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Caitlin Clark Entering WNBA Draft; Trump Expected in Court; Closing Arguments in Willis Hearing; John Cowen Jr. is Interviewed about Biden's Visit to the Border. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired March 01, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: It's going to cost you more than $500. And Clark says she knows Sunday, that's going to be a big day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAITLIN CLARK, IOWA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STAR: Super special, you know, closing in on that. And, you know, I - my first goal is, you know, focusing on Ohio State and beating them. But its super special just to be in the same realm of a lot of these really talented players that have done a lot of really great things for, you know, not just men's basketball or just women's basketball, but just basketball in general.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And Clark has certainly raised the profile of women's college basketball more than any other player. Kate, the Hawkeye's star, she's played in the most watched women's college basketball games ever for six different networks. Six. And Fox the lucky winner on Sunday. They've got that big Ohio State game at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm sure a lot of people going to be watching that one as well.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We've got this big wall graphic next to your - your wonderful head, Andy, that says she has 18 points left to break that overall record.

SCHOLES: Yes.

BOLDUAN: It's probably going to happen nice and quick. We'll see. It's going to - it's going to be great to watch. It's good to see you, Andy. Thank you.

SCHOLES: Yes. All right.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Any minute now Donald Trump is expected in a Florida court where a critical hearing will determine if he will be on trial during the Republican National Convention.

BOLDUAN: Alexei Navalny laid to rest moments ago in Moscow. Thousands of people packing streets to mourn the loss of the Russian opposition leader. Chants of "Putin is a killer" breaking out as they honor Navalny. BERMAN: Emotional testimony in the "Rust" accidental death trial. And

assistant director admits he was negligent.

I'm John Berman, with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We are standing by to see Donald Trump arrive at a federal courthouse in Florida. You're looking at live pictures of that right now. There is a hearing in his classified documents trial, and we will likely learn, possibly as soon as this morning, when this trial might start. Special counsel Jack Smith now says he wants to start on July 8th, later that he initially asked for. It raises a ton of questions about what that means, not only for this case, but also the January 6th case, the federal case against Trump. One wonders if Jack Smith thanks it can even begin this year.

CNN chief legal affairs correspondent is live outside that court in Florida, where a lot, Paula, is about to happen.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: A lot indeed. And this is a high-stakes hearing in arguably the most high-stakes case for former President Trump. This is a case where he faces 40 criminal charges connected to his alleged mishandling of classified documents. Now, right now this trial is scheduled for May 20th, but it is widely expected that that is going to be pushed back.

And today the judge overseeing this case, federal judge, a Trump appointee, Aileen Cannon, has asked both sides to come here to court today to talk about scheduling. And in the past few days, both sides have given an indication of where they might be willing to have this trial on this very crowded calendar.

Now, as you noted, the special counsel has said they'd like to start this in early July. Now, interestingly, Trumps lawyers insist that their client, as he is campaigning for the White House, should not be sitting inside a federal courtroom. They argue that that violates his First Amendment. But they offered up August 12th as a date when they would like to see this start, if it must.

Now, that's interesting because, as we know, the Trump trial strategy has been to delay everything, particularly these federal trials, until after the November presidential election. Why? Well, if Trump is re- elected, he could have his attorney general dismiss Jack Smith and both of these cases. So, the fact that they're asking that this trial, if it has to start, start in early August is notable because it looks like maybe a little bit of gamesmanship, right? Take up space on the calendar to make it difficult to schedule other criminal cases. So, all eyes today on Judge Aileen Cannon as she weighs in on when this trial will start.

And former President Trump has not arrived yet, though we expect he'll be here any minute.

BERMAN: Yes, some of the pieces of this puzzle could be filled in very shortly.

Paula Reid, thank you very much. We'll talk to you again shortly. Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, from Florida, to Georgia. In just a few hours closing arguments are set to get underway in the effort to disqualify the Fulton County DA Fani Willis from the Georgia election subversion case against Donald Trump. Defense attorneys have been trying to prove that Willis benefited financially from a romantic relationships she had with the lead prosecutor that she appointed in the case.

CNN's Zach Cohen is outside the courthouse in Atlanta. He's got much more on this.

Zach, talk to me about what you expect - what is expected with these closing arguments today.

ZACH COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Kate, look, we're expecting defense attorneys and prosecutors to really make their closing arguments as to why Fani Willis should or should not to be disqualified from the Georgia election subversion case.

[09:05:08]

And, look, the stakes really couldn't be higher. If Fani Willis is disqualified, sources have told me that people inside the DAs office the concern the entire case could go away. Prosecutors on the other have said, look, if Fani Willis survives this, you know, she's asked for an August trial date and things would effectively to be back on track. So, we're talking about a very high-stakes moment, and a potentially pivotal moment in this case.

Now, today, like I said, defense attorneys are going to have a chance -- one more chance to try to convince Judge Scott McAfee that Fani Willis either should or should not be disqualified. Take a listen to what Scott McAfee said earlier this week when he laid out what he wants to see during today's hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE, FULTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT: At this point I need to start hearing the arguments in the law and what we've heard so far. And if I think I'm able to reach a ruling based on that, I will. However, if I think that the proffer is going to make a material determinative point, we can reopen the evidence at that point. But just the bottom line is, on Friday, I do -- the intention is that we're still sticking with argument.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So, McAfee acknowledging, we have heard a lot of testimony and we've seen a lot of evidence be introduced by defense attorneys trying to disqualify Fani Willis. But he's also leaving the door open, if he doesn't think that he has enough to make it decision after what he hears today, he could allow both sides to introduce more evidence to try to convince him one way or the other.

BOLDUAN: And, Zach, you have new reporting about an effort for prosecutors to try to introduce some evidence at the last minute. Can you talk to me more about this?

COHEN: Yes, Kate, you may remember Stan Brody, he's the winery worker who we found from Napa Valley who says that he witnessed Fani Willis paid cash when she and Nathan Wade, her top prosecutor, visited a winery in California. And that's a key part of Fani Willis' testimony. And prosecutors have introduced an affidavit from Stan Brody, a sworn statement, saying, yes, he witnessed Fani Willis use cash in his way and pay her own way and pay for Nathan Wade when they visited this winery. He's also offered to testify. He says if the judge doesn't accept the affidavit that he will show up potentially today and testify before the judge.

So really a lot going on here. The potential for more evidence. The potential for today to be the closing statement. But, ultimately, we know times is of the essence and really the stakes for Fani Willis and for this case are really laid on the line.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's good to see you, Zach. Thank you so much.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Elie Honig.

Counselor, thank you for being with us.

I want to go back to what's happening in Florida right now as we wait for Donald Trump to arrive there. Jack Smith's team now says they want to July date. Donald Trump's team says an August date. That's actually not very far apart, is it? And what is the fact that they're are so close tell you about what each side might be thinking right now.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: So, John, it tells me different things depending on which side we're talking about. From Jack Smith's perspective, what this tells me is, he now is accepting the very high likelihood that he's not going to be able to try his other case, the Washington, D.C., case around January 6th, at any point before the election. Because even if he gets this request, if he gets the Florida the case, the documents case, moved into July, that's going to effectively block the calendar and make it impossible to try the D.C. case.

From Donald Trump's perspective, it's interesting to me because Trump has been trying to get all these cases moved out past the election. One thing it tells me is, Donald Trump's team is less afraid of the Florida case. They're less afraid of the documents case than the D.C. case, the January 6th case, because their position on the January 6th case all along has been, this case needs to be tried, at one point they said in 2026. Now they -- it seems that there is some willingness by them to try the Florida case starting in August. So that tells me they're less afraid of that. They also may well see the Florida case as a blockade, which effectively will prevent the January 6th case from happening before the election.

BERMAN: Do you think they're less afraid of the facts of the Mar-a- Lago documents case, which I think a lot of people see as quite damning toward Donald Trump, or perhaps something else about the Florida case?

HONIG: Great question. I think it's the jury, not the facts, that's driving Donald Trump's team calculation here. And, by the way, rightly so. If you've ever practiced in federal court, criminal cases, it's all about the jury. I actually think the facts are stronger against Donald Trump in the Florida case, the documents case, then they are in the January 6th case. But look at the potential jury pool. If you're looking at this from Donald Trump's perspective, you got 5 percent of the vote in D.C. That means 95 percent of the voters in D.C. were against you in 2020. But Donald Trump won Florida. And even if were limiting it to the southern counties where they're going to draw this jury pool, Donald Trump got mid 40 percent all -- the vote there.

So, if you're thinking about what a Florida jury is going to look like, inevitably you are going to have a good, sizable handful of Donald Trump voters and political supporters on that jury.

Now, jurors are supposed to put aside their political and personal views, but they're human beings.

[09:10:03]

Take my word for it, they are going to act, to some extent, based on where they're coming from.

BERMAN: All right, let's talk about this hearing, these closing arguments we are going to see. And this is in the Georgia election subversion case. These hearings about whether Fani Willis, the district attorney, and her prosecutors, may be moved off the case. Where do you think this stands, Elie? What are you watching for?

HONIG: So, there's been so much drama, John, around this case and these hearings, but let's sort of focus on what the key legal issues are here. In order to get Fani Willis disqualified the defendants, meaning Donald Trump, Mike Roman, that people who are challenging her, they have to show that she had some financial conflict of interests. Now, it doesn't have to be that she had some grand plan to get rich off this case, but their allegation is she hired her boyfriend, Nathan Wade, to run this case. He made a bunch of money and some of it ended up being spent on Fani Willis, vacations and recreational outings.

Now, the response from the DA is, well, it all evened out because she would pay for things in cash, as we just heard from Zach Cohen, or she would essentially reimburse Nathan Wade, and so it all zeroed out and so there's no conflict of interest.

The second big point that we're looking at here, though, John, and this has emerged during these hearings is, what was the timing of the start of the romantic relationship between Fani Willis and Nathan Wade. And the reason that's become an issue is because Fani Willis and Nathan Wade have now testified under oath that the relationship, the romantic relationship, didn't start until after Wade was hired. But the defendants are -- have offered some evidence, quite a bit of evidence I think, that it started before the -- before Nathan Wade was hired. So, that's another important issue.

BERMAN: How high the bar here, though, Elie? How high is the bar for this evidence need to be?

HONIG: Yes, so, the burden of proof here is on the defendants. It is on Donald Trump, Mike Roman. It is on the people who are challenging Fani Willis. They have to prove their allegations by what we call a preponderance of the evidence, meaning that its more likely or not. And that's a really important question, John, because ordinarily in a criminal case the burden is on the prosecution, and it's a heavy burden beyond a reasonable doubt. But here the tables are sort of turned. So, that defendants are trying to disqualify Fani Willis. They have the burden of proof.

BERMAN: All right, counselor, you're going to have a busy day. Thank you very much for being with us.

Kate.

HONIG: For sure.

BOLDUAN: Dueling visits at the border. President Biden and former President Trump meeting with local officials as -- when they were there, and now the mayor of Brownsville, Texas, where President Biden just was. He joins us next.

Also, an emotional day of testimony as the assistant director for the movie "Rust" recalls his final moments with the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was my recollection that I might have been the first person to her. She was on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you all right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did she respond?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. She said, I can't feel my legs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: At least one person has been arrested, 22 others detained for trying to attend the funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. We have more updates of how this is playing out in Moscow today. Thousands of people risking their lives and freedom to be there.

We'll be back.

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[09:17:49]

BOLDUAN: Quiet the split-screen in Texas. President Biden meeting with officials at the border in Brownsville, while 300 miles away, former President Donald Trump was talking about the United States being invaded while visiting Eagle Pass, Texas.

Joining me now is the mayor of Brownsville, John Cowen Junior. He met with President Biden yesterday when the president was visiting his city.

It's good to see you, Mayor. Thank you for coming in.

What was your -- what did you take away from meeting with the president and showing him what you're doing in Brownsville and what you're facing and what you guys were up against right now when it comes to the border and immigration?

MAYOR JOHN COWEN JR., BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS: Hi, Kate.

To me it was really important to be able to highlight what we're doing to - to deal with the migrant situation, and also to -- to ask for more resources. And I think, you know, President Biden is really trying to push his bipartisan Senate bill to provide those resources for personnel, for technology, for better processes at the border. So, I think that's, you know, something that everyone can embrace.

BOLDUAN: Do you think that the president, that he understood the urgency, that he, you know, he basically - that he got it, that he understood what you guys need and what you're up against?

COWEN: I think so. I think we explained we - we've helped process over 240,000 migrants since 2021, which is more than our population. And I think being that we - we were able to do it in a humane and organized and in control way, we wanted to show the model that we use as a city, because we're the ones at the city level taking charge in that process. And we use our NGOs and our non-profits to facilitate. So I think we wanted to highlight what we do here and try to make that a model for the rest of the border.

BOLDUAN: You know, the Biden administration is in a fight pretty directly with some of the moves that are being made by Texas Governor Greg Abbott with regard to the border. And you told CNN back in January that Governor Abbott's actions at the border you said were justified in that there is an issue at the border?

[09:20:02]

It's not a controlled process on all sides. We need to be better. What do you want to see happen now?

COWEN: Well, I want to see action from Congress. And I think, you know, the American people deserve a better process at the border to - to ensure that things are, you know, people are coming through - through legal pathways and that, you know, all the background checks are being done on these - one people coming across. And I think that's - that's a concern. And I think, you know, the Senate -- the Senate and Congress need to get together and get this - you know, get a deal done.

BOLDUAN: All -- along with President Biden, Donald Trump was at the Texas border as well. He -- when he was - when he spoke, he talked about the United States

being invaded. And that's the language -- that kind of language, do you agree with that kind of language?

COWEN: I don't agree with it. I think there's, you know, obviously the numbers over the last year were high. I think we're seeing much lower numbers here in Brownsville. I do think right now over 90 percent of the people coming through our border are coming through claiming asylum at the bridge, right? They're not going -- they're not crossing illegally. So, I think, you know, the shift is happening here towards a more organized and legal process.

BOLDUAN: I was talking about kind of like the split screen of the two men visiting at the very same time off the top. And, you know, as an elected leader, you know the importance and are quite aware of the importance of photo-ops and optics of course. Do you fear - do you have any concern that that split screen, you know, both visiting on the same day, that it was not much more than that from one or both of those men?

COWEN: I think it's, you know, I appreciate the fact that they were both on the border. I really think it needs to be a focal point for both parties going forward to highlight the resources that we need and the issues that we all face on a day-to-day basis, especially with border patrol, with customs and with our local officials.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Mayor, thank you so much. Really appreciate your time.

John.

BERMAN: Russia blocks CNN's live signal out of Moscow this morning as thousands gathered to remember Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:26:55]

BERMAN: All right, breaking this morning, Alexei Navalny has now been laid to rest in a Moscow cemetery. His coffin was lowered in the ground while in the background you could hear Frank Sinatra singing "My Way."

Thousands of defiant and courageous mourners showed solidarity and risked their freedom and lives paying respects to the fallen Russian opposition leader. We know at least one person was arrested while at the funeral. That is according to a monitoring group.

Now, our Matthew Chance has been reporting all morning long from Moscow. Periodically his signal has been jammed or blocked. That appears to be the case right now. We want to play you something that Matthew filed a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I'm right outside the cemetery where Alexei Navalny is now being buried with his family and his relatives -- or some of his family and his relatives around him, and - and with thousands of people as well who have gathered outside the cemetery gates, mourners who've come here to pay their last respects. They're carrying flowers. They're carrying messages. They're chanting slogans as well periodically. But they've not been allowed access into the cemetery itself. The gates are closed. It's a big security operation is underway here. You can see the riot police are making sure that nobody steps out of line from the -- from the route.

The people just chanting a slogan now. What is it - what is it they're saying?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are (INAUDIBLE).

CHANCE: We are - we menoga (ph), they're saying, we are many. We are many. And -

CROWD (chanting): (Speaking in Foreign Language).

CHANCE: You hear it. And that is a really poignant message coming from these thousands of people that have come out today to pay their respects to Alexei Navalny because it's not just a funeral, of course, it is an act of mass defiance and a very rare one in a country which does not tolerate sort of any kind of dissent and is increasingly less tolerant of any kind of dissent. So, for people to come out and to voice those kinds of slogans, you know, it's an enormous risk they're taking, we know.

Over the course of the past couple of weeks people have been detained by the Russian authorities for simply laying flowers at the makeshift memorials that were set up for Alexei Navalny since he died two weeks ago. I have to say, so far the police have not moved in, as far as I'm aware at least, and made any detentions yet. But, again, there are riot police lining the entire route of the funeral procession and outside the gates here of the cemetery.

And, obviously, we're watching very closely to see if police action changes over the course of the hours ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That was Matthew Chance outside the cemetery. Remarkable to hear that chanting, we are many. Even more remarkable to see Matthew reporting just feet away from where that line of security, heavily armed security, watching every move there.

[09:30:00]

I'm joined now by CNN anchor and chief national security analyst Jim Sciutto, author of the upcoming book, "Return of Great Powers: Russia and China and the Next World War," which I can't.