Transcripts For CNNW The 20240703

Of a global pandemic. Carrico and wiseman were both professors at the university of pennsylvania. Executive Vice President of U Penn School of medicine said it has charned the world and indeed it has. Thanks for being with us. Id love to. The lead with jake tapper starts right now. Today donald trump called the judge overseeing his fraud case a trump hater. Im not sure that was a smart move. The lead starts rielg now. With millions of dollars on the line, and his future businesses in new york at stake, donald trump shows up for day one of His Civil Fraud Trial Blasting not only prosecutors, but insulting the very judge who will decide how much trump must pay in a case where hes already been found liable for fraud. And as trump pleads his case, here comes some shocking comments and a new warning from one of his former longest serving white house officials. This official going on the record setting the record straight only on the lead. Exclusively confirming a number of very damning details about donald trump himself. Plus, are the days numbered for Kevin Mccarthy as speaker of house . Republican congressman matt gaetz making some serious threats today. But will we see him follow through and will he have the votes . Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. And we start today with our Law And Justice lead. And donald trump turning a potentially devastating trial in new york no a campaign stop. The former president inside of the courtroom right now. Attending the first day of a civil fraud trial against him and the Trump Organization. But mr. Trump was not required to show up today, so why did he make an appearance . Mr. Trump, why did you want to be here in american today. Because i want to watch this witch hunt myself. This is a pure witch hunt for purposes of interfering with the elections of the United States of america. It is totally illegal. It is not totally illegal. It is perfectly legal and it is easy to see why donald trump is so unhappy about this trial in addition to the embarrassment, it hits at the core of the very identity that hes built up over decades. This image of a super wealthy, incredibly successful business man. Before the trial even started, the judge found trump and his codefendants liable for fraud. He already ruled they grossly inflated the values of their assets and properties for years. And that decision could spell the end of trumps Business Career in new york. That decision could cost him 250 million. If the new York Attorney general Letitia James who was also sitting in court today, just a few feet away from donald trump, gets her way. My message is simple. No matter how powerful you are, no matter how much money you think you may have, no one is above the law. And it is my responsibility and my duty and my job to enforce it. Now, if this notion of donald trump inflating his wealth, if it all sounds familiar, it is because this is not the first time mr. Trump has been caught lying about his wealth. You might remember in 2018, a former reporter for the magazine forbes came forward saying that trump phoned him way back in 1984 claiming to be his own spokesman, a guy named john barren. And john barron called this reporter to lie about Donald Trumps net worth. So that donald trump could secure a better place on forbes magazines list of forbes richest people. Here is just a snippet of the call. Here is john barren. Most of the assets have been consolidated to mr. Trump. Because you have trump, but i think you could use donald trump now and you could consolidate it. Now, the reason i even bring this old, old interview up is because it was raised in court today. One prosecutor said in his opening statement, while it may be one thing to exaggerate for forbes magazine, you cannot do it while Conducting Business in the state of new york. Now all of this, as a high ranking trump official goes on the record to me with his harshest criticism of trump to date. And in a warning about the threat trump seems to pose if elected in 2024 and that Exclusive Reporting is coming ahead an owe the lead. But we start in, in with cnns Brynn Gingras outside of the courthouse in new york city. What is happening in the courtroom right now . Reporter yeah, jake, well the states first witness is still on the stand. Dond bender was trumps and Trump Organization former accountant. Hes getting questioned about the state about particular Financial Statements which come into question for this entire trial. But lets begin with the Opening Statements which were earlier today on the states side, they basically presented a case to judge that trump and his sons and trump org, conspired together to commit years of fraud, inflating assets to get better interest rates, Better Business loans and essentially said they knew that they were doing, and theyre going to call a bunch of witnesses to the stand. One of them youre very familiar with, michael cohen. He will be called to the stand to show basically believe that they inflated these assets. If you remember, this whole case was brought based on Michael Cohens testimony to congress where he said, just that. Now on the defense side, the Defense Attorneys said what you already mentioned, that trump has made his billions off of a real estate Business Empire doing good business. And doing it by the book. Saying in sum, there is no illegality, there was no fraud. There are no victims. They even said that there were banks eager to do business with the trumps. Also eager is trump himself. We know that he wants to testify in this trial. We dont know when that is going to happen. But we do expect it. And coy tell you, jake, the the optics, hes made statement to the press about what is happening behind closed doors. But he has not acknowledged the Attorney General who made the statements at the courthouse steps behind me. Only acknowledging a little bit today but passing by her multiple times in this courtroom, only his son eric trump who is hitting behind him has gone over and shook her hand. But again, this is just a start of a very long civil trial were expecting it to last about three months, jake. Brynn gingras outside of the courthouse in new york. Thanks so much. Lets bring in laura coates and former prosecutor elie honig. Laura, lets start with the key legal argument for the legal team. The banks go the repaid with interest, so really this is a victimless crime. There are no victims. Everybody got paid back. Even if and i dont know that theyre granted the idea that theyre assets were over infla inflated, even if they were, where is the victim. Alls is well that ends well does not bode well in a courtroom of law when you have a number of things on the books that are victimless. Imagine if you will somebody who is soliciting to take drugs. They want the drugs and somebody sold it to them. Who is the victim here. You might have a john and a prostitute, where is the victim. A society is built by a number of laws because society is offended and even though shun was not been a victim, it is still nonetheless against the law and that is the core of the prosecutions argument. Is it doesnt matter if there wasnt an insurance issue or a tax benefit, but they claim there was. That you engaged in fraudulent behavior, misstating and misrepresenting that which is objective. You know what this Scare Footage is and what the cost is per square foot and youve inflated it for a number of reasons. This trial is less about whether a fraud was committed, though, jake, and more about what you sought to gain from that and that is where the notion of a victimless crime or not victimless is going to come into play. So elly, what is your response to that . Because let me give you my point of view. I dont want to impugn everybody in real estate. Im sure there are those fine up standing ethical men and women. But to me, it looks like a folks in real estate are shady and play with numbers and worth of assets all the time. I mean, look, obviously donald trump lies a lot. And obviously he inflates the worth of his properties and such. But the argument that i mean, look, this is a judge trial not a jury trial. But if this were a jury trial, i mean, the argument that look, no one got hurt and the banks and Insurance Companies got everything they wanted back and then some, i mean, might that not be convincing for a jury . Well i think there could be something to that. Let me give you the technical side of that first. The one count found for the Attorney General against donald trump, it doesnt matter if there is a Provable Victim or provable loss. That does matter with respect to the other six counts which are still at play in this trial. But, jake, i think bigger pike, people may look at this case and say were talking about tens and hundreds of millions of dollars why is this only a civil case and not a Criminal Case. Now, you to put yourself in the mind of d. A. , but there was no Provable Victim or not someone swindled out of money and robbed and never repaid, these were banks and got repaid with interest, still technically a civil violation. Could also technically be a criminal violation but it makes it a less appealing case to bring in the criminal context. So that is why this is a civil case and not a crim one. If i may. Laura coates on behalf of the people of the United States, how about the people, elli has been as well, how about the people that dont have who have tax that is owed and have to give the accurate assessment of the value of their property if their lucky enough to own it, according to the socalled american dream. If theyre able to secure a loan and in an industry which often times lays bear bias, whether it is implicit or otherwise, or algorithm based other wise. What about the people that say, alls well that did not end well because i dpnt have the benefit that trump did. I suspect a jury of people who have either tried to get a loan, who have had to pay their taxes, who have had to do that which is required, will look at it very differently. But again, now it is just a judge who im sure has to pay his taxes as well. Sure. It is a good argument. This case is going it be decided by a judge not a jury. Trump did not seek a jury trial. Why not . Why would they want a judge to decide this. Hes going to by the letter of the law and any of the emotional appeals or cynical appeals im making here. Wasnt that a mistake . Jake, lets give trumps lel team the benefit of the doubt and assume this was an intentional decision not to seek a jury trial. There is two reasons. The judge is sympathetic to you. And other is if you think you have a technical defense that you may not want to put in front of a jury but resonate better with a judge. Well see if this is part of the overall political and dramatic packaging of this. It is also possible that one of hi lawyers screwed and forgot to check the box. We dont know. It is happened before. Laura coates and elie honig. Catch laura on cnn tonight on 11 00 p. M. Eastern only here on cnn. As this case in new york plays out, prosecutors down in georgia are trying to line up witnesses for trial set to start in just three weeks. This is a Criminal Case and a key figure has been subpoenaed there. Coconspirators number five and known as bernie kerik. He wanted immunity first. Im going to talk to his attorney next. Plus californias historic appointment to the u. S. Senate and the contention this major move creates back home. Stay with us. And were back with our with more in ow Law And Justice lead in a separate Criminal Case involving donald trump. Today the Fulton County georgia District Attorney issued a subpoena to commissioner bernie kerik. His lawyer confirmed he is coconspirators number five in the indictment, in the Georgia Election subversion case. Prosecutors want keriks testimony later this month because they think he could potentially shed light on major events in this case. Gain given that he was in several meets with pennsylvania and arizona, two states that were contested by trump after the 2020 election. And with me keriks lawyer who have previously resigned from trumps legal team, tim parlatore. Bernie kerik was at a key meeting on november 25th, 2020 with a group of Pennsylvania Legislatives and then President Trump and along with mark meadows an Rudy Giuliani and jenna el is. Now Cassidy Hutchinson said this meeting touched on holding a special session of the Pennsylvania State legislature to appoint these fake electors, these trump electors. Why was bernie kerik at that meeting and were crimes discussed . So, bernie kerik was working with Rudy Giuliani as an investigator. So he aend itted a lot of meetings alongside Rudy Giuliani. And from my understanding and everything that ive discussed with mr. Kerik, and all of the evident ive seen, there was no criminality discussed whatsoever at that meeting. It was about different legislative actions that could be taken and everything was about doing things legally. Now you say that bernie kerik should be granted immunity in exchange for testifying. Why . What kind of testimony does he have to offer . Sure. So, you know, i dont know exactly what they want him to testify about. But the Fulton County District Attorneys Office Reached out to me and they were demanding that he come down and testify and i said to them, look, you have publicly identified him as being a coconspirators and the Supreme Court case law and this is very clear, when you publicly accuse someone of a crime and then want to compel them to come in and testify, they have a Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. So in competent criminal lawyer would allow tim to answer questions. Hes going to plead the fifth. Are you planning on giving him immunity . And this is one thing that i think has been lost today. We didnt ask for immunity. And mr. Kerik isnt seeking immunity. If they want him to testify, then the hurdle that they have to overcome so that he wont plead the fifth is they have to give him immunity. But you said they publicly identified him but he was an unnamed coconspirators, wasnt he . Well it is been pretty clear who a lot of these coconspirators are. And so when they describe someone like that, coconspirator number five is clearly mr. Kerik and your network has been on top of that as far as identifying all of these people. So simply the fact that they didnt say his name in the document doesnt change the fact that they have identified him by his actions as being a member of this conspiracy. And that is something that then implicates the Fifth Amendment. So you say prosecutors have told you, quote, if we waned to indict mr. Kerik, we would have already done so. And your client is one of 30 unindicted coconspirators in your case. So it doesnt seem like fani willis might suddenly decide to go after your client. It seems like based on what they told you, that they dont want to indict him. They want him to testify. Does he have did he witness any criminality . Does he have testimony that is worth his testimony . Well, this from my understanding, he does not have anything that would indicate criminality by the president , by Rudy Giuliani, or any member of the giuliani team. Would he potentially be helpful in a case against Sidney Powell. I think he would. And i think that is kind of a wrinkle to this case that is difficult on a whole bunch of different levels. So i could see why they would want him to testify relevant to Sidney Powell. But, if youre not willing to give him the basic protections that any normal prosecutor in any other prosecuting office in the country would do, then you are just not going to be able to force him to testify. Is Sidney Powell the only one that he might have evidence against or testimony against . Are there other individuals that he might have witnessed something that is worth discussing . In this group, it is primarily Sidney Powell. Because the testimony that he has is that Rudy Giuliani and his whole team, they were pursuing leads. They were hampered by lack of time. A lack of resources and so that prevented them from being able to chase everything down completely. It certainly did lead to certain inaccuracies. But when they talk about people putting out knowingly false claims, kerik and others will point right over at Sidney Powell and say, hey, what theyre accusing us of, she did. And then hes going to be able to testify about that is why she was fired. That is why President Trump told her she wasnt allowed back in the white house. It is actually in a weird way very ex cul pattory to Rudy Giuliani to say yeah, there was somebody doing something wrong, Sidney Powell and that is why we got rid of her. So i do think it is problematic for her, but it ex pull pates Rudy Giuliani and trump. Why were her crazy comments different from anybody elses. Because she had been pushing things that had already been found not to be true. Okay. A lot of people were pushing things not to be found to be true. But to be continued. Good to have you have on. Thank you so much. Thank you. Next were heading to capitol hill, busy news day today. Congressman matt gaetz is not backing away from his threat to oust Kevin Mccarthy but who has the votes. That is the real question. Stay with us. Cmon, were right there. Cmon baby. Its the only we need. Go, go, go, go ah Touchdown Baby touchdown are your neighbors watching the same game . Yeah, my 5g Home Internet delays the game a bit. But you get used to it. Try these. Theyre noise cancelling earmuffs. I stole them from an airport. Its always something with you, man. Great solid greek salad . Exactly dont delay the game with verizon or tmobile 5g Home Internet. Catch it on the xfinity 10g network. And were back with our politics lead. If this weekends lastminute deal to save the u. S. Federal government from a disastrous shutdown was not dramatic enough, there is more. Hardline republicans are furious with their speaker Kevin Mccarthy for working with democrats to get that shortterm Spending Bill across the finish line and just yesterday matt gaetz told me that he is ready to try to kick mccarthy out of the speakers office. He said hes going to offer a motion to vacate this week. It is a threat he repeated on the house floor earlier today. Starting that process only takes one vote. Finishing it would require 218. A simple majority. Manu raju reports democrats could be mccarthys only hope to keep his job. Reporter Kevin Mirk Carthy Speakership in peril as he tried to stave off a revolt by matt gaetz. Ousting the sitting speaker through a vote in the house. And promising to do it over and over again. Until mccarthy is no longer speaker. You have to understand why were here. Reporter the main reason, mccarthy relied on democrats to help keep the government open until next month. Are you worried about throwing this institution into chaos . Paralyze an institution that your party runs. You talk about chaos as if it is me forcing a few votes and filing a if you motions. You dont know chaos until youve seen where this congress and this party is bringing us. For gaetz to succeed, he would need the support of five House Republicans. All democrats voted to eject mccarthy. Then the house would be paralyzed and until a new speaker could be elected. I think had a that members should look for better leadererer ship. I am not happy with Kevin Mccarthy as speaker but it could always be worse. Reporter others not eager to give mccarthy a life line. Would you moat to vacate. When i cast that vote, absolutely. Once gaetz filed a motion, the house would vote within two days. Today the speaker would not say whether he would have to cut a deal with democrats to keep his job. Even as the speaker Accused Gaetzs of retaliating over a ethics investigation he faces something that the Florida Republican denies. You always count me out. Im asking the possibilities. Im tell you the same thing i tell every time. I never give up. The last time a similar vote happened in 1910. And just the threat in 2015 of ousting john boehner led to his abrupt resignation as speaker. Mccarthy plans to fight it. Even as he is facing more pressure from the right wing to abandon billions of dollars in aid to ukraine. He cant do it. It would be a violation of the has ert rule which is a long held rule by republican majorities that the speaker cannot bring a bill to the floor if the majority of the majority doesnt support it. All this frustration builds among mccarthy allies. I just pray for wisdom, for matt and clarity on this. Because i think that would be terrible for america. Reporter now Dode Gaetz Accused Mccarthy of cutting a side deal with joe biden over funding ukraine something the president seemed to suggest yesterday. Today mckarmy denied that was the case. And gaetz plans to continue to push for a vote to seek mccarthys ouster over and over again and gaetz told me that he spoke to one person in particular, former President Trump, but he decided to not tell me exactly what they spoke about. Declined to comment further. Jake. Cnns manu raju on capitol hill. Thank you so much. Were about to see another barrier broken in the u. S. Senate. Gavin newsom has just appointed Laphonza Butler to fill the seat left by the death of dianne feinstein. Kyung lah talks about the Heated Senate race that was already underway. Because our story is the story of how when women win, we all win. Reporter next to her young daughter and wife, californias future senator Laphonza Butler speaking then as the head of emilys list. Young women, older women, all women. This is where ow power lies. Butler moves from the advocacy world to the u. S. Senate as californias governor gavin newsom appoints his long time democratic ally to fill the late Dianne Feinsteins seat. Our bodies belong to us. Our freedoms are not up for debate. Min aint poing butler, he promised to select a black woman since Kamala Harris left to serve as Vice President , theres have been no plaque women serving in the chamber. Newsom avoided a political pickle with three Congressional Democrats already running for the seat. Adam schiff, katie porter and barbara lee who had lobbied publicly to be newsoms choice. Of course it would have been great if i because i did want to fill the vacancy, if in fact that occurred. But listen, we all have to focus on what were doing and im running very seriously. Reporter newsoms office said butlers Pappointment Come without any Strings Attached so she could run in 2024, before shes been sworn in, some democrats say she should not. I think it is unfair that she would do so. And the word around here is that whom ever he appointed would not run and be air dropped into this is simply not fair and by the way, i dont think many people know her. Butler has four months before californias primary to change that as the sitting senator. Only the third black woman in u. S. History and the first black lesbian to openly serve in the u. S. Senate. I like to think of it as a embarrassment of riches. There are so many talented black women who have never had a shot at being in the senate and we hope that indbehind the scenes the dust settles that well as a Movement Figure out who to get behind and get a panel to victory here in california so that black women are represented in the longterm. Reporter now soon to be senator butler moved to maryland in 2021 so lead emilys list. She registered to vote there in 2022. We reached out to Governor Newsom and he said his office said rather that she has already reregistered to vote in the state of california. Shes a long time resident of california. Tracing about 20 years of residency here. Jake. Kyung lah, thank you so much. Sources have told cnn about damning statements trump made while president. Now a former Trump White House official who heard those creigh remarks firsthand is setting the record straight and cop firming them on the report. It is reporting youll see exclusively on the lead coming up. Stay with us. In our politics lead, House Republicans at war with themselves wild Senate Democrats held on to control after la fo fonza butler was picked after the death of dianne feinstein. Lets discuss with doug high and rowheene grew. Kasie hunt was told earlier today when asked if the new senator, senator butler should run for a full term because he was pretty emphatic. Thattic a listen. No. I dont think believe she should. There three exceptional candidates working more than a year. I just think it is terribly unfair that she would do so. And the word around here is that whom ever he aint poed would not run. So there was in idea that newsom was going to appoint a caretaker and there are these three candidates, barbara lee and katie porter and adam schiff running for the seat but then it was taken off the table. That senator butler can run if she wants. What is your take . I think it is up to her if she wants to do it. I think the governor rightfully knew that as he was looking at a short list of people, that it seemed like the right thing to do was to allow someone to make that decision on behalf of california, if they feel like theyre going to be the best person to represent california moving forward. And doug, butlers appointment allowed newsom to stay out of the fight. But it seems that congresswoman barbara lee, i mean, newsom has said if he needed to apoint someone to the kseat, because o Kamala Harris, he said if there was another one, he said a block woman would get that position. Barbara lee has made it clear she was disappointed that they didnt get in. And the Congressional Black Caucus also said that they wanted her, barbara lee to be named to the position. Although that was off the table for newsom because she wanted to keep the seat. Lee was critical of newsom saying the idea that a block woman should be appointed only as a caretaker to simply check a box is in sulting to countless black women across country that have carried the Democratic Party to Victory Election after election. Tough spot for newsom. I think there was a nowin decision toer newsom. Whatever decision, somebody was going to be angry and now with the new senator, she does have a leg up if she decided to a announce. Shes a brandnew face, not in california, but fresh on the political scene in an explosive way. But we also know is that california is a very big state. And barbara lee and others have been running for a while. Theyre organized in all of california counties and she might have a leg up because shes the new flavor in the news today because putting that Team Together is time and money and she doesnt have those. Is there any serious way she could mount a Serious Campaign . I mean specially given these are three people three political operators and i dont mean that in a pejorative sense. But adam schiff, katie porter and barbara lee, these are three experienced tough politicians. I think it is tough to get in the race. There is no question theyre all fantastic represents, but at the end of the day she would have to decide to make her case to cal ifornia voters. She spent her career for almost two decades as a labor leader so that is how most people know her in california fighting for peoples wages and better working conditions. So she has to take the case and she has to work with that whole career that shes had and what she would run on if she decided to do that. And she would have to do that now. Lets turn to clash between Kevin Mckacarthy and matt gaetz. It is ugly. Yesterday i spoke with gaetz and alexandria ocasiocortez on how either gaetz or mccarthy could get to 218 votes either to keep his speakership or to vacate the speakership. And if either if gaetz would be willing to work with democrats to get their help or if alexandria ocasiocortez would be willing to negotiate to have her vote be not for sale, but it is a bargaining chip. It is not unheard of it in congress. Take a listen. I will make no deal with democrats and concede no terms to them. I actually think democrats should vote against Speaker Mccarthy for free. Unless there is a real conversation between the republican and democratic caucuses and republican and democratic leadership about what that would mean, but i dont think we give up votes for free. To say that she would be happy to vote to vacate Kevin Mccarthy, not a fan. How do you see this playing out . So, listen, i have been on capitol hill for almost two decades and so ive been through many Near Government shutdown and Government Shutdown and what i could tell you is that whenever there is an inter party fight, when it is discussions of month he ises to vacate, there are real dysfunction in every minute that is covered about the interparty fighting. It is republicans not being able to make the case about how they want to move forward and lead. So what weve been seeing out of the white house is this very almost precision like approach about explaining to people what this means if there was a Government Shutdown and how they dont have a plan to move forward. So, it will be interesting to see what happens with this fight, but i could tell you that many people in congress are sitting there watching and they know the reason as to why congresss Approval Ratings are so low. And dog, when asked by manu raju today if he was prepared to send the Republicancontrolled Congress into chaos, and peril sis, he didnt back down. Take a listen. You talk about chaos as if it is me forcing a few votes and filing a few motions. Real chaos is when the American People have to go through the austerity that is coming if we continue to have 2 trillion annual deficits. You dont know chaos until you have seen where this congress is sending us. Hes right, the debt and the deficit is a real problem. The interest is money that we could spend on education and health care, et cetera. But what hes doing, is this getting us any closer to no, this is not this means that the house plunges in chaos and that what putin is sending matt gaetz will get bigger and bigger. And day one of civils fraud case just wrapped up. Live images of him heading back to trump tower. An update from the courthouse in just a moment. Stay with us. In our worldly today, today marks five years, five years since Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered and dismembered at the direction of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman according to u. S. Intelligence agencies. In 2021 the officer of the director of National Intelligence released its declassified report that found in black and white, quote, saudi arabias crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman approved an operation in istanbul, turkey to capture or kill saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Despite Mohammad Bin Salman or mbs has denied direct responsibility. Khashoggi was saudi born but a longterm resident of the United States, and a fierce critic of the oppressive saudi reime, presumably why he was killed for his words, for his ideas. On october 2nd, 2018, khashoggi went to the saudi consulate in istanbul to get paperwork that would have allowed him to marry his fiance. He was never seen in public again. In the days ask weeks that followed brutal details of his killing came to light, including his dismembering with a bone saw inflicted by saudi oughts sent by mbs. As was the premeditated plan to murder khashoggi. What did not follow, however, was any serious effort to hold mbs directly accountable. In fact, mbss only consolidated power since then. How does a world lead get away with ordering the murder of a renowned Washington Post journalist and u. S. Resident . How does that happen . Well, a month after his murder the u. S. Sanctioned 17 saudi government officials, but not him. Not mbs. Not the crown prince. A few days later then President Donald Trump weighed in, and he sowed some seeds of doubt saying maybe mbs knew about it, maybe he didnt. A year after khashoggis killing then candidate biden promised to make saudi arabia a pariah nation, and when Biden Took Office in 2021 he ordered the release of that intelligence report, making it clear that mbs ordered the hit. Following that report 76 saudis were banned from getting u. S. Visas, but mbs was not one of them. Some saudis were also sanctioned, but again, you guessed it, mbs was not sanctioned. When asked why bidens Secretary Of State Antony Blinken said this. So what weve done by the actions that weve taken is really not to rupture the relationship but to recalibrate it, to be more in line with our interests and our values, and i think that we have to understand as well that this is this is bigger than any one person. In 2022 mbs got another pass, the Biden Administration determined that he would be immune from a case, brought against him by khashoggis fiance. Why you might ask . Well, bidens Justice Department argued, while calling khashoggis murder, quote, heinous, that mbs recently made the saudi Prime Minister was therefore as a result qualified for immunity because he was the foreign head of a government, which is likely exactly how mbs planned it, according to one legal scholar. Either way, the word pariah for the Biden Administration sure does not mean what it meant when i studied for my s. A. T. S. Heres Biden Fist Bumping Mbs in 2022. Heres biden two days before the 9 11 anniversary at the g20 summit just last month all smiles. White House National security Spokesman John Kirby deflected on the lead just two weeks ago, take a listen. No, look, the crown prince put his hand out, the president shook it, he shook a lot of hands at the g20. So, as i asked you before, how does a world leader get away with ordering the murder of a renowned Washington Post journalist and u. S. Resident . Khashoggis editor at the Washington Post karen atia remembers attending Time Magazines party after her late colleague was named its 2018 person of the year. She writes, quote, after a few minutes the image of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman appeared. His april 2018 cover was headlined charm offensive. Should the world buy what the crown prince is selling . I realize then that the party was a celebration of all that Time Magazine had done that year. I had forgotten that mbs was one of times 100 most influential people in the world in 2018. So a Murder Victim and his alleged killer were shown on the same level in the same way, both of them party props. It was an ominous expression of modern journalisms obsession with both sidesism, its constant impulse to give oppressors as much care and elevation as those they oppress. Unquote, and while were on that subject, last week mbs himself appeared on a different channel here in the u. S. Where the host asked about the accusation of murder, and then seemed to rush to defend mbs, the host saying ive heard you address this several times, say youg didnt order the murder, saying it was horrible and a mistake, and that as a leader you take responsibility, as a leader of the country, unquote. Im quoting the interviewer here. The interviewer. Remember, also, the saudis started liv golf and hired american golfers to sports watch, their Human Rights Abuses and their role in 9 11, all points driven home with great passion by the pga tour until pga tour made a deal with liv golf in june and suddenly those issues didnt matter so much. So, how did saudis crown prince and now Prime Minister get away with murder . Ill tell you how. Right in front of our eyes and with a lot of help. Straight ahead, Exclusive New cnn reporting, top officials in Donald Trumps white house shares shocking details only on the lead, what that official confirms about trumps spoken views about Service Members who were wounded or killed in the line of duty. Youre not going to want to miss this, stay with us