Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump Announces SCOTUS Nominee; Travel Ban Domino Effect; Mosque Shooter Arrested in Canada; Terrorism in Germany. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 01, 2017 - 03:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Max Foster.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rosemary Church at the CNN center in Atlanta.

FOSTER: Well, ahead all the drama of celebrity apprentice narrowed down to two finalists, and after days of teasing the announcement Donald Trump finally announced his pick for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Judge Neil Gorsuch is a conservative jurist who could tip the balance of the high court significantly to the right. Democrats already lining up in opposition. But President Trump says his nominee's qualifications are beyond dispute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Millions of voter said this was the single most important issue to them when they voted for me for president.

I am a man of my word. I will do as I say something that the American people have been asking for from Washington for a very, very long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Judge Gorsuch he will soon face confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate.

CNN's Pamela Brown has more on his record.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Judge Neil Gorsuch sits on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and his judicial philosophy aligns with the conservative icon he could replace Justice Antonin Scalia. And he believes as Scalia did in the literal interpretation of the Constitution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL GORSUCH, UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: The world suffered as seismic shock with the loss of Justice Scalia. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: They were good friends seem recently fishing together just weeks after Scalia's sudden death last February, Gorsuch spoke about getting the news well schemed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORSUCH: I immediately lost what breath I had left and I'm not admit -- embarrassed to admit that I couldn't see the rest of the way down the mountain for the tears.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Judge Gorsuch's legal opinion on religious liberty attracted the attention of those helping Trump make his pick. In the Hobby Lobby case he sided with the corporations who claimed the so-called contraceptive mandate in Obamacare violated their religious beliefs.

He also wrote an opinion in a separation of power's case holding that too much deference was given by the court to administrative agencies. And he pinned the book arguing against "Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia."

He writes, quote, "The idea that all human beings are intrinsically valuable and the intentional taking of human life by private person is always wrong."

Gorsuch was picked above Thomas Hardiman, who CNN caught up at a gas station on his way to D.C. when it was still uncertain who would get the nod.

At 49 years old, Gorsuch is among the youngest of recent high court nominees. His conservative vote could remain on the court for a generation and become one of Trump's most lasting legacies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE VLADECK, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: If he serves for 30 or 35 years he can certainly an enormous impact on lawful land, especially if President Trump gets another confirmation or two during his presidency and someone like Neil Gorsuch becomes the center of the court as oppose to Anthony Kennedy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Although from the left, Gorsuch is a veteran of D.C. coming to the capital as a teenager when President Reagan chose his mother to be the first woman to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

He clerk for two Supreme Court Justices, Byron White and Anthony Kennedy and went on to become a partner at a prestigious D.C. law firm. Then a (AUDIO GAP) Department of Justice.

While he sailed through his Senate confirmation (AUDIO GAP) when President George W. Bush nominated him to the federal bench, Senate democrats have been vowing payback for republican's refusal to even grant a hearing for President Obama's pick for Scalia's seat, Judge Merrick Garland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK SCHUMER, (D) UNITED STATES SENATOR: We will do our best to keep the seat open. Yes, we'll fight it tooth and nail, as long as we have to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: With three justices in their 70's and 80's Judge Gorsuch may not be President Trump's last Supreme Court nominee.

And we're learning more about the cloak and dagger details of bringing Neil Gorsuch from Colorado to Washington. Sources say he was able to evade the press and leave on a back road behind his gated community and take a military aircraft to Washington.

It is clear that the White House wanted to take extraordinary measures to keep the top pick under wraps until of course that primetime announcement Tuesday night.

Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: And democrats are already drawing their battle lines on President Trump's Supreme Court pick. Listen to what House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said about Gorsuch, during a CNN town hall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY PELOSI, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MINORITY LEADER: It's a very hostile appointment. His fellow well met, lovely family, I'm sure. But as for your family is concerned and if you breathe air, drink water, eat food, take medicine, or in any other way interact with the courts, this is a very bad decision.

[03:05:04] Well, outside the mainstream of American legal thought. Not committed to Supreme Court precedents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining us now to discuss all of this, CNN political commentator, Symone Sanders, and Jeffrey Lord. Also with us, CNN legal analyst, Laura Coates. Thanks to all of you for being with us.

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thank you.

JEFFREY LORD, FORMER REAGAN WHITE HOUSE POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Thank you.

CHURCH: Laura, let's start with you. I want to get to your reaction to President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, given his firm conservative values and how he might decide on issues such as abortion, voting rights and religious equality. COATES: Well, unsurprisingly, he has chosen somebody who has

ideologically similar views to the person's shoes he's filling, Judge Antonin Scalia. And there's no surprise to the world that Scalia had very conservative viewpoints with respect to those issues.

The one thing that's key here, is Trump campaigned on the promise to trying to reverse Roe v. Wade which essentially made abortion rights nationwide legal. But in this case, you know, by just simply filling the shoes of a conservative equal, you haven't really tipped the scale in favor of trying to reverse Rowe v. Wade.

Remember, you still got Justice Kennedy, who, although he usually goes conservative, has been a swing vote in many key areas, including gay marriage, as well as abortion rights. I don't think that Gorsuch, although he is particularly conservative and is pro-life, according to his viewpoint, is going to be able to really herald the effort to reverse Roe v. Wade.

CHURCH: All right, Jeff, Jeffrey, I want to go to you and get the political side of this, because Nancy Pelosi called President Trump's Supreme Court pick a very hostile appointment and outside the mainstream, her words there. What do you say to that? And what do republicans plan to do to ensure Gorsuch gets confirmed, if the democrats perhaps mount a filibuster, which is how it's looking?

LORD: Well, first of all, I should say, just for background purposes, when I was in the Reagan White House, I worked on five Supreme Court nominations, including Justice Scalia and perhaps most interestingly, Judge Gore. And have written a book on the judicial confirmation process with someone that I knew from college, who was a Bush '43 nominee for the third circuit court of appeals.

This is what the fight happens, this is what happens all of the time. To be perfectly candid, if Hillary Clinton had won and were nominating a liberal justice, you would see this fight in reverse.

This has been the case now for decades. And it does stem, unfortunately, from Roe v. Wade and other judicial activism. And we just saw this past week about half a million people demonstrate in the march for life in Washington. And this is the 44th year of this.

I would suggest that these things would not happen and issues would be solved more readily, if we left them up to the American people, instead of nine lawyers on the Supreme Court. That's the problem.

So, here we are, and I think we're going to go through this again. I think it's entirely possible that with former Senate Majority Leader Reid having a, you know, used the nuclear option, as it were, to take these votes to a majority vote, that Senator McConnell will do the same, and that we will get a majority vote for justice and justice courts and Justice Gorsuch will be confirmed.

CHURCH: Yes, there seems to be a lot of talk about the nuclear action for this. So, Symone, your reaction to the Gorsuch nomination, how do you think democrats should respond to this? SYMONE SANDERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I think a lot of

democrats have come out, rightfully so, saying they want to hear more. They're concerned, some of the things concerning Trump's pick for the Supreme Court are troubling. They want to know if he's going to continue to stand with corporations if he's advanced to the Supreme Court.

They want to know specifically about his views on women's rights, specifically reproductive rights, so that is going to be a question. And I think it's going to be a long process. Look, there are many democrats that are still reeling from the fact that republicans refused, just flat-out refused to even give President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, a hearing.

And so there will be lots of calls, especially from the grassroots, for folks to just obstruct and just say no to this nominee. I don't think democrats in the Senate are all -- the majority of democrats are all the way there yet, but definitely you will see cries from the grassroots.

It's already happening right now. A hash tag is trending on Twitter as we speak or about to trend, hash tag no to Neil.

CHURCH: Right. And Laura, the Supreme Court has been without a ninth justice for close to a year now. How has that impacted the court so far?

COATES: It has been a complete tragedy. I hate to be very hyperbolic here, but really, you've had ideological, you know, warfare, essentially. Up until now, you've been able to debate the different issues.

[03:10:01] But now you have the issue of four on four. Which means that if the Supreme Court does not have a majority opinion, by having that fifth person weigh on either side, it does not have a precedential impact or influence on future decisions.

In United States of course we are a common law-jurisdiction based society, which means that the president is very, very important in guiding future courts.

And so when you do not have the opportunity to have a really fruitful ideological debate between the justices and you know that you only have four against four in many of these very key issues, what you have is a standstill on very -- on issues that are very important.

CHURCH: Some Senate democrats were vowing to filibuster the president's pick even before he announced it. They cite the republican refusal to even consider Barack Obama's Supreme Court pick, as you said, last year, Merrick Garland. But here's what Senator Cruz had to say about that. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED CRUZ, (R) UNITED STATES SENATOR: What republicans said when that vacancy occurred, before any nomination was made, is that we're going to allow the American people to decide. We got a presidential election coming. This election was in a very real sense a referendum, a referendum for the American people. And we, the people, spoke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So, Symone, does Senator Cruz have a point there?

SANDERS: Yes. The people, actually three million people, three million more people voted for Hillary Clinton than voted for Donald Trump. So look, the republicans don't have a mandate here. Donald Trump does not have a mandate for his policies.

And I think Senator Cruz, with all due respect, is wrong on this. This Supreme Court nominee is going to go through what I think is going to be a very contentious hearing. Democrats are not going to push this along quickly, because they do have real questions and the American people, namely again, three million more people who voted for Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump. They did make their voices heard and they care about these policies.

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: If I -- I know my friend Symone is going to be totally shocked that I disagree with her. But this is exactly the problem. The Constitution says the Electoral College elects the president. And as expressed through the voices -- the votes of the American people through their states, Donald Trump won that decisively, 306 to I think 232, something of that nature. He won in a landslide.

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: He pretty annoyed in...

LORD: So that's the way -- the system is not decided on the popular vote. And that's the problem. We have judges and folks like my friend, Symone, who want to change all this to suit their means when this is what the Constitution says. That's what this whole fight is really about, no matter what the issue is.

CHURCH: Unfortunately, we're going to have to -- we're going to have to leave it there. I know we could continue this for a very long time.

LORD: Indeed.

CHURCH: But Symone Sanders, Jeffrey Lord, and Laura Coates, thank you all three of you for joining us for this.

LORD: Thank you.

COATES: Thank you.

CHURCH: I appreciate it.

And you can find out more about President Trump's Supreme Court nominee and read his story about fly fishing with the late Justice Antonin Scalia just ahead, or just head to cnn.com. FOSTER: Now meanwhile, the president's executive order restricting

travel into the U.S. is triggering protests around the world is and a flurry of lawsuits.

Jeff Zeleny reports that the White House isn't backing down but it is insisting the ban is not a ban.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: The White House is still trying to clean up the mess and clear up confusion across the government, from its executive order on immigration.

Secretary of Homeland Security, John Kelly coming out in hopes of restoring order.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KELLY, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: This is not, I repeat, not a ban on Muslims.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Four days after President Trump signed an order closing the nation's border to refugees and others from seven predominantly Muslim countries, the controversy threatened to escalate into a Washington crisis.

The president fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates, a holdover from the Obama administration after she stood in defines of Trump's travel ban. The White House said she betrayed the Department of Justice, and swore in a new attorney general.

As democrats protested the substance of the order, republicans were furious for not being consulted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL RYAN, UNITED STATES SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Incredibly, the rollout was confusing, but on a go-forward basis, I'm confident that Secretary Kelly is going to make sure that this is gone correctly, that they get a good review, and that we are going to make sure that we get this program up and running with the kind of vetting standards that we all want to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Secretary Kelly, who must implement the action at the Department of Homeland Security did not directly say how much he knew about the order before it was signed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY: I did know it was under development. I had an opportunity to look at, at least two, as I recollect, drafts, as it got closer to Friday.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ZELENY: But across many agencies, the order came as a surprise. And chaos ensued in those early hours that airports and on airports. White House Secretary Sean Spicer argues the order could not be called a ban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN SPICER, UNITED STATES WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This by nature not a ban.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Yet a ban is precisely how the president described it on Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:15:00] TRUMP: So we're working it very nicely, and we're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting which we should have been in this country for many years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Press whether it was or was not a ban, Spicer blasted the media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPICER: I think that's the words that are being used to describe it are derived from what the media is calling it. He's been very clear that it's extreme vetting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: On Capitol Hill, democrats are seizing on the confusion, holding up confirmation on some nominees to the president's cabinet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHUMER: The level of incompetence of this administration already, only 10 days into the presidency, is staggering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

FOSTER: Well, the men who risked their lives helping U.S. forces in Iraq now find themselves with nowhere to go. We'll introduce you to those who are personally affected by President Trump's travel ban.

CHURCH: And a dire warning from the E.U. president about Donald Trump's administration. That's still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Don Riddell with your CNN World Sport headlines.

It's looking like being Chelsea's title to lose in the English Premier League after a 1-1 draw at Liverpool extended their healthy lead at the top of the table. Chelsea going ahead through a David Luis free kick.

And with that the Reds were facing their fourth straight home defeat which would have been their worst run in nearly a century. But they got back into contention with a header from Georginio Wijnaldum. The Blues could have won it but Simon Mignolet saved a late penalty from Diego Costa.

Chelsea won't be ruling that penalty miss too much, though, considering their main title rivals will be playing on Tuesday. Both slip tops Spurs and Arsenal remain nine points behind the blues. As Tottenham only managing a goal through Sunderland while Arsenal were shocked that won by Watford losing 2-1.

Both of the Hornets' goals coming in the first half as Watford won in the league at Arsenal for the first time since 1988.

Also taking place in England on Tuesday was the last day of the European transfer window. It was the usual wheeling and dealing. Even if there wasn't a blockbuster deal done to match previous windows.

Among the notable moves made were by Southampton signing Manolo Gabbiadini from Napoli. Burnley bringing in Norwich's Robbie Brady for a club record. And Watford selling Odion Ighalo to the Chinese side Changchun Yatai.

That is a quick look at your sports headlines. I'm Don Riddell.

FOSTER: Khizr Khan, a father of an American serviceman who died in the Iraq war. A Muslim himself he became famous when he criticized Donald Trump in campaign promise to institute a ban on Muslims coming to the United States.

[03:20:01] Now Khan offered then-candidate Trump his copy of the Constitution implying that Mr. Trump had not actually read it. Now the gold star father is again speaking out about Mr. Trump's travel ban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHIZR KHAN, GOLD STAR PARENT: He is coward. He does not have the courage to say that this is a Muslim ban. He has couple of Islamophobes, racist in his cabinet surrounded him. That sit in the highest table of this nation and they dictate these statements and then they have no courage to admit that, yes, this is a -- this is a Muslim ban.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, President Trump's travel ban has drawn criticism around the world, but Iraq, one of the seven countries named in the executive order, said it won't retaliate. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says he's studying his options. As our

Ben Wedeman joins us from Baghdad to discuss. Because there's certainly been a backlash in parliament there.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and in fact, Haider al-Abadi, the Iraqi Prime Minister said they won't take action yet. Now what makes it particularly galling for Iraqis, this executive order, unlike Syria and Iran, Iraq is an ally of the United States in the war on terrorism, on the war on ISIS.

They're more than 5,000 U.S. military personnel in the country, and thousands of Iraqis have died fighting ISIS over the last few years. And it's particularly galling, this executive order, for those Iraqis who have put their lives on the line for the United States.

Bags packed, U.S. visas and passports, Omar and his family are ready to go, but they're not going anywhere following President Trump's temporary travel ban, which includes Iraq.

"It was a strong shock," he says, "we received visas after waiting three years. Then this order comes."

The Iraqi branch of Al-Qaeda planted a bomb in his car in 2009. It blew both his legs off and mangled his left hand. They targeted him because he provided the U.S. marines and Iraqi police with intelligence on the terrorists in his hometown of Fallujah.

"They were planting bombs," he recalls, "aimed at innocent people, the Americans, the Iraqi army, the police."

Omar, his wife, and four children, received visas under a special program for Iraqis who worked for, or helped the Americans. In letters of recommendation, marine officers praised his sacrifice and unyielding courage. Commendable traits which have now left him and his family in danger.

"I have no future in Iraq and my children have no future, he says. If they go back to Fallujah, they'll be under threat. People will say your father is Omar, and kill them."

And the kids are still too young to go to school, right?

Van was a translator for the U.S. army. That's the American soldiers gave him not his real name. He doesn't want to show his face for fear of retribution from Iraqi extremists. For now, also out of fear, it will jeopardize an American visa application he submitted seven years ago. He has a simple message for President Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He should go and ask the soldiers, is that the right way to do it? Is that the right thing, to leave somebody behind? No.

WEDEMAN: Van received a letter containing a bullet and a threat a few years ago. "Stop working with the Americans, or else." He moved his family three times and keeps a low profile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to stop looking behind, when I walk in the street. That's all I want.

WEDEMAN: He wonders if he'll have to keep looking behind for the rest of his life.

And Max, if you tune in to Iraqi TV, listen to the radio stations, this seems to be one of the main topics of conversation. Iraqis are insulted.

In fact, the other day, I spoke with Mowaffak Baqer al-Rubaie, the former national security adviser to the Iraqi government, who dealt quite a lot with the United States, he said that this executive order, in his words, "was disgusting, like spitting in the face of Iraq." Max?

FOSTER: And it's having in this reaction around the world, isn't it? Ben, here in parliament, the home secretary talking about this travel ban being a propaganda coup, potentially for ISIS. There's the battle for Mosul there involving ISIS. What's your view on how this plays into ISIS' strategy?

[03:25:11] WEDEMAN: Well, it fits very well into their basic argument that there's a civilizational struggle between Islam and the Christian west. And they can point to this as a good example of where it happens.

Now, obviously it's a seven-country temporary travel ban. It doesn't cover countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country on earth. But those are sort of the fine points, the nuances that ISIS can basically pass over and point to this executive order, as a perfect example of the fact that the west is fundamentally biased against the Muslim world, and therefore, ISIS scores a point. Max?

FOSTER: OK, Ben, in Baghdad, thank you.

CHURCH: All right, Israel is planning to evacuate one West Bank outpost while approving thousands of new settlement homes. Tuesday's approval was the third in under two weeks.

Palestinians and the E.U. are critical of the settlements. Most countries see them as obstacles to a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

I want to turn to Oren Liebermann in Amona with more on this. Before we get to the settlement expansion, I want you to explain, Oren, what is going on behind you there as we know an evacuation will take place from there. Explain to us the details on this.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, that evacuation looks like it set to begin here in the next few hours. And I'll take you down the hill behind me. We are at the entrance to the illegal outpost of Amona.

There are protesters here behind me, they're trying to block the road. So they started that fire, as well as putting nails, rocks, and other -- and other items on the road to try to block the road from Israeli security forces, coming up here to evacuate the outpost of Amona.

But let's move down this road and you'll see where the security forces are positioned now. They have not yet come into Amona, but they have blocked the road and the area. They're trying to keep others from getting in, other protesters.

There are security forces as you see not only on the road but also on the hills and the fields around Amona to try to prevent other protesters from joining those that are already here, the hundreds that are already here.

At the bottom of the hill, a truck has just arrived with barbed wire as well as moving trucks here, to move the 40 families that are on the outpost of Amona. This has been delayed for months recently, but more than a decade since when this legal process began. It is finally set. It looks like it will start here in the next few hours, although there has been no official word on when it will begin.

We just know the security forces, the Israeli military and border police have blocked out the outpost of Amona before this evacuation. They are preparing for some clashes with protesters to see who are trying to prevent or who are trying to protest the demolition and the evacuation.

That looks like it could have and right here behind us as they block the road here to try to keep the security forces from coming in.

CHURCH: And Oren, as that plays out we mentioned the thousands of new settlement homes that Israel has just approved for construction in the West Bank. Talk to us about why the Netanyahu government is pushing ahead with this rapid expansion at this time.

LIEBERMANN: Well, the timing there is not coincidental. And I think you'll see two reason there. The first is that, there will be because of the evacuation of the illegal outpost of Amona, there will be a backlash from right-wing voters.

That's Prime Benjamin Netanyahu's vote base. So he needs to do something to appease them. He announced thousands of new settlement homes.

But it's also clear based on what happened a week ago when he approved 2,500 homes that this is how he'll proceed under President Donald Trump. He expects far less criticism so he's moving farther with that.

He promised that the 2,500 homes last week is only the first step, he called it a first taste when he speaking at the Knesset. This would be then another taste.

Three thousand more homes throughout the settlement. It was the defense minister who said 2,000 of those will go up for sale immediately to start that process and the other thousand will be -- will be in different stages here. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Our Oren Liebermann there in Amona on the West Bank, where it is about 10.30 in the morning, awaiting that evacuation that will take place. Many thanks to you.

FOSTER: Well, Rosemary, millions here in the U.K. are very worried President Donald Trump's state visit will be an embarrassment for the queen. Just ahead, the action parliament is taking on that matter.

CHURCH: Plus, we will look at just how much influence chief strategist Steve Bannon has in the Trump White House. Back in a moment.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Max Foster in London.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for being with us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I want to update you on the main stories we've been watching this hour.

U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated 49-year-old conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. If confirmed, Gorsuch would fill a vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last February. The move could cement the conservative direction of the court for decades.

FOSTER: Police have charged a 27-year-old university student in the shooting at a Canadian mosque. Six people were killed. Alexandre Bissonnette faces six counts of first-degree murder and five attempted murder charges. He's described as a lone wolf and is known for his far-right views.

CHURCH: Officials warn that the violence in eastern Ukraine is escalating. Pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian armed forces have been fighting on and off there since the annexation of Crimea in early 2014. Both sides are blaming one another as the ceasefire violations increase.

FOSTER: Well, the president of the European Council says U.S. President Donald Trump is a threat to the union's stability. In a letter to E.U. leaders, Donald Tusk put the Trump administration in the same category as Russia, China, and radical Islam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TUSK, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COUNCIL: For the first time in our history, in an increasingly multi polar external world, so many are becoming openly anti-European, or euro skeptic at best. Particularly the change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation. With the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:35:08] CHURCH: Let's get more on this story. We're joined by CNN global affairs analyst and national security investigations editor for Reuters, David Rohde. Always good to see you, David.

DAVID ROHDE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Thank you.

CHURCH: So just how damaging is it to have the European Council president put the U.S. into the same group as China, Russia, and radical Islam?

ROHDE: Well, it's a very unusual thing, obviously, in terms of international affairs, and American-European relations, but I have to be honest at this early stage of Donald Trump's presidency, among his base of supporters, it's not a problem.

He has -- he is very openly, you know, supporting sort of protectionism in terms of trade, criticizing NATO countries, he says for not paying for their own defense. So this will not hurt him domestically in the United States in the short-term.

The real question is what happens in the long-term? Europe is a key trading partner for the United States. You know, if tensions rise, if that cuts jobs in the United States, that could hurt Trump.

CHURCH: So, who gains if relations between the United States and the E.U. leaders weaken going forward? And who is the U.S. going to work with if European leaders truly see Trump's administration as an external threat?

ROHDE: That's the big question. He's been, you know, very bellicose with China. He's going to be very aggressive with them on trade. He says he's been very bellicose with Mexico. Those two countries, China is -- you know, and Mexico are the first and third largest trading partners that the United States has.

Europe is, you know -- you know, an economic counterweight to China. It's an enormous market for American goods. So, Trump needs to be very careful. If he manages to alienate European trading partners as well. Along with China and along with Mexico, that really could have a detrimental effect on the American economy.

CHURCH: And senior republicans say they were told by the secretary of homeland security, that the White House is unlikely to change its executive order on the travel ban. So what does that say about the decision-making process inside the White House?

ROHDE: Well, it shows that Trump's critical allies, and that's the sort of more mainstream republican leaders in Congress are willing to let him, you know, carry out this ban and let him continue this rhetoric that's so worrying to European countries for now.

I think they're hoping to get lots of their legislative agenda passed, you know, reform with regulations, some kind of reform of Obamacare, and they'll sort of go along with this rhetoric. But if he gets too extreme and the real key issue here is Russia, if he drops the sanctions on Russia, there's already members of Congress, led by Senator McCain and Senator Lindsey questioning that role.

If, you know, he drops these sanctions and he breaks with Europe, he's ending decades of American, you know, an American alliance with Europe, it's exactly what Vladimir Putin has been trying to achieve for years. So, a real break with Europe and a real appeasement of Putin, I think, will cause a split in the Republican Party and major problems for Trump.

CHURCH: David Rohde, always good to chat with you. Thanks so much.

ROHDE: Thank you.

FOSTER: And on Europe, London's mayor is one of many here in the U.K. at least, who want President Trump's state visit canceled over his travel ban. Sadiq Khan calls the order cruel and prejudice.

CNN's Money Europe editor, Nina dos Santos joins me now.

He's not the only senior (TECHNICAL PROBLEM)

[03:40:00] (TECHNICAL PROBLEM)

FOSTER: Interesting, Nina, thank you very much indeed. Rosemary, the demonstrations don't necessarily reflect public opinion, but then we can't trust the polls we've learned either. So we're trying to make what sense of it we can.

CHURCH: That is so true. And we're going to take a very short break here. But coming up next, Steve Bannon has the ear of the U.S. president, but there's growing concern over whether the chief strategist might have too much influence in the White House.

FOSTER: Plus, why President Trump's new U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations is slamming Iran just days into her new job.

[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and of course, all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

FOSTER: And I'm Max Foster in London. We're just getting some news in, Rosemary, from Germany. Because police there, apparently arresting 19 terror suspects with links to Islamic state. Spotted coordinated raids across the country. And that's according to authorities speaking to CNN.

Now it's a pretty big operation and the federal state of Heiz, that incorporates Frankfurt, police say 54 mosques, businesses and homes were targeted in this series of raids. And that comes to us in a statement. We'll have more details as they come into us, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Thanks so much, Max.

And back in the United States, Steve Bannon is Donald Trump's chief strategist and top adviser, but that hardly begin to describe the tremendous power and influence the former right-wing news executive now has.

Brian Todd reports. BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump's hard-line approach

on immigration and terror, causing protests, disruptions at airports and now a messy fight with the Justice Department.

(CROWD CHANTING)

TODD: The controversial moves have senior counselor Steve Bannon's fingerprints all over them. There's new concern over Bannon's massive influence over the president and his aggressive style.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE BANNON, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: I think anger is a good thing. I think if you're fighting, this country's in a crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: The New York Times editorial page says Bannon has positioned himself, quote, "as the de facto president." And, "We've never witnessed a political aide do so much damage so quickly to his punitive boss's popular standing or pretenses of competence."

Analysts say Bannon's made a huge impact early in the administration, getting himself a full seat on the National Security Council, leveraging the relationship he cultivated as the CEO of Mr. Trump's presidential campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Bannon has been able to be the most influential Trump adviser in the first two weeks of this White House, partly because he's got the president's ear, and he operates as this sort of free, floating adviser, without the entanglements of other aides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: The 63-year-old former banker also headed the far-right Breitbart news web site, and is known for quotes like, "Darkness is good," and Dick Cheney Darth Vader, Satan, that's power."

Bannon now has the president's ear in a White House accused of a travel ban that discriminates against Muslims which the White House denies. Bannon himself has made some combative statements about Islam. In 2014...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BANNON: We're now, I believe at the beginning stages of a global war against Islamic fascism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And in a 2010 radio interview discovered by CNN's K File.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BANNON: Islam is not a religion of peace. Islam is a religion of submission.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Bannon called Breitbart a platform for the alt-right, a far- right political movement which often champions white nationalist and anti-Semitic views. Bannon denies being anti-Semitic and a white nationalist, but he isn't afraid to take on his own party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BANNON: What we need to do is bitch-slap the Republican Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Bannon has loyal defenders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL POLLAK, BREITBART NEWS SENIOR EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Steve Bannon is a national hero. We're going to see Supreme Court appointments of individuals who will uphold the Constitution and for that, America owes Steve Bannon a great debt of gratitude.

KURT BARDELLA, ENDEAVOR STRATEGIES PRESIDENT AND CEO: He understands and fights for the working class Americans out there who haven't had their voices heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Kurt Bardella quit his job at Breitbart and is now critical of Bannon. He calls Bannon, diligent, intelligent and intimidating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARDELLA: His governing style though, is very much that of force. And I think a lot of what you saw in really how Trump reacted to controversy of criticism is very reflective of Steve's style, which is all about confrontation being a provocateur, never backing down, never apologizing, never showing weakness and through sheer force of will, bully your agenda through, you know, by all means necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: We asked the White House for a response to that. They did not respond. Stephen Bannon did not comment for the story. But a White House official when we asked them for a response to the New York Times editorial, which suggested that President Trump considering reducing Steve Bannon's role.

This official said, if The New York Times editorial page actually mattered, then why did their candidate of choice lose the most electoral votes of any democratic candidate since Michael Dukakis? Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: We'll take a very short break here, but still to come, President Trump's new ambassador to the United Nations is lashing out against Iran's latest missile test. The details, still to come.

[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The 1st of February, the eve of Ground Hog's Day upon us the United States, and it already feels like spring around the southern U.S. we have high pressure in charge, southerly flow we've getting very mild temperatures in some areas, approaching 20-plus degrees above what is considered normal for this time of year.

Atlanta at 21 degrees. It cools off just a little the next couple of days. Charlotte, same story. You know, Washington into New York, it is warm for this time of year, but big changes in store. The northern tier of the United States there gets blasted with cold air several times over the next few days. Enough cold air over the moisture of the dry Great Lakes region, where I should say, not frozen Great Lakes region.

So we're getting enough energy transfer to produce some decent snow showers in those favorable spots. Generally, it should be light snow, but notice a few areas just north of Syracuse, some of the snowiest cities in the United States located right there, and you've seen a potential there for 30 plus centimeters of fresh snow in the next couple of days in those narrow band pocket areas.

So that's what we're looking at. Chicago, around 2 degrees. Denver, mostly sunny skies and 7. Vancouver, a stunning day with 4 degrees in the forecast and sunny skies.

The next big storm system, though, very impressive on satellite imagery. Has a lot of moisture associated with it. It looks like the vast majority of that will stay across northern California into Oregon. In fact, winter weather advisories for the city of Portland, a city that has already seen twice its snowfall average.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Welcome back. The new U.S. envoy to the United Nations is slamming Iran for conducting a ballistic missile test on Sunday.

CHURCH: A U.S. defense official said the missile test failed and posed no threat to the U.S. Or its allies in the region, but Ambassador Nikki Haley is standing firm, calling the move, absolutely unacceptable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: The United States is not naive. We are not going to stand by. You will see us call them out as we said we would. And you're also going to see us act accordingly. We are committed to making sure that they understand this is not

anything we will ever accept. We have said with this administration that we are not going to show a blind eye to these things that happen. We're going to act, we're going to be strong, we're going to be loud, and we're going to do whatever it takes to protect the American people and the people across the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So, let's find out what Iran is saying about all of this and Ian Lee joins us with that from Istanbul in Turkey. So Ian, how is Iran responding to U.S. Ambassador Haley saying Tehran's ballistic missile test is absolutely unacceptable?

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, this all rotates around a 2015 U.N. resolution that says Iran cannot test ballistic missiles that are capable of carrying a nuclear warhead or test the technology of such ballistic missiles.

Now, we're hearing from Iran's foreign ministry, that, saying that this wasn't a missile, this medium-range missile wasn't designed to carry a nuclear warhead and that Iran is well within the parameters of that U.N. resolution.

[03:55:11] Also saying that this is just a move by the U.S. government to detract from this current travel ban that is taking up the headlines. So, they are hitting back as well.

They're also talking about how they're going to respond to that travel ban. So, really Iran pushing back from the U.S. government's statements.

CHURCH: Right. And Ian, what could this all mean, do you think, for the relationship between the United States and Iran and for the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers, including the United States, back in July 2015, an agreement Donald Trump has called the worst deal ever negotiated?

LEE: Yes, that was one of the parts of his platform during his run for the presidency, was against this Iran nuclear deal. But now since he's in office, it look for maybe a more measured President Trump.

We have heard from his defense secretary that said the U.S. made a commitment to this deal and it should stand by it.

Also going forward, other E.U. as well as international partners have said the United States must stick by this. Iran says that they're not going to re-negotiate.

Later this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be visiting Donald Trump in Washington. Expect them to be talking about this deal.

CHURCH: All right. Our Ian Lee with the reaction there from the Middle East. Many thanks to you. I'm Rosemary Church at the CNN center. Early Start is next for our viewers here in the United States. FOSTER: I'm Max Foster in London. For our international viewers, I'll

be back after the break with more on the terror raids across Germany and the other world news. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)