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Formal Process Started to Strip Harvard of International Students; Court Rules on Tariffs; Areva Martin is Interviewed about the Combs Trial; Breakthrough Close on Gaza Ceasefire. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 29, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Robert Alessi on cross.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT ALESSI, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Would you agree that you did a blue paint -- blue paint test with the vehicle going at two miles per hour? Did you do that?

JUDSON WELCHER, CRASH RECONSTRUCTIONIST: Of course.

ALESSI: OK.

You didn't do a blue paint test with the vehicle going at 20 miles per hour, correct?

WELCHER: That is correct. I was not going to hit myself with a Lexus at 20 miles an hour.

ALESSI: You could have done other tests where the vehicle was going at 20 miles per hour if you used a crash test dummy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: The cross-examination will continue today. There will be redirect. This could be the final witness for the prosecution.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, wow. OK, a key moment of this trial. And, Jean Casarez, thank you so much for explaining it so well.

A brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, the Trump administration now starting the formal process of stripping Harvard of its ability to host international students. Today's graduation clouded by fear and uncertainty as the Trump administration goes after not just students, but anyone on a visa linked to Harvard.

And we're just moments away from more testimony in the trial of Sean Combs after hearing testimony that may help prosecutors prove there was coercion and threats. Plus, one of Combs' alleged victims of sexual abuse expected to testify today. And here comes the bill. The impact tariffs could have on the wedding

industry.

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

SIDNER: We begin with breaking news.

We are just learning that the Trump administration has begun the formal process of stripping Harvard of its ability to host international students, a move that appears designed to unravel a legal challenge the school mounted against the administration last week. Harvard's lawyers will be in court this morning to fight that move by the Trump administration to revoke the school's ability to enroll foreign students.

We're also learning this morning the State Department is reviewing all Harvard affiliated visa holders, not just students. On top of all of that, $100 million hit for Harvard. The Trump administration this week also directed federal agencies to cancel all remaining federal contracts with the university.

CNN's Danny Freeman is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this morning.

Danny, what are we looking at today? There is a graduation, but you have this hanging over the entire school.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Sara. It's really odd being on campus right now because behind me at Harvard Yard there's all the pomp and circumstance that you would expect of commencement. There are families here. You see caps and gowns everywhere. There's people selling flowers. It's very much a celebratory feeling in the air.

And yet, as you noted, this cloud really is hovering over this entire campus and community today and this week. And that is this ongoing battle with the Trump administration.

And just to kind of illustrate that, I was just down right by the gates as people were going into commencement, and there were alums handing out these crimson courage stickers, encouraging people to sign an amicus brief for some of the battles that Harvard is facing right now in federal court. That's the discordant tone that's happening right now on campus.

And, Sara, just to kind of dig deeper into it, speaking with folks over the course of this week, being here in Cambridge and in Harvard, I've been struck by how widespread this battle is being felt across this entire community. I was speaking with reporters yesterday who were so devastated that so much of their funding into things like cancer research, tuberculosis prevention, ALS prevention for veterans has basically been frozen or cut altogether. But also the student reaction has been pretty remarkable as well. I was speaking with an international student yesterday who he's graduating, so he's thankful, but he's so worried about the community of international students that are still here at Harvard, weighing some of these decisions coming up.

And also, I want you to take a listen to part of a conversation I had with a Jewish graduating senior here at Harvard, who really spoke to the idea that the Trump administration is pulling a lot of these levers in the name of combating antisemitism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB MILLER, GRADUATING SENIOR AND FORMER HARVARD HILLEL PRESIDENT: It's incredibly disturbing. None of my Jewish peers have asked for this. It's not done to advance our interests. There is no way that any sort of anti-Semitism gets solved by deporting international students, or by denying them visas. There's, you know, no way that kind of Jewish life on campus is going to be improved by this. In fact, it's only going to be worsened. It's going to -- it's going to weaken Harvard. It's going to result in the loss of our friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:05:05]

FREEMAN: So, you can hear, again, a lot of the concern in that student's voice.

Meanwhile, Sara, commencement is officially set to kick off in about 30 minutes here on campus. And then in the following hour, that federal court hearing about these international students is going to start across town in Boston. So, a lot going on here in this area today, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes. And we should mention, when you're looking at this chart that -- the number of international students at Harvard and -- and who make up the bulk of it. You see China at the very top. And the administration making clear they are going after particularly Chinese visa holders at Harvard. They're saying they're doing it aggressively to try to stop them from getting those visas.

Danny Freeman, thank you so much for that great reporting there in Cambridge for us.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're standing by for the opening bell on Wall Street to see how the markets react to the latest in President Trump's global trade war. We see futures there. So far, stock futures are up following the ruling by a federal court blocking most of President Trump's sweeping tariffs on dozens of America's trading partners. The three judge panel of a court most people have never heard of found his tariffs, quote, "exceed any authority granted." Now, the lead attorney who representing -- represented the plaintiffs here in this case, five small businesses who said that they faced devastating -- a devastating impact from these tariffs, spoke with CNN after the decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEFFREY SCHWAB, SENIOR COUNSEL AND DIRECTOR OF LITIGATION, LIBERTY JUSTICE CENTER: Of course, we're delighted. This is a huge problem for not only our five business clients who were tremendously impacted by these tariffs negatively, but also for businesses across the country and I think for consumers, American consumers who will feel the effects of these tariffs had they gone on longer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Now, the Trump administration immediately moved to appeal the order. But let's see where we are at this moment.

Joining us right now, CNN's Paula Reid and CNN legal analyst Jennifer Rodgers.

Paula, what is this court that most people have never heard of? And also, what are they saying, this three judge panel, about the law at the center of this, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate, last night I was here when this news broke. I had the same exact question. I've done this for 15 years, passed two bar exams, and my first question is, what the heck is this court?

But look, let's talk about the fallout from this. I mean this is a decision that has the potential to reshape the global economy, because this has -- this has prompted uncertainty, not only for businesses, but also for consumers, because it raises the question that the debate over President Trump's tariffs could continue for a while.

So, here, this little known court, the International -- Court of International Trade ruled that President Trump overstepped his authority to impose these sweeping tariffs. Remember, these have raised the prices of imports for everyone, from everyday Americans to big businesses.

Now, this was in response to a lawsuit filed by several small businesses that said they have been, quote, "severely harmed" by these tariffs. Now, remember, Trump implemented these tariffs without Congress because he invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. That gives the president the power to respond to unusual or extraordinary threats, but it does not specify tariffs as a potential action that the president can take.

So here this court ruled that he overstepped his bounds. They have blocked most but not all of his tariffs. As you noted, the administration has already appealed this. I think we're also going to hear a lot more from the administration, as we did last night, about their frustration with judges who are able to block policies from the administration. Now, we know that is a question currently pending before the Supreme Court. The extent to which these kinds of injunctions, these kinds of blocks on their policies can be imposed by lower courts.

But really, look, this -- this raises the question of how long the question about tariffs could be out there, because they've obviously already appealed. This is something they will likely push to the Supreme Court. And that kind of litigation can take a while.

And look, I'm a lawyer, not a businesswoman, but I know that uncertainty is something that the market does not always enjoy.

BOLDUAN: One thing we've definitely learned in the past, you know, several, several weeks and months.

Jen, what do you think of this decision? What do you see in that?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's really interesting because there are all these statutes, not just this one, IEEPA, there are over 100 statutes that give the president emergency authority to act in certain circumstances.

The problem here, and one of the things the court said is, this is not an emergency. Trade deficits have been around for decades, right? Why is it an emergency? It doesn't fall within this act if it's not an emergency. And then, as Paula said, tariffs are not specifically mentioned as a remedy.

And as much as the Supreme Court has been giving a lot more power to the executive branch and a whole host of its decisions, it has been scaling back in one area, including this area, which is that the executive branch in the -- the Chevron deference case, you know, you cannot give deference to the -- the executive branch agencies anymore. You have to go to Congress for certain things.

[09:10:03]

And so, this is one of those things. This is a statutory grant of authority, not a constitutional grant of authority, that Trump was operating under. So, it will be interesting to see what the Supreme Court does when it ultimately gets this. And, of course, it will ultimately get this.

BOLDUAN: Right.

RODGERS: Because they're going to have to kind of figure out where this balance lies. And I think they've been moving in the direction of Congress having more authority in this particular area. Congress is where you usually see, you know, tariffs and kind of economic regulation.

So, I don't know what they'll do there.

BOLDUAN: Right.

RODGERS: There's kind of a push-pull here based on what they've done in the Trump era.

BOLDUAN: But you're presenting it in a really important way, just like it does -- it's not constitutional -- it's not really the constitutional -- constitutional question, it's the power of Congress. And let's see how they land on that.

Real quick, Paula, in the meantime, as you -- you were mentioning, this can take quite some time. Is it clear what will be halted, when, while the appeal plays out?

REID: Yes, there is a specific list of which tariffs will be halted. So again, it's not all of them, but there is a specific list that is laid out here in terms of what will be blocked. So, this halt says 30 percent tariffs on China, the 25 percent tariffs on some goods imported from Mexico and Canada, and the 10 percent universal tariff on most goods just coming into the United States. So, it does not affect the 25 percent tariffs on autos, auto parts, steel or aluminum. So, that was done under a different act.

So, this is something that again could have really broad implications, which is why last night's decision -- look we follow all of the Trump litigation. This was a bit of a surprise that this decision came late last night. I do expect, though, that the administration is going to -- to fight this very aggressively because, as we know, these tariffs are central to President Trump's economic agenda.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely, especially in the midst of now they're trying to negotiate new trade deals. So with this -- this also throws a new level of uncertainty into those as well.

Paula, thank you so much.

Jen, thank you, as always.

John.

BERMAN: All right, a plastic surgeon, a celebrity stylist, and fits of rage. New details from the criminal trial of Sean Combs as his former assistant is set to take the stand this morning.

And then breaking this morning, the White House saying it now believes a breakthrough is close on a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

And a priest and two nuns walk onto the set of a TV show. What happens next will surprise you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:17:06]

BERMAN: All right, court has just resumed, and we're now just moments away from new testimony in the racketeering and sex trafficking trial of Sean Combs. Back on the stand this morning, Deonte Nash, a former stylist for Combs. Nash made several notable claims already, including that he saw Combs assault Cassie Ventura and that he repeatedly heard him threaten her. Nash also testified Ventura told him she did not want to attend some of the so-called freak offs.

Once he is done on the stand, the prosecution says its next witness will be one of Combs' former assistants, who will testify under a pseudonym.

With us now, Areva Martin, attorney and legal affairs commentator.

Areva, nice to see you.

I want to focus in on one part of the testimony from Nash that I think stands out as something different than the rest, because we've heard a lot of testimony that Sean Combs was violent toward Cassie Ventura, seen evidence of beatings there. But in this testimony, Nash says he heard him, Combs, threaten Cassie Ventura. Threaten her with the release of a video. Why is that so important to the charges that Combs faces?

AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: John, that's a very important part of the prosecution's case because under the Mann Act, the sex trafficking act, the prosecution has to prove that Cassie Ventura was forced, was coerced to engage in commercial sex acts. And we've heard the defense's claim, their defense is that, no, she willingly participated in these freak offs because she wanted to please Sean Combs, that she was in love with him.

But this directly contradicts that theory. This is a very credible witness. A stylist who knew both Cassie Ventura and Sean Combs and seemingly had a -- at one point good relationship with both of them, saying, no, I heard him, I -- being Sean Combs, threatened Cassie, threaten to ruin her career, threaten to withhold the release of her mixtapes if she did not relent, if she did not capitulate to his request to participate in these freak offs. And he also said he knew, based on conversations he had with Cassie Ventura, that she often did not want to participate in these freak offs, but yet felt compelled, or other words -- in other words coerced to do so by Sean Combs.

BERMAN: Yes. Yes, coercion is the key word here. The threat of the video, you think, gets to that idea of coercion, along with the threat that Nash testified to of violence.

MARTIN: Oh, absolutely. The Mann Act interprets -- or courts have interpreted the concept of coercion very broadly to include not just physical violence, like we've heard so much about in this trial, but also the withholding of necessities. In this case we've also heard about Sean Combs taking away her car, her passport, you know, threatening to not pay her rent, her living expenses.

[09:20:02]

What we know from the testimony to date is that Sean Combs pretty much controlled every aspect of Cassie Ventura's life, and that he would use that control he had over her to force her, according to the testimony, to engage in these sex acts with commercial sex workers.

BERMAN: Now, how will or has the defense tried to counter this idea of a threat or coercion? And again, I think this gets to the very key of the sex trafficking case. This is some, in a way, of the more important testimony that we've heard.

MARTIN: Oh, absolutely, John. And what we've heard from the defense during their cross-examination of various witnesses, including their cross-examination of Cassie, is going after her using text messages, using her own words. Sometimes when he would say she was looking forward to participating in freak offs, that she wanted to participate in these freak offs, her words about being in love with Sean Combs, and then this whole notion of her being an independent, strong woman that had her own agency. We heard a lot of that from the defense. And I suspect that when the defense puts its case on, we're going to hear even more about the way that Cassie Ventura was able to make her own decisions, and that contrary to being coerced into these sex acts, that she did so as a willing participant.

BERMAN: Again so, yes, watch that as testimony continues today. Nash -- Deonte Nash, the stylist, back on the stand right now. Testimony we just heard has resumed. And then when this concludes, we do expect to hear from another one of Combs' assistants.

Areva Martin, thank you. Great to see you this morning. Appreciate it.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ahead, MIT shutting down its diversity equity and inclusion office. Is this about policy or pressure from Washington? The latest fallout from the Trump administration's crackdown on diversity.

And just weeks after taking the stand in the Sean Combs trial, Cassie Ventura welcomes her third child. Details later in the show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:26:29]

BOLDUAN: Chaos broke out for a second time in Gaza as hundreds of people broke into a warehouse in central Gaza storing food aid. You're seeing video of it here. The World Food Programme says at least two people were killed, several injured in the crush. The agency has been warning of imminent famine after an 11-week blockade that kept humanitarian supplies out of the enclave.

And on the push for a ceasefire, "Axios" is now reporting the White House is optimistic they are closer than ever to a deal to end that war between Israel and Hamas. The U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, gave an update on his latest proposal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: I think that we are on the precipice of sending out a new term sheet that hopefully will be delivered later on today. The president is going to review it. And I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire, and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution of that conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining us right now is CNN political and global affairs analyst Barak Ravid. He's also a politics and foreign policy reporter, of course, with Axios. It's good to see you again.

You've -- you have really interesting reporting about this new optimism among the White House team that they're getting closer to a deal. What is the sense that you are getting and where does this optimism come from?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think it comes from the fact that the White House has been pushing for almost two weeks now very hard on both Hamas and Israel to accept the U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire and a hostage deal that could lead to a much broader deal and the end of the war. And I think that what's different is the fact that right now White House Envoy Steve Witkoff is holding more or less direct talks with both sides. With Israel he's speaking on the phone with Prime Minister Netanyahu and his confidant, Ron Dermer, and on the Hamas side, he's not talking directly to anybody within Hamas, but he has a facilitator who is a Palestinian American businessman, Bishara Bahbah, who is in Doha for two weeks now meeting Hamas every day and conveying Witkoff's messages and Hamas' messages back.

And I think that the change here, that it's not through Egyptian or Qatari mediators, but the U.S. is leading this negotiation. This is what is bringing the parties closer together. There's still no deal but I think it's closer than ever.

BOLDUAN: So interesting.

And add to this now that Netanyahu announcing yesterday that a recent airstrike had -- that he says has now been confirmed to have killed Mohammed Sinwar, which is Hamas' -- Hamas' de facto leader in Gaza. Does this new leadership vacuum, are you hearing, being seen as presenting a new opportunity to actually help reach a deal?

: Some people will say -- in the Israeli government will say, of course, you know, we took Mohammed Sinwar out. Another one of the October 7th architects. Another hard line Hamas leader who opposed the deal. That's one point of view.

Another point of view within the Israeli defense establishment is that when you kill all the senior officials in Hamas, you don't have anybody to do a deal with.

[09:29:58]

And you have to remember, there are 20 hostages that are alive that Hamas knows more or less where they are, but there are another 38 hostages who are dead and their bodies are scattered