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Israeli Cabinet Approves Gaza Emigration Proposal; U.S. Meets with Russian Officials; D.C. Appeals Court Holds Hearing on Alien Enemies Act; Trump Meets with Cabinet and Musk. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired March 24, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We're getting new details right now about a very controversial proposal that has now been approved by the Israeli government. Proponents say it would facilitate Palestinian emigration from Gaza. Critics warn and it could amount to what they call ethnic cleansing.

Let's go live to Jerusalem right now. CNN Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond is monitoring what's going on. Jeremy, you also have some new reporting on Israel's military plans.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Wolf. As the Israeli military continues to escalate its attacks in Gaza over the course of the last week, the military is also now making plans for a much wider military offensive on the ground in Gaza, one that could potentially involve tens of thousands of troops going into Gaza to clear areas of Hamas militants and then occupy those areas potentially for months or even years. This would involve as many as five divisions of Israeli troops or some 50,000 Israeli troops.

It is important to note, however, that this is just one scenario being considered by Israeli officials, and in fact, one of my sources told me that part of the reason these plans are being leaked now is to try and put more pressure on Hamas at the negotiating table as the Egyptian and Qatari mediators worked furiously to try and revive a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli officials have previously indicated, of course, that if Hamas agrees to release additional hostages, then Israel would consider going back to a month or two-month long ceasefire which, of course, Israel broke last week when it launched a series of massive airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Now, while previously we've seen Israeli ground defensive that have gone into certain areas, cleared those areas, and then left them only to have Hamas reemerge, the idea of this plan would be to have the Israeli military stay in those areas, setting up a potential long-term occupation and Israeli troops fighting an insurgency for the long- term.

All of this, Wolf, happening as the Palestinian ministry of health is reporting yet another grim milestone in Gaza. More than 50,000 Palestinians have now been killed by the Israeli military attacks on Gaza over the course of the last year and a half. As I noted, efforts are underway to try and revive that ceasefire, but so far Wolf, no word on any clear traction for a potential deal. Wolf.

BLITZER: And that number is being released by Hamas groups in the Gaza Strip, right?

DIAMOND: Well, the 50,000 number is from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. Indeed, Hamas is in charge of Gaza. Previously, other independent organizations have verified those figures, including U.S. of officials. But of course, Wolf, broader questions have been raised about those numbers by Israelis who don't necessarily dispute the total number, although they do dispute the breakdowns, for example, of women and children in those figures. Wolf.

BLITZER: Interesting. All right. Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem. Thank you very much. I want to continue the conversation right now and what's going on. Joining us retired U.S. General Wesley Clark, he's the former NATO supreme allied commander. General Clark, thanks so much for joining us.

[10:35:00]

As you know, Israel is intensifying its military operations inside Gaza right now. Hamas is fired rockets at various targets inside Israel. Is there a realistic chance the ceasefire can resume anytime soon?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER AND FOUNDER, RENEW AMERICA TOGETHER: Well, I think there's a realistic chance. I think it could resume, but I don't think it will last. I don't think -- unless Hamas completely disestablishes itself, turns itself in, asks for amnesty, surrenders, apologizes, releases all the hostages, et cetera, this is going to continue. Israel is not going to allow Hamas to claim its survival as a victory. And so, it's not going to be able to survive this.

And you can see with the Israeli plan here they couldn't have done a 10-division occupation before because they had problems on their -- in the Lebanese front, but that's been resolved largely at this point. Iran is weakened. And so, now they can turn their full attention into Gaza with a permanent occupation. It's a very bad thing for Gaza, obviously, but Israel is not going to allow a hostile force to survive in Gaza.

BLITZER: Yes, the Israelis are also focusing in on the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, as we all know as well. I want to quickly turn, General Clark, while I have you, to what's going on in the talks between Russia and Ukraine. The talks going on in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. envoy, Steve Witkoff, says he expects real progress this week. What could that actually look like?

CLARK: I don't know, Wolf. It doesn't look to me like, as I watch these talks, that there is real progress being made. I think they're going to talk about the maritime situation. But as Witkoff said over the weekend, the real issue is, can Ukraine -- will Ukraine admit that it's lost permanently these oblasts of Donbas and Crimea? Will it admit this? And if so, Zelenskyy, can he survive as the president? And all my readings from various sources in Ukraine say, no. They're not going to give up their land.

And so, it's going to turn into sort of President Trump trying to pressure the Ukrainians to exceed to Russian conquest on the ground. In other words, give the land to the aggressor. And there's so much more associated with this than just the land. There's the abductions of the children. There's the reparations. There's the human rights violations, the war crimes. This is not something that looks to me like it's going to resolve anytime soon.

I hope there will be a maritime agreement. I'd sure like to see the bombing of the civilian centers stopped by the Russians. And if Ukraine has to stop that, fine. But even those details haven't been worked. This is going to require a lot of effort. I hope it happens. It doesn't look like it's that easy and not that quick.

BLITZER: It's not easy by any means. As I mentioned, General Clark, you're a former NATO supreme allied commander. I want to ask you a specific question about the situation right now in Turkey, which is a member of NATO, U.S. ally. Thousands of people have been protesting over the jailing of a key opposition leader in Turkey. What impact does it have on the NATO alliance when there are nations right now and NATO allies that appear to be turning away from democracy like Turkey?

CLARK: Yes, that's a very chilling effect on the alliance. And I'm sure that France and Germany and the other nations would really appreciate it if Turkey came in and said, we're going to help on Ukraine. But if Turkey says this, and they did say it at one point, and it -- with the turn away from democracy in Turkey, it makes it really hard to accept the support of Turkey. And it raises a lot of questions in Europe. It should raise a lot of questions in the United States too.

BLITZER: Yes, they've really taken some steps that are very, very disturbing. General Wesley Clark, thank you very much for joining us.

And just ahead putting checks and balances to the test. We're only hours away from another Trump administration legal showdown. Lots coming up. Stay with us. You're in the Situation Room.

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[10:40:00]

BLITZER: We're just a few hours away from a key hearing in the Trump administration's latest very high-profile showdown with the judiciary as part of an ongoing legal battle. One prominent retired judge fears all of this could explode into a full-blown constitutional crisis.

In an op-ed in the New York Times, J. Michael Luttig writes this, and I'm quoting him right now. Look at this. "President Trump has wasted no time in his second term in declaring war on the nation's federal judiciary. He has provoked a constitutional crisis with his stunning frontal assault. The casualty could well be the constitutional democracy Americans fought for in the Revolutionary War," close quote. Joining us now is trial and compliance attorney Seth Berenzweig. Seth, thanks so much for joining us. First of all, do you share Judge Luttig's concerns?

SETH BERENZWEIG, TRIAL AND COMPLIANCE ATTORNEY: Well, I hugely respect the judge. I have actually argued in front of him in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. So, I have deep respect. I respectfully disagree with this. I don't think that we're headed towards a constitutional crisis.

[10:45:00]

I view the actions of the executive branch to really follow along the traditional aspects of federal compliance and immigration law. So -- and I think that that's where we're going to end up. Certainly, regardless of what happens in this historic hearing today here in Washington, will probably end up in front of the Supreme Court, but will always be within the judicial guardrails and due process under the Constitution.

BLITZER: So, you have full confidence that the Trump administration will honor all the judicial decisions?

BERENZWEIG: I believe that they will, because, ultimately, I believe that they have a good argument. As a crack in my crystal ball, I don't know exactly what's going to happen other than that we'll probably end up in front of the Supreme Court in a few weeks, regardless.

But it's important in the analysis to recognize that where we start is under the traditional authority of the executive branch and specifically DHS to have a process known as expedited removals. And under this process people who are here illegally, that have no legal standing, that have demonstrated propensity to violence, that are affiliated with the designated terrorist organization, they're not even entitled as a matter of federal law to traditional due process.

And under these DHS procedures, which have been fully published in the Federal Register, the executive branch, especially related to national security, has the inherent powers to do that even before we get to the Alien Enemies Act, which is also a big part of this case.

So, it'll be a close call, but I think that certainly the administration has good faith arguments and a lot will happen later this afternoon.

BLITZER: We will see fairly soon. The IRS meanwhile is nearing a deal with Homeland Security that would allow ICE to use the tax data to locate people at -- people it suspects of living in the country illegally. It's a move that privacy experts say would violate disclosure laws. Is that the case?

BERENZWEIG: Well, I think that that is something that the administration, again, will have a certain degree of latitude over whether or not there is a reasonable expectation in data privacy is something that is really very case dependent. If it's something that's administered through public channels there is arguably a lesser level of an expectation of privacy from a constitutional perspective. But it really is an interesting question because it circles back to the administration's inherent authority to administer matters of national security, which they've had a traditional deference over.

Particularly I think when the United States Supreme Court takes a look at this, which they probably will shortly, they will see that regardless of whether we go through the Alien Enemies Act or through more traditional means that DHS can employ, there really is inherent authority. And it's important because I -- there's a lot of people in the United States, and it's been reflected in the result of the election, where this is really consistent with popular opinion.

So, there's going to be a lot of activity and what's going to be happening in the courtroom at 1:30 this afternoon is going to be very interesting. It's designated for an hour. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes over and we'll have a decision from the D.C. Federal Court of Appeals very, very soon.

BLITZER: Yes, we'll be watching. Seth Berenzweig, thanks so very much for joining us.

BERENZWEIG: You bet.

BLITZER: I want to take a moment right now to honor and pay tribute to Mia Love who died yesterday after a battle with brain cancer. When she was elected to Congress back in 2014 to represent Utah, she made history as the first black Republican congresswoman. After leaving Congress, she joined CNN as a political commentator and was a frequent guest on my show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. REP. MIA LOVE (R-UT), CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Republicans have a challenge that they haven't had in a very long time, and certainly not at this magnitude. One of the things that Republicans are going to have to deal with, especially on the campaign trail, is not just Democrats going after Republicans, but also Republicans going after Republicans. In both (ph) president, it's going to (INAUDIBLE) possibly can to get into these races, not to hurt Democrats, but to actually go after Republicans who voted against him in impeachment, who weren't -- not just weren't with him -- against him -- not just those who were against him in impeachment, but those who actually weren't with him 100 percent of the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Back in 2022, she was diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer. In a statement announcing her death, her family wrote this, and let me read it to you. At least in part, in the midst of a celebration of her life and an avalanche of happy memories, Mia quietly slipped the bands of mortality and as her words and vision always did soared heavenward.

Mia Love was 49 years old. My deepest, deepest condolences to her family. May she rest in peace and may her memory be a blessing. And we'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

BLITZER: Happening now. The Dow is rallying big time on reports that President Trump's reciprocal tariffs may be more limited than previously thought. Look at this. The Dow is up now 542 points. That's significant. I want to go live to CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich who's monitoring all of this. What more are you learning about the plan for reciprocal tariffs, first of all?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And Wolf, you see there investors breathing a sigh of relief because the president is signaling that there is some flexibility around his reciprocal tariff plan that was set to go into effect on April 2nd. You can see markets right there. You have the Dow up more than 500 points, the NASDAQ up more than 2 percent, and you have the S&P above 1.5 percent.

[10:55:00]

And for the past several weeks, Wolf, the administration has been signaling reciprocal tariffs on any country that hits the U.S. with their own tariffs on goods and products. But according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg the tariffs that are set to go into effect on April 2nd now could be significantly paired back. It may only start with hitting about 15 countries. Something that secretary Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, said what hit 15 countries that he calls the Dirty 15, those are countries he believes do not play fair in terms of trade with the U.S.

And they may not be product specific anymore. So, they may not hit those industries like copper, lumber, pharmaceuticals. Last week, the E.U. said that they were pausing their tariffs on the U.S. pushing it back to mid-April. The U.S. and Canada and Mexico still negotiating what tariffs may look like.

This all comes with a caveat, though, Wolf, this could change at any time. These tariffs on April 2nd are not finalized just yet, and we know the president oftentimes changes his mind very quickly. So, we'll have to wait and see exactly what plays out on April 2nd. Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll see how he reacts to these market rising developments today. Thanks very much. Vanessa Yurkevich reporting.

Coming up next -- in the next hour, President Trump meets with his cabinet and with his close ally, Elon Musk. A very surprise addition to the president's schedule. We're keeping a close eye on that upcoming cabinet meeting. Stay with us. You're in the Situation Room.

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