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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump About To Visit Qatar, Set To Accept Jumbo Jet As A "Gift"; NBC: Trump Negotiator Relied On Kremlin Interpreter In Putin Talks; Diddy On Trial. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired May 12, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:21]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Trump making his first overseas trip to three countries, doing big business deals with Trump Org. This as Trump defends a luxury jumbo jet from Qatar free of charge. Is Trump breaking the law?
Plus, Steve Witkoff, Trump's top negotiator, reportedly used a Russian interpreter from the Kremlin when he met with Putin. We're getting new details on this story from award winning journalist Christo Grozev.
And, Sean "Diddy" Combs on trial. Shocking witness testimony on day one as his ex-girlfriend prepares to take the stand.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, crossing a crucial line, the president of the United States about to be wheels down in Saudi Arabia for his overseas trip. And on this trip, he will meet with top Qatari officials who have just gifted him a reported $400 million jet. It's called "The Palace in the Sky".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So I think it's a great gesture from Qatar. I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person, say, no, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane. But it was -- I thought it was a great gesture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Could be the modern definition of a trojan horse. But that so-called great gesture is coming from one of three countries the president is scheduled to visit in these coming days, and countries where Trump and his family have major business deals. Each and every single one of them, whether it's a tower or a $2 billion crypto deal that's in Dubai, according to "The New York Times". And we know it's in Dubai. The size, according to "The New York Times", another tower in Saudi Arabia, also the same country that invested $2 billion into Jared Kushner's firm. Or maybe it's a new golf course in Qatar. Lots of business interests
for the president of the United States. I mean, take a step back. This is really weird that we're even talking about this sort of conflict. It was just two weeks ago that Eric Trump was in Qatar to announce the development of the new Trump International Golf Club.
According to the press release, it will be a, quote, world class 18- hole Trump international golf course, a Trump golf clubhouse and approximately high-end branded villas overlooking the golf and the beach.
As Trump touts this, quote, great gesture from Qatar, it is worth pointing out that the Qataris have given out this exact plane model before as well. And 2018 that was given to the president of Turkey, President Erdogan, then Turkeys president, said he was interested in paying for the plane. But Qatar's emir pushed back, he said. So, Erdogan tells everyone he said -- he said, I won't take money from Turkey. I give this as a present to Turkey.
So here we go again. I mean, look, let's just be honest here. The president of the United States has no business accepting a plane for anything from anyone, and not as Air Force One. It should not be political because it is not political. This is something that actually is an easy call. It's wrong. But Trump's team will circle the wagons, it seems, on pretty much anything.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN KILMEADE, FOX NEWS HOST: Do you worry that if they give us something like this, they want something in return?
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Absolutely not, because they know President Trump and they know he only works with the interests of the American public in mind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, that defense is not flying, even with some of Trump's staunchest supporters, several speaking out today, including conservative podcast star Ben Shapiro.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN SHAPIRO, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Taking sacks of goodies from people who support Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Jazeera, all the rest, that's not America first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, who is going to look into this? Who is going to tell Trump in his inner circle that this is wrong and stand up on this one? Could it be the DOJ and Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, the same Pam Bondi who was once a lobbyist for the country of Qatar?
Well, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Bondi actually earned $115,000 a month for her work for Qatar. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I am very proud of the work that I did. It was a short time, and I wish it had been longer for Qatar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And there's Jared Kushner's private equity firm. It, too, is taking money for Qatar from Qatar. And if you're wondering, out of all the gifts to give Trump that could possibly put anybody in his favor, why pick a plane?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You look at some of the Arab countries and the planes they have parked alongside of the United States of America plane. It's like from a different planet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, the Qataris know what super, super, super, super big ticket item. Trump personally wanted. He has been broadcasting this desire for years. Right there in the Oval Office is a model of Trump's rebranded Air Force One sitting there, and it's not just Air Force One. Trump has been fascinated with the power, the prestige, the big money of airplanes for decades. Here he is in 1989.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, FORMER CNN HOST: Your airline would be called the what? Trump shuttle.
[19:05:00]
TRUMP: It'll be the Trump shuttle. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, the Trump shuttle didn't last long. And then 19 years later, Trump bought what became at the time, his pride and joy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Trump's Boeing 757 is one of the largest, most luxurious private jets in the world.
TRUMP: The plane is very much an extension of the Trump brand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: An extension of the Trump brand. Now, that's from an episode from the show "Mighty Planes". And in that episode from 2013, they actually went with Trump as he flew from Florida to New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: First thing I do when I get on this aircraft is look around for details. I always study the details. Cleanliness. I go up to the pilot, see how everything's going. I like to look at the cockpit. I want everything to be absolutely perfect.
So, John, everything's good?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything's perfect, Mr. Trump.
TRUMP: All right. Good, good. Let's have a good flight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And most recently, Trump's inauguration cake, take a look at it, guess what's on it? A giant model of Air Force One, which, of course, if Trump continues with this, if he gets his way, will be replaced with a luxury plane from Qatar.
Jeff Zeleny is traveling with the president OUTFRONT tonight in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia.
So, Jeff, what more are you learning about plans for the Trump administration to accept this luxury jet from Qatar, which reportedly has a value of between 400 and half a billion dollars -- 400 million and half a billion dollars?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erin, what the president calls a great gesture, many others are calling it a giant conflict of interest. However, the president and the White House are making no apologies about this at all. In fact, quite the opposite. The president, very much leaning into this. Before leaving the White House this morning, as he has set off for his week-long trip here to the Middle East.
And, Erin, as we have been in the Oval Office for the last several months, that replica Air Force One sits on his coffee table. This is something that has been top of mind, front of mind for him for a long time. He believes it is a luxury palace, and he is, quite frankly tired of the Air Force One he's flying on at this very moment, which he says is 40 years old.
It is 40 years old, but, of course, other presidents have used it as well. But the bottom line here is there are some open questions about who or what can stop this. The idea of it being a free plane, though, that is one thing that just simply is not true. Because the Air Force would have to essentially retrofit the entire plane, strip it out, and on a plane like this. Aaron, I'm told that it has 171 miles of wiring. Effectively, all of that would have to be stripped out.
So, this is going to be tens or perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars. But even though most Republicans on Capitol Hill are going along with this, not Josh Hawley, Republican from Missouri, who told our Capitol Hill team, he said it would be much better if Air Force One were made in the USA. So, we shall see where this goes. But so ironic that this is sort of
beginning the president's trip back to the Middle East. It is a trip full of deals, and he wishes he was riding in one of them. But for this trip, at least, he'll be in that old Air Force One -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right, Jeff, thank you very much, in Riyadh tonight.
I want to go now to Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Congressman, I appreciate your time.
So, President Trump says this luxury jet from the Qatari royal family, the reported price tag, as I said, about $400 million is a, quote, gift free of charge. And they're pushing ahead. No, no pushback from the attorney general who of course had formerly been paid up, reportedly $115,000 a month to lobby for the country of Qatar. So, are there any strings attached to this?
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Well, undoubtedly there are, but it doesn't make any difference because the Constitution forbids the president from accepting any present, emolument, office or title of any kind, whatever the Constitution says, from a king, prince, or foreign state, without the consent of Congress. So he's got to come to Congress first.
I've been getting a barrage of emails from right wingers today saying, well, what about the Statue of Liberty? We took the Statue of Liberty. Yeah, after there was a joint congressional resolution, directing President Grant to accept it. He signed that on his last day in office, and that it ended up President Cleveland taking it. And it was embodied in statute.
You got to go to Congress in order to accept a gift from a foreign government, which is what this is. And obviously, there's all kinds of national security complications because it's a government giving us this airplane. And there's all kinds of foreign policy implications. So, Congress has got to debate it.
BURNETT: So let me ask you, I want to talk to you about that part, whether you have the votes. But first, when you mentioned the national security concerns, Jeff Zeleny just mentioned the 171 miles of wiring and the implication that I'll just use the analogy, the trojan horse analogy, right? To make sure that there aren't -- who knows what kinds of bugs in the era we live in, that it would have to essentially be completely taken apart and reassembled.
So, your total cost of the plane would be what could be $1 billion. You know, what are the national security risks that you are most specifically worried about?
RASKIN: Well, apparently, the Secret Service was very worried about, you know, bugs and espionage and surveillance, naturally. Obviously, Qatar is very close to Saudi Arabia, and there's no reason Saudi Arabia wouldn't love to have a window into everything going on, on that airplane. So that's been raised by the government itself. But of course, the
concern of the framers was that you would get a president like Donald Trump. Donald Trump doesn't know a lot about the founding, but the founders knew a lot about him and his type, and they were afraid that you'd get someone as president who'd be willing, essentially, to sell the interests of the country out to specific foreign governments who would do business with him. And so, there are a million foreign policy questions where we could be compromised by this.
BURNETT: Yeah. Well, I mean, it would seem -- it's not something that should come from anyone, friend or foe. But obviously Ben Shapiro making the point, right? Qatar is is -- sits in the middle, right, Iran, Hamas, the Taliban, of course, all of that. Also close to Qatar.
So I'm curious, though, when you get to what the Congress can do as a whole and where right now, Senate Democrats are trying to force a vote, but a vote. But when you say it has to go to Congress, let's just say it did. Would it fail? I mean, this seems to be a case of right and wrong, but that's not necessarily what we're going to get from Republicans.
RASKIN: Well, see, and that's the whole thing. The way that article one, Section Nine is designed is that it goes to Congress because there's just a multiplicity of foreign policy questions and domestic policy and public integrity questions folded into it.
And we've got to look at all that stuff. We shouldn't just be debating on TV, we should be investigating in Congress. How much will it cost to retrofit the plane? What are the kinds of bugs that could be put onto that plane? What's the history of Qatar's involvement with other people in the Trump administration and so on?
We've got to look at that. Can we do it? Sure. All we need is another 3 or 4 Republicans to come with the Democrats to say, let's do our constitutional duty.
We cannot let them get away with just trampling the emoluments clause, because it's not just these airplanes. We have to look at the whole crypto question, too. The Trump family has been making more than $1 billion a month since the new administration started, and that's like the Trump hotel on steroids. The money is just being funneled in through the presidential meme coin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Congressman. I always appreciate your time.
I'll note one of those crypto deals. Of course, "The New York Times" is reporting worth $2 billion. That was in Dubai. Steve Witkoff son also part of that. So, also on the list of countries the president is visiting this week.
Ryan Goodman is with us now, OUTFRONT legal analyst. And Ben Smith, "Semafor" editor in chief, host of the "Mixed Signals" podcast.
So, Ben, you've got extensive reporting on this, luxury jet from the Qatari royal family that, you know, we understand could be worth $400 million, maybe more. Could be half a billion. Youve been looking at images. So what's inside this?
BEN SMITH, EDITOR IN CHIEF, SEMAFOR: Yeah. The Swiss firm that was selling it had had a had a listing up. They've taken it offline. But some of the details are still up there. And it was one of those things they don't put the price on. It would be sort of indiscreet but -- but it's beautiful, you know, it has. It has a private office with four chairs. Theres a number of large screen televisions, a bedroom, kind of beautiful cream colored furniture, wood tables.
BURNETT: You could paint it gold if you wanted.
SMITH: You could. You could paint it gold. I mean, you know, it's -- it's I do think -- I mean, it is, among other things, a huge black eye to Boeing, which has been on the hook for many years to build a new Air Force One and among its many struggles, hasn't been able to deliver one. And, you know, I think if you view this, I think, you know, there's a lot of conspiracy theories from our end. But if you view it from the perspective of these gulf countries, all of them American allies, Qatar is a huge American military base, right?
BURNETT: Yeah, the largest, yeah.
SMITH: You know, the president, United States, like other leaders, like Erdogan, signals that he wants stuff from smaller countries that want to be friends of the United States. Of course, they're going to get into a bidding war. They're three rivalrous countries to give the U.S. what it is asking for. I think that's -- I think this is a question of more demand than supply or demand side rather than a supply side.
BURNETT: I think you have a fair point. I also think that the -- giving gifts for expected reciprocity or intangible reciprocity, is the way many countries work, and in that region, it is not considered corrupt. It's considered the way royal families operate.
SMITH: Yeah, it goes -- goes without saying.
BURNETT: If you're going to play in the rules they play by, they're happy to play.
SMITH: Yes.
BURNETT: It's what they do.
SMITH: The rules of many countries play.
BURNETT: Right, right.
And, Ryan, I mean, there are people out there saying that Senator Bob Menendez, former Senator Bob Menendez, got 11 years in prison for this, right? He was charged with accepting bribes, gold bars and a Mercedes to benefit specifically, the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
Is there is that just when people are rushing to oh, there's the word Qatar, so I'm going to say these two things are analogous, or is there a real legal link? RYAN GOODMAN, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: So there are a lot of similarities. If one brings a bribery case under criminal law, you have to prove there was an actual quid pro quo and that the bribe was done in exchange for some official act or conduct. That's what makes it very difficult.
So it's quite narrow and it's been narrowed by the Supreme Court. But the analogy to Senator Menendez is quite close. And it's in fact the Trump justice department that succeeds and says on in late January of this year, look, we got an 11-year sentence on him. And part of what they in fact broadcast is because he in exchange for gold bars, made public statements in favor of Qatar. So that's similar in character.
And just to add one other point to it, the Supreme Court's ruling on immunity for a former president or a president does say, essentially that bribery would obviously not count as an official act. So, if this is bribery with those constraints, then it is similar in character to Senator Menendez, which is a righteous prosecution.
BURNETT: Yeah. I mean, I know there's emoluments. There's -- there's all the legal things. Then, you know, as I said, you know, the way I see this, it shouldn't be political.
It's just not something the United States should be doing, Ben. But it's not the first time Qatar has done this to the to the point of the language they speak. We've been talking about President Erdogan of Turkey.
SMITH: The sort of most striking and kind of clarifying thing about this to me is in 2018, they did exactly the same thing, the same model jet. It's a VVIP 747 to President Erdogan of Turkey. And Turkey, not a perfect democracy. He's a strong man. But they do have an opposition party --
BURNETT: Autocratic government.
SMITH: -- which raised hell about it because they thought it was inappropriate that the Qataris were giving, you know, their close again, close ally, a plane.
And Erdogan said, you know what, like I understand the issue, but this is Turkey's plane, not my plane. And when I'm done being president, this plane stays with the republic of Turkey, which I think is not the plan here.
BURNETT: No, this -- what Trump has said, at least at this point, I understand, is that it would go to the Trump presidential library.
SMITH: Not Erdogan Presidential Library.
BURNETT: No.
Ryan during Trump's first term, you had foreign diplomats saying at Trump properties, right? This was something that had received a lot of focus to Trump Hotel at the time in Washington, D.C., right?
Also in New York on Central Park, south/west. Trump at the time said, you know, this is personal. It's personal. It's not official.
So, I mean, but, you know, when you look at this and you look at what's happening in the region there, you got the crypto deal in Dubai, you have golf course in Qatar, you have money for Jared Kushner's firm, his -- his investment firm coming from Saudi Arabia. You have towers in Saudi Arabia. I mean, it's whack-a-mole.
GOODMAN: Yeah. So, the mix of personal and public benefits, I think doesn't help Trump in this regard. And also goes to the question of why would the Qataris give him for $400 million plane unless they expected something in return? So that is going to him. Also, personally, the idea that it ends after his presidency, I think is also not helpful for him as a legal matter because it means it's just for him as Trump. It's not for the Office of the President of the United States. So, I think all of that adds up.
And then one last bit is when this did happen in 2017 and '18 for Trump himself. And there were all these emoluments litigations. And I do expect we might find litigation on this particular issue. His defense was no, these were commercial deals I was doing with my hotels and my real estate. Emoluments would only apply to me if it were something like my compensation and my perks, which you would think a gold-plated plane is a perk. And that's what his idea is of the Constitution and what it would prohibit. So --
BURNETT: I mean, it's just -- just take a step back, Ben, the reason we're talking about this now and its a big deal is because it doesn't happen to every president. You don't have Qatar calling up and saying, hey, George W. Bush, I'm going to give you a plane. Or Obama or both --
SMITH: I think they would not have been very willing.
BURNETT: They would haven't been willing.
SMITH: Indeed. Yeah.
BURNETT: George W. Bush wouldn't have been willing.
SMITH: Right.
BURNETT: Right? Obama. Wait a minute. That's the difference. As you say, it's the -- it's the demand side, not the supply side.
SMITH: Yeah. And I think I mean, I think you saw Trump prosecuted and a wave of prosecutions that failed or that didn't prevent him from being president. And I think he feels he is immune from those now, and maybe not in a technical legal sense, but that's obviously how he's acting.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much.
And next, we have new details tonight about Trump's top negotiator reportedly using an interpreter provided by the Kremlin for his meetings with Putin. Award-winning investigative journalist Christo Grozev has been digging on this story. He's next with those details. Plus, Trump touting his new trade deal. But the head of the largest
port in America, which of course, has seen a marked slowdown since Trump's trade war, says not so fast. He's OUTFRONT.
And our longtime Vatican correspondent, Christopher Lamb. Of course, we were together during the election of Pope Leo XIV today got the chance to meet the new pope.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:24:22]
BURNETT: Tonight. Steve Witkoff, the real estate investor turned Trump's top negotiator, is meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, just a day after Witkoff, who has no prior diplomatic experience, was in Oman leading nuclear negotiations with Iran. It comes as NBC News reports tonight that Witkoff, who prefers to conduct these meetings alone, used a kremlin provided translator during his meeting last month with Vladimir Putin.
In the meeting, Putin was surrounded by several top officials, including a former ambassador to the United States, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, flanking him there.
But as you see from the video, Witkoff is alone. No one there to provide advice with any experience at all except for a translator.
[19:25:00]
The translator we're referring to that he appears to be meeting for the first time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: Interpreter?
From the embassy? Okay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Christo Grozev, the investigative journalist who uncovered the people behind the poisoning of top Putin opposition figure Alexei Navalny, along with so much more extraordinary investigative journalism is here.
So, Christo, you're now doing a lot of reporting on this story. What more are you learning?
CHRISTO GROZEV, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Well, what we know by now is that the interpreter that was there for Mr. Witkoff was a government employee with several different high ranking government positions and an interpreter with a history of interpreting for major Russian political leaders, which means that, in fact, Mr. Witkoff was not using a neutral interpreter, but somebody that was chosen for that position and represented essentially the Russian side. BURNETT: It's pretty extraordinary that that could be the case. I
mean, he also, as you know, Christo likes to do these meetings alone, even though Vladimir Putin himself doesn't do these meetings alone. He is flanked by experts. Not the case with Steve Witkoff, who talked about his preferences to meet -- to meeting with Putin alone.
Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WITKOFF: The notion that were not supposed to talk to him is totally preposterous. Or that I should talk to him and condition those talks, on being able to bring an interpreter there or other people there. I did not need anybody there. It actually worked better being there alone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, I just want to note when he said he did not need anybody, Putin needed somebody, right? Former ambassador to the United States, among those at the table. But Witkoff said he did not need anybody.
Christo, how do the Russians view Witkoff?
GROZEV: Well, I mean, this example actually shows at least three things that are wrong with -- with that -- with that particular meeting. One, there was a breach of protocol. That is a longstanding protocol that every site in this multi or bilateral negotiations should bring their own interpreter. This has been the case for forever.
But there's also the problem that an interpreter in a situation like this is essentially your closest advisors, not just somebody who translates the language, its somebody who's supposed to translate the little cultural nuances that are so important in making you helping you understand exactly what the other side may be. Not just saying, but implying or alluding to.
And when you have that ally on your side, I've been a professional translator for many years, and I know the importance of every look, every sort of sentiment expressed in the way you advise your client, you interpret your client, when you don't have that ally, when the other side that has that ally working for them, then you're clearly at a very, very disadvantaged position.
And last but not least, the message, and this is in relation to your question, the message that Putin is getting in, in that approach is that this person comes in unprepared, probably desperate if they accept such nontraditional, nonstandard terms of engagement. And somebody who really also is probably incompetent.
And Putin is an aggressive negotiator, somebody who knows the particular topic of this conversation much, much better, many times better than Mr. Witkoff, and is certainly taking advantage of that disbalance of competence. BURNETT: You know, I'm just circling back to, you know, when we do
interviews, I've never used an interpreter provided by the interviewee. You know, we interviewed the Iranian foreign minister, actually the one who was killed in that helicopter crash. They wanted us to use their interpreter. We wouldn't. We got our own.
His interpreter, actually, then would not just interpret what I was saying, but it was interpreting to him what my interpreter was telling me that he was saying so he could correct it on the fly. I give that example so everyone can understand exactly what you're saying, Christo, how crucial it is, every word, what a nuance is, what -- you know, that you have that from someone who is not playing for the other side.
I want to replay the moment where Witkoff appears to meet his interpreter for the first time. Again, I played it briefly in the introduction, but Christo let me play it again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WITKOFF: Interpreter?
From the embassy? Okay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, he asks, from the embassy. So, it appears that's where it sees -- appears clear he's never met her before, and then he just says, okay. And then not knowing then who the person is sitting next to him.
How unusual is something like this?
GROZEV: No. Well, it's clearly unusual, and it's something that is in line with the unusual approach of this presidency to this particular negotiation, to any negotiation.
[19:30:03]
But again, the very idea that Mr. Witkoff may have been confused or fooled into believing that this particular interpreter was provided with the consent or by the American embassy, because that's the only way we can interpret that little line. Unfortunately, the kremlin published this video, and they haven't published the full scope of the video.
But the very idea, the suspicion that Mr. Witkoff may have assumed that that's his ally, his own interpreter, and that he was led to believe that, again, shows how much of a disadvantage he was in, in that situation. And the body language and the fact that that interpreter stayed on his side of the table does suggest that he may have believed that.
BURNETT: Right, right. We don't know what they said, whether they said, oh, no, we just have her for you. And he said, okay, we just -- we don't know what happened in that -- in that conversation. It is, though, of course, stunning.
And Christo, I encourage everybody to read all of your incredible reporting on this and so many other topics.
Christo Grozev, thank you.
And next, why did Trump cave to China on trade? The head of the largest port in the United States is here with me next on what it means.
Plus, the jury in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs seeing graphic video today of Combs beating and dragging his then girlfriend as she is preparing tonight to take the stand.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:35:59]
BURNETT: Breaking news, stocks soaring after a big breakthrough on U.S.-China tariff negotiations. U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will be cut from 145 percent to 30 percent. Now obviously, that's a massive cut. 30 percent, though, is still a huge number. It's higher than Smoot-Hawley on average. The 1930 law, which raised tariffs and sparked a global trade war, deepened the great depression and is blamed by many for the beginning of a world war.
And for now, the pause on the tariffs such that it is, is a 90-day pause for more negotiation. The chief Asia economist at capital economics tells "The Wall Street Journal" tonight, quote, China has successfully called Trump's bluff. And while Trump, of course, is celebrating, the deal is a big win.
The Chinese line on social media fits more in line with what that economist says. Quotes, like Trump chickened out. Trump kneeled. China rejected Americas tariff bullying and pushed the U.S. to the negotiating table. Well done China. Nicely played.
OUTFRONT now, Gene Seroka, he is the executive director of the port of Los Angeles, which is the busiest port in the United States. You know, our Nick Watt has been going to the port, you know, again and again over days and talking to workers as you started to see the dramatic drop off right, in cargo, you know, with numbers. And then it became reality at your port.
So, you know, we've got new video of the port tonight. Obviously, it's not as busy as usual. Now, nobody expected Trump to do this, right? To just back off and drop it by the amount that he did.
So, I guess the question to you is this, how bad was it that he did something this dramatic?
GENE SEROKA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORT OF LOS ANGELES: Well, Erin, I think the conversation really got amplified by the media, by folks in the industry, people that went and visited Washington. And when you saw the stark reality of cargo, with the biggest port dropping by more than 30 percent last week, slamming on the brakes, China cargo, I think it got a lot of people's attention.
BURNETT: So when you're looking at that 30 percent drop, okay, I mean that's a whole -- that's a -- that's a world you probably never expected to see again. When I say again, covid would have been the only other time you would have seen it.
What -- now that this has been announced, you're getting this drop from 145 to 30. Thirty is still massive. You know, if we were at the beginning of April talking about 30, it would have been really bad. But when it was 145, it doesn't sound so bad, but it's a 90-day delay sort of. Does that change the world?
SEROKA: I don't think so. And, Erin, 30 percent is on top of other pieces that have been added, right? So now where we find ourselves is that's a little bit elevated still for a lot of people. And 90 days is not a long time in our industry. Now, there may be some products that really have to get out. Think of medical supplies, cancer, drugs, some other things.
But what I'm getting back from Los Angeles today, and we're still only hours into digesting this, is that folks are doing the math. What does it mean if I buy now? Is it better than if I had to cancel.
BURNETT: Say, back to school, say, Christmas, all those orders.
SEROKA: Summer fashions as well. Is that right? And may is traditionally the time when all those purchase orders go in for Christmas and year-end holidays. Some people are going to make some pretty big bets right now.
BURNETT: Right. And it can be kind of scary.
All right. So, I got my whiteboard out. We've been doing this.
So, the Budget Lab at Yale, so this is even after this announcement. So, you're going from 145 to 2 percent to 30 percent. They are still saying that the average prices are going to go up by 2 percent, okay, in the long run.
And that to them they say that this is going to be the average middle class family's increase per costs per year is $2,337. That's the increase in cost. That's with this dramatic decline from 145 percent to 30 percent. That's still a massive amount of money.
SEROKA: Every retailer I talked to said they're going to do their level best to pass on the tariff cost to the consumers. Parts suppliers are saying, I'm going to pass it on to the factory.
Now, obviously there's some work to do around trying to find efficiencies. And maybe if the company can use a little bit of margin compression in that equation, they will try to, but it's going right through.
BURNETT: So, it's going right through. So they're not trying to eat it. I mean, I know some of the car manufacturers with really big price increases are trying to eat some of it. But if you're low margin retail business you can't.
[19:40:01]
So then, where do we go from here? I mean, you talk about -- and you know, Dan Ives has been in here. He's been tracking this data every single week and seeing the drop. And we've been seeing the ghost ships, right, are -- they, you know, they've been skipping port because there's nothing to pick up so that they're continuing on their sale route, but half empty or less than that.
What are the ships look like that are coming into port?
SEROKA: Well, there are fewer than they were. So we're going to welcome 16 ships again this week to Los Angeles, 11 of those will have made a port call in China, but another four from China have been completely canceled. So, by the end of this month, we'll be down 20 percent in the number of ship calls and probably about 25 percent in the volume of cargo.
All that means is less jobs on the docks, the truckers and the warehouse folks. And that happens right away.
BURNETT: And that happens right away. So where are we on that in terms of the job loss? I mean, this is the intermodal industry, right? When you have a cargo container come in, it can be popped right onto a train and can move or a truck. What's happening?
SEROKA: It lagged by a week, but we started to get a glimpse of this last Friday. There were maybe 300, 400 dock workers that didn't go out to their normal jobs last Friday. We had only eight ships in port. Over the weekend, six and seven. Today was nine ships.
So there are fewer job opportunities for the dock workers. This week, we'll start to see the truckers haul fewer containers. If they were hauling 4 or 5 per day last week, it's probably going to be 2 or 3 this week. The volume drop was that precipitous.
BURNETT: And an immediate income impact on all these jobs.
SEROKA: Absolutely.
BURNETT: All right. Gene, thank you very much. Really appreciate your time and giving us these details and the numbers.
Gene Seroka, as we said, head of the largest port in the United States, port of Los Angeles.
And next, disturbing testimony today in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, accusations of violence and so-called freak offs as the prosecution's star witness, Diddy's ex-girlfriend is preparing tonight to take the stand.
And an incredible moment at the Vatican today. Our reporter tells us firsthand what happened to him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [19:46:37]
BURNETT: Breaking news, riveting testimony and disturbing new details about alleged freak offs as they were called in the federal trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs. On the stand today, a man who prosecutors say paid thousands to have sex with his longtime girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, revealing he felt Ventura was in real danger, that he saw Combs attack her twice. The jury showed surveillance video first published by CNN, and our Elizabeth Wagmeister of Combs in a hotel violently beating and kicking Ventura.
Combs arrived in court with a Bible appearing to read scriptures surrounded by family, including six of his children. His lawyer claiming that this was all consensual and part of his, quote/unquote, different sex life. He faces life in prison if convicted.
Now, Elizabeth Wagmeister has been inside that courtroom all day, and tonight she is OUTFRONT. I do want to warn you that this report is graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Even before singer and model Cassie Ventura testifies against 55-year-old Sean Combs, her former boyfriend of more than a decade, she was front and center in the prosecution's opening statement, as they described how Combs forced her to participate in his drug fueled freak offs, saying half of every week, Cassie was in a dark hotel room, high and awake for days performing sex acts she did not want to on male escorts.
Prosecutors allege Combs used his power and fame as a leading hip hop artist to sexually abuse women from 2004 to 2024, including Ventura and a Jane Doe witness who will testify. Prosecutors said that on one occasion, Combs forced a male escort to urinate in Ventura's mouth until she felt like she was choking.
One of the first prosecution witnesses to take the stand, a man paid to have sex with Ventura said that another time, Ventura seemed drugged, slumped over, half on the couch, half off the couch. As combs told him, I don't think this is going to happen today.
It was Ventura seen on this surveillance video, first published by CNN, being kicked and dragged by Combs in a Los Angeles hotel. The prosecution says after one of the alleged freak offs in 2016.
If Cassie didn't do what the defendant wanted, the consequences were severe, the prosecution said.
Combs' attorney countered, calling the video overwhelming evidence of domestic violence. He's charged with running a criminal enterprise, she said domestic violence is not sex trafficking. The defense, calling the couple's relationship complicated, and that Ventura was uncontrollably jealous of Combs' infidelity.
SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS, DEFENDANT: I was in a dark place.
WAGMEISTER: Six years after the hotel incident, Combs thanked Cassie on stage at the 2022 BET Awards.
COMBS: Also, Cassie, for holding me down in the dark times. Love.
WAGMEISTER: That speech called out the following year in Ventura's 2023 civil suit against Combs. For Ms. Ventura, the dark times were those she spent trapped by Mr. Combs in a cycle of abuse, violence and sex trafficking.
Combs denied the allegations and the case was quickly settled with no admission of wrongdoing.
In opening statements today, his attorney portrayed the civil suit as a cash grab. How many millions of reasons does the witness have to lie?
Many of Ventura civil allegations are expected to come out in the criminal trial, like when Ventura was on a break from combs and began a flirtatious relationship with an actor whom CNN has now learned is Michael B. Jordan.
[19:50:12]
In her suit, she alleges Combs called the actor and threatened him. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges he faces, including racketeering conspiracy, transportation to engage in prostitution and sex trafficking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Elizabeth, you were in court all day today, and I know that Combs had a bible with him. You were able to observe him. I mean, what was his demeanor during this testimony, which, as you describe it, was frankly, so deeply disturbing and horrific.
WAGMEISTER: The testimony was incredibly graphic, Erin, and Combs was very engaged. At one point during opening statements, he stood up and faced the jury. He almost looked like he was a star student, right? Standing up very quickly to address them so they can really see him as a human.
But, Erin, look, you know that this case has been all over the tabloids. And even though the jury is being firmly instructed to only pay attention to the evidence in court, his defense knows what they are going up against. They know that these 12 jurors and six alternates likely have read a lot about this case.
And I want to read you a direct quote from my notebook in court, Erin. His lead defense attorney, said, quote, you may know of his love of baby oil, but she asked, is that a federal crime? No. So they know about the memes. They know what people are saying. And in their opening statements, they were getting right in front of this, Erin.
BURNETT: Yeah. All right. Elizabeth, thank you so much.
And coming up tonight on CNN, Laura Coates "LAURA COATES LIVE" is going to have a special hour of coverage on the Diddy trial starting at 11:00 Eastern.
And next, a special reporter's notebook. Our longtime Vatican correspondent, Christopher Lamb, is going to take us along for an incredible meeting with the pope.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:38]
BURNETT: Tonight, Pope Leo XIV, entering the papal apartment for the first time after removing the seals that had been placed there that barred anyone from entering since Pope Francis's death three weeks ago. It comes as the pope met with journalists earlier, including our own Christopher Lamb, longtime Vatican reporter who got his chance to be face-to-face with Pope Leo, and who is OUTFRONT tonight with this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: The first American pope meeting today with journalists, thousands in Rome to cover the conclave that elected him.
POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH: Thank you for this wonderful reception. They say when they clap at the beginning, it doesn't matter much. If
you're still awake at the end and you still want to applaud, thank you very much.
LAMB: Leo joked in English. But then delivering a serious message, expressing solidarity with journalists who are imprisoned, calling for their release and emphasizing the importance of a free press.
LEO: I am thinking of those who report on war, even at the cost of their lives, the courage of those who defend dignity, justice and the right of people to be informed. Because only informed individuals can make free choices.
LAMB: Not all his predecessors have spoken as passionately about freedom of the press, but this has shifted in recent decades. Pope Francis, a strong defender who gave many interviews.
After speaking, Leo came down from the platform to greet a group of journalists individually. I was among them. I joked that I was now White Sox fan. The baseball team Leo supports and even cheered for in person at game one of their World Series victory in 2005.
Another reporter asking if ;eo would play a game of tennis doubles. I play, but not well, he replied. I'll bring Agassi. One reporter said, just don't bring sinner, the pope replied, referencing the top men's player in the world, Jannik Sinner.
Leo said he wasn't planning to make a trip home to the U.S. soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a new pope.
LAMB: But was happy to hear on the radio that since his election, more people were going to the cathedral in Chicago. The pope also heard saying today I'm still learning.
I had met Leo once before when he was Cardinal Prevost. He struck me as thoughtful and a good listener. Today it was the same.
Leo is the second pope that I've met. Francis and Leo with the same accessible and pastoral manner and a good sense of humor.
But Leo has his own style -- methodical, measured, and who takes his time before making interventions.
Despite all the attention, Leo still maintaining a low key approach. Reluctant, unlike Francis to take selfies. But whether he likes it or not, Papa Leone is fast becoming a star.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAMB (on camera): Well, Erin, you and I were together witnessing that historic moment when Pope Leo was announced to the world. The first American pope. And in that moment, I was struck by how thoughtful, methodical, perhaps, and gracious he was.
He had, of course, prepared his speech. We know after that white smoke had come out, and today I felt the same when I saw Pope Leo in the Vatican. He had a strong message about defending freedom of the media, standing up for journalists who are persecuted or imprisoned.
But he has his own style. He's approachable, has a good sense of humor, and I think he's clearly going to make a big impact -- Erin.
BURNETT: Yeah, thank you so much, Christopher. Incredible to see in a person that strength and humility can go so inextricably together.
Thanks so much to all of you for joining us.
"AC360" starts now.
