-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ we are getting fresh reports about what is happening behind closed doors. donald trump and his lawyers meeting with the judge in the mar-a-lago documents case. so, will the timing on this case slide? now, we're also watching two live events expected to be happening this hour. president biden set to speak in minutes. his first public comment sense donald trump attacked the nato alliance over money. also happening live this hour, now three-time super bowl champ patrick mahomes holding his first news conference after a thrilling overtime win. kate bolduan out today.

i'm sara sidner with john berman. this is "cnn news central." ♪ all right. happening now, donald trump and his legal team are behind closed doors with the federal judge in florida overseeing the classified documents case. it's also deadline day for his lawyers in a separate case to ask the supreme court to address the ruling that he is not immune from prosecution for the january 6th election subversion case. now, cnn's evan perez is outside the federal court for us in pearson, florida. kristen is also in west palm beach. evan, first to you. how long have they been inside? any sense of what's happening? white smoke? black smoke? what can you tell us? >> reporter: there's a lot of smoke here, john. but the former president has been in the courthouse now for about two hours. he's probably going to be in there, we anticipate, another

couple of hours. and what this hearing is going on behind closed doors, it is a closed door hearing because it has to do with some of the classified documents, some of the classified information that is at issue in this case. some of the documents that prosecutors are trying to withhold from some of the defendants in this case, of course not only donald trump but also his codefendants, walt nauta, carlos de oliveira. there are documents that are classified that the government says are so classified, so sensitive, that they're only providing summaries of some of those documents. so, what the lawyers are arguing for the former president, they're arguing that anything that they want access to that they believe will be key and be useful to the former president's defense, they should be able to get access to. and again, this is a federal courthouse where there is a scif, which is a specially

designed room, where you are allowed to store classified documents. of course it contrasts with some of the conditions in which classified documents were being stored at mar-a-lago. that's, of course, part of what's going on here today. now, again, we're expecting that after the former president and his legal team are allowed a couple hours to talk to the judge and make their arguments, later this afternoon the government and special counsel jack smith and his team will be able to make their case as to why there should be continued some of these restrictions on these documents. so, again, could be an issue in this trial. the trial is set to go in may. but at this point, we do not know whether that date holds, john. >> that is really the big question. we're looking for any signs about whether that will slide coming out of today's hearings. evan, thank you very much. let's go to kristen holmes in west palm beach. kristen, i know you'll be shocked to learn that moments ago, i saw an email fundraising

solicitation from the trump campaign saying, quote, i'm in court again right now. >> reporter: yaerks it's actually so shocking, john. i can't believe they would fund raise off of something like this. the truth is, as we've seen, his campaign has used this time and time again to really create some sort of media spectacle and treat these court appearances like campaign stops. they think it helps them with their base. they think it helps them fund raise. i do want to note, with this trip in particular, they are not planning any remarks for the former president. the reason why this is so notable is one of the first times he's actually appeared in court and not tried to find a camera, not tried to find a microphone. last time he was in federal court in washington, d.c., his team told him time and time again, you are not going to have any media availability. there are going to be no cameras on you. he said that was fine until about halfway through his actual appearance, in which they scrambled to get cameras out there so he could deliver remarks. again, all of this is part of a calculated effort on the part of former president donald trump to paint all of his legal issues

under one broad brush, as political persecution, as election interference. and one thing to note is, as he continues to lump them together, people become more and more -- by people, i mean his supporters in particular -- more and more believe the fact that these are all somehow related. but of course, as we have continually pointed out, these are broad and different jurisdictions. some are state cases. some are federal cases. some involve the doj and some do not involve the doj at all and are civil cases in new york. >> today is particularly unusual because it's a meeting, at least part of it, with just his legal team and the judge. maybe he really is just looking for face time with judge aileen cannon, who is overseeing this case, which is interesting to think about there. kristen, great to have you. thank you so much. sara? >> with me now is cnn legal analyst norm eisen. he is also the former house judiciary special counsel in donald trump's first impeachment trial. mr. eisen, i am so happy to see

you this morning, very close to us here, trying to get everything set. i do want to ask you a question about what the arguments are today that donald trump's defense team is making in front of this judge in this classified documents case. norm, do you got me? i think we're having a bit -- we're going to take a quick break. norm eisen, it looks like max head rum right now because we're having a technical issue, for all of you that remember max headrum, we're going to hand it over to john. all right. the dramatic rescue that freed two israeli hostages from gaza. we'll bring you the very latest on how the israeli defense forces managed to pull that off. and nikki haley with remarks

just moments ago about donald trump. remember, donald trump criticized the fact that her husband, who is serving overseas, hasn't been by her side in the campaign trail. she says trump mocks veterans, and the closest that trump has come to harm's way is a stray golf ball. we also just received new video of the gunfire ringing out inside joel osteen's megachurch. and also new information about what the shooter had written on her rifle.

we're taking you to some live pictures there of the courthouse, federal court, outside in fort pierce, florida, looking down on the crowd, as donald trump is inside that courtroom inside that courthouse right now with his attorneys making some arguments. with me now is cnn legal analyst and retired ambassador norm eisen. you're also a former house judiciary special counsel in donald trump's first impeachment trial. what are the arguments being made right now in this classified documents case by trump's defense attorneys? >> sara, thanks for having me back. this is an argument under our classified information procedures act, cipa, section 4. unlike a regular trial when you have a trial like this one for donald trump's alleged

possession of classified information at mar-a-lago, the defendants don't get every piece of paper. yes, donald trump and the other defendants will get information that's helpful and necessary. but the government can hold back certain documents, redact others, substitute names with john doe, and have the judge make other changes where you balance national security with the right of every defendant to have a fair trial. and you go through that sometimes document by document. and that is what is happening in court. both sides will talk, as we say, ex parte, by themselves with the judge. and then the judge, judge cannon, will make some decisions. >> this is highly classified documents. and there have been other cases, obviously. you can't just throw those out to every single person that is involved in the case. the government obviously arguing

to keep some of those documents classified and away from the defendant here. the judge also ruled on something else, that the government witness list should be unsealed for the public interest. it was sealed as a protective measure to keep witnesses from being harassed and intimidated. and we have seen, in other cases, especially linked to donald trump, witnesses being harassed, particularly online. is this a surprising ruling to you that the judge would say, yes, these names can be released? >> it's not surprising, but it's disappointing, sara. the judge is needlessly exposing these individuals to threats, harassment, and possibly grave danger. it's the latest in a series of decisions that she has made that have caused observers to question whether she's biased in favor of the former president. remember, this is the same judge

who was reversed twice by the 11 circuit during the investigation of the mar-a-lago documents when she tried to stop the government from using the documents they had obtained at mar-a-lago with their search warrant, when she tried to appoint a special master to oversee review of the documents. the extremely conservative 11th circuit that oversees her said, no, that's illegal. and i think she's crossed that line again by exposing these witnesses to harm. we'll see whether doj appeals that or even tries to get her removed from the case. >> we'll be watching to see what happens and also what happens today, whether or not donald trump comes out and says anything. none likely, we're hearing. but we will be watching there live. ambassador norm eisen, thank you so much. appreciate it. john? new this morning, the israeli military says it rescued two hostages who were kidnapped by hamas on october 7th. it was a coordinated ground and

air operation, they say, in rafah, which is in southern gaza. 60-year-old fernando simon marman, and 70-year-old louis har, wept as they reunited with their families at an israeli hospital just a short time ago. during the operation, the city was under heavy fire from forces. the idf confirmed they conducted a series of strikes. the ministry of health in hamas-run gaza told cnn nearly 100 people were killed. cnn has not independently verified those numbers. jeremy diamond is in tel aviv with the very latest on this rescue, jeremy, which is something we really haven't seen much of. >> reporter: that's right, john. this is only the second time that the israeli military has successfully rescued hostages inside of gaza since the beginning of this war. but it was the result of lengthy planning, a very complex and daring operation carried out overnight by israeli special forces. we're told that these two men, louis har, 70 years old, and

fernando marman, were rescued when israeli special forces breached a residential building in the heart of rafah at about 1:49 a.m. local time. they were rushed out of that building under fire from hamas fighters. and just hours later, they were finally able to reunite with their families inside a hospital on the outskirts of tel aviv. both of men described as very thin but in good medical condition. after those special forces entered that building, in fact one minute after, we're told that the israeli air force launched a barrage of strikes on other parts of rafah, effectively as a way to try to divert hamas fighters from this rescue operation. but the palestinian ministry of health in hamas-controlled gaza say that nearly 100 people were killed in these strikes. and hospital officials in the area describing hospitals as overwhelmed. and many of the casualties coming in being women and

children as well. so, very clear the impact of this operation. and also providing a glimpse of what may come soon, as israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu vows to move forward with an offensive on that southern most city of gaza, which has become a refuge for 1.4 million displaced palestinians in gaza, many of them displaced from northern parts of gaza. the israeli prime minister saying that they are drafting up plans right now to try and evacuate some of that civilian population. but much of that remaining in the air. a lot of uncertainty. a lot of fear in that city. at this hour, we have two israeli hostages rescued and finally reunited with their loved ones after 128 days of captivity. john? >> jeremy diamond for us in tel aviv. jeremy, thank you. with us now is general wesley clark, former supreme allied commander for nato. general, rafah on the far

southern border of gaza, right up against egypt. these hostages that were rescued from there reunited with their families at a hospital in tel aviv. a dramatic scene. and i don't want to lose sight of what a complicated mission this is for israel to free these hostages so far in to this operation. what is the fact of this rescue, general, tell you right now about israel's capabilities and how they're conducting this war? >> it shows that the turmoil that's going on in gaza is yielding actionable intelligence, john. so, they're actually picking up locations of hostages and then they're setting up the plans to get them. this was always the intent of this operation is that when you get these people moving and they disrupt the command and control networks and you force hamas to talk online or through networks that can be monitored or people get information about it and they report it. this was always the intent of the israeli operation. it looks like it's bearing some

fruit. it's been a really tough time. but i think you'll see more of this as the israeli forces squeeze down on rafah. >> that is the question. how much more of it will there be? because hundreds of thousands of people have moved south since october 7th toward rafah. this is what rafah looks like now. people can see how densely packed it is. the united states is urging israel not to conduct full-scale military operations in rafah unless somehow they can get all these civilians out. how do you do that, general? >> well, i think you've got to work with the government of egypt, and i think you've also got to put land aside in israel. you've got to set up the refugee camps to bring these people out temporarily. understand that hamas doesn't want this to happen. this whole operation has been designed by hamas to force israel to kill civilians, to

bring the world's -- on israel for conducting a war of self-defense against hamas. it's been very cleverly done. it's been reinforced by iran and media networks around the world, including into the united states. but this was the hamas design. now, israel has come to the crucial point here they're going to have to bite the bullet, set up the refugee access -- egress out of gaza, set up some camps. the united states and europe should be helping in this. right now this is what should have happened in the beginning, john. we should have evacuated all of gaza, figured out who lives there, monitor the communication, put biometrics on people so you know who they are. you could have gotten hamas. it could have taken several months, but this is taking several months. it would have cost $100 million. this is going to cost $100 billion or more before it's finished. so, you know, my critique of this is that the global powers,

including the united states, didn't try hard enough to resolve this problem in the beginning. but seeing from the israeli perspective, this is a battle for survival. they simply cannot remit hamas to remain in gaza. they've got to either destroy it or get it out of there. they can't live next to it. so, got to work this. >> we're running out of time, but i did want to ask you, former nato supreme allied commander, to react to donald trump's comments, where he effectively invited russia to invade nato countries that may not have given as much to nato as they are asked to. >> you know why, john? you can't put enough adjectives on this to describe how treasonous such a comment is, how unfeeling, how insensitive to the fears of europeans, many of whom have lived under russian oppression.

they know exactly what it is. they're much closer to the problem in ukraine than donald trump has ever been, and they know what's going on there. this is a war of extinction against a nation of 40 million people, to destroy the culture, the language, the history, and anybody who's associated with resistance to russian occupation. so, you could have 10 million people killed if russia comes in there. trump just is all about himself. he makes shocking statements. maybe he wouldn't actually do this. maybe it's just for theater. but he shouldn't do such things, and we know from his previous administration that he actually was working to disassemble nato. so, i put a lot of credence in what he said. it's not just a shock statement, although it is that. this is a warning to the american people what's going to happen if donald trump becomes the next president of the united states. >> general wesley clark, we appreciate your time, as always. thank you. >> wow, john, those are strong words. new this morning, nikki

haley says donald trump's threat to abandon nato, she's got something to say about that, made her sick to her stomach. and her campaign has a new ad out this morning targeting trump's history of attacking veterans. that's ahead.

just in, we're learning that

defense secretary lloyd austin has just cancelled his trip to brussels, which was scheduled this week. he was going to attend a nato defense meeting. he was admitted to the critical care unit at walter reed this weekend to be treated for what the pentagon calls an emergent bladder issue. austin, of course, was also hospitalized back on new year's day after suffering complications following prostate cancer treatment. he transferred his duties to his deputy kathleen hicks yesterday afternoon. he is scheduling some of his important parts of his schedule, which indicates he believes this treatment will last at least a few days. >> and we're not hearing how many days he will be in the hospital. right now nikki haley is on the campaign trail in south carolina, as donald trump is spending his day before a florida judge. and this morning, nikki haley, i think the strongest we've ever heard from her, slamming donald trump for her controversial comments on nato and comments about her husband, who currently

is overseas serving in the military. listen. >> you mock one veteran, you're mocking all veterans. but this is a pattern, dana. he's done this over and over again. the closest he's come to harm's way is a golf ball hitting him on a golf cart. these men and women sacrifice for us every day. they're willing to shed blood. that's the values that made this country great. and anybody that excuses what he continues to say against the military is hugely mistaken. >> with us now, democratic strategist, former executive director of the new york state democratic party, basel michael and joseph pinion. you both nodded your head and, sort of, half grunted when nikki haley made those comments. i can't tell if it was in affirmation or some kind of reaction? >> i was the half grunt. >> okay. what did you guys think of that? >> look, i think she made some valid points.

when you're attacking people who have raised their hand to serve on behalf of a grateful nation, certainly you're not where your feet need to be planted. i think obviously when you look at where the republican party wants to be, we want to be trying to reach out to those military families, as we stare down the barrel of the potential for a third world war, the closest we have been to such global instability since the last time we had a world war. yes, obviously the statements are regrettable to say the least. but i think ultimately in the end, i think what more people are focused on, whether you agree with it or not, is the state of affairs in the world and obviously the news that came out from the department of justice as it relates to the state of mind for the current commander in chief. >> one of the big stories that has come out today, speaking of the state of affairs in the world, is that donald trump basically invited putin to do whatever the, quote, hell he wants. he said, if nato doesn't pay their fair share, that's what i would do as president. what are your thoughts on that?

>> reckless isolationism, quite frankly. i know there are a lot of his supporters that may feel comforted or at least feel connected to him for him to say, you know, look, we've done our fair share with nato. we don't need to be able to pick up the rest of the world's check here. similar comments have come out in the past about the u.n. but when you pair that, for example, with what we were hearing with nikki haley, you know, he has a pattern of this. he's gone after john mccain, for example. he's gone after generals when he ran in 2016. so, this sense that donald trump is somehow going to be a different person than he was a few years is just completely erroneous. he is an individual who is not moved -- is not one for hyperbole, even though there are a lot of his supporters that want us to think that. words are dangerous. so, as joe is talking about all of the concerns in the world right now, think about how important language and words

are, particularly if you're president of united states. >> with your forgiveness, can i ask you about something that doesn't have to do with the pending fate of the world right now? which is president biden, kind of, trolling a lot of people on social media following the super bowl. to bring people up to speed, there was a conspiracy theory that somehow the super bowl was rigged because taylor swift is dating travis kelce and taylor swift was going to endorse joe biden after the chiefs would win, et cetera, et cetera. i can't even make sense of what a conspiracy it was. >> it doesn't. >> big conspiracy. this is what president biden posted after. i can't read the small print. what does it say? it basically says, like, just how i planned it. and that's what biden posted on his twitter handle after the super bowl. thoughts? >> look, i think all of this is quite silly. i actually think that the hyperfocus on the nature of the conspiracy theories themselves are even sillier. there have been plenty of conspiracy theories. there was conspiracy theories

about the end of "game of thrones" which most americans still have not gotten over. and no one actually tried to blame anyone's political affiliation for the origin of the conspiracy theory. so, i think, again, some people are having good fun. some people take it sitoo seriously. in the end, patrick mahomes has etched himself a little bit deeper into the mount rushmore of the nfl. >> as a life long cowboy fan, i did not have a horse in this race, long-suffering, i am. but they're hilarious until they're not. remember pizzagate. >> right. >> so, on the one hand, you want to be able to dismiss these and say, look, you know, this is just people being silly. don't pay attention to them. but the reality is -- and this is going back to my earlier point about language and words -- that there are a lot of donald trump supporters that are hanging on to every word, every conspiracy theory, and they matter because they turn into action. so, we just have to be mindful that as we joke about this, some people have historically gotten

hurt because of it. we just need to be more mindful and vigilant about being able to dismiss them. >> i would simply say most republicans are not automatons who are waiting for the twitter gods to tell them what they should be doing with their lives. most republicans did not think that they missed their appointment on january 6th because they have to go to work. at the end of the day, we're focused on america that can be uplifting for all people, an economy that works, global situation that feels stable. right now many of those things in a state of upheaval. i think that remains the focus. i think that's why even though most americans have said to the tune of nearly 70%, they do not want to see a trump versus biden rematch. you're seeing, again, this renewed focus on these core issues. >> gentlemen, great discussion. thank you both. >> thank you so much for coming in. appreciate it. so, a source tells cnn that the semiautomatic rifle used to open fire on a houston

megachurch had the words "free palestine" written on it. what we know about the shooter and the child she brought with her.

new video coming in to cnn this morning in which you can hear the moment a woman opened fire inside pastor joel osteen's megachurch in houston. a man was giving church announcements in spanish when the shooting began. listen. [ speaking in a non-english language ] [ sound of gunfire ] [ speaking in a non-english language ]

[ sound of gunfire ] >> wow. that was really disturbing. sources are telling us the woman used an ar-15 style weapon with the words "free palestine" written on it, according to our john miller. she was shot and killed. a child was with her, and another man there were also wounded. we are not sure if that child is her child or someone else's. there's a lot of confusion at this hour. but investigators are there, and so is cnn's ed lavandera. he is outside that houston church. ed, what are you hearing? is there any new details coming out yet? obviously this was such a chaotic scene, and there's still confusion over who this child was. was this her child? was this someone else's? and how this all happened and why. >> reporter: right, trying to piece all this together at one of the most prominent megachurches here in the country, lakewood church behind me. investigators say the woman entered here on the west side of the church, and we've also

learned in the last few hours that the fbi, atf, has been assisting in a search of a home in the city of conrow which is about 45 to an hour's drive north of the houston area. that search of that home has gone on throughout the evening hours. we don't know many details as to what exactly was uncovered there and that sort of thing. we're expecting to hear from houston police here in a couple of hours, around 2:30 eastern time, 1:30 central time, for the latest updates on this investigation. as you mentioned, sara, the woman who showed up here was wearing a long trench coat, was carrying this assault-style rifle underneath there when she began opening fire. you can hear from that video clip from inside the church just how chaotic and confusing it must have been for many of the parishioners who were inside. investigators and church officials, joel osteen, who is the lead pastor here, says that

it could have been a lot worse had it happened at a different time, that they were in between services. in fact, the spanish language service was supposed to start here at lakewood church about a half hour after this shooting started. so, this was a point in time where there were people, kind of, moving back and forth throughout the area in the transitional period, as they were getting ready for the next service at this church on sunday afternoon. >> really disturbing details. and that was really hard to hear all of that gunfire going off inside a church. ed lavandera, thank you to you and your crew for being out there and gathering at the tails this morning. john? shifting gears here, the best and the worst of the super bowl ads. >> touchdown. >> coach. >> got it. >> i'm open. >> he needs no interaction, my partner. >> sometimes it's really hard to be your friend. >> you said you were going to

support me. >> don't go breaking my heart. >> you dunking me playa? >> back room deals, cia secrets, affair, bribery, corruption, prostitution. there's so much more to the story. >> united states of scandal with jake tapper. back-to-back premieres monday at 9:00 on cnn.

growing up, my parents wanted me to become a doctor or an engineer. those are good careers! but i chose a different path. first, as mayor and then in the legislature. i enshrined abortion rights in our california constitution. in the face of trump, i strengthened hate crime laws and lowered the costs for the middle class. now i'm running to bring the fight to congress. you were always stubborn. and on that note, i'm evan low, and i approve this message.

i'm michael serra and i'm pleased to announce this is my cream. you didn't know? the truth has been hiding the in plain sight. i am cera ve. >> that was a no for me. anyway, that was -- >> i laughed out loud at that. >> of course you did. >> that was the difference between your humor and my humor. i was, like, creeped out. >> i laughed out loud.

>> that was michael serra. here's what didn't creep me out, beyonce. one of the list of best ads last night, wasn't on stage of course for the big game or in the stands with her husband. but she -- the ad joked about her trying to break the internet. here's that. ♪ who you came to see ♪ ♪ me ♪ ♪ don't forget about me ♪ >> broke the internet again. >> did you post this? >> no. well not on purpose. >> well, it's coming in hot. >> it's verizon 5g. the network is crazy powerful. i bet you can't break that. >> bet i can. >> wait, what? >> all right. beyonce slays. let's stipulate that. but we talked about her quite a bit, so we're going to move on. with us now, mike hail. mike, it's great to see you. i think you hated the michael serra ad, at least that's what i was reading to me last night. i'm like, no, that was so funny. so, how did you get that so

wrong? >> >> i was throwing this thing together as the game was going on. things didn't necessarily end up exactly where they might be long. i thought the michael cera add was on point. >> john is still giggling and he cannot stop. it was not for me. i don't know. it was just not for me. >> i would make the point -- go ahead. i would make a point about the michael cera add and you referred earlier to the dunkin' donuts at with ben affleck and matt damon. i think these illustrate something that we kind of take for granted now. we don't even notice it. the extent to which so many of these are based on the public persona of celebrity.

>> and we are looking at that right now. this one cracked me up. >> how do you like them? >> i thought that was really funny. i know you liked it. i liked what you said. it breaks off their persona and pokes fun at themselves, which works, right? >> when you do that, it's about selling that celebrities public brand. you can hope for something clever and something stylish. i thought the bmw had with christopher walken achieves that. but you are not going to get something really creative or original because that's not going to serve the celebrity. it is part of a trend of downward creativity while the

social media chatter goes up. >> what are they advertising? they are advertising be celebrity more than the product. there can be only one. what was your absolute favorite commercial last night? >> i really enjoyed the bmw had with christopher walken. the way that some people are fans of taylor swift and beyonci, i am a fan of christopher walken. i think you really nailed that one. i enjoyed the martin scorsese directed at with the aliens, which exhibited another theme of the ads, which is we are all about aliens now. i think there were four or five different ads that were featured aliens coming to earth either friendly or not so friendly. another trend you could obviously see was is a good time to be tom brady. he popped up everywhere. and dan marino was the second best.

>> i don't think it has ever been a bad time to be tom brady.>> the state farm ad with arnold schwarzenegger and danny devito? >> i felt like -- it was funny that there were two ads that were entirely based on celebrity speech patterns. the christopher walken and the arnold schwarzenegger. it was that one little joke and they did it over and over again. i think it got old really fast. it was also funny how that one popped up again in overtime. i don't know in that situation if they have to pay for it again? is it another $7 million? >> i was wondering. and you want to have your ad in overtime? since you mentioned it, if we still have it available, can we play a little bit of the

christopher walken ad? let's play it for 2nd. >> nice ride. >> this is the real deal. 100% electric. >> it is the real deal. >> of course. enjoy your coffee. >> so adorable.>> by the way, if you're watching that for yourself. >> you cannot go wrong with christopher walken.>> he is great. >> it shows that no matter how much you think of him, he underplays better than anybody. it was a well thought through add. >> that was fun. thank you for making us laugh. thank you, john, for making me laugh.>> i feel guilty about the michael cera thing.

i feel like maybe you liked it more -- >> we all have our own. >> you did a great job last night keeping current with the ads and weighing in. thank you for what you were doing. >> thank you for joining us. this is cnn central. inside politics is next.

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