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Combs to be Back in Court for Appeal Hearing After Night Behind Bars; Today, Federal Reserve Expected to Announce First Rate Cut in Four Years; Trump to Hold Rally in Long Island, New York Amid Tight Security. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 18, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, music mogul Sean Diddy Combs is waking up behind bars after being denied bail on racketeering and sex trafficking charges, a federal indictment accusing him of leading a criminal enterprise that included pushing victims into so-called freak offs filled with drug and sexual abuse. Today, Combs is back in court.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: For the first time in four years, the Federal Reserve is set to cut interest rates today. To say this move has ripple effects is a massive understatement. The question this morning, how low will they go?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And only consequential presidents get shot. That is according to Donald Trump. We've got new details about the shooting from someone who was on the golf course when it happened.

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

SIDNER: New this morning. Sean Diddy Combs will be back in court today and his lawyer says he will fight to get him out of jail. But his lawyer has had a lot to say outside of court. Combs is in custody on federal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. He was denied bail after prosecutors called him a threat, this after airing out disturbing accusations and a stunning indictment.

We now know what was seized from his home during those raids, guns, drugs, and supplies for his alleged sex crimes, something investigators say Combs called freak offs, which were elaborate sex performances, they say, during which Combs allegedly used drugs to keep victims compliant.

Here's what Combs attorney told our Kaitlan Collins about the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Is there any chance Sean Combs takes a plea deal?

MARC AGNIFILO, ATTORNEY FOR SEAN DIDDY COMBS: I don't see it happening. I do not see it happening. He's innocent. I believe he's innocent. I believe he's innocent of the charges and he is going to go to trial and I believe he's going to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: CNN's Kara Scannell has been following this case from the start. She is with us now. His legal team already previewing there that they're going to fight all of these charges. There is not going to be a plea, according to his attorney. What are you learning about what's going to happen today?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, yesterday was the detention hearing. It was a two-hour hearing where it was a fight between the prosecution and Marc Aginifilo, Diddy's attorney, were arguing that he should be released. The judge said that she didn't think there were any conditions that made her comfortable to release him. And part of the argument that prosecutors put on is that they said these victims and witnesses, they're all scare. The risk of danger is acute. And that is from all the allegations that were described in the indictment.

And what Sean Combs' attorney was arguing is he was saying that you know this wasn't the crime that the prosecutors were making it out to be there. He said that this wasn't sex trafficking that this was a ten-year relationship between Combs and victim one, as she is identified in the indictment, where they would occasionally invite a second male into their relationship.

And he said that he had interviewed a half a dozen of these men that were brought into the relationship, and he said none of them said anything was forced. He spoke more about that with Kaitlan last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AGNIFILO: I interviewed myself the different men who were being brought sort of into Mr. Combs and this person's, you know, intimate situation (ph).

There's not the slightest inkling, according to the interviews that I've done, of anything that's coercive, nonconsensual. Nobody was too drunk. Nobody was too high. These were adults in a relationship. This is a ten-year relationship. We can't forget that this is a ten-year relationship and it was adults and consensual and everybody who was there wanted to be there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: Now, the prosecutor made clear. She said, let me underscore to the judge that none of these allegations in this indictment are consensual. She said that it was sex trafficking and that these women were not agreeing to do this. In fact, some of them, she alleged, were drugged. And that is why they were participating.

SIDNER: Yes. The 2016 surveillance tape that his attorney admits is a real problem for them, but it was obtained, I think, eight years ago.

[07:05:07]

What is Combs' attorney saying about that particular tape?

SCANNELL: Right, I mean, on that tape, you see Combs in the hallway with a woman, dragging her, she's kicking, trying to get away. And so what prosecutors said is that this was the result of the freak off. This is what happened afterwards. This woman was trying to leave.

Now, Combs' attorney is saying, you have it all wrong. He said, this isn't sex trafficking. This is evidence of Combs having more than one girlfriend and getting caught. What he says precluded this, was that the woman in the tape had just learned that Combs had had another girlfriend, that she hit Combs with her cell phone and then ran out of the hotel room, and he's saying what we see of Combs dragging her and hitting her was the result of that, not sex trafficking.

SIDNER: Well, there's a lot to go in this case. And today, there will be some decisions made, we think, potentially by the judge. Thank you so much, Kara Scannell. I know you're following every detail, and we're lucky to have you in studio today.

SCANNELL: So great to be here.

SIDNER: So good to see you. All right, Kate?

BOLDUAN: So, today, for the first time since the pandemic, and after years of battling stubborn inflation, the Federal Reserve is finally expected to cut interest rates. The question this morning is by how much.

CNN's Matt Egan in Washington with more on the critical day ahead. We've been talking about this for four years now. Today is a major milestone in the fight against inflation, potentially. What's expected?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Kate, this is a major moment for the American economy, and it's one that's coming with an unusual amount of suspense. Here we are, less than seven hours away from the decision, and almost no one knows for sure what the Fed is going to do. That's really rare. Normally, this stuff is well telegraphed days or even weeks in advance.

Now, we know there's going to be a rate cut because the Fed no longer thinks inflation is a clear and present danger, but by how much. And at last look, the market is pricing in 39 percent chance of a small cut, of a quarter of a point, and a 61 percent chance of a big cut, of a half a percentage chance, so 60-40. It's basically split here.

Either way, this is a major milestone. This would be the first rate cut since March of 2020. And remember, the Fed has had interest rates really high, right? They spiked interest rates to try to put this inflation fire out. Look at that chart. Starting two-plus years ago, they raised interest rates at a pace we haven't seen in decades. And then they held them there. They've been on hold for the past year. So, the fact that they're cutting means that borrowers will finally get a break here. But what the Fed signals here is really important because if they end up going small, with a 25 basis point cut. It would suggest that Fed officials have confidence. They don't feel like they need to rush to come to the rescue of the jobs market. But if they go big, it does signal some greater concern and a fear that they're going to fall behind, which is not what they want to do.

Some in Washington, especially on the left, like Elizabeth Warren, they want the Fed to go big, really big. Others on Wall Street, they want the Fed to take it slow. David Kelly from JPMorgan, I think he put it best, he said, cutting short term interest rates from a peak is a little like hauling a piano down a flight of stairs. The operation is best done slowly and with care. Kate, we'll see if Jerome Powell agrees with that.

BOLDUAN: Yes, David Kelly clearly handles a lot of moving of pianos is what I get from that one.

EGAN: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: No criticism. I do love an analogy. Making it cheaper to borrow money, that is what we are going to see begin today. It is good to see you. Thank you.

EGAN: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: John?

BERMAN: David Kelly, all I can say is I loved Ally McBeal.

All right, this morning, 48 days until Election Day, Donald Trump choosing to spend his time in the famously non-swing state of New York. So, we've got new reporting on that strategy.

And the complicated attack that stunned intelligence officials around the world. Hundreds of pagers exploded exactly the same time. The death toll is rising this morning. And we have new remarkable details about how Israel pulled it off.

And it can keep food fresh for what seems like years, it is impossible to break. Believe me, I have tried. So, why is Tupperware filing for bankruptcy this morning?

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BERMAN: Today, Donald Trump holds a rally on Long Island in New York, where he promises to restore tax breaks that he took away when he was president. Overnight, his first campaign stop since the apparent second attempt on his life. Trump suggested his plan to raise tariffs may have been one reason he has been targeted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You know, only consequential presidents get shot at. When I say something like that, you have countries saying this guy, but what can you do?

[07:15:00]

You have to do what you have to do, right? You have to -- we have to be brave, otherwise we're not going to have a country left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Trump said he will put a 200 percent tariff on car imports from Mexico if he is elected again.

Let's get right to CNN's Steve Conterno for the message from the Trump campaign this morning. Steve?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: John, there certainly was no nod to unity last night, like we saw after the first attempt on the former president's life, not even a brief one, like we saw the first time. In fact, at one point, when he was discussing the phone call he had with President Biden, who called him to make sure that he was okay, he said he sort of wished Biden wasn't so nice to him. And he then went on to compare him disfavorably to other foreign leaders and adversaries who he says are much stronger.

But as you said, this event was largely focused on the economy when he was asked questions from this Michigan audience. At one point, he was asked by a person who asked him what he could do to get down food prices. And his answer was what we saw a lot from him last night, which was some variation of trade wars and tariffs. He said that, for example, they should bring in and import less food. I think you'd find some economists who say they would actually bring up the cost of food.

He was also asked about the Michigan auto industry, which is obviously so crucial to that swing state. And here's what he had to say about how he anticipates his tariffs affecting that industry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They think they're going to make their cars there and they're going to sell them across our line and we're going to take them and we're not going to charge them tax. We're going to charge them, I'm telling you right now, I'm putting a 200 percent tariff on, which means they're unsellable, unsellable in the United States.

You're going to be as big or bigger than you were 50 years ago, because they won't be able -- if they're not willing to build a plant, we don't want their product.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Trump mentioned, or as he's mentioned, John, Trump's schedule for the next couple of days is pretty unconventional. He has that rally in Uniondale, New York, certainly not a purple area of the country by any stretch. Then he's going to Washington, D.C., for an event. And then he has a more traditional campaign stop in North Carolina on Saturday, John.

BERMAN: All right, Steve Contorno for us. Steve, thank you very much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Breaking overnight, who was behind the deadly pagers that exploded in Lebanon all at the same time and left a dozen people dead and hundreds injured, learn also how they did it.

And NFL quarterback Tua Tagovailoa placed on the injured reserve after his latest concussion incident. His health in question, what he's saying about whether he will retire after multiple concussions

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[07:20:00]

SIDNER: How did they do it? New details this morning about the shocking deadly pager explosions in Lebanon. CNN has learned the attack was a joint operation between Israel's intelligence service, Mossad, and the Israeli military targeting Hezbollah.

The unprecedented attacks killed 12 people, including an eight-year- old girl and injured nearly 3,000 others. The New York Times is reporting the explosives were planted next to each pagers battery, then remotely detonated. A warning that the video you are about to see might be disturbing.

So you see the pager go off there, and that's what happened to many pagers.

CNN Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is joining us live. Of course, Nick, the fear is that this will -- this act particularly will spark a wider regional war. Is there any sense of what Hezbollah is going to do next?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: At this point, no, although they have said they will issue a response to this and put the blame squarely at Israel. But I think a lot of the thinking now is exactly how did this indeed happen. It appears that a particular model of pager, the Gold Apollo AR924 made in Taiwan by Gold Apollo seems to be the focus of much scrutiny here. You mentioned there, The New York Times suggesting that explosive being put alongside the battery that would account for the force of explosions seen in so many of the videos of these blasts.

One thing too people are still trying to, I think, ascertain is how many Hezbollah members may indeed have been killed in this. The death toll is 12, but doesn't necessarily, I think, appear to account for everything that may have happened. And indeed, if that was the case, the explosions appear to predominantly caused injuries and thinking about 300, 400 people now who received critical treatment.

The Ministry of Health saying there were 460 operations, eyes, hands, extremities really what's hit here and civilians being no doubt about this caught up in a significant wave of blasts across the country here. It appears these pagers there's no record, Taiwan says, of their sale directly to Lebanon. In fact, Gold Apollo say that this model was sold to a Hungarian firm, BAC. And so I think there'll be a lot of scrutiny as to how they got to Lebanon, having lived there for six years myself, I know a lot of sort of rogue elements containers can turn up with various cheap items, often in ports or customs facilities under the actual control of Hezbollah themselves.

So, this may be what the Israelis who haven't claimed this openly, but according to our reporting, were behind this, chose to exploit, that too, of course, and the Hezbollah group, decision to use pages low tech to avoid scrutiny themselves. But, no doubt, this is a remarkable breach of their own internal security, and one, as you say, Sara, that leaves many asking what comes next.

[07:25:06]

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, the timing here is also notable. What stands out to you this morning?

WALSH: Yes. Look, I mean, we were dealing with a weekend in which there were questions about a ceasefire deal. If there's a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, that could potentially calm tensions in the Northern Israeli border, Hezbollah being to the north in Southern Lebanon. That seems on the back foot now, certainly.

And indeed, the Israeli defense minister met the U.S. envoy just on Monday, and said, look, a time for a diplomatic solution to solve their clashes with Hezbollah, they've been going on since October the 7th, appears to have passed, and it's the military that may have to take up the reins here. And then suddenly, hours later, we have this extraordinary, unprecedented, sophisticated assault widespread, hitting Israeli -- sorry, Lebanese civilians as well.

Is that a prelude to something larger that Israel has planned? Is it a message in itself to Hezbollah to remind them of how easily penetrated their supposedly secured networks are by their foe to the south? We don't know. I think as the days elapsed since this attack and Israel doesn't launch a major military operation, we may be looking possibly at this attack itself being a message that's self-contained.

The U.S. though, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the region at the moment making it clear this is not something they had a heads up for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: So with regard to Lebanon the United States did not know about nor was it involved in these incidents, and we're still gathering the information and gathering the facts.

Broadly speaking, we've been very clear and we remain very clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any steps that could further escalate the conflict that we're trying to resolve in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Wow, all right. So you're hearing from Antony Blinken, who says the United States had no -- absolutely no idea this was going to happen. But you are seeing the scenario where everyone is worrying how Hezbollah is going to respond, or if there's going to be a larger response from Israel in the future.

Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much for all of your reporting there. Kate?

BOLDUAN: More for us, Sean Diddy Combs is heading back to court today. Will he be able to get out from behind bars on bail? What his legal team is saying about that and the horrible and serious allegations and charges that he is facing.

And it's official, Tupperware is filing for bankruptcy. What is behind this move? Is it because they too could never find the right lid?

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