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Earthquake Rocks Greece And Turkey; Explosion In Hangzhou, China; U.S. Attorney General Staying On Despite Trump Rebuke; Trump Family Finances Off Limits To Special Counsel; Reports: Trump Lawyer Look To Undercut Mueller; Major Illegal Online Marketplaces Shut Down; Nigeria to Host U.S. Drone Base Where Migrants Travel Through; Some Tabloids Under Fire over "Doctor Who" Star Photos. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 21, 2017 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00] ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: A head this hour, damaged buildings and battered streets after a strong earthquake shakes tourist spots in Greece and Turkey.
SOARES: Plus, one day after Donald Trump suggested that looking into his family's finances would cross a red line, we're learning the Special Counsel in the Russian investigation is doing exactly that.
VAUSE: And one of the most polarizing men in America will soon be free from prison. O.J. Simpson, football star turned murder suspect granted parole.
SOARES: Hello, and a very warm welcome to you. I'm Isa Soares.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause, great to have you with us. This is the second hour of NEWSROOM L.A. A 6.7 magnitude quake has rattled Turkey and Greece sparking panic and causing a lot of damage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(PEOPLE RATTLED BY THE EARTHQUAKE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: These people were celebrating a birthday on a seaside patio in Bodrum, Turkey when the time it struck. Several centimeters of water suddenly washed up over the deck in the southern ducts.
SOARES: Though, no fatalities have been reported in Turkey, but across the AGNC, CNN Greece reports at least two deaths on the Greek Island have caused. Now, the violent shaking toppled merchandise off store shelves and left rubble in the streets, dozens of people have been hurt. Let's get more meteorologists, Karen Maginnis is in Atlanta. And Karen, give us a sense of just how powerful the quake was, and also concerns about those aftershocks that we heard in our talk about in last hour.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we have seen at least eight aftershocks at 4.0 to 5.0 magnitude. This is going to continue for some time. You'll see a lot of smaller quakes here for weeks, maybe months -- just small vibrations. But this one was no small vibration; this is on a very tectonically active area, a fault. When I say tectonically active, meaning, there is a lot of earthquake activity takes place here; right along that Turkey border over towards Greece. So, this is not exceptional across this region, but 6.7 magnitude, that is a major earthquake; it's about 10 kilometers deep. That makes it relatively shallow.
So, these areas are very popular with travelers, and visitors, people enjoying themselves. But it took place about 1:30 in the morning; still a lot of people out in some of these medieval cities. And so, the construction is very antique, if you will. We don't see the spectacular high rise buildings. But nonetheless, this was enough to knock the masonry off. Knock out power. Certainly, a lot of the revelers here were very shaken up. And reports are that people were bringing out whatever they could and sleeping, or staying, or keeping an eye out for what was going on because they were so shaken up by this 6.7 magnitude earthquake.
And actually, a bulk of the damage and a lot of the injuries took place right around the Grecian Island because it was closer to the epicenter. So we -- just see, this had a depth of just about 10 kilometers. That makes it about 10 miles deep; relatively shallow. We already have those two reports of fatalities and the aftershocks. We heard earlier from Arwa Damon, and she said a lot of people were running out into the streets. This is very unsettling to have something like this materialize. These aftershocks, as I mentioned, will continue for quite some time in a very concentrated area. This is where we saw the bulk of the shaking, and population across this region certainly swells with summertime visitors across this region.
Now we, typically, would expect with an earthquake of this magnitude, the type of construction that we see across the region that would be on the low side. But it's still an assessment. We saw the damage there that we showed you right around cause, the Greek Island. And this is an area where we saw the substantial damage. As far as that water is concerned, we saw that holiday party, people celebrating in the streets, and then the water that rushed in, that's because there was essentially a small tsunami. That was about a half a meter high, and that was some of the water that just kind of sloshed in after this earthquake; it tore loose some of the boats that were tied up in there. But already, two fatalities, hundreds reported injured due to this earthquake that took place during the early morning hours. Back to you, guys.
SOARES: Yes. And of course, and like you said, this is high season, it's July, with a very packed break in Bodrum, but also, on the island, of course. Karen, do keep us abreast of the situation. Thank you very much.
[01:05:01] VAUSE: Thanks, Karen. Now, the China's state-run is reporting at least two people have been killed, and 55 injured after an explosion in the Eastern City of Hangzhou.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (VIDEO OF EXPLOSION)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: At least a dozen people have been left severely injured. The blast happened a short time ago, in a shop near Hangzhou's Westlake; more details as they become available.
Two new reports, breaking in the past few hours which claim the U.S. President and his legal team are trying to undermine the credibility of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller. New York Times and Washington Post, say Trump's lawyers are trying to find possible conflicts of interest, which compromise Mueller and his investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
SOARES: The Post also says, Mr. Trump is asking about his authority to pardon people, including himself in connection with the Russia probe. Meanwhile, Bloomberg is reporting: Mueller is now looking into Donald Trump's business dealings, going back more than a decade, and that include real estate deals with Russians, and the 2013 in a Miss Universe pageant in Moscow.
VAUSE: And after some very harsh public criticism from the president, Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he has no plans to resign.
SOARES: The White House says the President still has confidence in Sessions as CNN's Jeff Zeleny now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, once a trusted member of Donald Trump's inner circle is vowing to stay on the job tonight, despite the President's extraordinary vote of no confidence.
JEFF SESSIONS, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: We love this job. We love this department. And I plan to continue to do so as long as that is appropriate.
ZELENY: But how long is the latest question in the escalating drama between President Trump and the Justice Department? The President blasted Sessions for recusing himself from the probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, a decision that eventually led to a Special Prosecutor investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, Session should have never recused himself. And if he would -- if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else.
ZELENY: In an oval office interview with the New York Times, the President suggested Sessions had been disloyal by stepping aside from the Russia investigation that's now consuming the White House.
TRUMP: It's extremely unfair and that's a mild word to the President. ZELENY: Those words, drawing strong condemnation from Republicans on
Capitol Hill, who said the Attorney General is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the United States, not the President's personal lawyer.
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R-UTAH), SENATE PRO TEMPORE: I think the President makes a lot of statements off-the-cuff that sometimes come back to haunt him and that's one of them.
SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: The Attorney General can't be a wing man for a President. He's got to be very independent. And work for being a wing man for his people of the country.
ZELENY: Back in March, the Attorney General announced his recusal from the Russia investigation, a decision that infuriated Trump then and now.
SESSION: I should not be involved in investigating a campaign I had a role in.
ZELENY: At a press conference on cyber security today, he offered little reaction to the President's blistering remarks.
SESSIONS: So, I'm totally confident that we can continue to run this office in an effective way.
ZELENY: The President also questioned the scope the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, saying he and his family's personal finances should be off-limits. "No, I think that's a violation," the President said, "Look, this is about Russia." But it's clear that his finances were on Mr. Trump's mind during the interview.
TRUMP: I sell a lot of condo units. And somebody, somebody from Russia buys a condo unit, who knows? I don't make money from Russia.
ZELENY: At the White House today, the President would not answer questions about Sessions. But at the Justice Department, Sessions and his high commands stood side by side and declined to respond at the remarkable rebuke. A Senior White House Official told CNN, the President's remarks had a chilling effect inside the West Wing, where the President values loyalty above all. It was particularly stinging because Sessions was one of Trump's biggest cheerleaders: the first Republican Senator to endorse his bid for the presidency.
SESSIONS: At this time in American history, we need to make America great again!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
ZELENY: Now, it's difficult to think of a Republican in this town who is more loyal to Trump than Jeff Sessions. He was a Republican Senator from Alabama. He left his post to become the Attorney General. Now, in the last 24 hours and more, the President has not talked to him, I'm told. But he certainly has done a lot of talking about him. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Now, all of this comes as the President is reshuffling his legal team, the spokesman and communication strategist resigned late Thursday. And joining us now is Democratic Strategist, Matthew Littman; CNN Political Commentator and Republican Consultant, John Thomas. Thank you to you, gentlemen, for coming.
[01:10:02] VAUSE: OK. So, a day after warning the Special Council not to look at personal finances -- this is the President -- we find out the Special Counsel is investigating the personal finances of the President.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG FARRELL, BLOOMBERG LEGAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: What we've learned is that he's taken a broad view of the investigation and not a narrow view. So, the mandate he was given in mid-May is open to interpretation. Anything related to Russia and that might have resulted in interference in the election. He's clearly going back more than a decade to any real estate transactions. He's clearly focused on any major transaction that has taken place like the Miss Universe, you know, 2013 pageant in Moscow, et cetera.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: John, it always seems like the President, you know, got out a map, put a great big X on it, and said whatever you do Rob Mueller, don't dare to look for bodies there because there aren't any bodies over there, OK, you got it?
JOHN THOMAS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Look, probably calls had been made, probably, prior to that as the sensitive spot. But I'm sure the President feels that this is becoming a witch hunt. That it's getting beyond the scope of what the investigation is. And he is like, look, what does the condo I sold to somebody who is Russian a decade ago have anything to do with the 2016 hacking of the elections?
VAUSE: Meanwhile, he made $50 million on it over four years.
MATTHEW LITTMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Trump thinks that anybody who disagrees with him is a witch hunt.
THOMAS: Well --
LITTMAN: It's within the scope of the Special Prosecutor's charge to be able to look into anything that they find during the course of this investigation. And if what they find is some discrepancy in his finances or potentially something illegal, it's perfectly fine for them to look into it.
SOARES: It does seem that to be within the scope. This is Justice Department from May the 17th says that the volatile instruction to investigate any links and or coordination between the Russian government individual associated with the campaign, as well as "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation." So, that to me, it sounds like a relatively broad mandate. But this
is what President Trump has said about his business dealings with Russia. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I don't, I don't -- I mean, it's possible that there's a condo or something, so, yes, I sell a lot of condo units, and somebody from Russia buys a condo, who knows? I don't make money from Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So, it sounds pretty defensive, but that does that also mean they are investigating the President?
LITTMAN: Well, let me just also go back to Donald Trump Jr., said a while ago that they did have a lot of dealings with Russia. Now, he's saying he doesn't make a lot of money from Russia. He won't release his tax returns, which a lot of people believe will tell us how much money he made from Russia.
VAUSE: John, there's also this -- I mean, there is just one very obvious example there: he put the house, you know, he sold it to a Russian oligarch. You know, he bought it for $43 million, and then four years later sold it back to him for like $90-something million. This is back to 2008. You know you don't remember making $50 million on an easy deal like that?
THOMAS: Yes. But what exactly does that have to do with WikiLeaks and 2016 hacking election? I mean, to allege that I'm not saying you are, but to make the connection that something way back in 2008 had this conspiracy, and this plan to then somehow influence the election in 2016?
VAUSE: There's no planning in 2008, but there are, obviously, ties and connections --
LITTMAN: They're also looking into the Miss Universe pageant in 2013. They're looking into Trump's dealings with Russia. Why are they looking into Trump's dealings with Russia going back? Because Donald Trump acts very strangely towards Russia, nobody can figure out why. He is arousing --
THOMAS: You're right. They've got scope where they can go anywhere, and Trump wants this thing to be wrapped up. He thinks there's no there, there. But if Mueller keeps going, he could go on forever, and it's politically damaging just to be under investigation.
LITTMAN: But when you say he thinks there is no there, there; he thinks that there's a there, there, which is why he's saying don't cross this line.
THOMAS: No, not on 2016 elections.
LITTMAN: It doesn't have to be on 2016. It doesn't have to be. SOARES: To your point, John, how much -- I know it's a broad mandate
-- does this impact at all his supporters and his base? Who were saying look, you're supposed to investigating the election, and this has nothing to do with it. Do you think he's basically saying that at all?
THOMAS: No, I think his base has already taken their side. Honestly, they think this is a partisan witch hunt. And I -- you know, at this point I don't think it does anything to hurt Donald Trump. What it does do is it puts a cloud over the administration and it stops him from driving his agenda, which then will hurt him with his base --
LITTMAN: That's exactly right. So, his agenda -- obviously, when Trump is giving this interview to The New York Times, he hasn't talked about agenda at all.
THOMAS: Right.
LITTMAN: I mean, there's no focus on the agenda. His administration can't get the health care stuff done. The infrastructure, where is it? So, does this hurt Trump in terms of his supporters? I agree with John, in the end, this does hurt.
VAUSE: So, you know, when you're faced with this kind of investigation, you can go on the defensive or you can go on the offensive. It looks like Trump and his lawyers are going on the offensive. New York Times, Washington Post, both reporting that the lawyers of the Trump team are trying to discredit Mueller. And his lawyers around him, they're looking for possible conflicts of interest.
Here's part of the New York Times' report: "The search for the potential conflicts is wide ranging, it includes scrutinizing donations to Democratic candidates, in this case, past client and Mr. Mueller's relationship with James B. Comey, who's firing his FBI Director is part of the Special Counsel's investigation." You know, and we've said this before, Donald Trump gave money to Hillary Clinton. What does the political donation have to do with, you know, conflicts of interest, John?
THOMAS: Well from what I'm hearing so far is Mueller who used to be a member of Trump national golf course, who got an dispute, had to resign. So look you got to vet that out, but they're taking a play book right out of Bill Clinton's play book. They destroyed Ken Starr when they tried the best, when he started going to went into whitewater and other things that were beyond the scope of the investigation.
SOARES: I mean the Washington Post, I just want to pick up on this, on the question of pardoning, I know we're having this discussion earlier about can he pardon his family members? Can he pardon himself? And this is what he says, Trump has asked advisors about his power to pardon aides, family members and even himself in connection of the probe according to one of those people. A second person said Trump's lawyers have been discussing the President's pardoning powers among themselves. This is more than just asking for curiosity sake, right?
LITTMAN: Yes, I mean listen his family members are in a lot of hot water here which is not what they planned for six months ago when they came into office and now they're talking about whether Trump could pardon himself, I mean get back on a plane and go home to Moscow, I don't know, maybe he can. But now his son and son-in-law is involve in this, his son his involve in this and they could be in a lot of legal trouble.
THOMAS: I think the attorneys are doing their job, they have to answer that question if that does come up.
SOARES: But legally he can pardon his family?
THOMAS: Anybody, can he pardon himself? I just reviewed this and it seems that he can but my hunch is he would resign before that and the next incoming President would probably come in.
LITTMAN: Let me just say that a (INAUDIBLE) fine, then whatever he has to do, as long as he's out of there, that's fine.
VAUSE: OK. So the big question right now is, you know, discredit Mueller, sure but, you know, will he go as far to fire with special counsel? Not today, at least here's Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, PRESS SECRETARY, WHITE HOUSE: Look, I mean can't predict everything that could possibly take place in the future, and what Mueller could potentially do that might create outrageous, you know, reason not to take action. So I'm not going to talk about hypothetical's, I can talk about where we are today and that's the position of the President.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: John, politically, if Donald Trump went down this road, you know, he would have to fire the, you know, the Deputy Attorney General if the Deputy Attorney General did not fire Mueller, right? So if went down that road that seems to be, you know, the road of no return.
THOMAS: Yes, I would be surprised, probably, I just you disagree with me but I would be surprised if he did fire Mueller. I think what he was hoping and we'll see if this how this if there are conflicts that Mueller will recuse himself because these conflicts become so broad that he couldn't impartially do his job.
LITTMAN: I don't think that Trump thinks the law applies to him at all. And I think he would fire Mueller in a heartbeat, and I think it's only a matter of time before he does.
VAUSE: Sometimes Sessions his anger at Sessions for recusing himself from the investigation, is that a indication that Trump just does not understanding the whole issue of a conflict of interest?
LITTMAN: I don't think he cares, I think for Trump this is all about him and how he feels in the moment and he thinks that Sessions betrayed him so he wants Sessions to be gone.
SOARES: And you know the irony about all this? Is this supposed to be made in America week.
VAUSE: Happy six-month-adversary.
THOMAS: That's the fundamental challenge his got we're not talking about his message we're talking about-
SOARES: He's driving -
LITTMAN: This is his message.
VAUSE: It's only been six months.
LITTMAN: I was dark a haired when this started.
VAUSE: We'll all of us younger looking back then. Thank you, we'll take a short break when we come back the opposition not backing down in Venezuela. Details on the latest efforts to resist President Nicolas Maduro.
SOARES: Plus O.J. Simpsons will soon be a freeman after spending nine years in prison hear the reasons he told why he deserves to be released s. We'll bring you both of the stories after a very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:20:54] SOARES: Now the latest wave of violence in Venezuela had killed two more people clashes broke out with security forces Thursday as opponents of their President Nicolas Maduro began a 24-hour strike.
VAUSE: A post office was set on fire and protesters barricaded streets in the capital Caracas. Mr. Maduro has called for a vote on July 30 to elect an assembly to be right of prosecution which the opposition says it's just part of a power grab by the President.
SOARES: Now O.J. Simpson will soon be a free man the former U.S. football star was granted parole on Thursday after serving nine years in Nevada prison armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas.
VAUSE: Simpson, is now 70 years old, who is expected to be freed as early as October. His release comes two decades after his infamous acquittal in the murder of his ex-wife and her friend. Our Sara Sidner has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ORENTHAL JAMES. SIMPSON, FOOTBALL PLAYER: Basically, it's been a conflict, free life.
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: O.J. Simpson praising himself and a time speaking half truths about his culpability as he tries to convince the Nevada Parole board to set him free for the armed robbery and kidnapping he was convicted of in 2008. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What were you thinking?
SIMPSON: All I want is my property, I just want my property.
SIDNER: Simpson rehashed the case trying to explain he was only trying to recover his stolen memorabilia and knew nothing about the guns but audio tapes in the trial revealed he tapes he did know. He admitted making bad decision but blamed others for bringing guns and threatening his friend and memorabilia dealer, Bruce.
SIMPSON: He knows I would never ever direct anybody to point a gun at him or even threaten him. You mention all those gun charge Bruce and Alfred, they made it clear during the trial, that I had no weapon.
SIDNER: Some of the strongest testimony for Simpson's release came from the very same friend who had gun pointed at his head.
BRUCE FROMONG, MEMORABILIA DEALER: He's a good man, he made a mistake. And if he called me tomorrow and said, Bruce, I'm getting out, will you pick me up, juice, I'll be here tomorrow for you.
SIDNER: Simpson had served nine years in prison after being convicted of robbery and kidnapping that this Las Vegas hotel.
SIMPSONS: Don't let anybody out of here.
SIDNER: A judge sentenced him to as many as 33 years in prison. His attorneys and some legal analysts argued the lengthy sentence was a form of pay back for his 1995 acquittal in the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. In 1995 O.J. Simpson's murder trial was a national obsession 95 million Americans watched this slow-speed car chase unfold live on T.V. he eventually surrendered leading to what was dubbed the trial of the century.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gloves didn't fit. If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
SIDNER: And that is exactly what jury did. After an eight-month trial the jury delivered its verdict in less than an hour, the acquittal saw celebration in the African-American community and shock amongs many white Americans. For the families of the victims though, it was devastating the Browns and Goldman's later sued Simpson in a civil court winning a 33.5 million lawful death suit.
UNDENTIFIED MALE: I our records after all these years of pushing him, drove him to commit armed robbery, put him where he belongs.
SIDNER: But now the 70-year-old Simpson is ready to walk free.
SIMPSONS: I've done my time.
SIDNER: And with the unanimous decision the Parole board agrees.
CONNIE BISBEE, COMMISIONER, NEVADA BOARD OF PAROLE: Based on all of that, Mr. Simpson, I do vote to grant parole when eligible. SIDNER: Even though O.J. Simpson has been paroled, that doesn't mean
he will be released from prison immediately. He is expected to be let out in October. Back to you, guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First question, who thinks O.J. did it? Me neither.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That's a scene from the People Versus O.J. Simpson, the televised series about Simpson's 1995 murder trial more than 20 years later. A Washington Post poll found majority a Americans both black and white would most likely answer that question, yes. They believe Simpson probably killed his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman despite being acquitted by a jury. And for many, that was reason enough for parole to be denied on Thursday.
Joining me now is Criminal Defense Attorney Brian Claypool, Brian good to see you. You know, the only mention of Simpson's murder trial during that hearing came (INAUDBILE) Parole Commissioners said that they received hundreds of letters most in opposition, many referencing the double murder which he was acquitted for but that would not be considered as part of the hearing. And that is pretty much how the legal system is meant to work, right?
[01:25:36] BRIAN CLAYPOOL, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Unquestionably, John, we need the laws changed. When it comes to a Parole Board hearing, if there is a defendant who has been on trial previously for a murder, and there is a mountain of evidence in that criminal trial, that shows he committed the crime, even if he's found not guilty, we need a law changed that should allow a Parole Board to take a look at that evidence to determine one thing, whether a gentleman like O.J. Simpson poses a potential risk to society. And there's another thing, John, you showed a clip of it. The Goldman family wanted $33 million verdict, they won a civil trial and had a jury find O.J. Simpson responsible for the death of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown. So why shouldn't a Parole Board consider that fact in determining whether O.J. Simpson should be granted parole.
VAUSE: OK. Let's just talk about why O.J. now that he will be most likely set free on parole maybe sometime in early October. There some poke of reality T.V. show and the editorial in a, you know, magazine Variety says O.J. should never work in Hollywood again. "Making O.J. the center of a new story and telling from his point of view would inevitably make sympathetic to some". You know, he did land a T.V. with some other big deal, could the family of, you know, Nicole and Goldman, could they actually, you know, could they get some of that income as part of their settlement -
CLAYPOOL: Absolutely. They will continue to collect this judgment until infinity and even after O.J. passes. And remember, O.J. Simpson also gets about a $20,000 a month pension. VAUSE: Yes, I think like 25 grand.
CLAYPOOL: Yee, from the NFL. So the Goldman family and Nicole Brown's family can also go after that as well. But one other comment I want to make, it's interesting you mentioned a reality show. Isn't it telling you something about our society? I mean, our society has enables a sociopath like O.J. Simpson, he clearly murdered Nicole almost chopped her head off. And murdered Ron Goldman and here we're talking about him getting out of jail and now, he is rewarded. He has lived this sense of entitlement.
VAUSE: And with that in mind, you know, those all of eye rolling when he actually said to the Parole Board that he has lived a conflict-free life. Never held a weapon, all that kind of stuff, should the Parole Board challenged him at any point on that? Is that their job?
CLAYPOOL: Well look, this Parole Board, in my opinion, was pathetic. At one point one of the parole with the lady from the Parole Board she made a comment, I think Nicole - I'm sorry, O.J.'s daughter made a comment saying hi, I'm feeling nervous. Did you hear what the parole -- she said, we're feeling nervous too. I mean they were not even equipped for this Parole Board hearing, they clearly should have challenged him because there is a plethora of 911 phone calls, John, by Nicole Brown that are chilling.
VAUSE: The domestic abuse.
CLAYPOOL: The domestic abuse but O.J. Simpson, you know his record, he's going to beat me again that's a conflict-free man?
VAUSE: But you know, a lot of people saw this 33 years log sentence he got for the robbery in Vegas was essentially the sentence for murder. And so now they're at this parole hearing which has granted him, you know, early release and a lot of people look at this Nevada Parole Board and thinking they gave permission for a killer to walk free.
CLAYPOOL: Well I think they did. And let me clear up one more fact, too. A lot of people have said, well wow O.J. got a long sentence and he shouldn't have, the punishment didn't fit the crime. Well let's set the record straight, he was convicted of 11 felony counts many of those were class a felonies. So the nine-year minimum is in range with what he should have gotten.
VAUSE: That was a fairly standard sentence.
CLAYPOOL: Absolutely people are mistaken.
VAUSE: They like that it maybe should be like a one or two years.
CLAYPOOL: Absolutely not. He was convicted of 11 felonies and many of those were class felony.
VAUSE: And on October he will be living in Florida.
CLAYPOOL: Right, and I'm going to make a prediction right now. He's going to end, he's going to end up in trouble again because he was the king on a football field. He was the king in that -- remember the trial with the glove didn't fit, you must acquit. He was the king in the courtroom and he was the king today in that Parole Board hearing.
VAUSE: He certainly seemed to be back in form.
CLAYPOOL: Right.
VAUSE: Good to see you, thank you.
CLAYPOOL: Yes, thank for having me, John.
SOARES: Right here next on NEWSROOM L.A., from guns to drugs, they were used to sell everything illegal. Now police have busted two black markets and they are promising to prosecute every cybercriminal. We go live on that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for staying with us, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
SOARES: And I'm Isa Soares.
The headlines this hour --
(HEADLINES)
VAUSE: Back to Turkey now where a powerful 6.7 earthquake struck earlier on Friday.
CNN producer, Gul Tuysuz, has the latest from Istanbul.
Gul, what have you heard about the latest on damage as well as casualties?
GUL TUYSUZ, CNN PRODUCER: Well, two people have been killed in this 6.7 magnitude earthquake on the Greek side. The mayor of the Greek island of Kos coming out and saying that at least two people have lost their lives. We don't have the exact numbers of the people injured on the Greek side. On the Turkish side, we are hearing that there have been some injuries, reports up to 70s. But a local government official coming out and saying that the majority of those injuries were actually sustained as people fled in panic and, in the case of one man, as he jumped out of a window.
The earthquake happened 17 kilometers off the coast of Kos, and right in between Turkey and Greece where the two countries come together and share a little bit of a sea area. That's where the majority of the damage was felt both on the Turkish and on the Greek side. Again, we don't have exact numbers. We know there was some building damage that occurred on the Turkish side as well, especially one minaret that belonged to a mosque in the center of the Turkish port city of Bodrum. It took some structural damage with parts of it flying down. And rescue workers have cordoned that area off for now.
SOARES: Gul, thank you. Gul Tuysuz there with the very latest, live in Istanbul. Thank you.
[01:35:06] SOARES: Now, U.S. and European officials say they have taken down two major illegal online markets. Authorities have busted the site AlphaBay in early July. They were part of the dark web. It's a hidden part of the Internet not accessible to normal users. The U.S. Justice Department said that the black markets were used to sell drugs, guns, stolen documents and even child pornography.
And now officials are promising to go after other cybercriminals. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF SESSIONS, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Make no mistake, the forces of law and justice face a challenge from criminals and transnational criminal organizations who think they can commit their crimes with impunity by going dark. This case, pursued by dedicated agents and prosecutors, says you are not safe. You cannot hide. We will find you, dismantle your organization and network, and we will prosecute you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: You cannot hide.
Well, let's get more on this with Rod Beckstrom. He is the former CEO of ICANN and has worked as the director of the National Cybersecurity Center.
Rod, thank you for being on the show.
The closure of the sites is, without a doubt, a huge blow to criminal dark web activity. I want to give viewers a better sense of scale. I want to show them this quick graphic we've got up. What people are looking at, according to DOJ, AlphaBay had 250,000 listings for drugs and toxic chemicals, 200,000 users and over 40,000 vendors. That is 10 times Silk Road that was shut in 2013. So, how did the DOJ and its international partners crack this? Give us a sense of the scope.
ROD BECKSTROM, FORMER CEO, ICANN & FORMER DIRECTION, NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY CENTER: Sure. You know, what happens with these dark markets is inevitably, someone involved in administering it makes a mistake. And in this case, the gentleman that committed suicide in Thailand made a mistake. He used his regular e-mail address somewhere and someone was able to back chain and figured out who he was. And moved behind his sort of handle as one of the operators into his real identity, and they got a hold of him. And obviously, with that, they were able to take down that website. And more importantly, in the case of the Hansa Market, they found the two creators and then they took control and turned the marketplace into an intelligence gathering tool and watched the transactions. A very clever and brilliant move by law enforcement. And then they got records on many of the transactions you were talking about, Isa.
SOARES: Yeah, but like you said, they need almost to be making mistakes in order to catch them. So this is a challenge for authorities, isn't it? It's a huge step forward for law enforcement, without a doubt. But the reality is that others will pop up in its place.
I want the viewers to get a listen and see what the FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe had to say on this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW MCCABE, FBI ACTING DIRECTOR: Critics will say, as we shutter one site, another site emerges. And they may be right. But that is the nature of criminal work. It never goes away. You have to constantly keep at it. And you have to use every tool in your tool box.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So, Rod, the question is, how can authorities get ahead of this? Because, already, as I was doing research on this, I saw there was already a new player, called Dream Market.
BECKSTROM: Yes, well, you know, law enforcement did something smart. The FBI and partners in Europe deserve credit. They got control of Hansa Market and watched the transactions from the inside, and have transaction records on more than 50,000 illicit transactions, or most likely all illicit, and 10,000 addresses that these illicit goods were shipped to. So they have a lot of very specific concrete data to use for prosecution. And, of course, this is a criminal's nightmare or the drug buyer's nightmare or the pedophile's nightmare, that their address could be captured. Even if their name is not there, at least it's enough to prosecute and get after them. Law enforcement -- some have been shut down, AlphaBay got shut down. But Hansa Market got hacked by law enforcement itself and they have a bunch of data to work with for years, I think.
SOARES: And the reality, Rod, is that many criminals are evading prosecution and hiding behind the web. Give us a sense of the people behind these sites and the lives they lead, the money, the property, the cars. Paint us a picture of what you are hearing.
BECKSTROM: Sure. I was on the phone tonight with someone who was in the first circle with the guy who founded Silk Road, someone who spent time with him on a daily basis in Sydney, Australia, before he was caught. He was a clean-cut guy, brilliant, highly technical. Did not use drugs. Kept a low-profile lifestyle. Staying in modest hotels. Camping in hostels. On the other hand, in this case with AlphaBay, the owner had an extravagant lifestyle, Lamborghinis, Porches, living extremely ostentatiously, reflecting a different approach and a much more risky approach. At the end of the day, they are smart young guys that like technology and maybe start experimenting with creating one of the sites and it just explodes and takes off and it has a life of its own. And then you are the king of the dark web kingdom. That power has to be, I think, quite addictive for them.
[01:40:45] SOARES: Absolutely, and a challenge for authorities.
Rod Beckstrom, fascinating. Thank you for coming to the show. Wonderful to speak to you.
BECKSTROM: Thank you.
VAUSE: More tributes are pouring in for the front man of the popular rock band, Linkin Park. Chester Bennington was found dead in his home in Los Angeles Thursday morning. Authorities are treating the case as a possible suicide. In past interviews, Bennington talked about enduring childhood abuse and drug use. The 41-year-old singer was known for his emotional and unique vocals. Take a listen to Linkin Park's hit song, "Indian."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The U.S. is expanding its war on ISIS and al Qaeda was beyond the Middle East. It plans to build an advanced drone base in Niger. That's an area where many migrants travel through desperate to leave Africa.
SOARES: CNN's Arwa Damon has an exclusive look at the U.S. operations in the area and effort of Niger to recuse the stranded migrants.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRSPONDENT (voice-over): This is no man's land. There is the serious threat of kidnapping. But the real danger? That of the very desert itself.
We're on a mission to rescue stranded migrants.
(on camera): It really only takes a few moments in the back of one of these trucks to get an appreciation of just how tough it is out here.
(voice-over): The Sahara is too vast for any army to control. And a recent government crackdown has meant smugglers are keeping off the main tracks and away from water places.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We saw when everybody was giving up (INAUDIBLE).
DAMON (on camera): People were dying around you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We had just one jar of water.
[01:45:03] DAMON (voice-over): Best managed to survive for 224 days in the desert, but most of those who were with her, they didn't. Out of 27 people, only three women survived.
We met her at a transit center in Agadez (ph), that's run by the IOM. She's waiting to return to Nigeria. Agadez is a gateway for migrants in route to Europe. Last year, the E.U. pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to Niger to crackdown on smuggling. But what the crackdown has done is drive the operations underground and destroy the city's economy. Just everyone here lived off the migrant trade.
Agadez is a World Heritage Site that's been turned into a tinderbox. And it's also about to become the site of 21st century warfare's most modern technology.
COL. JOHN MEITER, COMMANDER, AIR BASE 101, U.S. AIR FORCE: This is the largest troop-related project in Air Force history.
DAMON: Just outside of Agadez, the U.S. is investing $100 million building Nigerian Airbase 201. And it is from here that the U.S. will launch its MQ9 Reapers, a hunter/killer drone with advanced intelligence gathering capabilities. The Reapers at AFRICOM Army headquarters are currently based out of the capitol, Niamey.
This is a nexus area or kind of a focus area of multiple threats to the United States, be it Libya in the north, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to the west or Boko Haram to the south. Niger is a central location from which the United States can operate.
DAMON: The American military mission to Niger is clear, but proposed foreign aid cuts by the Trump White House has thrown its long-term humanitarian commitment into question.
(CROSSTALK)
DAMON: In, a U.S. Army civil affairs team is already trying to reach out to the local population.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- in the morning.
DAMON: This is a dental hygiene workshop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
DAMON: On site, we meet a group of women leaders. And their top concern is youth unemployment.
Zara Ibrahim says terrorism is all around them. And that's why they don't want the youth to be idle, so that they are not recruit by something else.
But it's really only in the desert that you begin to understand the enormous challenges that come with physically securing this lawless land and why the U.S. aerial presence is so valued by Niger's government.
Finally, some 10 hours after we leave Agadez, we see light signals. Some migrants have been stranded here for three days after their truck broke down.
(CROSSTALK) DAMON: They don't want their identifies revealed.
As we speak, one of the women starts praying under her breath.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
DAMON: Then we hear the agonizing wails of another woman.
(CRYING)
DAMON: And go to speak with her.
(on camera): I heard you crying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DAMON: She says two of her four children were on another truck and the convoy just kept going towards Libya.
(CRYING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[01:49:22] DAMON (voice-over): It's only at daybreak that we truly understand the remoteness of where we are.
The migrants ready themselves. They pile into the back of the trucks. They are reluctant to leave. They want to keep going to Libya and not back to Agadez.
This is the crossroads of the war on terror, of hope and despair.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Agadez.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: You are watching NEWSROOM L.A. Now some fans are outraged by the new Doctor Who because she is a woman. And two British tabloids have had added fuel to the fire. We'll talk Hollywood and sexism in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: British tabloids are under fire after publishing nude photos of the new Doctor Who star. BBC announced that Jodi Whitaker will be the first woman Doctor Who in the sci-fi fictional movie, "Doctor Who." And when posting that story, "The Daily Mail" and "The Sun" published nude photos of Whitaker from some of her previous work.
VAUSE: Yes. A few fans were already unhappy with a lady Time Lord. The Time Lord doctors are aliens who survive by changing their physical form and personality, and that includes changing gender after 53 years.
Rebecca Sun joins us now. She's a senior reporter for the "Hollywood Reporter." Rebecca, it's been a long time. Good to see you.
REBECCA SUN, SENIOR REPORTER, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Good to see you guys again.
VAUSE: Let's look at the headlines. Over at "The Daily Mail," this is what they managed to put together. "It's not the first time she's time traveled. The new Doctor Who star, Jodie Whitaker, goes naked for orgasmic sex scene in chilling drama, 'Black Mirror.'" In "The Sun," the headline, "Doctor Her Who." And they also managed to put a nasty little editorial as well. "It is frankly nauseating that the BBC should now get on their sci-fi high horse and gallop into 'Right- Onsville' to plunk a woman sheriff in town."
What exactly is their problem?
SUN: Yes. I mean, there's a lot of people who are resistant to change. I think that especially, in the past couple of years, where, for some reason, inclusion has become a polarizing and a political subject. You saw that last summer with the female "Ghostbusters." People take is super personally even though it doesn't take away from the original classic. So I think you're seeing more knee-jerk reaction just to the idea of change.
SOARES: So this is not just about the headlines. The fact that they're using nude photos of her and then --
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: -- having that editorial, it's completely misogynistic. I mean, that would never happen if it were a man.
SUN: Right. It kind of plays into and it shows you that society has a tendency to sexualize women and to reduce them to sexual objects and roles. And that's not a new thing. There was a USC study earlier this year that showed female characters are three times likely than male characters to asked to show partial nudity, to be dressed in sexual-revealing ways. So the fact they bring up just her resume, you know.
SOARES: You can have sex scenes and you can have nudity but you have to have respect with it. And that's what it should be.
VAUSE: This would be good year for female roles. I think in particular about the "Wonder Woman" movie --
SOARES: Right, yes.
VAUSE: -- which got rave reviews. But again, there is still this sexism in Hollywood. You mentioned the "Ghostbusters" reboot. That was vicious. It was the most hated clip on YouTube at some point.
And then there's the issue of money. This is where the rubber meets to the road. Top actresses make 40 cents on the dollar compared to men. Let's take a look at the highest paid actors from last year. You have the Rock there as number one. Jennifer Lawrence comes in at number six. She made $46 million. And Melissa McCarthy, number nine, $33 million. Dwayne Johnson, $64 million. So clearly, two women, the rest are guys. So this is where you see the evidence of sexism.
[01:54:58] SUN: Right. Actors are no different. You had high- profile actors, like Charlize Theron, or Emma Stone, come out and talk about their fight for pay equality.
The good news, though, with Doctor Who, is that the producers have said that the new Doctor Who will be paid the same amount as the twelfth doctor was. So that's good.
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: Not that the fans really care.
I want to show some of the tweets from the fans. Clearly, she's got a lot of support. But the amount of anger that we saw on Twitter, "Good to see Doctor Who is now being ruined." And then the other one. People can't seem to get over the fact that this is just a woman. "Yes, I stopped watching Doctor Who a year ago because the direction they were headed and they're planning to have a female lead. Just no."
SUN: I mean, I think just unfortunately at this point, that kind of reaction is always going to be expected. The good news is I don't think people - there's going to be just as many, if not more people who are going to continue to tune in a watch this new program, this new Doctor Who. There was this wonderful viral video after it was announced where there was a little girl in Britain, 6 or 7 years old, she saw the announcement and turned to the camera and was like, "The doctor's a woman," and she was so excited.
VAUSE: My question is, do you attract more viewers from people who are happy to see a woman play the role than you lose by the guys who are not happy seeing a woman in the role?
SUN: I think that as long as Doctor Who continues to have the kind enchanting storytelling and really intriguing mysteries and character development that it always has had, it will retain the true, genuine fans.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: It is a British institution.
SUN: Exactly. There is a chance it could attract newer viewers, as well as finally give the long-standing female fans of Doctor Who a doctor that looks like them.
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: I was reading also an interview with Amelia Clark (ph). She was talking about how sexism is like the new form of racism. This is how she feels. And Hollywood in particular. She was pointing out that very strong worded article, an interview with her.
SUN: Yes.
SOARES: I'm not sure if you saw that. It really goes to the point, it's not just a male role.
SUN: Right. No, I read that. I would say racism is still the same racism. But sexism is also the same sexism they're always had. If you look at when Doctor Who was created 50 years ago, the expectation was that they would be white and male because of the society. Society has changed, why not the doctor?
VAUSE: Rebecca, thanks for being here.
SOARES: Thanks very much.
SUN: Thank you, guys.
SOARES: You have been watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isa Soares.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause.
We'll be back with more news after a short break.
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