let me bring in paula reid. paula, you've been following all of these cases as well. time and again it seems donald trump is escaping his day in court, reaching a final conclusion, a judgment in any of these cases. it's kind of extraordinary. >> it's incredible. jim, i remember two years ago and speaking with trump's lawyers, when it wasn't clear if trump would be facing federal charges, they told me that they were most concerned about what was going on in georgia because, of course, a state level case is outside the scope of a presidential pardon. they said that was a case at that time that concerned them the most. and as you and ali were just talking about at the beginning of this year, then former president trump, he was facing four criminal cases. and of course, he was tried and convicted in new york in the so-called hush money case. but as of now, it's unclear if he'll ever be sentenced in that case, we're currently waiting for the judge. judge juan merchan to rule on a motion to dismiss another effort by the trump team to try to get that conviction tossed based

here with us now we have cnn chief legal affairs correspondent paula reid. paula was this a surprise? no. >> absolutely not. i've been covering hunter biden's legal issues for several years now, and there was no way that president joe biden was going to allow his only living son to go to federal prison for cases that biden believes are, quote selective and unfair. >> i was there for every day of hunter biden's delaware case rows and rows of that courtroom were filled with biden family members, including the first lady. it was clear that they were there to support him. they felt that the case was unfair, and his lawyers thought there was a chance they could convince the jury of that as well. we spoke to at least one juror who did ultimately convict hunter. they said that they believe the case was, quote, a waste of taxpayer money. but the prosecutors proved it beyond a reasonable doubt but of course, hunter faced a second case in los angeles and just hours before that trial was supposed to start, he entered a sort of unusual plea deal where he pleaded guilty t

let's bring in cnn chief legal affairs correspondent paula reid. paula, what does this ruling today mean for the case and for the remaining co-defendants? >> the case against president elect trump and his co-defendants survives, but they need to find now a new prosecutor and a new office that's going to be willing to spend most of its time and resources taking on this case. that seems highly unlikely. so if this opinion stands, that is going to be a monumental task to find someone to take it over. so that's why, yes, technically it survives. but as i've been saying, it's on life support. and what happened here is that the appeals court believes that d.a. fani willis and her entire office should be removed from the case for the appearance of impropriety that came about as a result of her romantic relationship with nathan wade. that was the special prosecutor she tapped to oversee this historic case. usually something just looking improper isn't enough. but here, the court said this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other r

our chief legal affairs correspondent, paula reid, has details for us. paula, this is a stunning reversal from the house ethics committee. >> that's exactly right, wolf. and cnn broke the story that earlier this month, the house ethics committee secretly voted to release the ethics report on the former congressman. >> now we've learned it will be made public after the last vote. it's clear that lawmakers want to be on their way out of town when these new details are revealed. >> yeah, it is a horrible allegation and it is a lie. >> former congressman matt gaetz has repeatedly denied having sex with a woman who was just 17 at the time, an allegation that has been investigated by the justice department and most recently by congress. >> i am the most investigated man in the united states congress back in 2020, the trump justice department opened a criminal investigation into whether the republican congressman had sex with a minor over two years. >> the investigation expanded to look into allegations of sex trafficking, prostitution, obstruction of justice an

paula reid, cnn washington. >> speaking with cnn, former u.s. federal prosecutor jeffrey toobin says whilst not intended president biden's decision to pardon his son speaks volumes about privilege and preferential treatment. >> the prosecution came down very hard on him, but it's important to remember that he was guilty of these 12 felonies, you know nine that he pleaded guilty to three was convicted by a jury lots of people get leaned on by the federal government in this country lots of people plead guilty in difficult situations. are convicted, and they don't get pardons. this president in particular has been very stingy about pardons he's only granted 25 other pardons when other presidents have granted substantially more. so the idea of singling out his son, i think just sends a terrible message about who gets preferential treatment in this country and that pardon will last partly. >> it will at least partly overshadow the u.s. president's africa trip joe biden is now the first us president to visit angola next hour. he's expected to take par

i'm paula reid in for kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us as we begin with the death and the legacy of jimmy carter, a former georgia peanut farmer who rose to the presidency, then cultivated a legacy of unprecedented service after leaving the white house. >> my name is jimmy carter, and i'm running for president. >> carter was the nation's 39th president. he served a single term from 1977 to 1981, losing his reelection bid to ronald reagan. now his term weighed down by a 440 day hostage ordeal in iran, along with an energy crisis and an economy crushed by inflation. at his inaugural address in 1977, carter laid out his vision for the presidency, a vision that defined his administration. >> i would hope that the nations of the world might say that we had built a lasting, peace based not on weapons of war, but on international policies which reflect our own most precious values. >> carter died peacefully at the age of 100 on sunday, surrounded by loved ones at his home in plains, georgia. he'd been under hom

our chief legal affairs correspondent, paula reid, has more on this. could have a huge impact on transgender americans. all across the country. >> absolutely, wolf this is the biggest case of the supreme court term so far and we got one of the only interviews with the teen at the center of this historic case guidelines on human rights. last year, tennessee republicans voted to make it illegal for transgender youth to be prescribed certain medications or treatments for gender dysphoria. >> i couldn't imagine that i would be headed to the supreme court. >> elle williams, a teen identified only as elle in court documents and speaking to us in shadow, was one of those directly impacted by the law. she and her parents sued tennessee after the ban disrupted her treatment at the start of adolescence, something to you felt like it wasn't quite right why was that? >> well, it was because essentially i was born in a male body and i am a woman. and that's incredibly uncomfortable for me. >> her parents brian and samantha, had no idea. i was surprised, but i was n

cnn chief legal affairs correspondent paula reid is with us now. ula walk us through the stakes here and where you saw the justices seem to be today during this argument. >> well, minors transitioning has become a political hot button issue, right? and today we saw the justices poised unlikely. right. unlikely. they appear to overturn this ban in tennessee that prohibits minors from receiving certain medical treatments. if they want to transition. now teens who have been affected by this the aclu and the biden administration all argue that this ban amounts to unconstitutional sex discrimination. because if you were born a boy and you want access to testosterone treatment, you can get it, but you can't get it if you're born a boy and you want to transition to a girl. now, the state of tennessee says it's not sex based discrimination because it doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl. you can't get this medical treatment to transition. so today, the justices had a lot of questions for both sides. but we were watching really closely some of the potent

. >> cnn's paula reid is with us. so, paula, walk us through why willis was removed from this case. and what does this mean for some of trump's co-defendants? >> so the trump team had been trying to get fani willis removed from this case because of her romantic relationship with a special prosecutor, nathan wade, who she tapped to oversee this. they were not successful at the trial level, but here the court of appeals says based on just the appearance of impropriety, usually that's not enough. but here what this romantic relationship did to sort of taint public perception of the case, that is enough. and again, this is rare that this would be how they would go on something that was just the appearance that something wasn't off. but they said, look, the only way to really restore public trust in this case is for her and her office to be removed from the case. so the case itself was not dismissed. but after this opinion, they would have to find a new prosecutor, a new office that would want to take on this case. now, it's not just president elect trump. there are other co-defendants a

cnn's paula reid has investigated allegations against matt gaetz for months. she has details now on what is likely to be included in this ethics report. >> it is a horrible allegation and it is a lie. >> former congressman matt gaetz has repeatedly denied having sex with a woman who was just 17 at the time, an allegation that has been investigated by the justice department and most recently by congress. >> i am the most investigated man in the united states congress. >> back in 2020, the trump justice department opened a criminal investigation into whether the republican congressman had sex with a minor over two years. >> the investigation expanded to look into allegations of sex trafficking, prostitution, obstruction of justice and public corruption. >> the things that the house ethics report were true. i would be under indictment and probably in a prison cell. but of course they're false. >> while gaetz denied wrongdoing, a former trump aide told the house select committee investigating the january 6th attack that gaetz sought a preemptive presidential pardo

cnn's chief legal affairs correspondent paula reid has more on the debate inside trump's inner circle over how to handle these pardons. >> well, speaking with sources, it's clear this is not going to be a traditional pardon process where each individual case is assessed. instead, the trump team really looking to do things in broad swaths. but as is often the case with president elect trump, he is big on promises, short on specifics. but we do know that an attorney who represents dozens of people who have been charged related to january 6th has been inundated with calls with interest from people who have been charged, who would like a pardon, naturally, but it's unclear the process to understand whether or not they qualify. the one clue that trump has given is that he wants to carve out an exception, and not grant clemency, for people who have been violent. now, it's difficult to suss out exactly who is and is not violent. when you're dealing with something like this, because, of course, this was a violent event. and we take some of the leaders like enrique tarrio. he's the former chai

all right, paula reid reporting for us. paula, thank you very much. joining us now, virginia state senator danica roem. she's the first out transgender state legislature legislator in the u.s. senator, thank you so much for joining us. the conservative majority, you probably know on the court, appears likely to support tennessee's ban on gender affirming care. what went through your mind hearing the arguments today sure. >> so as i was listening to the arguments, a few things that really stuck out. number one, representing virginia and knowing that virginia has been on the wrong side of supreme court cases before, especially in the loving case when justice jackson, you know, brought up that hey, if you decide this way in the way that tennessee is, you could potentially be undermining the rationale of the way that loving versus virginia was decided in terms of equal protection under the law. but the next thing that really just there's a lot of things that just that just went through my mind, like listening to these arguments today and part of it is, yo

but as cnn's paula reid reports, the top court's liberal justices seem ready to support trans youth. >> if you change the individual sex, it changes the result. >> and a law like that can't stand on bare rationality. >> that solicitor general elizabeth prelogar arguing tennessee's ban on medical care for transgender minors amounts to sex discrimination, which is unconstitutional under the equal protection clause. fight back. but tennessee argued their law protects minors from irreparable harm. >> its application turns entirely on medical purpose, not a patient's sex. that is, not sex discrimination. the equal protection clause does not require the states to blind themselves to medical reality. >> conservative justices like samuel alito focused in on how other countries such as the united kingdom and sweden, have recently shifted policies to limit access to treatments for transgender youth i wonder if you would like to stand by the statement that you made in your petition, or if you think it would now be appropriate to modify that and withdraw the statement that there is overwhelming

all right. >> paula reid, thank you so much.ring in the lawyer who's going to argue this high profile case before the u.s. supreme court. chase strangio chase, thanks so much for being here. really appreciate it. so the case comes at a time when 26 states have passed laws restricting health care treatments for transgender youth, according to a cnn analysis of data from the nonprofit think tank movement advancement project. so how do you plan to argue before the u.s. supreme court in a case that could have wide ranging implications beyond the state of tennessee? >> well, thank you for having me jake. and obviously, this is a critical inflection point for transgender people across the country. >> we're coming off of an election season where transgender people played an outsized role in people's consciousness in terms of the way in which we were situated as as a threat to others. and when we look at the map of states that ban this type of evidence based health care, we went from zero states that had these bans in 2020 to now, more

cnn's paula reid has more. reporter trans rights are human rights. >> last year, tennessee republicans voted to make it illegal for transgender youth to be prescribed certain medications or treatments for gender dysphoria. >> i couldn't imagine that i would be headed to the supreme court l. >> williams a teen identified only as l in court documents and speaking to us in shadow, was one of those directly impacted by the law. she and her parents sued tennessee after the ban disrupted her treatment at the start of adolescence something to you felt like it wasn't quite right. >> why was that? >> well, it was because essentially i was born in a male body and i am a woman, and that's incredibly uncomfortable for me. >> her parents, brian and samantha, had no idea. >> i was surprised, but i was never i was still like from the very beginning supportive, like, okay, this is what's going on with you we're there for it. >> and debated whether this was all just a phase. >> i asked lots of questions, had a lot of pushback.

cnn's paula reid reports. >> the case against president elect trump down in georgia survived.this appeals court, they did not dismiss the case itself, but says the case would need a new prosecutor and a new office. they found that fani willis and her entire office should be disqualified based on the appearance of impropriety that resulted from her romantic relationship with nathan wade, who was, of course, the special prosecutor that she selected to oversee this historic case. now, the trial court did not see things this way, so she did not have to be removed. this was appealed. the trump team has really been pushing to get her off the case, arguing that not only was her romantic relationship inappropriate, they've also raised questions about his billing practices. and here, the appellate court agreed, saying, look, it's rare that you would remove a prosecutor for just the appearance of impropriety. but they found that the only way to restore public trust. they said in this case and the integrity of the process is for her to be disqualified. now, we do expect that she is going

joining me now is cnn chief legal affairs correspondent paula reid. she is outside the supreme court, as is our lucy kavanaugh. we also want to talk to cnn legal analyst, senior legal analyst elie honig and constitutional attorney seth berenzweig. paula, let me go to you first. we were just listening to what sounded like, by happenstance, a very critical moment in the arguments with justice alito and elizabeth prelogar, the solicitor general going over the the, you know, the risks versus the costs and the benefits of of this gender affirming care for minors. what can you tell us walk us through the case. >> that's exactly right here. the biden justice department arguing that tennessee's ban on allowing minors access to certain forms of medical care if they want to transition is unconstitutional. they argue that, look, if you are born a female, you don't have access to, for example, certain testosterone therapy. but if you're born a male, you can have access to that for other medical reasons. just not to transition. so you heard the justices really pres

paula reid, thank you so much. let's bring in tennessee attorney general john skrmetti, who is the respondent in this case defending the state ban. thank you so much for joining us. really appreciate it. so you were at the court today. what was your sense on how the justices heard tennessee's argument? do you agree with the the observers who say that the majority seemed largely sympathetic to the tennessee's point of view? well, you never want to prognosticate, jake, but certainly they were asking a lot of probing questions this is the first constitutional case looking at gender identity issues. and i think the court recognizes that this will have a potentially significant precedential effect. so they were really pressing both sides. >> it was a long argument, and they worked through quite a few issues. >> here's a basic question for you. so what do you say to the parents of a transgender minor who say you are taking away the only thing that is keeping my kid from killing him or himself or herself, that your ban, y

let's get over to cnn's paula reid, who's kindly been standing by. as i give some of the background on this case. paula, you also spoke with some of the people at the center of this case. talk to me about what they say and what is at stake here. >> look, this is the biggest case of the supreme court term. so far. today, the justices are going to consider whether minors have a constitutional right to certain medical care if they want to transition. and as you noted, we had one of the few interviews with a teen at the center of this case. we talked to her and her parents about what this tennessee law meant for them i was born in a male body and i am a woman, and that's incredibly uncomfortable for me. her parents, brian and samantha, had no idea i was surprised, but i was never i was still like from the very beginning, supportive like, okay, this is what's going on with you. >> we're there for it. >> and debated whether this was all just a phase. >> i asked lots of questions, had a lot of pushback, you know, asked probably a lot of the questions that pe

paula reid is out front. she obviously covered that trial extensively day in and day out. paula. so what is merchan exactly saying? and then what happens next from here? then? >> we'll hear merchan not buying an argument from the trump legal team that they always knew. this was kind of a long shot, but they argued after the supreme court's immunity decision this summer, this conviction should be tossed out because the summer not only did the supreme court say that presidents are entitled to immunity for official acts, it also ruled that official acts cannot be used as evidence to support other charges. and after that opinion, trump's lawyers argued that in the new york hush money case that certain pieces of evidence that came in constituted official acts, for example, conversations that trump had with hope hicks. so trump's lawyers argued that, look, if you can't bring in this evidence, the entire conviction should be tossed. but here tonight, merchan making it clear he does not agree, saying that the entirety of this case related to unofficial conduct. now, my sources tell me th

i'm paula reid. cnn news central starts right now. >> the world is mourning and honoring former president jimmy carter, who has died at 100 years old. he served just one term in the white house, but redefined what the post-presidency life could be. we're looking at his legacy and his impact around the globe, plus new details in the investigation into the deadliest aviation disaster for south korea in nearly 30 years. >> what we've now learned happened moments before a jet crash landed, and the pilot's final words to the control tower. and today, millions of people heading home from holiday trips. but winter storms and staffing shortages, well, that could cause some delays. rahel solomon here with omar jimenez, sara, john and kate are out today. this is cnn news central. >> this morning, remembering the life and legacy of the longest living u.s. president, jimmy carter. as the nation now prepares to honor him with a state funeral. now, overnight, president biden declaring january 9th as a national day

paula reid is out front even as president biden publicly declared he wouldn't pardon his son. >> i saidi abide by the jury's decision. >> i will do that. and i will not pardon him. >> sources tell cnn that people in the west wing and those close to hunter biden believed a pardon was always coming. >> will you testify in june hunter became the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime. >> the jury has found hunter biden, the president's son guilty on all three counts in this case, after three hours of deliberation. >> good morning. >> after that historic conviction on gun charges, he faced another federal case in los angeles on tax charges. but just hours before the trial was set to begin, he entered a surprise guilty plea on all of the counts he faced. >> this plea prevents that kind of show trial that would have not provided all the facts or served any real point in justice. >> sources familiar with hunter's legal strategy tell cnn he would not have pleaded guilty exposing himself to the possibility of 17 years in prison and possibly more than $1 million in fines wi

brian, you were part of the team that broke this story, along with paula reid and katelyn polantz.irst of all, tell us what this suit is. this is not exactly a defamation suit. >> no. >> unlike a lot of the lawsuits trump has filed in the past, usually unsuccessfully, against news outlets. this is not a defamation suit. this is a case in iowa that relies on a pretty dramatic or aggressive interpretation of the iowa consumer fraud act. that's a law that prohibits deception when advertising or selling merchandise. so you can imagine trump's legal team here looking for a law in iowa they can use to sue ann selzer and the des moines register and its parent company, gannett. and they've landed on this consumer fraud protection law. they're basically arguing that the poll was an example of fraud, that it was, quote, election interference fiction. now, as you said, jon ann selzer has a sterling reputation, or at least she didn't until this year. her pre-election poll was wildly wrong, and she has acknowledged so. she went through the data last month trying to figure out what went wrong, a

some that were really out of control, let's discuss with cnn's chief legal affairs correspondent paula reid and cnn crime and justice correspondent katelyn polantz. paul, let me start with you. how are trump and his advisers deciding who would even qualify for a pardon? >> well, let's be clear. there are no limits here to the president's power to pardon people for federal offenses. it's trump who's putting some limits on himself, saying that he'd like to maybe carve out some exceptions for people who were involved in violence. but how do you make those distinctions when you're dealing with an event that was so violent, so inherently violent? right. more than 140 police officers were assaulted. millions of dollars in damage to the u.s. capitol. one option that we're told is on the table is to maybe pardon people who are charged with certain offenses related to january 6th. but even if you take an offense like assault, there are varying degrees of violence related to that. you also have folks like the leaders of some of these far right organizations. enrique tarrio is a perfect example. enriq

i'm paula reid in for kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. as tributes are pouring in from around the world and across the country for america's late 39th president. >> my name is jimmy carter, and i'm running for president. >> jimmy carter only served one term in the post watergate era, from 1977 to 1981, but it was consequential and historic. carter was soundly defeated by ronald reagan and his reelection bid. his presidency, clouded by a 444 day hostage crisis in iran and an economy crushed by inflation and oil shortages. at his inaugural address in 1977, carter made his vision clear and global conflicts and serve with humanity. >> i would hope that the nations of the world might say that we had built a lasting peace based not on weapons of war, but on international policies which reflect our own most precious values. >> carter died peacefully at the age of 100 sunday, surrounded by loved ones at his home in plains, georgia. he'd been under hospice home care since february of 2023. president biden designating january 9th, 2025, as a nation

i'm paula reid. cnn's special coverage of new year's eve live around the world starts now.

we've just gotten this in from our brian stelter katelyn polantz and paula reid that he is escalating his legal campaign against media outlets and is suing. now that pollster j. ann selzer. so i want to ask you, shermichael, is this a scare tactic? you heard the question there about this isn't just legacy media that could be sort of threatened or sued, but anybody that makes a negative comment, is it a scare tactic to keep people from from doing, you know, negative reporting, if that's what is out there yeah. >> i don't know if it's a scare tactic, but i do know in our country, we permit everyone under our current laws to file a lawsuit if they have a potential claim against someone and that litigation will will move forward or it will fail on its merits, a judge will look at the allegations. a judge will assess whether or not it should move forward, and if it can't move forward, then the judge will dismiss it. if the judge does believe that there is potentially enough there to move forward, then it should move forward, as it would for me as a regular individual or the president of th

. >> joining us now is cnn chief legal affairs correspondent paula reid. the supreme court as is our lucy kavanagh, a cnn senior legal analyst. elie honig constitutional attorney seth berenzweig and minnesota state representative lee fink, who is the first transgender member of the state's legislature. we're also going to hear from keegan miller of the trevor project, which focuses on suicide prevention among lgbtq plus youth. paula, i want to go to you first, though. set the stage for us what has been happening so far in oral arguments? >> well, pamela right now, history is being made inside the supreme court behind me as chase strangio becomes the first transgender lawyer to argue before the supreme court. he is arguing on behalf of the aclu in support of minors seeking this kind of treatment. now, he followed the solicitor general. so that's the lawyer arguing on behalf of the biden administration who advocated that this tennessee ban amounts to sex discrimination because teens can seek this kind of treatment as long as they are not seeking it to transi

all right, paula reid with our new reporting. thank you so much for that. and donald trump won the white house in part by appealing to blue collar workers. but will that be the focus of the gop legislative agenda? one senator elect is telling his colleagues it has to be at least if they want his vote. he joins me next welcome to times square. >> that's night of my life that was so embarrassing. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy. live coverage starts at eight on cnn. streaming live on. >> you make good choices. they've shaped your journey to leave all that your life built. rock solid for generations. with ambition like that, you need someone who elevates advice to a craft. at ubs, we match your vision with insight and expertise to shape a unique outcome for you advice is our craft. >> i use beetlejuice. >> don't ever say that name. not ever beetlejuice. beetlejuice. beetlejuice. >> beetlejuice is loose. shake shake shake shake. shake shake. i'm going to make you so happy. lessons from the heart. beetlejuice. beetlejuice. rated pg 13, now streamin

i want to start with cnn chief legal affairs correspondent paula reid on the significance of this. this was a state case which is notable. and the question now is, is it over? is it dead in the water? >> yeah, basically it's on life support. i mean, they did not dismiss it, but they're going to need to find a new prosecutor and a new office to handle this case. that will be incredibly difficult. and as we know, trump's legal team, they're always attacking prosecutors and judges trying to undermine their credibility. but here there was a very legitimate question that the appeals court actually agreed with the trump team here, that the appearance of impropriety in and around fani willis romantic relationship with nathan wade, the special prosecutor she tapped to oversee this case, amounted to an appearance of impropriety. so they wrote, quote, while we recognize that an appearance of impropriety generally is not enough to support disqualification, this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity

i'm paula reid. cnn's special coverage of new year's eve live around the world starts now. >> it's new year's eve and all day long cnn is giving you a front row seat as the world celebrates. >> we'll be taking you live to sydney, tokyo, hong kong, bangkok, dubai london, paris and more until the ball drops in new york city, featuring special guests and performances from sting. >> there's going to be no seat empty. otherwise, i'll walk off hit songs from men at work's colin hay. >> the broadway cast of the great gatsby designers prabal gurung, rebecca vallance, vivienne tam and celebrity chef vikas khanna. >> but the source is where the magic happens, and that's just in the first few hours. >> so sit back and enjoy the show. >> hi, i'm sting come and celebrate new year's eve on cnn. >> hello and welcome to cnn's new year's eve special. i'm julia chatterley coming to you live from the marriott marquis, right in the heart of new york's times square. and as you saw there, we have a jam packed, incredible