOP GUN: You are everyone's problem. That's because every time you go up in the air, you're unsafe. I don't like you because you're dangerous.
PETE MITCHELL, PLAYED BY TOM CRUISE, TOP GUN: That's right, Iceman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The role became iconic, as did a lot of the roles he played. Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's film, 'The Doors.' He was Elvis in 1993's True Romance written by written by Quentin Tarantino and starring Christian Slater. Doc Holliday in 'Tombstone' alongside Kurt Russell and Wyatt Earp as (inaudible) with Wyatt Earp. In 1995, he was Batman battling super villains played by Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carey. For the next two decades, he got to act with legends like Marlon Brando, although that movie, 'The Island of Dr. Moreau' was nobody's best work.
He worked with Al Pacino in 'Heat'. He played everything from a bank robber or Artist Willem de Kooning to the King of Macedonia. In recent years, he struggled with health issues. He was diagnosed with throat cancer 11 years ago, had a tracheotomy which altered his voice, and he largely stepped away from acting. But four years ago, he released a documentary called 'Val', which included thousands of hours of video he had shot, going all the way back to his childhood.
It was moving, at times heartbreaking, and also very brave and triumphant. Whatever he was on film, in life, it seems he was a sensitive soul and he had clearly thought about his own mortality. The documentary ends with a clip of Kilmer playing Mark Twain on stage early in his career. And one of the lines he recites is by Twain's better-known lines, "Don't part with your illusions", Twain said, "When they're gone, you may still exist"
