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U.S.-Russia Talks Going Extremely Well; Trump Officials Texted War Plans To A Group Chat; U.N. To Scale Back Gaza Presence After Deadly Israeli Strike; Israel Considers Massive New Ground Offensive In Gaza As It Ramps Up Pressure On Hamas; Trump Insists Usha Vance's Visit To Greenland Is "Friendly." Denmark, Greenland Reject Idea Of A U.S. Takeover; Erdogan Calls Protests A "Movement Of Violence"; Court Hears Arguments Over Alien Enemies Act Deportations; Lawyers Spar In Tense Opening Of Gerard Depardieu Trial; White House Easter Egg Roll Seeking Corporate Sponsors. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 25, 2025 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: The White House has a classified information problem of its own making. Coming up on CNN Newsroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEC. PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Nobody was texting war plans and that's all I have to say about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Oh, yes, you were Mr. Defense Secretary and Mr. Vice President and national security adviser and secretary of State and director of Intelligence, and the list goes on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're talking about territory right now. We're talking about lines of demarcation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The U.S. president talking up progress in partial cease fire talks with Russia and Ukraine. The Kremlin, though, not as optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm particularly thrilled to visit during your national dog sled race, which our country is proud to support as a sponsor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And boy, Greenland seems almost as thrilled for the U.S. Second lady and US national security adviser and secretary of state to be there as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: A partial temporary cease fire between Russia and Ukraine appears to be inching closer after two days of talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. American and Russian officials met for 12 hours Monday. A day earlier, the U.S. held separate talks with the Ukrainian delegation.
The White House says progress is being made on a maritime truce in the Black Sea and a positive announcement should be coming soon.
President Trump also says a deal over access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals is almost done. But any diplomatic progress, though, seems to be overshadowed by a surge in military strikes by both sides.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen, following all developments, now reporting in from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Despite unrelenting fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces on various fronts, and Moscow saying its troops continue to make headway. President Trump's special negotiator saying he trusts Russian President Vladimir Putin has no further ambitions in Europe beyond Ukraine.
STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: I just don't see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War II. In World War II, there was no NATO. So I just -- you have countries that are armed there. I just, to me, it just I take him at his word in this sense.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the Ukrainians say Russia is continuing an aerial blitz with drones and missiles, a strike in the northern Sumy region leaving dozens injured, Kyiv says. And Moscow accuses Ukraine of stepping up attacks on Russian energy installations despite an agreement with the Trump administration not to do so, even though Kyiv denies the allegations.
The Kremlin seemingly pushing the brakes on talk of a possible imminent full ceasefire. Of course, there are still many different aspects related to the settlement that need to be worked out, the Kremlin spokesman said.
As U.S. and Russian negotiators met in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, to try and hammer out some of those details, Steve Witkoff says the last time he met Putin, he saw a special relationship between the Russian leader and President Trump developing, Witkoff told Tucker Carlson.
WITKOFF: You know, it got personal. The president Putin had commissioned a beautiful portrait of the President Trump from the leading Russian artist and actually gave it to me and asked me to take it home to President Trump, which I brought home and delivered to him. It's been reported in the paper. But it was such a gracious moment. And told me a story, Tucker, about how when the president was shot, he
went to his local church and met with his priest and prayed for the president, not because he was the president of the United he could become the president of the United States, but because he had a friendship with him and he was praying for his friend.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Those words reverberating on the streets of Moscow.
PLEITGEN: He said that President Putin had ordered a portrait of Donald Trump. What did you think about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. It's maybe a symbol of growing relationships. I don't know what to think about that.
PLEITGEN: Do you think they're friends? Witkoff said that he was praying for a friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, he said so. But I don't know. Maybe, maybe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe they have a quite good relationship between them. So I believe that everything will be fine.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Trump administration also says they believe things will be worked out, even as the Kremlin cautions many tough issues still need to be solved to end the fighting in Ukraine. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: With us now from Washington is CNN contributor and Georgetown University adjunct professor Jill Dougherty. Also was CNN's long serving Moscow bureau chief. And it's good to see you again.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hello, John.
VAUSE: So this day began with some optimism. That was after the U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff talked about real progress towards a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, only for the Kremlin to lower expectations, if you like. Here's Dmitry Peskov.
[01:05:10]
DMITRY PESKOV, PRESS SECRETARY FOR RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN (through translator): There is a common understanding, as you know, talks are underway today in Riyadh on the technical issues. One of the plots, so to say, of these technical issues between our delegation and the American delegation, of course, there are still many different aspects related to the settlement to be worked out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: He talks about the complexities of these talks and how, you know, there are many issues which are yet to be resolved. So a couple of questions are first up on this maritime ceasefire, if you like. But overall, is this a go slow by Russia? Are they showing enough interest in the talks to keep them going but avoid any kind of progress while on the ground they continue to take territory, they launch missile strikes like the one on the city of Sumy in Ukraine on Monday. This is what Kiev is suspecting is the case.
DOUGHERTY: Right. Kyiv does say that the Russians actually say it about the Ukrainians. But I think you would have to say that based on what Peskov said, they are looking at, I think, a long time. They continue to talk about the things that bother them and especially I think what they call the root causes. And the root causes, according to Moscow, are really, you know, some of the early things that we heard right after the invasion, the full scale invasion in February 2022, which is denazification.
And denazification in the Kremlin's mind would be getting rid of the leadership of the country and turning it over to some type of, let's say, neutral status and making the army very small, no large army, no NATO, et cetera.
There are a lot of really long term demands by Moscow and until they get to those, this really will be a long process.
VAUSE: The other question I have is on this maritime ceasefire, didn't Russia redeploy most of its Black Sea fleet because many of their ships had already been sunk by the Ukrainians? And it seems Ukraine has been able to continue because of that, exporting grain, even after Russia pulled out of the grain deal to which allowed for the exports. So who benefits most from a Black Sea ceasefire?
DOUGHERTY: Yes, I think that's a good question. I asked myself that. But it feels as if -- because the Ukrainians were actually making a lot of progress in the Black Sea and then they did have that grain deal which fell apart, but as you pointed out, can still export grain, then why would they start with that? Well, maybe because it's a discrete issue, one issue that they can grapple with.
But also I think you'd have to say, in a way it helps Russia and the administration. The American administration has been pretty gentle on Russia because the Ukrainians were winning in the Black Sea. And so by, you know, trying to get a deal there and making it more equitable, you could argue that helps Moscow.
VAUSE: Yes. I want you to listen to the US President speaking Monday. He was outlining what is being discussed at these talks. And what is not being discussed is the return of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. He's Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're talking about territory right now. We're talking about lines of demarcation. We're talking about power plant ownership. Some people are saying the United States should own the power plant and then work it that way because we have the expertise to fix it up, et cetera, et cetera. That would be something like that would be fine with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Even if Russia and Ukraine can find agreement on this 30-day partial ceasefire, no attacks on energy or shipping, the demands each side is making for an end to the war are so completely at odds with each other, they seem irreconcilable.
So even for a possible diplomatic city into the fighting, is that actually even going to happen or will this conflict just simply evolve into a new phase of war?
DOUGHERTY: Well, some do believe, and this would be kind of a bad scenario for Europe especially, that this could turn into what's called a frozen conflict. And you have these frozen conflicts in other former Soviet republics, now independent nations. Even the American administration, which eventually will find how hard this is, would want that either. But how you solve it, John, you're talking about these long term issues, and they really are long term and they are very, very complex.
So again, the prediction is this will be very hard fought diplomatically for quite a long time. Unless, unless the Americans really put the pressure on the Ukrainians to give up what Steve Witkoff, who is the U.S. special representative to Russia, called the elephant in the room, which is territory.
[01:10:11]
VAUSE: Something which they have been so reluctant to do and have fought so hard not to do for so long. It's going to be a hard pill to swallow, that one if it happens. Jill, thank you for being with us. Always good to see you.
DOUGHERTY: Thank you.
VAUSE: A quick note to White House officials to keep information like military operations classified, best not to include the editor in chief of a major news publication in a group chat on an open source free messaging app called Signal. Also, don't use non-government unauthorized apps in the first place.
While this may seem obvious, well, a small group of senior administration officials including the defense secretary, the vice president, secretary of state, national security adviser and others mistakenly added a reporter from The Atlantic magazine to the group discussion on active plans for a major military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The defense secretary denies anyone was texting war plans, but the administration has admitted the messages appear authentic. While Signal is an encrypted messaging app used by many journalists and government officials, it's not authorized for sharing highly classified U.S. information because of security concerns, possible leaks.
According to The Atlantic, the messages revealed critical information about an imminent strike on Houthi targets in Yemen, including which weapon system would be deployed and the sequence of attacks. Atlantic editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg initially thought the group was fake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY GOLDBERG, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE ATLANTIC: I didn't know what it was or who it was. But what I did know was that the obvious answer was that this is a real conversation of the national security leadership of the United States seemed improbable to me because why would they do it on Signal? Why would they do this on a messaging app? And why would they invite the editor in chief of the Atlantic to watch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: More now from CNN's Jeff Zeleny reporting in from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump saying he has the utmost confidence in his national security adviser, Mike Waltz. After a day long series of arrest recriminations and revelations about the national security advisers here at the White House having a discussion about military planning for the bombing of Yemen with a reporter from The Atlantic magazine who was invited into this group chat on Monday, the president said this.
TRUMP: I don't know anything about it. I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me it's a magazine that's going out of business. I think it's not much of a magazine, but I know nothing about it.
ZELENY: But whether the president knew it or not is not the central question here, because White House officials are reviewing the use of this encrypted app that these conversations were taking place.
Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill raising questions about how highly sensitive, perhaps even classified information could be discussed in this manner with so many administration officials, including the vice president, who raised questions about the attack in Yemen, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the CIA director, the director of national intelligence.
Tuesday on Capitol Hill, senators will be questioning the CIA director and the DNI director, asking them about this and other worldwide threats.
Now, there is no question this is one of the biggest security breaches we have seen, at least in modern technological times here. When the editor of The Atlantic was invited into this group chat, he removed himself from that and did not disclose the security information. Now, the White House has launched some attacks against him. He's long been a top critic of this president.
But there is no doubt this is just the beginning of this conversation certainly extraordinary day in Washington. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Well, Goldberg says he did not publish highly sensitive classified information out of concern for U.S. national security. This was still a major breach of security. And earlier I asked CNN senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem how this could have happened in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Here's the thing that no one is talking about or not enough people are talking about because I use Signal because we're both in this space. There's detailed plans, presumably on a secure computer that really don't need to be shared with that group. That's a large group. It includes the chief of staff, it includes the deputy chief of staff, people who don't need to know the operational details. Somehow it gets from a, you know, what we call a high side classified computer into Signal.
Now, we can't do that many ways. It either means that he emailed it to himself or he downloaded it. So I think one of the reasons why you're seeing Hegseth come on so strong, even denying things that the White House has already confirmed that in fact the conversation did take place, is because of these really egregious classified material breaches.
[01:15:07]
VAUSE: I want you to listen to the reaction from Hegseth when to this report this article in the Atlantic magazine. Here he is.
HEGSETH: You're talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so called journalist who's made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again to include the, I don't know, the hoaxes of Russia, Russia or the people on both sides hoax or suckers and losers hoax. So this is the guy that pedals in garbage. This is what he does.
VAUSE: While the U.S. President reposted a tweet from Elon Musk which was mocking The Atlantic magazine, he wrote the best place to hide are dead bodies on page two of the Atlantic because no one ever goes there. Musk actually lifted that from someone else.
It seems neither the President nor the Defense Secretary is addressing the real problem here.
KAYYEM: Yes, no it's not. I mean, they look, they're on offense. Remember, this is a group of people who have allegiance to Trump but not to each other. And we've seen it before in the Trump administration. The knives are out amongst themselves. This is not going to be fun to watch. It's not pretty, but that's what happens when you put exceptionally lazy, unqualified and sloppy people in these high positions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Israel is planning a massive new ground offensive in Gaza. Coming up, details of the potential scenarios being considered by military planners. Back in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:21:02]
VAUSE: The United Nations is drawing down about a third of its international workforce from Gaza after a deadly Israeli strike one of its compounds. Israel broke a ceasefire agreement with Hamas last week. Sources tell CNN this renewed military offensive may soon escalate even further with the IDF considering a massive new ground offensive. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDNET: Well, as the war in Gaza renews once again, Israel is making plans for a potential major ground offensive in the Strip. This plan, which is currently being crafted, could involve sending tens of thousands of Israeli troops into Gaza to clear and then occupy large swaths of land. This is according to an Israeli official and a source familiar with the matter.
It is important to note that this is just one possible scenario currently being considered. And in fact, one of the sources told me that this information is currently being leaked in order to try and pressure Hamas further at the negotiating table as the mediators try and revive the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But this is a real plan that Israel is considering. It would involve as many as five divisions of Israeli troops or about 50,000 soldiers as part of this offensive.
Unlike previously when Israel has carried out ground offensives and cleared certain areas of Hamas only to then retreat from those areas, Hamas reemerged because of a lack of an alternative governance, the lack of Israeli troops in the area as well. And that then resulted in Israeli troops going back into Gaza, back into those very same areas that they had previously cleared of Hamas militants.
And so this time Israeli officials are envisioning a long term occupation of some of those areas which could, according to military experts, bog down the Israeli military in a months long or even years long fight against insurgencies and a long term occupation of large swaths of the Gaza Strip.
It's not clear that the Israeli public has an appetite for such a large scale return to war, though. In fact, numerous polls have showed that a majority of Israelis would prefer to see a hostage deal that also ends the war in Gaza rather than a return to this kind of an all- out war.
But the Israeli prime minister's priorities may be in a different place. His right wing governing coalition, key figures in it, have been pushing for exactly this kind of a large scale ground offensive in Gaza, long term occupation of the Gaza Strip as well.
But even before any kind of large scale ground offensive happens, we've watched as Israeli troops have begun to carry out some ground operations in both northern and southern Gaza and also those airstrikes very much still continuing.
Two Palestinian journalists were in fact killed by Israeli strikes on Monday, according to several Gaza journalist unions. This is the latest attack on journalists that we have seen play out in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military previously claimed that Hossam Shabat, one of those journalists, was affiliated with Hamas, but provided no verifiable evidence that he was actively involved with the group. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for additional comment. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In a moment, they're going for the dog sled races. U.S. Second Lady just wants to enjoy Greenland's culture, meet the people. Forget all that talk by the U.S. President about annexation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:29:52]
VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
No sitting U.S. President, no first lady, no U.S. second lady has ever visited Greenland, that is, until this week. Usha Vance will be among a high-level White House delegation winging their way to Greenland to attend dog sled races.
Despite weeks of talk by the U.S. president of annexing Greenland, Donald Trump says this is just a friendly visit. Greenlanders see it differently.
Here's CNN'S Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Teeth are showing at Greenland's national dog Sled race, with the Prime minister slamming a pending visit to the contest by U.S. government dignitaries as highly aggressive and adding the only purpose is to demonstrate power over us and fuel American belief in Trump's mission to take over the world's largest island.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is friendliness, not provocation.
FOREMAN: President Trump is racing to defend the trip by second lady Usha Vance, a likely visit by national security adviser Mike Waltz and possibly a stop there by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, too.
Vance is soft selling her visit.
USHA VANCE, SECOND LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm also coming to celebrate the long history of mutual respect and cooperation between our nations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here as tourists. Seeing it looks like an incredible place.
FOREMAN: But these are not the first visits from Team Trump, which for months has pushed the notion that annexing Greenland is critical to U.S. interests as America, Russia and China vie for commercial and military control of arctic waters.
TRUMP: We need that for international security, not just security -- international. We have a lot of our favorite players, you know, cruising around the coasts, and we have to be careful.
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Denmark, which controls Greenland, it's not doing its job and it's not being a good ally.
FOREMAN: And the point person on that argument is the second lady's husband, Vice President J.D. Vance.
VANCE: If that means that we need to take more territorial interest in Greenland, that is what President Trump is going to do, because he doesn't care about what the Europeans scream at us. He cares about putting the interests of America's citizens first.
FOREMAN: Greenlanders clearly don't like that talk. A January poll commissioned by Danish and Greenlandic newspapers found 85 percent oppose joining the U.S., and many consider Trump's designs a threat even after years of cooperation including hosting a big American military base.
"Things have turned upside down now with the current president in the U.S.A.," the prime minister says. "We must face the seriousness of the situation and acknowledge that every minute counts to ensure that the Americans' dream of annexing our country does not become a reality.
And while President Trump insists there's a lot of enthusiasm there for the takeover, Denmark itself, which is overseeing this autonomous nation for hundreds of years says it's not for sale, meaning the dog sled delegation may be on thin ice even before it arrives.
Tom Foreman, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining me now from Los Angeles is CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. Good to see you.
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Thank you for having me on, John.
VAUSE: Ok, so here's the U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who was speaking Sunday about Denmark and why the U.S. wants Greenland.
Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: Denmark, which Controls Greenland, it's not doing its job and it's not being a good ally. So you have to ask yourself how are we going to solve that problem, solve our own national security.
If that means that we need to take more territorial interest in Greenland, that is what President Trump is going to do, because he doesn't care about what the Europeans scream at us. He cares about putting the interests of America's citizens first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And here's the U.S. president when he was addressing Congress, again talking about Greenland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And we're working with everybody involved to try and get it.
But we need it really for international world security. And I think we're going to get it. One way or the other we're going to get it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: One way or the other. Given that context, it seems a bit of a stretch to believe Donald Trump when he says the visit is out of friendliness.
But explain why the visit is being seen by Greenland as being highly aggressive.
THOMAS: I think at this juncture, John, American soft power has really been put to bed -- put to sleep. And that every single action taken by this president and every statement by his surrogates over the past weeks and months have been about land grabs. Land grabs and alienating their allies internationally.
And I think it's really important, you know, to just keep reminding everybody that Greenland has a centuries old relationship with Denmark as a former colony, but that since 2009 it's been taking incremental steps towards self-governance.
[01:34:47]
THOMAS: And the people of Greenland understand this as a slow, careful, methodical process and they are not about to substitute a historic dependence on Denmark for a hierarchical relationship with the United States.
And so the statements that have been made, the actions that have been taken have fueled this perception that this is a space -- a geographic area that is at risk now, John.
VAUSE: At first, Greenland officials tried to play it all down. They tried to ignore Trump. But over the weekend, the outgoing prime minister reportedly said, "Greenlanders have tried to be diplomatic, but it simply bounces off Donald Trump and his administration in their mission to own and control Greenland." Before Trump came to office, in a situation like this, no would mean
no, as in Greenland would decide its own future if it wanted to be part of the United States. If it had an invitation, it would decide if it would join the United States.
Is the concern now that the old rules just simply no longer apply? So no one really knows what Trump might actually try.
THOMAS: And I think, John, he's testing the waters here. But what we do know is that listening and actually hearing have not been strengths of either one of his administrations.
And Greenland here finds itself at a historic crossroads where it's trying to figure out what its new position on a kind of rapidly shifting and evolving global landscape might look like.
What gets forgotten in all of this is that it is still a territory of Denmark, and Denmark is, with the United States, one of the founding members of NATO, and has been since 1949.
The idea that that land might be grabbed by one of its members and not protected is unconscionable. And when President Trump creates this false threat to that particular territory, one has to wonder who he has in mind. And that person and that individual can only be Vladimir Putin.
But Putin is somebody with whom he has argued that this is somebody that can be trusted moving forward. So what is increasingly clear is that the narrative that he is constructing about the Greenlanders calling for help, calling for assistance, is simply constructed to enable some kind of land grab or takeover of the resources that exist on the ground in Greenland.
VAUSE: Well, here's just how popular the idea of a U.S. takeover is among Greenlanders. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Look at this no percentage who are against this idea. 85 percent. Just 6 percent say yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes, it's almost within the margin of error. And Donald Trump claims to be the world's greatest everything, including salesman. Was there a more effective way for the White House to get what they wanted, you know, access to the rare earth minerals and, you know, the territory for defense, that kind of stuff without, you know, getting 56,000 Greenlanders off side?
THOMAS: Well, as we saw and we've been watching with the evolving situation in Ukraine and conflict with Russia and those negotiations, is that he has succeeded in just the past few weeks in galvanizing Europeans and bringing a kind of almost unprecedented level of unity in Europe in terms of thinking and solving their challenges moving forward. And I think that the two are related here in terms of how he has mis-
assessed this particular situation. I do think that the Greenland situation is to be understood in the context of some kind of peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, that it's about testing Europe and about testing the idea of an American backstop to protect Ukraine from further incursions from Russia.
And he's testing their will and their resilience and what they will do when a territory of a NATO country comes under threat for the first time from one of the members from within.
So ultimately, all that he is doing is listening to some micro groups and perhaps even to the party that scored 25 percent in their recent election. That is looking for a kind of accelerated move towards independence.
They're the only that want that, and the only group that wants a closer association with the United States.
So at this particular stage, the situation has been mishandled and there is no real justification for why the United States should be at the front of the line in terms of accessing the resources of what will ultimately be its own sovereign territory, John.
VAUSE: It's a good, good point to finish on, Dom. Good to see you, thanks. Dominic Thomas there in Los Angeles.
Political protests in Turkey have continued now for six consecutive nights, with crowds gathering again Monday. So far, more than a thousand people have been detained, and Turkey's president is calling the protests evil and a movement of violence.
CNN's Nada Bashir has more.
[01:39:43]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Turmoil in Turkey. Thousands of demonstrators gathering across dozens of cities in protest against the jailing of Istanbul mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu only to be met by a violent crackdown by riot police with more than a thousand people detained in just six days.
Also detained Imamoglu, considered to be the most serious political rival to Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Arrested on the very same day his secular Republican People's Party nominated him as their next presidential candidate.
Erdogan has been Turkey's president for over 20 years, favored by the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.
TRUMP: I'm a big fan of the president.
BASHIR: And accused of pushing Turkey further towards authoritarianism now, having his government formally charge his rival, Imamoglu, with corruption.
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKEY PRESIDENT (through translator): A country like Turkey has a main opposition party that is too small, too primitive, and too weak in terms of foresight, vision, and quality.
It has become apparent once again that they cannot be trusted to run a country, let alone local government.
BASHIR: Imamoglu has denied the allegations against him, describing his arrest as a dark stain on democracy. What began with a successful attempt to strip him of his university degree effectively barring him from running for president, has since expanded to allegations including extortion and bribery.
Critics have warned that Imamoglu's arrest could signal a dangerous shift in Turkey's already stifled democracy with fears Erdogan may have been emboldened by backers further afield, including in the U.S., where President Trump has previously praised the Turkish leader's strongman tactics.
TRUMP: We've had a great relationship and we will make it even better.
He's a hell of a leader and he's a tough man. He is a strong man.
President Erdogan is a friend of mine. He's a guy I like, respect. I think he respects me also.
BASHIR: That mutual respect seemingly still strong despite past differences.
Bloomberg has reported that Erdogan is working to secure a meeting with Trump at the White House in the coming weeks, citing Turkish officials.
President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, meanwhile, recently told Tucker Carlson on his podcast that the two leaders remain in close contact on regional affairs.
STEVE WITKOFF, SPECIAL ENVOY: I think the president had a great conversation with Erdogan a couple of days ago. Really transformational, I would describe it.
BASHIR: Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, anger and frustration in Caracas after the U.S. deported alleged Venezuelan gang members. The latest on the legal fight over the 18th century wartime law which was used by the White House to make it happen.
[01:42:36]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: In Venezuela, anger is growing at both the United States and El Salvador, with protests by families who believe their loved ones were swept up in a mass deportation last week of alleged Venezuelan gang members by the Trump administration. Protesters say they only know their loved ones may have been among those deported after seeing their images in reports, in the news and images released by El Salvador's government.
Neither El Salvador nor the United States have confirmed the names of any of the migrants in question.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz has more now on the legal battle over the Trump administrations use of an old wartime law to make these deportations happen.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department was in court for several hours and the ball really shifted during this hearing, it was before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, over this Venezuelan migrants' flight that the court had previously said, you can't use the law that Trump wants to use to take people out of the country and give them to a Salvadoran prison.
The Justice Department initially argued that the courts shouldn't have any role, that this was a national security concern, and so the courts really should step away and let Donald Trump use whatever means he needs to, to protect the United States and take Venezuelan migrants, put them on a plane, send them out of the country.
But the courts are now looking at a different question -- a question about whether the men who were rounded up and were initially put on a plane and the administration wanted to take out of the country whether they had due process, should they have a hearing, what type of hearing should that be before a court system?
Because they say they're not from the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. They say that they should be able to be heard on that before a judge. And there's quite a bit of arguments over that. It did get heated at times.
Judge Patricia Millett especially had very hard questions for the Justice Department, asking them over and over about the ability of a president just to take people out of the country or officials lower down the totem pole from the president himself.
Here's a little bit more from Judge Millett speaking to the Justice Department, attorney Drew Ensign.
JUDGE PATRICIA MILLETT, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR D.C. CIRCUIT: There were planeloads of people. I mean, it was also a class action. There were planeloads of people.
There were no procedures in place to notify people. Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemy Act.
DREW ENSIGN, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ATTORNEY: Well, your honor, we Certainly dispute the nazi analogy.
[01:49:48] POLANTZ: So that was a really sharp questioning from Judge Millett. But she is only one person on this panel of three judges at the D.C. Circuit.
She's going to be weighing in. She is an Obama appointee, someone with a lot of experience in international law who asked a lot of the questions today at the hearing.
Another judge asking questions, Judge Justin Walker, appointed by Trump. And then the third judge on the panel, the person who would be the swing vote, conceivably here. That's Judge Karen Henderson. She's been on the D.C. Circuit for quite some time. She's a Republican appointee originally.
But she asked nothing of substance today that would tip her hand to see which way this case goes at least at this court. Of course, at the end of the day, it always could be landing though, before the Supreme Court, as the Trump administration has made clear they will appeal and appeal and appeal until they get a final answer.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The sexual assault trial of French actor Gerard Depardieu resumes in the hours ahead after a tense first day, which saw lawyers sparring over legal procedure. Depardieu is accused of a number of sexual assaults on film sets. The 76-year-old has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMIE ASSOUS, LAWYER FOR GERARD DEPARDIEU (through translator): If the accusations are founded, the plaintiffs will not be afraid to put their accusations face to face with a certain number of witnesses, with a layout evaluation, with medical expertise.
They have rejected all of that, all objective, indisputable and impartial elements are systematically rejected by the plaintiffs. There is only one reason for this. It's that they fear the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The trial was originally scheduled for October, but was delayed because of Depardieu's poor health. Now takes place with France's #MeToo movement revitalized in the aftermath of the Pelicot mass rape trial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANOUK GRINBERG, FRENCH ACTRESS: I left the courtroom because I could no longer bear hearing so many lies and calumny towards the women who had been assaulted physically by Depardieu.
Depardieu has enlisted the services of a lawyer who uses bandit methods. He lies, he lies, he lies, he slanders, he dirties women. He dirties the legal system.
Depardieu is the shame of France, the shame of this profession of being an actor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Depardieu faces up to five years in prison if found guilty.
Well, the White House easter egg roll may look a little different this year. Coming up, more controversy -- this over an egg roll. Corporations now sponsoring the annual event.
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VAUSE: A good reminder for airline pilots flying overseas. Don't forget your passport. A United Airlines pilot did just that, forcing a flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai to turn around over the weekend. The plane landed two hours after takeoff in San Francisco, according to the website FlightAware.
The airline says it arranged for a new crew, gave passengers a meal voucher and compensation. The flight made it to Shanghai six hours behind schedule.
Well, already the White House lawn has been used to sell Tesla cars. And now, for the first time since the Easter Egg Roll began in 1878, corporations are invited to sponsor the festivities.
CNN'S Betsy Klein reports now on what this unprecedented move means for ethical standards.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: The White House, through an outside production company called Harbinger, is soliciting corporate sponsorships for this year's Easter Egg Roll. They range from $75,000 to $200,000 and offer logo and branding opportunities.
[01:54:45]
KLEIN: Now, I obtained this nine-page document that's being sent to prospective sponsors, and when I showed it to a range of ethics experts and former White House officials on both sides of the aisle, the overwhelming reaction was shock and concern.
Now the Egg Roll has been privately funded for many years. What's different this year is the explicit promise of logo and brand activations. And I just want to read to you some of the promised sponsorship perks from this document.
Naming rights for key areas or elements. Sponsor logos featured on event signage. Custom branded baskets, snacks, beverages or souvenirs. And mentions in official event communication and social media posts.
Now sponsors will also receive tickets to the event and access to a brunch hosted by the first lady, as well as a private White House tour.
And all of the money raised is going to go through the White House Historical Association that pays for the event production and any excess funds raised, a source familiar with planning tells me, it's going to go to other similar events, like Halloween and the 4th of July.
But the concern I am hearing from a range of ethics experts and former White House officials here is twofold. Number one, this document itself, the access and branding it is promising. I spoke to Richard Painter, who was in White House Counsel's Office during the Bush administration, and he told me that this document wouldn't have gotten through counsel's office in most other administrations. He said it would have been vetoed in about 30 second in his day.
And second, what actually happens and what it looks like to have logos and branding on the south lawn and on social media. We still don't know if the promised social media mentions will be from official White House accounts. And of course, all of this directly goes against regulations prohibiting public officials from promoting private businesses.
But of course, this is a regulation, not a criminal statute.
Betsy Klein, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Right now, more than 100 giant egg sculptures are hidden in plain sight around London. The Big Egg Hunt is an interactive art show where the public can use an app to find and collect the eggs and win rewards.
The event was initiated by Elephant Family, a charity focused on wildlife conservation in Asia. The eggs were designed by big names in the art, design, fashion and food worlds. They'll be on display until April 27th and then will be auctioned off to raise funds for Elephant Family.
No sponsorship there.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a short break.
See you back here tomorrow.
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