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Quest Means Business
Stormy Daniels Testifies In Trump Hush Money Trial; Israel Takes Control Of Palestinian Side Of Rafah Crossing; Ukraine Says It Foiled Zelenskyy Assassination Plot; President Biden Speaks At Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony; TikTok Sues To Block Prospective U.S. App Ban; Stormy Daniels Testimony To Continue Thursday. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired May 07, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:18]
JIM SCIUTTO CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: The woman at the center of Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial took the stand today revealing sometimes
intimate details about their encounter long before his election.
Hello, I'm Jim Sciutto outside the Manhattan Criminal Court.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And I am Paula Newton in New York. The US has just completed construction of the humanitarian pier off the
Gaza shore just as Israel's incursion into Rafah cuts off aid deliveries and ceasefire talks continue. We will have all of that more later in this
hour.
SCIUTTO: We begin though with Stormy Daniels testifying in vivid detail about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump at a golf tournament in 2006.
She is now facing cross examination by defense attorneys.
During her testimony, Daniels said she met Trump in his hotel room before a dinner date. She said they discussed the adult film industry and that Trump
invited her to appear on "The Apprentice," which of course he was then hosting.
Daniels said they then had sex and that she left quickly afterwards. The jury was shown this photo of the two of them at that golf tournament.
Daniels said she was threatened five years later by a man in a parking lot who told her to stop telling her story. Even so, she said her publicist
wanted to make money from it during Trump's presidential campaign.
During cross examination by defense attorneys, Daniels told Trump's lawyers that she hates him, and wants him to be held accountable.
Katelyn Polantz is in Washington and Katelyn, I think we should begin with those early moments in her testimony when she described in vivid detail
that sometimes went further than the judge clearly wanted to hear about the nature of that encounter back in 2006.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, at times, according to our reporters in the courtroom, Jim, she was even showing with
her arms and legs in different positions showing how this encounter took shape describing the scene, describing the bed, describing Donald Trump and
what she saw, what she remembered from that sexual encounter many years ago, that provided Donald Trump's defense team an opportunity to ask for a
mistrial, asking the judge to toss out the whole case saying that the jury has heard too much.
the judge has refused to do that and says that the jury will be given some instruction about how to think about Stormy Daniels' testimony, some
limiting instructions for them as they go into deliberation. So that was an opportunity for the defense team that ultimately failed for them to derail
this trial.
Now, Trump's defense team is digging in on the cross examination of Stormy Daniels.
Susan Nechele still has Stormy Daniels on the stand and she is questioning her quite aggressively, making statements that are questions, yes or no
answers. Stormy Daniels could provide some of the examples of this, are really pointing to Stormy Daniels' motivation, the reliability of the story
she told hold about Donald Trump, how that may have changed in different avenues as she became public about it.
Questions like, you've been making money by claiming to have had sex with President Trump for more than a decade. Stormy Daniels did admit that that
is something that happened.
She had also asked -- the defense lawyer also pointed out that Stormy Daniels was learning that a story about President Trump that doesn't
include sex will not make any money and Stormy Daniels did acknowledge that that was the case, stories she has been telling with more sex in them have
garnered her more financial benefits throughout the years.
And then she asks, isn't it a fact that what you said was depending on who would pay you money. Now, Stormy Daniels says that wasn't the case and she
is not making up her allegations of this sexual encounter with the former president many, many years ago, but there is much that is being highlighted
for the jury now, not just how Stormy Daniels told this story over the years, what benefits she had, money she made from it, a book that she sold;
also, the desire that both she and Michael Cohen, a very likely coming witness in this trial, have in wanting to see Donald Trump go to jail and
Stormy Daniels says that is not what is happening here, she is just telling her story.
But that is something, that is a question that the defense team has been able to suggest to the jury or in front of the jury before the judge cut it
off and said, that should be objected to. That is sustained -- Jim.
[16:05:10]
SCIUTTO: Katelyn Polantz, thanks so much.
Yes, we should note that the court is taking a brief afternoon break now.
Trump gestured to his attorney several times, while Daniels was testifying on the stand, prompting his lawyer. to then raise objections. Judge Juan
Merchan sustained some of them telling prosecutors at one point, "The degree of detail we are going in to here is just unnecessary," detail that
is about the nature as Stormy Daniels was recounting of their sexual encounter.
Even so, as Katelyn referenced, the judge denied the defense's motion for a mistrial. They had argued that Daniels' testimony was prejudicial, given
some of those details. The judge told them he would limit later what the jury can consider.
Jerry Goldfeder is an election and campaign finance attorney.
Good to have you on.
So let me ask you what you heard today that is relevant to the charges in this case. Stormy Daniels is on the stand, in effect to say there was a
sexual encounter and this was a story that Trump wanted as the election approach covered.
Did the prosecutors establish that portion of their cases this with this witness?
JERRY GOLDFEDER, ELECTION AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE ATTORNEY: Well, the relevant -- it is good to be with you -- the relevant part of the story here is that
Trump paid her $130,000.00 to keep quiet and what we are getting through her testimony is the color of the relationship.
She testified in great detail about the room, the conversations, the tryst itself, and I think that the defense is trying to pick apart her story, but
the general outline of her story, I think holds true and I think the jurors will see that.
But what is really, really important here is that irrespective of little nitpicking problems with her testimony or other people's testimony is that
the heart of the matter is that Trump and his cohorts paid her $130,000.00 to be quiet and they did that by unlawful means. They covered it up,
falsifying business records with the intent to influence the presidential election.
That is really what this is about. She adds color, it is always good for a jury to hear about the actual cause of the hush money payment but it is the
payment itself that is so critical.
SCIUTTO: Right. I mean, that is the prosecutor's argument here that Trump would not have paid that money during the campaign. One, if he didn't want
the story out, but two if there wasn't some substance behind the story.
The defense argument here is that it is Stormy Daniels who is about the money here and that she had incentive to, if not embellish, to make up the
story because she was making money from it. Ultimately, it is who the jury believes, I imagine.
GOLDFEDER: Well, even if she made this up, if he believed that this story was going to go public and even if he thought it was not true, which it is
hard to believe, but even if he thought it was not true, he paid her to be quiet.
So the hush money payments is not a crime, he is not being charged for that, but the hush money payment and the cover up using false invoices and
checks and whatnot for the purpose of influencing the election, that's really what the critical point here is irrespective of whether it happened
or it didn't happen.
Now, I think the jury will believe that it did happen because she seems to be a pretty credible witness here. But even if he thought that it -- even
if he disagrees with that, even if there is a narrative in his own head that it didn't happen, he paid the money and he paid the money for a reason
and that reason was to protect his family.
SCIUTTO: That is interesting point.
So what you're saying is that as far as the law is concerned, it is just that the money had to be paid and the intent to pay that money was to cover
up that story to some degree, whether or not the story was true?
GOLDFEDER: As a matter of law, yes. Now, obviously, if the jurors don't believe her story, that is going to impact the way they make a decision.
But as a strict legal matter, he paid the money, he covered it up with something in mind, which is to influence the election.
[16:10:10]
That's really what this case is about. That is really why he has been charged by the district attorney.
SCIUTTO: Right, and that's at the core of the felony charges, that is what raises those charges to the felony level.
Jerry Goldfeder, good to draw on your expertise.
GOLDFEDER: Same here.
SCIUTTO: Coming up next, our other main story of the day, the Israeli military campaign into Rafah. Paula Newton will be here after this break
with the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: At this hour, high-stakes discussions over the war in Gaza as Israel, moves forward with its military incursion in Rafah.
Now, in the past few hours, Hamas has said its negotiating teams have arrived in Cairo for talk on a ceasefire deal that would be in exchange for
the release of more hostages.
Now, Israel says significant differences do remain in terms of coming to an agreement. This, as we wait to see what the IDF's next move will be in
Rafah.
Hospital sources say at least 27 people were killed there since Monday evening and that includes women and children. Now, the IDF tanks rolled
through the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing early Tuesday.
The Israeli prime minister says is the operation must continue to ensure Hamas is defeated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The entrance to Rafah serves two main war goals: The return of our hostages and
the elimination of Hamas.
We have already proven in the previous release of the hostages, military pressure on Hamas is a necessary condition for the return of our hostages.
The Hamas proposal yesterday was intended to torpedo the entry of our forces into Rafah, it did not happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Jeremy Diamond is live for us in Jerusalem following all of this.
Jeremy, good to see you. why is this such a consequential move in terms of the Israeli military moving into that Rafah Crossing, and I want to say
that the defense minister really did link it to the ceasefire talks yet again, and I quote him now: "We will go and deepen the operation. This will
happen all over the Strip," he says ". in the south, in the center, and in the north."
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, listen Paula, there is no question that Israeli War Cabinet sees this military action in Rafah as having two
key purposes.
[16:15:00]
On the one hand, there is the military objective that they say as it relates to Hamas on the ground, but then there is also, of course, the
effect that they hope that this military action will have at the negotiating table, and that is that we've heard multiple officials now,
both the Israeli prime minister, the defense minister, also Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet all talking about the fact that this is intended
to try and use that military pressure to get the hostages home.
And what they mean by that, of course, is that they hope that it brings Hamas to a different position at the negotiating table.
You know, just over 24 hours ago, we learned that Hamas had accepted a new ceasefire proposal, but we have since learned of course that that proposal
is quite different from the one that Israel had tacitly agreed to, the one it had helped craft with Egyptian mediators.
And so, it is clear that there is still significant ground to be made up between these two parties, and there is a school of thought in the Israeli
War Cabinet right now that this military action in Rafah can perhaps help close the gap.
We have yet to actually see evidence of that being an effective strategy so far, but that is certainly the intention here.
What is very clear though at this point, in terms of that military action in Rafah is the impact that it is having on the people on the ground, not
only the fear and anxiety that has spread throughout the city of Rafah, where about 1.4 million people are currently residing, but also in terms of
the impact on humanitarian aid being able to get in.
Rafah has been well a lifeline to the people of Gaza during these seven months of war and currently, it is closed, closed because those Israeli
military operations are still ongoing in that area. Nothing is getting in or out, neither humanitarian aid nor people who are medically evacuating
who have used that crossing nor aid workers who have used that crossing to get in to Gaza.
And the Kerem Shalom Crossing not too far away, which has also been a major way point for security checks and for aid to get into Gaza also remains
closed days after Hamas fired rockets and mortars in that direction, killing four Israeli troops.
So if these closures persist, if they continue for much longer, you're going to see as humanitarian aid officials, warned severe impacts on the
ground to the people of Gaza.
There is no timeline yet for the reopening of those crossings, but American officials have said that the Israeli government has committed to reopening
Kerem Shalom, no sense of timeline on the reopening of Rafah.
NEWTON: Now, Jeremy, we will leave it there. I really do appreciate you though. You've been at this really now for almost 24 hours straight, and it
is not over yet.
Jeremy for us. thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Now, as we just heard Jeremy saying, of course, there is an issue with those humanitarian corridors. We want to get more from someone on the front
line when it comes to addressing Gaza's humanitarian needs.
Sean Carroll is president and CEO of ANERA, which stands for American Near East Refugee Aid and he joins us now from Ramallah in the West Bank.
Good to see you. Sean.
Can you address a couple of the concerns when it comes to Rafah. We were just hearing from Jeremy, but I want to get firstly, to the entry here from
Egypt that at this hour still remains closed. What impact will that have in the short-term?
SEAN CARROLL, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMERICAN NEAR EAST REFUGEE AID: Look, we are seeing what is happening on the ground exactly what we all warned would
happen, and that is that people are being forced to move yet again, without much warning. They are being forced to move to an area that can't really
accommodate them and on top of that, we've got both of the border crossings in the south closed. The evacuation zone that the Israeli Army declared
includes both of those crossings.
And so international humanitarian NGOs, the Biden administration had been asking for a plan to serve and protect civilians in the case of an
operation or incursion into the Rafah and that wasn't there.
And so we see medical evacuees not being able to leave, humanitarian aid workers, not being able to come in and worst of all, humanitarian aid not
being able to come in and that's the area that still has more than half of the Palestinians in Gaza crowded into that corner. And so everything we
feared is unfolding right before us.
NEWTON: Given Israel's warning that they will continue with this incursion, what can anyone do? We were just showing a map there that civilians were
asked to move from a red zone over to a so-called yellow zone. you see it there now.
I mean, is there any -- sorry, from the expanded humanitarian zone, we see white and yellow just to let our viewers know, they need to get out of that
Rafah Crossing right now, that red zone. Do you see any evidence that there is any humanitarian safe spaces being set up right now by the Israeli
government?
CARROLL: Well, not that were seeing and certainly not sufficiently and there isn't the infrastructure sufficiently.
[16:20:02]
When I was in Gaza in December, that's the area that I stayed in and it was -- there was some more space there, but it was already filling up and that
was one that was only a hundred, two hundred thousand Palestinians who had been displaced to the south, to Rafah; now, we have over 1.2 million ,and
so asking that number of people to go into that space, which is not very large to begin with, was already starting to get crowded months ago without
enough infrastructure to support the people who were already there, much less a significantly increased population of displaced persons.
And there is just no way that they catastrophe can be avoided.
NEWTON: I want to ask you about two other aid routes. Kerem Shalom, you heard Jeremy speak about that, and the US administration says that that is
supposed to open tomorrow, that would be Wednesday, and also the fact that the US just announced last hour that it had completed the humanitarian pier
off the coast of Gaza.
If either of those two things actually become operational in the next day or so, will that help alleviate the pressure?
CARROLL: No, of course, it will help alleviate that, those -- that needs to happen and Rafah and needs to open again and areas in the north needs to
open again and probably other crossings need to open again.
We are still nowhere near the amount of aid that needs to come in and with each day, that there isn't enough aid, then the need increases. And so you
can't just go back to what might have been expected before the war or to a slight increase in the average number of trucks and tons of aid coming in
each day, you have to see significant increases.
And to see significant increases, we need that new floating pier operational, we need Rafah and Kerem Shalom to open again and Erez to open,
and probably more, it is -- the humanitarian catastrophe and now moving from people dying in bombings and shelling to now dying unnecessarily
preventable deaths from disease and famine and malnutrition will be accelerated unless the aid, the amount of aid coming in is significantly
accelerated.
NEWTON: Yes, and certainly this halts it and some of the aid so far is not helping the situation at all.
Sean Carroll for us, appreciate the update.
Now to Ukraine where it says it has foiled a Russian plot to assassinate Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Two Ukrainian colonels have now been arrested. Prosecutors say they were working with Russia's state security service.
Fred Pleitgen has more now on this unfolding story.
And we will be right back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:25:50]
NEWTON: We want to return now to our developing story. Apologies for the technical difficulty. We will bring you the story of how Ukraine says it
has foiled a Russian plot to assassinate Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Our Fred Pleitgen has more now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, it certainly seems like a pretty big deal here for the Ukrainian Intelligence
Services that they thwarted this collaboration of two colonels who are working in the Ukrainian Secret Service with the Russians.
The Ukrainians are saying that these two are being accused of what the prosecutor's office calls, "subversive the activities against Ukraine in
exchange for financial compensation."
Now on the one hand, the Ukrainians said that these two colonels gave information to the Russians, but that there were also several assassination
plots, one of them against Ukraine's president, but apparently one of the two colonels also received a drone and ammunition for use in another plot,
possibly against the head of Ukraine's military intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov.
Now of course, the Ukrainians are blaming the Russians for all of this and this is happening on the day that Vladimir Putin was inaugurated into a
record fifth term in office. Here is what happened.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language)
PLEITGEN (voice over): Vladimir Putin making his own inauguration look so commonplace he takes time to finish a phone call.
ANNOUNCER: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin --
PLEITGEN: Before casually making his way to the grand ceremony inside the Kremlin. Those attending cheering him on as he ascends to a record fifth
term as Russia's leader.
(VLADIMIR PUTIN speaking in foreign language)
PLEITGEN (voice over): "As president of the Russian Federation, I swear to respect and protect the rights and freedoms of people and citizens, to
respect and protect the Constitution of the Russian Federation, to protect the sovereignty, independence, safety, and integrity of the state, to
loyally serve people," he swore while once again, blaming the West for a deteriorating ties with Moscow.
"The choice is theirs," he said, ". whether they intend to continue to try to restrain Russia's development, to continue a policy of aggression,
continuous pressure on our country for years, or to seek a path to cooperation and peace."
Putin urging the West to halt military support for Ukraine as he himself continues to send hundreds of thousands of his own citizens to fight there.
The Russian military unleashing a massive aerial bombing campaign on Chasiv Yar, making small gains here on the eastern front.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
PLEITGEN: "It is due to the active use of aviation," the Ukrainian commander says, ". attack aircraft carrying guided bombs. After the
upgrade, guided bombs began to hit more accurately than before, thus, it is much harder to influence them with electronic warfare."
(VLADIMIR PUTIN speaking in foreign language.(
(SOLDIERS cheering)
PLEITGEN: More than ever, Vladimir Putin[s presidency is defined by war, greeting his troops as part of the inauguration events.
His position strengthened his power nearly unchecked after a landslide victory in recent presidential elections. Putin has made clear he does not
intend to change course or to back down as he continues to steer his country on a confrontation course with the US and its allies.
His friend, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, proclaiming Putin de facto Russia's leader for life.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
PLEITGEN: "God grant that the end of the century marks the end of your stay in power," he says.
Russia's constitution says Putin could remain in power for another 12 years, but that is just on paper. In today's Russia, Putin makes the rules
and steers this country in the direction he wants.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Okay, so court has now adjourned for the day in the Donald Trump hush money trial. We want to go straight to Jim Sciutto who is outside that
Manhattan Courtroom, and Jim, what a day of testimony it has been.
[16:30:09]
SCIUTTO: Listen, a key witness, certainly one of the star witnesses, perhaps the star witness, Stormy Daniels, the adult film star at the center
of Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial has been on the witness stand. First, question in by prosecutors then cross-examination by defense
attorneys.
She told Trump's lawyers that she hates the former president, wants him to be held accountable. Earlier, she told prosecutors about that day in 2016
when she says she had a sexual encounter with Trump, Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, then paid her to keep quiet about it. The defense
moved unsuccessfully for a mistrial, arguing that some of the details Stormy offered on the witness stand went into too much detail.
Maria Cardona, Alice Stewart joining us now to walk us through the political effects of all this.
And Alice, I wonder, I know that among many on the right, they see this trial as fundamentally unfair as a partisan prosecution. To hear, though,
to hear an adult film star under oath testify to details of a sexual encounter with the former president while he was married, say that he
didn't care about that fact, to tell her that he and his wife slept in different beds, I mean, all those salacious details, is that damaging for
him or does it fall into the same bucket for many of his supporters and others on the right, that this is, well, politically motivated?
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: For his supporters, Jim, many of them knew all this, and I've heard all of this and process all this and
accepted it. And quite frankly, they didn't need to relive "50 Shades of Grey" to come to any conclusion on his 34 counts of falsifying business
records. His base, as we all know, believes what he says that this is a weaponization of the DOJ. This is overzealous prosecutors going after him
because he is the main challenger to President Biden, and they're not going to be moved by that at all.
But the big question now, Jim, as you know, his appeal now is not to his base. It's to independent voters and late-decided voters, and many of them
take exception --
SCIUTTO: Alice, just a moment. As you can see there Trump is speaking. Let's listen in to some of his comments.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- D.A., it's a disaster. This whole case is just a disaster. If you read the legal scholars you'll see,
because they're writing about it, they've never seen anything quite like it, and neither have I. I should be out campaigning right now. I'm leading
in all the polls. I'd like to be campaigning, would be leading by a lot more. But I just want to appreciate that. I appreciate the job you're
doing. It's not easy standing there all day waiting but you're hearing the same things that we're hearing.
On another matter, as you know, it's Biden's backers that seem to be funding the -- what's going on with the Palestinians. Probably not
Palestinians. The agitators, bad agitators. Really bad. And I think our government ought to find out who they are, where they're from, and treat
them the same way as they do the J-6 hostages. You've got to treat them the same way. These are agitators. They're really hurting our country.
It's happening all over the country and cities. We saw what happened last night at the Metropolitan Museum. These are agitators. And in some of the
colleges, I think it's about 20 percent students and 80 percent others so this is a big problem, and they better nip it in the bud. And it's a
problem from the left, not from the right. This is the problem from the left. And --
SCIUTTO: The courthouse behind me. Notably, he did not respond to Stormy Daniels testimony today alleging that sexual affair with him. He did say,
as he has often said, that this is a trial and as he often claims, though not truthfully, that all legal scholars view this case as on substantial.
In fact, many legal scholars view that the root of the case, at least substantial. He then also went on to make comments about protests here in
this country against the war in Gaza.
Apologies to you, Alice Stewart, because I interrupted you when you were first reacting to how, not just Trump's supporters, which as you and I have
discussed many times, are immovable on things that involve the former president. But for voters, for Republicans, do the details of what Stormy
Daniels was discussing today, do they matter to them, an extramarital affair that Donald Trump allegedly then paid to cover up?
STEWART: Again, not to his base. They know all this and have accepted it, and are standing by him regardless. But, again, the key here is these
undecided independent minded voters and those who haven't made up their mind yet, reminding them of this does cause some concern.
[16:35:02]
And look, many people aren't sitting there watching the day-by-day activities in the courtroom and they're going to get the final judgment of
the jury and look, you know, the fact that there's a trial may not impact them, but if there is a conviction in this case, if there is one, Jim, it
could, based on polling, it could be a game changer for some of those people because that point it becomes less about porn payments to a porn
star and more about someone who is potentially going to be the next president of the United States that has been convicted falsifying business
records.
SCIUTTO: Maria Cardona, President Biden has deliberately not waded into the circumstances of this case. He's made a decision on this and other case not
to not to comment on them as president. But I wonder, do you see that as the right decision as relates to this case, the details of this case, the
alleged affair, et cetera? Is President Biden making the right call to at least rhetorically stay out of it?
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Absolutely, Jim. Look, what we have heard today in court is definitely not something that in any way,
shape, or form is going to help Donald Trump with those voters that he needs to add to his support base in order to win the election. And in fact,
I think it's going to backfire. The details of this are so disgusting, so gross, so salacious, that I can't imagine that those suburban women who he
needs to win back, even commonsense Republicans, decent voters all around who are looking for someone in their commander-in-chief that they can look
up to and respect.
This is not somebody today that we saw in court that was being described by Stormy Daniels as someone that we can respect, and that is fit to lead the
greatest country in the world. And so I think in that respect, absolutely. I think this hurts him.
And Jim, if you are currently the commander-in-chief and you are locked in a tight race with this individual who was just described in court with all
those disgusting, salacious details of his alleged affair with a porn star, there's no way you would want to weigh in, there's no way that you'd need
to weigh in. I mean, he is doing all of the damage. She is doing all of the damage that needs to be done to, again, all of those voters and all of
those groups electorally that he, Donald Trump, would need to win back.
SCIUTTO: Maria Cardona, Alice Stewart, always good to have you on. Thanks so much.
CARDONA: Thank you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Another story we're following closely, TikTok sues to stop a law that could ban the app here in the U.S. How this sets up a historic legal
battle pitting free speech rights against national security concerns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:41:19]
NEWTON: Never again and never forgotten. In the past few hours, the U.S. president has addressed antisemitism in the United States, saying there is
no place for hatred in America. Joe Biden spoke at the Holocaust Memorial Museum's Days of Remembrance ceremony at the U.S. Capitol where he said
there was an obligation for Americans to learn the lessons of history and ensure past horrors are never repeated. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Never forgetting means we must keep telling the story, must keep teaching the truth, must keep teaching
our children and our grandchildren. And the truth is, we're at risk of people not knowing the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Kayla Tausche, she is at the White House with more on the president's somber address.
I mean, Kayla, we know the president wanted this to be a landmark speech and as worthy and necessary as all of his words are, what makes the White
House believed that anyone is listening? I mean, just today, we've had so much more action on student protests and certainly more protests on campus.
Certainly there's a generational divide there that the White House obviously acknowledges.
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There's a generational divide, Paula, and it's one that you heard the president alluded to when he
talked about disinformation and the need to know the truth, sort of obliquely referencing some of the misinformation that is being spread on
social media right now about what's happening at both in the Middle East and also on college campuses.
But I think to hear the administration say it, they would say that the president -- the only way to get people to listen is to speak in the first
place. And that is why the president is taking up this very somber Day of Remembrance and choosing this venue to deliver these remarks and to try to
draw the parallels between what is happening -- what has happened in Israel, what happened on October 7th and what happened in Europe during the
Holocaust, and sort of urging the public to heed the lessons of the past so that those atrocities can be prevented in the future.
He also established some sympathy for the Jewish community saying that he was with them and that they should not have to hide just because of who
they are and what religion they practice. Remember, Paula, this is a president who ran to unify the nation with deep divisions after the
pandemic, after the white nationalist rallies and Charlottesville, and after the insurrection of January 6th on Capitol Hill.
And so he is trying to be the president that can unify Americans. But as you very rightly put it, there are still very deep divisions in this
country.
NEWTON: Yes, not just generational, right, given what the administration has said, you've got Netanyahu saying that, look, never again is now. Just
quickly, your takeaway on -- if you sense any daylight between what the president has said about Israel and if he continues to stand by the country
resolutely.
TAUSCHE: Well, certainly the president behind closed doors has expressed his willingness to continue that steadfast support of Israel and of the
Jewish state and the U.S.' assistance in helping Israel to defend itself but certainly there has been some frustration within the administration
writ large within the State Department, within the National Security Council, over the way that Netanyahu has prosecuted this war.
So certainly that is not to say that every single person in the administration has agreed with every single decision that has been taken,
but that the president believes that the U.S. must continue supporting Israel. There's an important deadline coming up where the administration
must certify that Israel is in compliance with humanitarian laws and norms. And it remains to be seen exactly how they will proceed there.
[16:45:03]
NEWTON: OK. We'll wait to learn more of that. Kayla Tausche for us at the White House. Thanks so much.
Now TikTok is suing to block a U.S. law that would ban the app nationwide if it doesn't split from its Chinese parent company. TikTok is arguing the
legislation infringes on free speech, saying Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single-named speech platform to a permanent nationwide ban
and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than a billion people worldwide.
Clare Duffy has been following this for us.
TikTok promised they would do this, they would take this case to court. It has been successful for other companies, right? Especially when they're
using that First Amendment legislation.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Well, Paul, look, it's actually showing early signs of success, this approach for TikTok itself, in challenging
some of these statewide bans of TikTok that have been tried before this nationwide ban was signed into law. And the stakes here for TikTok are
huge. This bill could lead to a ban of TikTok in the U.S., which is one of its biggest market. It's 100 million American users.
And TikTok is claiming here that this bill infringes on the First Amendment speech rights of the platform and of those American users. Just as a
reminder, this bill would force TikTok to find a new American owner, spin off from its Chinese parent company ByteDance, or face a ban in the United
States. But the company is claiming that this bill really is just a ban and that if it's left to stand, left to stay in place, that it will lead to
TikTok being blocked in the United States starting in January of next year.
The company claims in this lawsuit that the divestiture required by this law, and I'm quoting here now, "is simply not possible," not commercially,
not technically, not legally, and certainly not on the 270-day timeline required by this act. TikTok is citing here, for example, the fact that the
Chinese government has said that it wouldn't allow TikTok to be sold with its recommendation algorithm, which is really the thing that makes this
platform so valuable. So TikTok saying it's not possible for us to be divested from ByteDance therefore this is a ban and a ban is
unconstitutional.
And what's interesting about this, Paula, is it's really going to set up the court to have to weigh the U.S. lawmakers' national security concerns
when it comes to TikTok over or sort of against the First Amendment rights of this platform and of its U.S. users. So I expect that we'll see this
legislature, this litigation, I should say, drag on for quite some time.
NEWTON: Yes. And that means the ban, if it is stayed, will obviously not come into effect for quite some time.
Clare Duffy for us, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Now a dramatic day of testimony over now, but Trump's lawyers say they will continue with their cross-examination of Stormy Daniels Thursday when the
trial is back in session.
Stay with us. Jim Sciutto was back from the courthouse.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial has now ended for the day. Stormy Daniels, the adult film star at the center of the
prosecution's case, is set to face more cross-examination when court comes back into session on Thursday. She detailed earlier her alleged sexual
encounter with Trump in 2006, lots of details, frankly. Defense thought her testimony was so detailed as to be prejudicial, they move for a mistrial.
The judge denied that motion.
Norm Eisen was inside the courtroom. He's with me now.
Norm, you had the initial questioning by prosecutors and then the cross- examination by the defense. Who won the day in the courtroom?
NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The witness provided benefits and headaches for both sides, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Right.
EISEN: But on the whole, the prosecution won the day.
[16:50:01]
Today was such a contrast to yesterday.
SCIUTTO: Right.
EISEN: Which was a dry day featuring accounting professionals talking about the second half of the case, the cover-up. But what's really interesting is
the alleged criminal campaign conspiracy. Stormy Daniels, the payment to Stormy Daniels is at the center of that. And I thought the prosecutors, it
was three yards in a cloud of dust. She was hard to control on direct, but then she turned out to be a pretty good witness on cross. She pushed back
very forcefully on Trump's counsel.
SCIUTTO: So prosecutors established the details, which at time, as we noted, were too much in terms of sexual detail for the judge, but he denied
the motion for mistrial. Effectively it becomes in the courtroom a he said- she said where she says and under oath, we should note, that there was a sexual encounter. The defense attorneys attempt to poke holes in that. Is
it as simple as that legally, it comes down to who the jury believes on that point?
EISEN: Stormy Daniels' testimony in a sense about the affair.
SCIUTTO: Right.
EISEN: In 2006, sexual encounter is a more accurate way to describe it, that she claims occurred. Trump denies it. In a sense that's ancillary to
the case. This case is about document falsification, 34 counts, and they're a felony because they were allegedly done to cover up another crime. These
2016 alleged campaign interference crimes. This just gives context and it explains why Trump, the prosecution claims, had to pay off Stormy in '2016.
SCIUTTO: So -- and another lawyer, legal analyst earlier in the hour made this point to say that as long as the payment took place and as long as the
payment was intended to cover up that story to influence the election, legally it doesn't matter whether or not the sexual encounter took place?
EISEN: Juries, even a jury like this one that has two lawyers on it, are not solely looking at the case through that technical lens. They will do
that. They will be instructed. They will apply the law to the facts. But they're also there to hear a story.
SCIUTTO: Right.
EISEN: And they would feel deprived if they had been told about this payment and never got to meet Stormy Daniels.
SCIUTTO: Understood.
EISEN: So I think, at a narrative level, even though she created some headaches for prosecutors by not answering the question that was asked
well, by going all over the map with some of these salacious details, ultimately it was another day of advancing the case for prosecutors.
SCIUTTO: And ultimately it comes down to who do they believe, do they believe her story of the encounter or Trump's denials. In terms of where we
are in the case now, I think it's safe to say somewhat surprising that Stormy Daniels was called today. There was some thinking maybe that would
be further down the line.
As far as the prosecution's case, there are witnesses, et cetera, are we further along in their case than perhaps we knew or expected?
EISEN: They said in the court yesterday that today would mark the mid-point of the case that they would have --
SCIUTTO: But they need two more weeks.
EISEN: Two more weeks to go. But there's a feeling of acceleration in that courtroom where the judge is moving the case very briskly. That's one of
Donald Trump's complaints, starting with he felt too fast of a selection of the jury. He never saw a delay in court that he didn't like, Jim. So, it
has that feeling of acceleration. The prosecution has not proven this case beyond a reasonable doubt. There are still intent elements that we need.
It's time for the star witness, Michael Cohen.
If he does as well on cross as Stormy Daniels did in the past couple hours, it was a ferocious attack, but she pushed back and she got stronger as the
day went on, then the prosecution is going to be very well-situated, but nobody can read the minds of those jurors.
SCIUTTO: Of course.
EISEN: Do they like her? Do they believe her? Do they believe?
SCIUTTO: Who do they believe more? Yes.
EISEN: Do they think this is fair or unfair. So very important.
SCIUTTO: And I imagine if we thought that cross-examination of Stormy Daniels was somewhat tough today, the cross-examination of Michael Cohen we
should expect to be tougher and then some.
EISEN: It will be like today. This was as tough of a cross. They came after, you have a bias, you said you hate Trump.
SCIUTTO: Said she hates him. Yes.
EISEN: Yes. You would dance if he was convicted. Yes. You owe him hundreds of thousands of dollars. You hope you won't -- he won't be able to collect
if he's convicted here. That motive.
SCIUTTO: Right.
[16:55:01]
EISEN: You changed your story. You denied this affair. You're motivated by greed.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
EISEN: It was a brutal cross but she -- it's not fun for a witness when that happens, but she showed real steel in responding to that. Sometimes
she got a little to defensive, but she was quite strong on cross.
SCIUTTO: Well, it seems fitting that we're just down the street of the setting of so many "Law and Order television stories with moments in cross-
examination and so on. It seems fitting to this case.
Norm Eisen, always good to have you there, particularly given you're inside the courtroom. We're going to be back after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Now this just in to CNN. Several U.K. airports say the nationwide system of electronic border gates is now down. Airports in Manchester and
London say they are working to minimize the disruption to passengers.
We'll bring you more information as we get it. We should say at this hour many people in airports really describing scenes of chaos and long lines.
All right, we do want to give you a quick recap of our two big stories today. The first, Stormy Daniels finally taking to the stand at the Donald
Trump hush money trial. She's detailed their alleged sexual encounter at a golf tournament in 2006. In fact, Daniels was too detailed by the defense's
standards they moved for a mistrial, saying her testimony was prejudicial. But the judge denied the motion. During cross-examination, Daniels said she
hates Donald Trump and wanted him held accountable.
And to our other big story we are following this hour, Israel's prime minister says the Israeli military will move forward with its -- incursion,
pardon me, into Rafah after taking control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.
That does it for our special coverage this hour. I'm Paula Newton. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts now.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: -- while the terrorist group has its own response CNN's Clarissa Ward is in Jerusalem. We're going to go to her live in a
second.
Plus President Biden today condemning the alarming rise of antisemitism in the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Too many people denying, downplaying, rationalizing, ignoring the horrors of the Holocaust and October 7th. It's absolutely despicable and it
must stop. Silenced.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Biden's comments as recent pro-Palestinian protests spill well beyond college campuses. One pro-Palestinian group even claiming that they
crossed the line into serious criminality and arson.
And leading this hour, Stormy Daniels on the stand going into detail about her alleged rendezvous with Donald Trump.
END
