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Soon, Trump heads back to court for hush money trial; Dozens Arrested at Emory University in Georgia, Including Two Professors; U.S. Military Starts Building Pier Off of Gaza to Deliver Aid. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 26, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Fifty-one, playing five seasons for the Yankees and my beloved Baltimore Orioles.

[07:00:05]

Recently, shout out to the Associated Press, quote, here's a game I loved. I really enjoyed it. I love the game of baseball and they pay you for it. What more can you ask for? Seriously, what more can you ask for? I wish I was playing today and getting the salaries they get, also fair, but that's the way it goes.

Schallock pitched on three World Series championship teams in New York. And get this, when he was called up by the Bronx Bombers, he replaced a 19-year-old Mickey Mantle, who was optioned for AAA, and he became roommates with Yogi Berra. How's that for a Friday kicker?

Thanks to our panel. Thanks to you for joining us. I'm Kasie Hunt.

CNN News Central starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: F is for Friday. And breaking this morning, damage control, Donald Trump's lawyers try to mitigate the dramatic, tawdry testimony from the first witness in the criminal hush money case. Is it possible adult film star Stormy Daniels takes the stand today?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR Protests engulfing college campuses, college professors getting arrested, and now one university is canceling their main graduation ceremony.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And TikTok fights back. The wildly popular social media app says it will not be sold after a law that could lead to a nationwide ban. Will that ban happen?

I'm Sarah Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: This morning, how much damage was done, how much can be undone, a critical moment in the falsified documents criminal trial against Donald Trump. Shortly, we will see David Pecker, the man who ran the National Enquirer, back on the stand. This will be the meat of the cross-examination. After Pecker testified in vivid detail how he buried bad stories about Donald Trump, and in vivid detail about how Trump would keep asking about the Playboy playmate with whom he allegedly had an affair, and in vivid detail, a conversation that Trump had about Stormy Daniels with David Pecker.

Now, remember, Trump is charged with falsifying business documents to hide hush money payments to Daniels. Today, we expect the defense to question Pecker's memory and also suggest that there was nothing unusual about the catch and kill arrangement he had with Trump.

We could also see the next witness today. Will it be Stormy Daniels herself? And, really, any moment now, Trump could be found in contempt for violating the gag order.

Let's get right to CNN's Katelyn Polantz for the latest on what we will see this morning. Katelyn?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, John, we don't know who the next witness will be, but we have more testimony from David Pecker first. There will be more questioning of him from Donald Trump's defense team, and then the prosecutors will get another shot to ask him a little bit more of their questions for him.

But in his initial round of testimony, the prosecutors used him to lay out the full arc of the scheme and the motivation of Donald Trump to catch negative stories about him before the 2016 election and kill them, catch and kill.

In this arc, we have learned quite a bit about Karen McDougal. That is the first woman that came to the National Enquirer with a story to tell about an alleged affair that Trump and his team denied. David Pecker testified that he had Michael Cohen in the loop. He had a conversation with Donald Trump about Karen McDougal's story, and then the National Enquirer, to the boss' pleasure, that's Trump, decided to pay for that story and bury it so it would not be published before the 2016 election.

He then testified about another type of very similar situation with a different outcome, where Stormy Daniels came to the National Enquirer. Pecker looped in Michael Cohen, let them know, he's not going to be paying for that. The National Enquirer wouldn't be buying Stormy Daniels' story, and he testified that Michael Cohen told him that Donald Trump would be furious that the National Enquirer wasn't helping.

Underlining all of this is David Pecker testifying over and over again that he clearly understood Trump had motivations to protect his campaign at that time, that their relationship shifted, that the way that they were buying stories and burying them shifted once Donald Trump became a presidential candidate, and that he understood at the National Enquirer as the former chairman of the company running that, that buying Karen McDougal's story could potentially be problematic for campaign finance reasons, a key point for the prosecutor's case.

BERMAN: And where are we in the gag order Donald Trump could be held in contempt odyssey, Katelyn?

[07:05:02]

POLANTZ: Yes. Well, the prosecutors wanted Donald Trump held in contempt, had that hearing earlier in the week because of ten violations that they had collected that they believe went beyond what the judge is allowing Donald Trump to say publicly about witnesses and jurors specifically.

We don't have a result on that yet because the judge hasn't said what he's going to do if Trump is held in contempt, if he should be fined or have some other punishment or sanction. Then prosecutors yesterday came into court and said he keeps doing it.

Here's an example about David Pecker on the stand as Trump walked into court or was in Manhattan speaking to reporters yesterday morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: -- you thought of David Pecker's testimony so far? When was the last time you spoke to him?

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, he's been very nice. I mean, David has been very nice, a nice guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: There's going to be a hearing next Thursday about this and prosecutors say that is an example of Donald Trump using his platform to make it clear he's going to comment on witnesses as they come through the courtroom. John?

BERMAN: Katelan Polantz, thank you very much for that report. It promises to be an interesting morning.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And that on top of that, there's also the question and the issue of Donald Trump potentially testifying himself. He said last week he wants to. Unsurprisingly, though, he is now this morning entering more of a gray area on will he or won't he. And while that isn't clear, what is clear is Donald Trump would like the crowd outside the courthouse to be bigger.

CNN's Alayna Treene is following this one. She's joining us now. Alayna, what is Donald Trump saying about on this question of testifying now?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, he's actually changing his tune a bit. As you pointed out, Kate, last night while speaking during an interview on Newsmax, Donald Trump said that he would testify if it was necessary.

And that is a shift from what he said in the past. Last week, he said that he wanted to testify. He repeated that the week before. And so, clearly, I think there are conversations happening behind the scenes about whether or not his testimony would actually benefit him.

Now, take a listen to how he put it in that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, I would if it's necessary. Right now, I don't know if you heard about today. Today was just incredible. People are saying the experts, I'm talking about legal scholars and experts, they're saying what kind of a case is this? There is no case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Kate, I do just want to give you some context here. We have heard Donald Trump in several of his trials, and also when speaking about his criminal indictments more generally, saying that he wants to testify.

He did this in his civil fraud trial, in other trials with the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, saying that he wants to take the stand, and at some points he did briefly. But for the most part, he normally says this and then backs off. And that's kind of what we're seeing happen here. His attorneys have repeatedly told him this might not be a good idea and especially in this case where you have this gag order in place. It could complicate things for him further.

BOLDUAN: And this one staying true to form at least for now.

Alayna, he's also complained about not being able to campaign because he has to be in the courtroom but now campaign stops are being planned, yes?

TREENE: They are. So, next Wednesday, Donald Trump is expected to hold two rallies on Wednesday, one of the days that he is not required to be in court. He's expected to travel to Wisconsin first, and then to Michigan, of course, two very crucial battlegrounds.

And it's interesting because we haven't really seen him campaign that much. So far, we have heard Donald Trump repeatedly criticized the judge, criticized this trial, for what he says is keeping him off the campaign trail.

However, there are days that he has been able to travel Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. He is not in court or forced to be in New York, but he hasn't really used that opportunity too much to campaign. He tried to do one rally last weekend in North Carolina, and they had to cancel it at the last minute because of weather. But otherwise, he hasn't been campaigning that much.

So, I think, you know, we'll see whether these trips on Wednesday ends up being more of a regular thing for him. But as of now, he's really trying to maximize as much of the time on the trail as he can while also being in New York. Kate?

BOLDUAN: We will see. It's great to see you, Alayna, thank you so much, Sarah?

SIDNER: All right. Coming up, professors are among those arrested in dramatic video from the campus of Emory University in Atlanta, as protests over the war in Gaza expand to colleges nationwide. We are live at Columbia University, where the police presence there has tripled overnight.

We are also getting our first satellite image of the U.S. military's effort to build a pier to deliver desperately needed aid in Gaza. Details on when that will be operational.

And it was a quest for quarterbacks. For the first time ever, five quarterbacks got picked in the top ten of the NFL draft. All the surprises and the excitement, you can see some of it there from Detroit, just ahead.

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SIDNER: This morning, the unrest and turmoil on college campuses over Israel's war in Gaza is spreading across the country, law enforcement clashing with pro-Palestinian protesters overnight at Ohio State University. Peaceful protest and initially turned into clashes between students and police after protesters refused the order to disperse. There have been multiple arrests.

[07:15:00]

In Georgia, 28 people arrested at Emory University. Georgia lawmakers are saying police use excessive force on the protesters there, deploying pepper balls and even stun guns. Two professors were among those detained. The

The protests are resonating overseas as well, with students and parents staging a sit in solidarity. And USC in Los Angeles has now canceled its main stage graduation ceremony over safety concerns as its campus remains closed.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is live outside Columbia University in New York City, where the sweeping protest movement sort of began and got quite entrenched.

Polo, The New York Times reporting this morning, the university president faces a faculty Senate vote. over the handling of this crisis. What can you tell us about that?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, a really important point, Sara. Days into this and these wide sweeping protests, and it all really started here.

Now, after some initial reports about the potential deadline between the negotiations that are happening between the leaders of the pro- Palestinian encampment and university officials, we heard a little bit more clarity from some of those students yesterday saying that that's really more of a timeline versus a deadline in these ongoing negotiations.

And I should add negotiations that both sides maintain plugged (INAUDIBLE) actually being made. So, they have not reached a stalemate. Days into this, it's important to remind viewers what the objectives are here. When you hear from the students, they insisted divestment and also looking for amnesty for the students that have been punished for participating in some of these demonstrations. That's one of their key goals.

The university really just wants this encampment dismantled, fearing that it could potentially interfere with activities on campus, especially as we get closer to commencement next month.

In terms of what we've heard from some of those participating in these negotiations, we are told that they are focused and they are also quite friendly, according to one negotiators, and that's a new reporting from our colleague, Abby Washer, that suggested that really tells us a little bit more about what happened last night at the encampment, that students participating in that encampment were told that part of negotiations include a possible statement that may be issued by the university president, possibly addressing the events of last week. You recall, that's when Columbia actually reached out to the NYPD for helping clearing out an encampment.

Now, CNN has reached out to Columbia University for more, but that really paints a little bit of a clearer picture in terms of where negotiations stand between both parties here and what may be in the way. But, again, some positive news that we heard from both sides here saying that they are making progress, but in the lessons in terms of what we've actually heard from the university, they are very clear in saying we have our objectives and they have theirs.

And as we heard from the University, Sara, they also said that the president of the university is certainly hopeful these negotiations are successful. At the same time, they are also preparing to consider other options in restoring calm.

Now, finally, I should mention, we've been allowed on campus every day for a couple of hours since it is still technically restricted access. And while we're there, the situation has been very calm at that encampment. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much. And we'll be talking with a couple of students coming up who are on other campuses that are protesting as well. John?

BERMAN: All right. The high stakes mission off the coast of Gaza, how the Defense Department is trying a new way to get aid in as the risk of famine soars.

And new overnight, TikTok's Chinese owner says it will not sell the wildly popular app. So, does that mean it will be banned here in the United States?

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[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, a high-stakes in dangerous construction mission is underway off the coast of Gaza. The Pentagon confirms that the U.S. military has started building the temporary floating pier that is meant to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza. They hope the pier is operational just days from now. This comes as the State Department warns the risk of famine for the 2.2 million people in Gaza is high is very high.

CNN National Security Correspondent Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon. This pier has been in the works, at least in the planning stages, for a long, long time. It could become a reality.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Over a thousand troops are involved in the construction of this pier off the coast of Gaza. And they've been working on it, really, for the last two-plus months here. And so it's finally going to be operational, ideally, hopefully, within the next two weeks or so. They have begun those initial construction stages. They are a couple hundred meters off the coast of Gaza is where this pier will be here and this floating causeway is going to, be according to the Pentagon.

Now, there are a number of concerns here. I mean, obviously the big goal is to deliver up to 150 trucks of aid per day to Gaza, which would be very, very significant. And this maritime corridor is seen by the United States government and the U.S. military as potentially being a very big boon to the amount of aid that can actually get to this obviously starving population inside Gaza.

But it also, you know, poses a number of threats to the U.S. personnel who are going to be operating this pier. As I said, they are going to be a couple hundred meters off the shore there. And, importantly, there are going to be no boots on the ground, no American boots on the ground in Gaza. But still, you know, just a couple days ago, there were mortar rounds that were fired at the beach where this aid is going to be offloaded by some unidentified group.

And that really underscores here just how dangerous this mission is. I mean, they're going to be off the coast of Gaza here building this pier, operating it for at least the next several months, according to U.S. military officials, and that is a very clear target for potential terrorist groups to try to take action against these U.S. personnel that are there.

So, right now, what we're expecting is that this pier is going to be operational at probably by early to mid-May. And they hope, of course, that this is going to service a large portion of northern Gaza Right kind of near Gaza City on the coastline there, which has been very much in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

[07:25:11]

Roughly 2.2 million people in Gaza now are facing acute food insecurity.

And so while this is not going to substitute entirely the land corridors, of course, going into Gaza from Israel, it is going to be a big complimentary effort here. But, of course, you know, the big question is how are they going to be keeping all of these U.S. troops safe? There are going to be destroyers, U.S. destroyers in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Israeli defense forces are going to be providing security as well. But still, of course, you cannot eliminate that threat entirely, John.

BERMAN: No, a high risk operation, to be sure. Natasha Bertrand of the Pentagon, thank you so much for your reporting. Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right. Some good to brighten your morning, shall we? A young officer solves a bull dognapping and stadium burglary case, yes. And it was just the first day on the job for Florida's newest officer, four-year-old Stone Hicks.

The Orlando Police Department helped make Stone's dream of being a police officer become a reality for a day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like a full-on experience for him, so one that I'm pretty sure he will not forget.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was awesome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Yes, I was. The pint-sized officer even got his own custom OPD squad car. Honestly, we should just sit in the addition of bubbles. There's nothing bad that happens when bubbles are around.

So, this was part of Central and Northern Florida's Make-A-Wish's 30th anniversary. Stone battled kidney failure before receiving a donated kidney from his father two years ago. And now all reports are he's doing very well. And he is deliciously cute.

All right, so right now, we're going to go from the good to the reality. Right now, live pictures outside of Trump Tower in New York City. Donald Trump expected to head back down to the courthouse in the next hour.

Plus, supermodel Giselle Bundchen in tears during a traffic stop in Miami. What she told police about what was happening, next.

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