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Iran Freed Four Americans in Prisoner Exchange; Hope and Caution Amid Warming U.S.-Iran Relations; Donald Trump Battling Ted Cruz for Evangelical Vote; Financial Markets React to China's GDP Report; Allegations of Tennis Match Fixing; Uber Passenger Takes Driver to Court; Remembering Glenn Frey. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired January 19, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:18] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.
Ahead this hour, Americans held captive by Iran reunited with families. Now the stories behind Iran's last-minute move that nearly caused the deal to collapse.
"Two Corinthians." Donald Trump fumbles a scripture reference. But will the bible flub have any effect on his courtship of evangelicals?
And good-bye for another music legend, first David Bowie, now the Eagles' Glenn Frey.
Hello, everybody. Thanks for staying with us. I'm John Vause. Another hour of NEWSROOM L.A. starts now.
We begin with the first homecoming of the first five Americans released from prison in Iran. Matthew Trevithick has arrived back in Boston. He went to Tehran as a student but was arrested and held for 40 days. Trevithick's release was not part of the prisoner swap which freed four other Americans. One of that group chose to stay in Iran. The other three are recovering at a U.S. military hospital in Germany.
Chief U.S. security correspondent Jim Sciutto has more on the prisoners' release and their homecoming.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a four-hour flight from Tehran to Geneva, these were the American prisoners' first moments of freedom, and first family reunions.
Jason Rezaian, "Washington Post" journalist, freed after a year and a half jailed in Iran, Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine, freed after more than four years behind bars, including a death sentence, and American pastor Saeed Abedini released after more than three years in jail.
But their release had to pass one final unexpected obstacle. Just before takeoff, Iranian authorities tried to block Jason's wife and mother from joining him on board. I spoke today with Rezaian's brother, Ali.
(On camera): The Iranians threw up a roadblock at that point. What happened?
ALI REZAIAN, BROTHER OR JASON REZAIAN: The Iranians, as they have done all along, continued to manipulate them, continued to try and mess with them and prevented them Yegi from leaving for some period of time. But thanks to the Swiss and thanks to the Americans, she came with him as well.
SCIUTTO (voice-over): Rezaian, Abedini, and Hekmati are now undergoing physical and psychological medical checks in a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. Congressman Dan Kildee, who long advocated for Hekmati's release, joined the reunion.
Rep. DAN KILDEE (D), MICHIGAN: I carry with me, I wear it almost all the time, this little button that says "Free Amir." I guess I can flip it around and just say "Amir Free."
SCIUTTO: The surprise announcement came on the same day the U.S. and Iran announced the completion of the nuclear agreement, which crucially brought an end to all economic sanctions against Iran for its nuclear activities.
Earlier in an interview with Wolf in "THE SITUATION ROOM," Secretary of State John Kerry denied that the hostages' freedom depended on sanctions relief.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: No one really believes it was a coincidence that on the day the implementation of the nuclear deal goes forward finally the Americans are released from Iran.
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, it became -- as I say, it became convenient. It was not linked.
SCIUTTO: Events this weekend bring a fundamental change not just to relations between Iran and the U.S., but in Iran's relationship with the world. Iran now has access to, the U.S. Treasury estimates, $50 billion in frozen assets. It can sell its oil and gas freely on world markets. And Western companies, including American firms, can now do business with Iran for the first time in years.
(On camera): There are still two Americans held by Iran, Siamak Namazi is an Iranian American businessman and also Robert Levinson, a former FBI employee who disappeared in 2007. I spoke with his family today, and they said it is nonsense that Iran does not know his whereabouts or his condition.
Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The prisoner swap between the U.S. and Iran is not without critics. Many argue it has set a dangerous precedent where hostile regimes can detain Americans on trumped up charges and then use them as bargaining chips with the United States. Michael Pregent is a former intelligence adviser to General David
Petraeus and he is with us now from Washington.
Michael, I guess here the events for the last week, prisoners being released, U.S. sailors released in 24 hours, nuclear deal implemented, the White House says it's a sign that diplomacy works. What's wrong with this picture?
MICHAEL PREGENT, MIDDLE EAST ANALYST, HUDSON INSTITUTE: Well, all of those things sound great if you don't know what actually happened. So we're talking about the sailors being released. We don't talk about them being put on their knees and putting their hands behind their heads, and being detained for 24 hours. When it comes to the hostages, we need to know that we actually received our five innocent hostages back, and released seven criminals.
[01:05:09] Now a lot of people don't know that the sanctions that these seven Iranians were actually convicted for are actually still in place. They're not supposed to try to procure sensitive items, or procure materials for a weaponized nuclear program. Yet they were still released. And implementation day, the day after implementation day, we end up putting sanctions back on Iran for its ballistic missile testing. So there's a lot to see in the last 72 hours based on what happened on implementation day.
VAUSE: I mean, but do you at least -- would you at least acknowledge that these two countries are talking? I guess you can talk about, you know, who's got the upper hand, and how it's working. But diplomacy, better than confrontation?
PREGENT: I believe that the relationships have been established. I believe that Zarif and Kerry have a good relationship. I believe that we're able to reach out to President Rouhani but I still believe all decisions are still being made by the supreme leader. And the supreme leader and his Revolutionary Guard are not big fans of this Iran deal.
I hope that the moderates actually win. But when you look at what happened just yesterday with 99 percent of reformist candidates disqualified from running in February's election, you have to look at things like that, too. Those are tangible things happening on the ground in Iran, that we have to pay attention to.
VAUSE: I guess if you're looking forward here, let's say, you know, hypothetical situation. Let's say the two other Americans, Siamak Namazi and Bob Levinson, the other U.S. citizens who have been arrested, let's say they're released, the Iranians keep to their -- you know, keep to their side of the agreement on the nuclear deal, would you change your position? Would you then say, hey, it looks like this might just be working?
PREGENT: No, of course I'm not married to my assessments. I'm just an indicators and warnings guy. I've been looking at Iran for a long time. And we know the actors that were bad seven years ago got a paycheck yesterday. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the commander of the Basij that actually put down of the 2009 revolution with bullets, he got a paycheck yesterday. Qasem Soleimani, Iran's designated terrorist general, got a paycheck yesterday.
These are things that we just have to look at. Yes, I'm not married to this assessment. If this works out, then I'll be the first one to say it worked out. But I can tell you right now that if the president asked the American intelligence community to provide him evidence that Iran is already cheating, they'd be able to. That's how much we know Iran and that's how much we know this regime.
VAUSE: Very, very quickly, you seem to have the impression, contrary to what I guess a lot of people are saying right now, that the moderates have the upper hand. You believe it's really the hardliners who are still calling the shots right now.
PREGENT: Well, the hardliners are able to say, look what we did. Look what we got. The reformers didn't get this. They still had to ask permission from Khomeini. But again, you look at the reformist candidates that were disqualified yesterday from running in February's elections in Iran, and that's an indicator as to who has the upper hand.
We want this to be a moderating event. If Iran's Navy would have simply assisted our Navy, then we would have seen video of them reaching out hands and giving them water bottles and helping them fix engines. That would have been a better PR move by Iran. If we would have got our five hostages back yesterday without conditions, that would have been a moderating event. We're just not seeing those things yet.
And again, today, the day after we just put sanctions on Iran for ballistic missile testing, Iran has already come back and said, this is a propaganda move by a hostile government in the U.S. and we will accelerate our missile program. So we're looking for moderating events, we're just not seeing them yet. And it does take time.
VAUSE: OK. Michael, good to speak with you. Thank you for that.
PREGENT: Great. Thank you.
VAUSE: Thanks for being with us.
PREGENT: Thanks.
VAUSE: CNN's Wolf Blitzer sat down with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and asked him to explain why the U.S. took a diplomatic approach to Iran despite the continued tension and hostility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: The alternative is far more dangerous for our country and for the region. It is imperative as a matter of fundamental principles of diplomacy, of multi-lateral relations, and frankly, of wielding the great power of potentially going to war, that you exhaust all the diplomatic possibilities before you ask young men and women, Americans and others perhaps to put their lives on the line.
That's fundamental, Wolf. And the president has been courageous and steadfast in making it clear that he would pursue diplomacy first.
BLITZER: Has the Iranian mindset changed? Have they abandoned their ambition to have a nuclear bomb?
KERRY: The supreme leader agreed in the Iran agreement and has firmly embraced within the agreement that Iran will never seek a nuclear weapon.
[01:10:02] And they have embraced a set of verification measures which give us the ability way -- I mean, as long as the agreement is in existence, to be able to access sites that are questionable, and to be able to enforce this with the IAEA. So we have lost nothing here. We have gained.
BLITZER: Have they --
KERRY: Gained --
BLITZER: -- ended their nuclear ambition?
KERRY: They say they have.
BLITZER: Do you believe it?
KERRY: That's why we have verification in this agreement.
BLITZER: So do you believe that they have abandoned that nuclear --
(CROSSTALK)
KERRY: It is to be proven by the process going forward and the verification of this agreement. As President Obama has said, it's not built on trust. I've said that. Hundreds of times. This is not built on trust, Wolf. This is built on a meticulously negotiated set of verification requirements. And so --
BLITZER: If the U.S. intelligence community or anybody else has suspicions that something is going on, that you don't know about, you notify the Iranians, you want to inspect that facility, how many days do they have to potentially clean it up?
KERRY: Well, there's a 24-hour period before they have to --
BLITZER: 24-hour period?
KERRY: Before they have to respond to the request for access. There's then a period of days, 21 days, 14 days initially, and then it's reported to the joint commission, which is us, Germany, France, Britain, China, Russia, and we would decide whether or not we want to take action, go to the U.N. Security Council. But our belief is that that is the kind of accountability that is going to allow us to continue to move forward with the implementation of this agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Donald Trump is ramping up his push for the evangelical vote with two weeks to go before the Iowa caucuses. The Republican frontrunner is trying to chip away at rival Ted Cruz's base.
Dana Bash reports on Trump's speech to thousands of Christian students.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to have some fun, right?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Appearing at Virginia's Liberty University is a rite of passage for GOP presidential candidates, even Donald Trump, who drew a big crowd beyond students required to attend.
TRUMP: I want to generally knock the hell out of them.
BASH: He stumbled a bit, quoting scripture.
TRUMP: Because I hear this is a major theme right here, but 2 Corinthians, right? Two Corinthians, 3:17. That's the whole ballgame. Where the spirit of the Lord, right? Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
BASH: It's 2nd Corinthians," not two. A moment showing sharp contrast with Ted Cruz who comfortably weeds bible verses into speeches.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How can you know that I will follow through on those promises on the first day in office and every day afterwards? As the scripture has said, you shall know them by their fruits.
BASH: But so far, polls show evangelicals like Trump, despite him not talking the talk of a typical Republican trying to reach them.
CRUZ: It seems Donald has a lot of nervous energy.
BASH: Still, a big part of the Cruz-Trump escalating war is a personality and character contest.
TRUMP: He's a nasty guy. Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere. Once they get to know him. He's a very -- he's got an edge that's not good.
BASH: Today Cruz responded to being called nasty with a classically Cruz pop culture reference. But Cruz is no longer laughing Trump off. He is now following Jeb Bush's lead. Questioning Trump's conservative credentials.
CRUZ: Ronald Reagan was a voice of consistency. And I'm pretty sure that Ronald Reagan didn't write checks and support Democratic politicians.
BASH: And a Cruz super PAC released this new TV ad trying to paint Trump as a hypocrite by playing Trump in his own words praising Cruz.
TRUMP: He really is special.
BASH: As for Trump, his campaign clearly knows they have some image softening to do, going up on New Hampshire radio with a testimonial from his daughter, Ivanka.
IVANKA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S DAUGHTER: When I was a young girl, my father, Donald Trump, always told me that I could do anything that I set my mind to if I coupled vision with determination and hard work.
BASH (on camera): Now Trump didn't just call Cruz nasty, he also went after him in a Twitter tirade for taking money from Wall Street and much, much more. But that was all over the weekend. Come Monday here in New Hampshire and earlier in Virginia, not one word about Cruz. Perhaps because Trump has been getting some blowback from conservative talk radio hosts who have a lot of influence with Republican voters, warning Trump not to go too far and alienating Cruz voters who may also be potential Trump voters.
Dana Bash, CNN, Concord, New Hampshire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:15:03] VAUSE: Joining us now, John Thomas, he's a Republican consultant, president of Thomas Partners Strategies.
Thanks for being with us. OK. Let's get into this. Can Trump, who clearly has a lot of credibility issues when it comes to the bible and religion, it's not his sort of -- not his real asset.
JOHN THOMAS, PRESIDENT, THOMAS PARTNERS STRATEGIES: No, it's not.
VAUSE: Can he actually outmaneuver Ted Cruz here, somebody who for evangelicals is the real deal when it comes to his faith?
THOMAS: And he is. I mean, Ted Cruz's father was a pastor. You're not going to out-religion Ted Cruz. But you can force Ted Cruz to defend his religion. And every second that Ted Cruz is not attacking Donald Trump on his turf is a good thing for Donald Trump.
So Donald Trump trying to talk the talk and I've got to give Trump credit, although he clearly is not a natural in that environment. He did classic Trumpisms which is take political correctness and throw it out the window.
VAUSE: Right.
THOMAS: You know, we're going to say merry Christmas in every department store if I -- I don't know what the president has to do about that. But that's what that base does want to hear. And he did it well.
VAUSE: You've remarked on the reaction from the crowd. They kind of knew this was pandering, but --
THOMAS: You know, look --
(CROSSTALK)
THOMAS: Yes, that's right. And a broader statement about the GOP electorate who like Trump, they don't think he's a purist. Nobody says I like Trump because he's a purist. They like him because he's angry and he says it like it is. And they don't care what he said before.
VAUSE: OK. Now Dana was reporting that, you know, Trump was trying to stay away from commenting on Ted Cruz, but he can't help himself. In the last couple of hours he tweeted out this. "I don't think Ted Cruz can even run for president until he can assure Republican voters that being born in Canada is not a problem. Doubt, exclamation mark."
OK. You know, let's read into the details here. Clearly he's moved from the "I'm the big-hearted guy who's just worried about Ted."
THOMAS: Right. Right.
VAUSE: Now he's saying, listen, there's a real problem here. So what's going on with Trump? Why the change in tune?
THOMAS: Well, whether or not Trump actually thinks there's a problem, he saw that the media was biting and it's really tight in Iowa. I mean, too tight to -- too close to call. So he has to lob everything he's got at Ted Cruz. And that was the one thing that seemed to be sticking. And so you've got to push it.
VAUSE: OK. Trump calling Cruz really nasty. I mean, that's something coming from probably the nastiest guy in the field.
THOMAS: I mean, that's just like when he says you're a deviate.
VAUSE: Yes. Yes .
THOMAS: I mean, it's almost comical.
VAUSE: It is. But if we -- you know, Dana reported this as well, you know, Rush Limbaugh, who's a very big voice in the conservative movement.
THOMAS: Right.
VAUSE: Has a very popular talk back radio show. When he starts calling Trump out, saying that isn't a good idea, does Trump sort of head down a road where there are really big potential problems for him?
THOMAS: There is. But Trump has been Teflon, because he's running not against -- just against the Democrats, but he's running against establishment figures. And Rush Limbaugh, while he has a big audience, he is establishment GOP.
VAUSE: Yes. OK. Two weeks to go. Business end of the season, and we're getting there.
THOMAS: Every day is a week in politics at this point. VAUSE: Yes.
THOMAS: Anything can happen for the next two weeks. Stay tuned, John, it's going to be exciting.
VAUSE: We'll have you back. John, thanks for coming in.
THOMAS: Thanks.
VAUSE: Well, still to come, financial markets now reacting to the latest economic news out of China. The government says the economy there still growing, but not nearly as fast as it was once. We're live in Beijing and Hong Kong with the latest.
Plus, remember this guy? Beating out this Uber driver? He's now suing the driver for $5 million. We'll tell you why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:22:09] VAUSE: The latest numbers coming out of China show the country's economy is still growing, just not as fast as it has been. Gross Domestic Product for 2016 great at a rate of 6.9 percent. That's right in line with government estimates. But the weakest annual growth since 1990.
Let's look at how the financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region are responding to this news. It's been mostly positive. If we can get those numbers up. We've seen the markets there in Shanghai up by more than 3 percent. The Nikkei up by half of 1 percent. Hong Kong up by almost 1.5 percent. And in Australia, in positive territory almost reaching 1 percent gain.
OK. Let's go to our Asia-Pacific editor Andrew Stevens who is live this hour in Hong Kong.
So, Andrew, you know, these numbers came in just as the government said they would. What a surprise. So can we trust it?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: Well -- yes, absolutely. They did come in as the government said they would. And can we trust these headline numbers? If you take a straw poll as economists and watchers around the world, the answer would be a resounding no. But look at the markets, John. That is a very positive reaction to these numbers. And I've been reading a lot of instant reaction from economists both in China, here in Hong Kong, and indeed in other countries.
And the overwhelming line coming out is, this is China stabilizing, at least for the last six months. So this is a good sign because you remember, there has been big selloffs, globally, on partly at least fears that China is heading for a hard landing. The black box that is the Chinese economy is in actually much worse shape than everyone thought.
But looking at these numbers and listening to the response, it's not talking about hard landings. In fact, I spoke to China's richest man. He's the head of Dalian Wonder Group, which is the biggest commercial property company in China, who's got his finger on the pulse as well, and I asked him whether he thought China was in for a hard landing or potentially hard landing. Listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WANG JIANLIN, CHAIRMAN, DALIAN WONDER GROUP (Through Translator): I do not only use the word "not" but have to stress absolutely not. In fact, there will not be a hard landing at all for China's economy. The main reason is, there is a fast demand for the service industry in China.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEVENS: As of what we're seeing, John, this transition of the Chinese economy away from manufacturing, away from exports, and heavy investment into more consumer-led growth, that is under way. It's going to take a long time. It's going to be a very, very rocky ride as we've seen from these falling GDP numbers. But it is happening.
It's too early to say that this is the worst it's going to get. In fact, a lot of banks, including the IMF, now says that growth will be weaker again this year. But right now, the fear of China falling off a cliff is receding.
[01:25:08] VAUSE: Yes, I guess it's all about, you know, whether they can turn it around. Make that move from that export driven economy to this consumption driven model. Really good get, speaking there to China's richest man. Thank you for that, Andrew.
Andrew Stevens, our Asia-Pacific editor, giving us some very valuable insight. Appreciate it, Andrew. Thank you.
Still to come here, the Aussie Open under way in Melbourne but allegations of match fixing are casting a shadow of the first tennis major of the year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Thanks for staying with us, everybody. Just coming up on 10:28 on a Monday night in Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. This is CNN NEWSROOM live from L.A. I'm John Vause with the headlines.
The first of the Americans released from Iran last weekend is now home in the United States. Student Matthew Trevithick arrived in Boston on Monday. He's been held for 40 days in Iran. His release was separate from the prisoner swap which freed four other Americans.
Iraqi authorities are searching a Baghdad neighborhood for three missing American contractors. Iraqi security official says gunmen kidnapped the men from a brothel on Friday. Investigators are trying to determine if the men were lured to the brothel. A Belgian man with suspected ties to the terror attacks in Paris last
November has been arrested in Morocco. Officials say he met with the alleged ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud. French law enforcement also say he traveled to Syria with one of the Paris suicide bombers in 2013.
[01:30:00] VAUSE: China's economy still growing, but at its weakest rate in 25 years. GDP for 2015 came in at 6.9 percent, pretty much in line with government expectations. Uncertainty over the slowing Chinese economy has been a key factor in plunging financial markets all around the world.
Lleyton Hewitt will make his 20th and final appearance at the Australian Open about 90 minutes from now. He announced he would retire after this tournament. But that and everything else in tennis has been overshadowed by explosive allegations of widespread match fixing at the sport's highest levels. BBC and "Buzzfeed News" say they received secret files accusing several top-ranked players throwing matches in return for payments but the sport's four governing bodies reject those reports and deny suppressing any evidence of wrongdoing. The top men's player, Novak Djokovic, said he was indirectly approached to throw a match for $200,000 back in 2007, but Djokovic still insisted that was not a match-fixing problem within the sport's upper echelon.
Let's bring in Ravi Ubha, live in Melbourne this hour.
Ravi, the world's number-two, Murray, just finished a news conference. What's he saying about these allegations of match fixing?
RAVI UBHA, CNN DIGITAL PRODUCER: John, he felt that, first of all, he wants more education, so when younger players are coming up, if they are approached in these situations, he wants to let them know where they can go, where they should be going to get nor guidance. That's number one. He also said that he has never been approached. Of course, after Djokovic said that, I think that's what many people were wondering, was Murray ever approached. He confirmed he had not been. Number three, transparency. That's one of the buzz words in the last couple of days. He just wants more transparency. What is going on, who is being investigated, how many matches are involved in these types of situations. And I spoke with the head of the ATP, Chris Kermode, who has been really the figurehead in the last couple of days for the governing bodies, asked him that question of transparency, what can he say about that. He said it's very difficult, because you have to go very sensitive. There are libel issues. You can't name names. It's a bit of a tight rope for the tour in that respect.
VAUSE: In general, Ravi, this is a big question now. Everyone's being asked about match fixing, have they been taking payment, what their involvement has been. How much of these reports from the BBC are these allegations, how much of that is overshadowing that of the Aussie Open?
UBHA: It's overshadowing quite a lot, John. Every press conference, they're getting these questions. In fact, probably the first couple of questions soften things up, talking about the match, but then the meat of the press conference, they're asked about match fixing, asking for the reports. Yesterday all of the big names in tennis were talking about this, Roger Federer, Djokovic, Sharapova, Serena Williams. And I'm sure we'll be hearing from Rafael Nadal. Even today, there have been very, very long matches and dramatic stuff on the court. But still match fixing is dominating a little bit. Not as much as yesterday, but still the bulk of it today.
VAUSE: This story will go on for a while.
Ravi, thank you. Ravi Ubha, reporting live there from Melbourne.
Staying with these allegations of match fixing in tennis, we go to New York and John Templon, a data reporter with "Buzzfeed News." He spent more than a year analyzing the tennis results and betting.
John, we'll get to the research you did in a minute because I know you spent a lot of time of this. But first of all, do you think it's fair to put this information out there, raise suspicions, just kind of leave it hanging without naming names, essentially putting every player right now under a cloud?
JOHN TEMPLON, DATA REPORTER, BUZZFEED NEWS: Well, the reason we didn't name names is we were really interested in putting the onus on the tennis authorities to actually do something about match fixing in tennis. We thought it was more powerful to say there are 70 players that have been flagged to them that have not been sanctioned. And also, that there are these top level -- this group of 16 that have been flagged multiple times, and haven't faced any sanctions. We feel like those things are more important than naming one person in particular, and kind of tarring them with a match fixer brush.
VAUSE: Let's get to your data and analysis. I'll pick up on that point in a moment. You ran 1 million computer simulations per player, and with that, you reached 23 first-round matches in professional tournaments manipulated or outright fixed every year? How did you get to that number?
TEMPLON: That's not my number, that's from another academic study I should note. The number that we came up with the 15 players that have suspicious movements in their pre matches. That results in them losing far more often than would be expected. In our analysis, what we did is take those pre-matched odds and simulated them a million times and it turned out some of these players lost way more than they should have in those circumstances.
[01:35:05] VAUSE: OK. So let me look at your analysis of these tennis matches, and the betting. You say basically it raises red flags here, specifically to do with some players. But you say it is inconclusive, because betting patterns alone aren't proof?
TEMPLON: That's exactly right. You have to do more investigation. I think the investigators in 2008 proved that showing that you have to look at the individual players, and what's going on in their relationships. So they looked at the phones of the player, who they were texting before the match. Those are the things you need to prove the match fixing is going on. But the betting patterns alone send a strong signal. And that's what the TIU seems to be ignoring.
VAUSE: Doesn't that get back to what the tennis officials are saying over the last 24 hours, they investigate when they have suspicions, and they'll take action when they have evidence. Do you not buy that?
TEMPLON: Well, we don't think they're investigating as much as they say they are, I guess. We've spoken to a number of people who have said that they've given information to the authorities, and then they've never followed up with it, information that would be vital in terms of doing more analysis and figuring out if a match was actually thrown. So if you're not going back to the book makers and not asking for specifics about the matches, then how are you able to do that investigating? That's kind of what we're highlighting in our piece.
VAUSE: Very quickly, how difficult is it actually to prove corruption here, especially if the investigators can't get access to phone and computer records?
TEMPLON: They can get access to phone and computer records under their corruption policies. So if the players don't give it, they're allowed to sanction them for not giving it to them. I think they need to be more vigilant about getting that information.
VAUSE: John, it is a great read. It's a fascinating data analysis, the way you put it all together. And I would recommend to everybody, head over to "Buzzfeed News" and read the piece. It's a great read.
Thanks for being with us.
TEMPLON: Thank you.
VAUSE: Still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, this viral video is at the center of a lawsuit. After the break, find out why the Uber passenger is taking his driver to court.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[1:40:31] VAUSE: A man on camera caught attacking his Uber driver is now suing the driver.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARD JEVAN (ph), UBER DRIVER: Get of my car or I'll call the police.
BENJAMIN GOLDEN, UBER PASSENGER: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: According to reports, Benjamin Golden, is seeking $5 million, claiming that this video was taken without his consent. This comes after the driver, Edward Jevan (ph), sued Golden for the beating which he endured. Shortly after the video went viral, Golden lost his prestigious job.
Let's bring in criminal defense attorney, Darren Kavinoky, to talk more about this.
Legally, what is the case here? How can this actually even be legal?
DARREN KAVINOKY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: What this case illustrates is the gap between what happens in a court of law and the court of public opinion, because clearly in the court of public opinion, this guy Golden's done. Right?
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: But he has a case?
KAVINOKY: But he does have a case in a court of law. All of this is grounded in notions of privacy. That is, that people have the right to control how what they say, especially when done in confidence, confidential communications, how those communications are recorded, or disseminated. And so really, this is grounded in California being what they call a two-party recording state, meaning that both parties to a recording, or all parties to a recording must consent to the dissemination of that information. So this lawsuit is basically grounded in the idea that I didn't give you permission to record me. And I certainly didn't give you permission to put it up on YouTube.
VAUSE: Does that law apply to audio or video recordings?
KAVINOKY: Interesting. So there has been a reported case from the California appellate courts indicating that it does apply to videos as well. Again, all of this is grounded in individual rights to control how their communications are disseminated. But one of the thorny legal issues here is whether this is a confidential communication. Because people who are just out in public, they can be recorded when they have no expectation or privacy. Here it's a little bit --
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VAUSE: A gray area.
KAVINOKY: It's certainly a gray area.
VAUSE: When you sue someone for millions of dollars you normally go after deep pockets. I'm guessing the Uber driver doesn't have millions of dollars.
KAVINOKY: He may not have that. So certainly plaintiff's counsel better be coming up with a theory to implicate Uber obviously.
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VAUSE: They've got deep pockets.
KAVINOKY: Well, yes. They're just launching their new helicopter project. So I think they have money to throw around.
The other thing that's very interesting, keep in mind the context here, there's also a pending case in criminal court. And the more that the waters can be muddied as a result of this civil conflict, the more that he might use that to his advantage.
VAUSE: I want you to take a look at this. Days after the story broke, Golden made a very public apology. Let's look at this.
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GOLDEN: I've seen a video a couple of times. And it's not me in the video. You know, it's not me. It was hard to watch. I'm ashamed. And what's taken me so long to talk to anybody is because I've been scared. I lost my job. I don't have a lot of resources behind me, you know. So I was trying -- I didn't know what to do. This has been -- it's been overwhelming. And at the end of the day, I messed up. I crossed the line, right?
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VAUSE: At the end of the day, I messed up, I crossed the line. What's the relevance?
KAVINOKY: Words that may return to haunt him. And as I like to remind people, that the right to remain silent only works if you choose to exercise it. So generally it's wise to shut up and let your lawyer do the talking. I think that's one of the key learnings we can take away from this. It doesn't make sense for the client to make those statements. That's why you want a professional mouthpiece.
VAUSE: Very quickly, is this actually going to get any traction in this case? Is he going to win anything? What are his chances?
KAVINOKY: I think he actually has decent chances if the court aligns with the idea that what happened in the back of that cab really did meet the definition for having a legitimate expectation of privacy. I think he's got some good arguments there. Court of public opinion may see it differently.
VAUSE: Absolutely. Don't tweet me, tweet you. OK?
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KAVINOKY: I don't make the law, just reporting it.
[01:45:02] VAUSE: Thank you.
We'll take a short break here. When we come back, some sad news when we come back. The music world losing another legend. Looking back at the career of Glenn Frey, co-founder of the legendary Eagles.
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VAUSE: The music world has lost another legend. Eagles founding member, Glenn Frey, died Monday, age 67. The Eagles rose to fame in the '70s with hits like "Hotel California," "Desperado." Frey held shaped the band's laid-back, country sound, singing lead vocals on classics like "Take It Easy," and "Tequila Sunrise." Frey helped shape a generation of rock music, and beyond.
Sara Sidner is with us now.
First, let's take a look back at Glenn Frey's life and his accomplishments.
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SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Glenn Frey gave us those laid-back sing-along lyrics effortlessly weaving rock and country music strains.
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SIDNER: Born in Detroit, Frey would grow up to become part of a hit- making machine, the Eagles.
Frey's usual partner in rhyme was Don Henley, and the pair's harmony got stuck in heads for generations. From "Tequila Sunrise," to "Hotel California," which was certified platinum 16 times, Frey's performance and song writing skills helped send the Eagles to soaring heights commercially.
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[01:50:41] SIDNER: Frey got his break as part of a backup band for rock star, Linda Ronstadt.
GLENN FREY, BAND MEMBER, EAGLES: I told her that we wanted to start her own band. She, more than anyone else, helped us put together the Eagles.
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SIDNER: On the day Frey died, Linda Ronstadt remembered her friend and his talent when she spoke to Anderson Cooper.
LINDA RONSTADT, SINGER (voice-over): I remember mostly in that way, in the days before he was well-known, he was just going on raw nerves. And talent. He had plenty of talent.
SIDNER: The Eagles were formed in 1971 and would amass a collection of greatest hits tht became America's best-selling of the 20th century, selling more copies than the Beatles or Michael Jackson.
Frey's loss is immeasurable to his family, the industry and his fans. Everyone from Stevie Knicks to Mike Huckabee are paying tribute, and of course, his wingman, Don Henley, who said in a statement, in part, "He was funny, bullheaded, mercurial, generous deeply talented and driven. He loved his wife and kids more than anything."
Frey and his band mates lived a rock 'n' roll lifestyle, where for years excess was the norm. But when it came to work, Frey never missed a beat.
ERIC SCOTT, SOUNDMAN FOR THE EAGLES: He was a perfectionist. There was zero room for error with him. Everything needed to be exactly where it should be, musically, and technically. Everything had to be right on point.
SIDNER: Eric Scott did sound for four years on an Eagles world tour. He now works as a sound designer for CNN.
For Scott, Frey has meant so much more than just his music.
(on camera): You have a very personal story, don't you, about Glenn Frey?
SCOTT: I do. Had it not been for Glenn and the Eagles, I would have never met my wife. Judy and I met on the Eagles. She had done makeup for them on the rolling stones cover shoot. And then was hired on the spot by Glenn. And I had been working on the tour and that's where we met.
SIDNER (voice-over): To the Scotts and fans everywhere, losing Frey was a shock. Their one consolation, his music lives on.
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VAUSE: Sara Sidner joins us now.
When I heard this music a few hours ago, I thought, not another one. David Bowie a week ago at 69. I guess with that point now, all these legends valued that we grew up with, we've reached that point.
SIDNER: It's hard. When you consider the age, 67 --
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VAUSE: It's not old.
SIDNER: Exactly. In today's world, that is not really old.
VAUSE: But he was not in great health.
SIDNER: But these were hard-core rock and roll stars. And they lived that kind of lifestyle for a very long time. And some of them changed, and started doing less excess.
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SIDNER: But, you know, there was a lot going on there. And I think if you look back at some of the lives, sort of the things they got into and did, you know, it's hard on your body.
But these are people who have left a mark that is un-erasable because the music's out there forever. New generations are picking it up. I couldn't help myself, I went next store to Amoeba, which is, by the way, the largest --
VAUSE: Legendary, yes.
SIDNER: -- yes, it's legendary. It's the largest independent shop.
VAUSE: They still sell vinyl.
SIDNER: Yes, and everything else. And I picked this up. And they had a little message on one of them saying, RIP, Glenn Frey. This is "Desperado," one of their signature songs. It's --
VAUSE: I think, for many people, and I may be wrong here, but it was the sound track of a certain part of growing up. You know, sort of that easy listening, maybe going to a bar on a Sunday afternoon, or just hanging out and chilling.
SIDNER: It wasn't bang-your-head music. It wasn't the kind of music that get up and jump around and dance. It was kind of a southern California-style music. People associated, of course, because "Hotel California," but do you know that only one of the members of the Eagles was actually from California? Oakland, in fact, not eastern southern California.
VAUSE: Who is that?
[01:55:10] SIDNER: His last name is Schmidt, Timothy Schmidt. He was from Oakland. Everybody else was from Nebraska, somebody's from Kansas, someone was from Gainesville, Florida.
VAUSE: But they all came together in this part of the world --
SIDNER: Yes, yes.
VAUSE: -- and created a signature sound.
The other thing, too, which I think a lot of people don't realize, is what perfectionists these guys were, especially Glenn Frey.
SIDNER: Yes, he was. People who worked with him said he was a jokester, but you did not mess up. Zero tolerance. He had zero tolerance for anything that wasn't exact and perfect. He wanted things to be just right. And part of that was his personality. And part of that was for the audience. Because thousands of people would come to these huge stadium shows, and they would play for three hours straight, all of their hits. So people were up the whole time singing. He didn't want a single note played incorrectly or a single technical thing to go wrong.
VAUSE: OK, Sara, thank you for coming in with us.
I'm John Vause. Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from L.A.
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[02:00:11] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Long overdue. Family reunions after the historic --
