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Closing Arguments In Hush Money Trial Set To Begin Tomorrow; Netanyahu: Deadly Israeli Strike On Rafah A "Tragic Mistake". Aired 3- 3:30p ET

Aired May 27, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:00:18]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: It's all led up to this. In less than 24 hours, attorneys in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial will make their final case to jurors, asking them, for the first time in our nation's history, to either convict or acquit a former president. We'll break down what you can expect.

Plus, millions of Americans are under a severe weather threat this Memorial Day. A storm system that killed at least 21 people this weekend moves across the country. We're tracking it.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: And Israel's prime minister calling an airstrike on a camp in Rafah, quote, "A tragic mistake," after 45 Palestinians are killed, according to Gaza officials. Many of them, women and children. Does the attack cross President Biden's red line?

We're following these major development stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: So, tomorrow is a big day. The jury in former President Donald Trump's hush money trial will return to court after nearly a week-long break, and closing arguments will then get underway. Both sides have an opportunity to make their final pitches before jurors, and then those jurors go behind closed doors to deliberate.

DEAN: Defense attorneys will present their arguments first, then followed by the prosecution. CNN's Kara Scannell has been inside court every day at this trial. She joins us now.

Kara, big day tomorrow, what should we expect?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is a big day. It's the last chance for the attorneys to speak to the jury and try to frame the evidence in the way that they want them to see it. And Trump's lawyers will be up first. His attorney, Todd Blanche, expected to address the jury and he is expected to attack the credibility of Michael Cohen. He is the only witness to testify about Donald Trump's direct involvement in the falsification of the records, the alleged cover-up in this case. And they're expected to try to hone in on Cohen's credibility in this trial and suggest to the jury that they cannot convict Donald Trump based on the testimony of a convicted liar. Now, the prosecution is expected to tell the jury that Michael Cohen has a lot of baggage. He is one of Donald Trump's former close associates, and that's the type of person that Trump chose to associate himself with. They will also argue to the jury that Michael Cohen does not stand alone, that there's other evidence, other witness testimony, text messages, phone records, even handwritten notes and the 34 false - allegedly falsified documents themselves. Trying to tie all that together to tell the jury they don't have to rely entirely on Michael Cohen, but they can look at some of the other evidence in this case.

Now, closings are expected to go all day tomorrow. The judge saying he could even possibly have the jury stay for them to finish closings if they don't wrap up by the usual end time of 4:30. Then the judge will instruct the jury on Wednesday on the law. That is what the prosecutors need to prove in order to convict, to get a guilty plea - I'm sorry, to get a guilty verdict by the jury against Donald Trump.

Then the deliberations will begin. They will go for as long as the jury needs for them to render this verdict and what will be a historic verdict in this case.

DEAN: No doubt about it. Kara Scannell, thanks so much for that reporting.

And joining us now to discuss former U.S. Attorney Michael Moore, jury consultant Melissa Gomez, and CNN Senior Political Analyst, Ron Brownstein.

Great to see all of you today as we get ready for what will be a big week in this trial. It will be very interesting to see how it all plays out.

Michael, first to you, how does the prosecution tie together the many details, the testimony from 20 witnesses into this nice package? They've got to weave it all together and make sure that they hit every high point with that jury.

MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, I'm glad to be with all of you and happy holidays. They really do have to sort of master the art of storytelling to bring these 20 witnesses and all this evidence together. And they're going to have to remind the jury that this is a document case. And they've got a copy of the documents in front of them. They can see this cheat sheet.

You know, they can see the checks they were signed and that - while they may not like Michael Cohen, you know, that this case does not rest on his shoulders. I think that's probably not a great argument and no position that a prosecutor would want to be in right now. They may argue about, you know, this, you know, look who he associated himself with, who Trump associated himself with. They do that, I think the defense will say, yes, but look who the prosecution has associated themselves with. They've taken the word of a liar and a thief. And they didn't tell you about it ahead of time.

So, I mean, there are some things they're going to have to overcome. But what they're going to have to do is say, look, this is - this - you can look at this, you can use common sense and just recognize that you can see the full picture here.

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There may be some cloudy parts to it, but you don't check your common sense at the door. You can look at it. You can see how this played out. You know what Trump's history has been as far as, you know, him micromanaging things. You've heard about that from witnesses. And all these other witnesses have come in here and corroborated all this information.

If they can do that, and if they can try to keep even just one juror from expressing some reasonable doubt, then maybe they can pull together some type of conviction. I think the question would be whether or not it's going to be a misdemeanor conviction or whether they actually carry the day on the felony charge.

SANCHEZ: Conversely, Melissa, for the defense, it's really all about just convincing one juror that the prosecution didn't prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Is the easiest path for them to do that going after Michael Cohen's testimony? Can they actually, the prosecution, win without getting into Michael Cohen's baggage?

MELISSA GOMEZ, JURY CONSULTANT: Well, essentially, what the prosecution wants to do is - and what they need to do is, like was just said, tie it all together. They want to zoom out. They want to see a pattern of behavior so that Michael Cohen fits within that.

It would be very dangerous for the prosecution if the case rested just on Cohen. That's why they needed all of that other evidence and all those other witnesses to support the information that Cohen was driving home. So they want to zoom out.

On the other hand, what the defense needs to do is zoom in. The allegations here are very specific. What the jury needs to find is very specific. So what the defense wants to do then is focus on those specific allegations. And if the jurors can't - don't find Cohen credible, that breaks that chain. So that's really where the defense wants to focus in and that's why they are so keyed in on Cohen, because Cohen is the one that creates that link from the big picture story the prosecution is saying to the specific allegations in this case.

DEAN: And, Ron, we saw former President Trump attack Judge Merchan this morning in his Memorial Day message on social media. This is more of the same. We have seen him go after this judge. It is allowed within the gag order that he is under right now.

But I would imagine his attorneys don't love that he's doing this a few hours before closing arguments.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the political imperatives and the legal imperatives have always seemed somewhat intention, you know, for Trump in this entire trial. You know, I suspect that either way, however this comes out, either a conviction or a hung jury, acquittal doesn't seem like a reasonable prospect, although I defer to my lawyer colleagues. Either way, the political impact will be a slow burn.

You know, we've known from the beginning that Americans are less likely to view this case as a significant violation of the law than the other cases that he faces, which have all been, you know, put on the shelf through interventions primarily by Republican judges. So if there is an impact of this politically, I think it will take time and it will be Americans grappling with the notion of electing a convicted felon if that is what happens.

But there's no question, as you say, that Trump has not made his legal condition any easier by trying to fortify his political response to the trial.

SANCHEZ: Michael, we've spoken to a number of experts who've said that the chances of seeing a mistrial in this case are a bit higher than they are for your average run of the mill case. I'm wondering whether you agree with that assessment and how much do you think Judge Juan Merchan will push the jury to come to a conclusion to avoid a mistrial?

MOORE: Yes, I think it's likely that you'll see a mistrial and that is because you have people who are so entrenched. I mean, just look at our politics and everything else across the board outside of the jury room. I mean, people are just entrenched in their positions. And so you saw what it took to get jurors. None of these jurors have been living on Mars. I mean, they've heard things they've spent the last four years around and they they've gotten locked in. They've got their own views. They may think they can be fair as it relates to the evidence, but I think it's likely that you'll see at least one or two hold out.

You also got two lawyers on the jury, which is interesting because I think they will put the state to a strong test to make sure they carry their burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Not this sort of willy-nilly, we don't know what the other crime was, but surely he must have meant to do something illegal. That's just kind of nonsense and I think maybe fodder for an appellate court.

When it comes to the judge, there's a charge that we call the dynamite charge and that - what that does is supposed to dislodge these jurors who may be locked into a position and not willing to listen to their colleagues in that room to, you know, to talk openly and to try to explore each other's position and not to be entrenched.

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At the same time, you know, don't just sway with the tide, but to give each other's view - a fair listen and consideration. And I think he'll push that because the length of the trial, I think you'll see it go on. He may keep the jury a couple of days, but at some point they'll be told or they'll tell him, the foreperson will come and say, look, we're just not getting anywhere.

And so while you can give us another Allen charge, another dynamite charge, if you will, I don't know that it's going to do any good because we generally are holding our positions and the vote has a change in the room. At that point, I think you may see him declare a mistrial.

DEAN: Melissa, do you get the sense like Michael that this could likely end in a mistrial?

GOMEZ: Any case can end in a mistrial, but this is where there's been a lot of talk about the jury instructions and it's when there is disagreement in the room when the juries really rely on those jury instructions. So I think this is the context where those instructions can have a lot of power if they're clear and if they really help guide these jurors, especially again, two lawyers on the panel who are going to be - you know, find that the rules and the specific following of the rules are going to be very important may be able to draw on them. But yes, anything can happen in a trial like this and it only takes one holdout.

DEAN: Mm-hmm.

SANCHEZ: Ron, I think the million dollar question for political analysts is whether ultimately a conviction or an acquittal sways voters enough to potentially change the course of the presidential election.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, we are very dug in as a country, Boris. There's nothing - almost nothing you can conceive of that would move large numbers of voters. But this is truly unprecedented and so I don't think we can, you know, assuredly answer what the effect would be.

As I said, Americans have tended to view this case as less serious than the other ones that the Supreme Court and other, you know, judicial bodies have put off in particular the, the January 6th insurrection. By the way, the speed of this trial is a reminder of what could have been unfolding on the January 6th trial if the Supreme Court had not, you know, held that up.

But I do think that over time, if Trump is convicted, the issue will be less the specifics of what he's convicted of than the implications of electing a convicted felon. If there is a hung jury, I'm not sure how much it changes the dynamic of the election, but it certainly gives him and his supporters energy.

I do think they are preparing to argue it round or argue it flat. If there is a hung jury, it's that - even in a blue jurisdictions like this, the case was so bogus, they couldn't convict him. And if he is convicted, they're prepared to argue, well, what do you expect in such a blue jurisdiction. In effect, arguing that not only the prosecutors, but average voters and jury members would be biased against him.

So it is an unprecedented situation. I don't think we can affirmatively be confident about how it would go, but I do think the question of whether Americans are willing to elect a convicted felon would loom larger over time than it might in the immediate reaction to the trial if he is convicted. SANCHEZ: And so many angles to this, we appreciate you all. Ron Brownstein, Melissa Gomez, Michael Moore for walking us through it. Thanks so much.

GOMEZ: Thank you for having us.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Ahead this hour, scenes of chaos in Rafah, where Gaza officials say that an Israeli airstrike on a camp for displaced Palestinians killed at least 45 people and injured hundreds more. What Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, just said about the attack.

And we're tracking deadly storms as they move across the country, putting millions of people at risk of severe weather this Memorial Day.

DEAN: Plus another episode of turbulence injuring people on a commercial flight. We've got details for you just ahead here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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DEAN: We are following breaking news out of the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now calling a deadly airstrike in Gaza, quote, "a tragic mistake," And it's now under investigation. The Gaza health ministry saying Sunday's blast in Rafah killed at least 45 people while wounding another 200 who were living in makeshift tents near the U.N. headquarters.

It's an area that's supposed to be safe. Footage obtained by CNN showing the aftermath and we do want to warn you, it is disturbing.

SANCHEZ: The footage shows the camp in flames with scores of men, women and children frantically trying to find cover from the nighttime assault. Burned bodies, including those of children, can be seen being pulled by rescuers from the wreckage. Videos being shared online that we will not show here revealed even more carnage.

In one, the lifeless body of a man can be seen being dragged out by the legs out of the flames. In another video, a man is weeping as he holds up the headless body of a toddler for the camera. The IDF says the strike hit a compound where, quote, "significant Hamas terrorists were operating" and that two senior Hamas officials had been killed.

DEAN: CNN's Kayla Tausche joins us now from the White House. And Kayla, we've heard now from the Israeli government and the Prime Minister about this strike. What's the White House saying today?

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, the National Security Council called some of those images that we just saw heartbreaking in the wake of that fatal attack and said that while the U.S. still believes that Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas, that the U.S. has also made clear that Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians.

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Saying, "We are actively engaging the IDF and partners on the ground to assess what happened, and understand the IDF is conducting an investigation."

You may remember just last month the IDF conducted another investigation into an attack on World Central Kitchen aid workers that killed seven. And a preliminary investigation after that attack revealed that it was a grave mistake in the IDF's words because of thermal imaging that made the identifications, the markings on those vehicles impossible to see at night.

But in the aftermath of that, President Biden began to signal to the Israelis that the U.S. would be willing to place conditions on aid. And just a couple of weeks ago, Biden told CNN that the U.S. would stop providing heavy bombs to Israel that it could use in an offensive attack on Rafah and called one of those major military operations in Rafah a red line.

Here's what the president said.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If they go into Rafah, I'm not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities - that deal with that problem. We're going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks like came out of the Middle East recently, but it's just wrong. We're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used that have been used. It's just ...

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST, "OUTFRONT": Artillery shells as well.

BIDEN: Yes, artillery shells.

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TAUSCHE: President Biden, his national security adviser, his top national security aides have described a hypothetical position that if Israel were to go into Rafah in a major way, not in a way that they have described previously as targeted or limited, then they would begin stopping providing more aid. But whether the attack that we've seen in recent hours is how the administration sees that just - is not clear at this point, but they'll have to provide more details on that in the coming days, guys.

SANCHEZ: Kayla Tausche live for us from the White House. Thank you so much, Kayla.

We want to discuss now with Nebal Farsakh. She is a spokesperson for the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

Nebal, thank you so much for being with us. This latest report estimate - latest reports, I should say, estimate that at least 45 people were killed, some 200 were wounded. From your vantage point, from folks that you've spoken to on the ground, what is it like there in Rafah following the strike?

NEBAL FARSAKH, SPOKESPERSON, PALESTINE RED CRESCENT SOCIETY: Good evening. Thanks for having me.

It was a true nightmare. The Palestine Red Crescent responded to the Israeli attack of shelling civilians' tents northwest of Rafah in Tel al-Sultan area, a place that is designated as a safe zone for displaced civilians.

Families were in tents preparing to go to bed when the shelling began and then tents caught fire. People, including children, get stuck in the fire, causing severe burns as well as injuries. As you highlighted, at least 45 were killed, including 23 children, women, as well as elderly people, and 249 others were injured.

Our teams evacuated the casualties to field hospitals in Rafah because there is no one hospital that is still operating that can address these many casualties. We are still concerned that many of those critically wounded might lose their life because there is no surgical capacity enough to treat all of these wounded. At the same time, there is no opportunity to evacuate the critically wounded outside of Gaza Strip because the Rafah crossing, which is the only way to get in or out of Gaza is - remain closed.

We continue to call the Palestine Red Crescent, continue to call on the international community to take serious steps to ensure the protection of civilians under international humanitarian law, to hold Israel accountable. What is happening is unacceptable.

It comes two days later after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to cease its operation in Rafah. Once again, despite this area being designated as a safe zone, it was very crowded with 10s of thousands of civilians taking shelter in tents. It was targeted. Once again, we see there is no safe place in Gaza, civilians being attacked everywhere. Honorable schools, hospitals, shelters, any place, there is no safe place left for civilians in Gaza.

SANCHEZ: Nebal, you touched on this a moment ago, but I was hoping you could expand on it. What kind of access to medical care is available to people in Rafah right now?

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FARSAKH: To be honest, almost nothing. In Rafah, there is no hospital left. The major hospital, which is Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital, was taken out of service weeks ago at the beginning of the Israeli military operation in Rafah. Now, hospitals left are field hospitals that they can barely deal with this increasing number of casualties. Most of Gaza hospitals were taken out of service. Now, only a few hospitals are still operational, and even those who are operational are working partially. They are overcrowded with wounded people. You can see wounded people at the hospital's corridor on the ground waiting until to receive treatment. All of them, they lack medications, medical supplies, as well as a fuel which is needed to the power generator. We are in almost a complete collapse of the health care system. Now we're talking about injuries, but also for your information, many patients, including pregnant women, people with chronic diseases, and people who have also infectious diseases, which is rapidly spreading among the displaced - people are not receiving the necessary health care because hospitals can barely save the lives of those who are critically wounded.

SANCHEZ: Nebal Farsakh, we very much appreciate you sharing your perspective with us today. Thanks for joining us.

Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, severe storms that killed at least 21 people in the Midwest are on the move, and we are tracking them.

Plus, new details about the deadly shooting of a former daytime soap star. All that and more in just moments.

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