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Trump Begins Informal Prep For Possible Mueller Interview; U.S. Businessmen Slapped With U.S. Sanctions; U.S. and Korea Holding Secret Talks To Prepare For Summit; The Masters. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired April 07, 2018 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Police say 30 people are injured. There are six victims with life threatening injuries and six more in critical condition.

Joining me right Rick Noack, "Washington Post" foreign affairs reporter based in Berlin. Also, with me, CNN national security analysts, Juliette Kayyem and Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. First, Rick, give me an idea of how investigators there are treating this. We know they have said that they believed this was deliberate and that the driver has killed himself, but now what?

RICK NOACK, FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST": Well, police appear to believe there is no further risk at this point, but they are asking people to stay away from the area where the incident happened. Authorities apparently are looking for explosives in the van that was used to plow into that crowd of people, according to journalists at the scene right now.

Authorities say that terrorism is a possibility, they, in fact, assumed that this might have been an attack. That is a wording they have used in the past, and in the past sometimes the attack turned out not to be a terrorist incident.

WHITFIELD: And so, Rick, what can you tell me about this area? Munster, Germany, this particular area we see from the pictures is a pretty condensed area. Crowds there, because this is also a big tourist attraction, but give me an idea, if you could, about this culturally rich city.

NOACK: Well, (inaudible) is a medium-sized city in Western Germany with about 300,000 inhabitants. It is quite a liberal city with a lot of students or you would assume a lot of young people on the streets, on a very sunny Saturday. And the restaurant or the area where it happened is the old historic town, so there would be a lot of tourists, but also a lot of locals on such a Saturday.

WHITFIELD: Also, with me is Josh Campbell, CNN law enforcement analyst. And so, Josh, U.S. law enforcement will be watching this very closely, obviously. But what are some of the attributes of this crime that piques interest of national security analysts such as yourself? JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST (via telephone): Well, unfortunately, we've seen many of these in the past, and it has a lot of the telltale signs as you would expect from an attack that's deliberate. Obviously, there's a lot of details that we don't know right now, and we are in very early stages.

As we've seen in the past, a lot of the initial information we receive sometimes turned out to be not accurate. Stepping back and looking at it from a law enforcement perspective, having worked a number of these cases around the world, they do have a telltale sign.

Especially in this case when you have reports that the individual who perpetrated the attack quickly took his own life, that would at least suggest, it would rule out any type of accident because that's not something you typically see obviously in a traffic-type situation.

Right now, what's going to happen with law enforcement, intelligence agencies, after the first focus of preserving life, which is under way, the next step is move to fully identify this person.

Sometimes in these types of incidents, the perpetrator may not have any type of identification on him or her. It would be incumbent upon law enforcement, intelligence sources, to identify that person quickly.

After an attack like this time is not on the side of the investigators and what I mean by that is anyone who may have assisted this person or possibly have known that this was going to take place now would be the time they would potentially go underground, making it even more difficult for law enforcement to determine is it conspiracy or one person that's acting.

Additionally, information will be blasted out. There's law enforcement and intelligent agencies around the world. In Germany, there are strong networks in Europe and the west and other countries. It's basically rote now where that information will be sent out, any identifiers.

So, other intelligent services can search their holdings to determine do they know anything about this person, is there anything they can share that will help investigators in Germany to determine what happen.

WHITFIELD: And then Josh, if you could talk to me about the urgency of trying to figure out who this person is and if this person acted alone or what kind of support there may have been. Because one would think if this person is going to commit suicide upon crashing into a crowd, it wouldn't have any, you know, obvious identifying, you know, characteristics, I.D.s, all that kind of stuff. So, how would investigators go about, I mean, talk to me about the urgency of finding out who that person was, whether they were acting alone, et cetera.

CAMPBELL: Yes, it's a good question. Since we're still in that period, the unknown, a lot of the motive will start to come about, and we'll learn more as additional details unfold. The question will come, you know, is this someone who acted alone, was he or she perhaps self-radicalized, and then decided to act, or was he or she directed from someone else?

The reason why that's important is because a lot of the terrorist groups, when you look at ISIS and al Qaeda, you know, in order to inflict that terror, they want to be able to boast that they were responsible.

[12:05:12] And so now would be that time where, you know, we'll wait and see, but we can expect, you know, is there going to be a terrorist group that says this person was working on our behalf or simply someone who is working alone, all those details are going to be coming about.

Once we look at the identification and again, you know, law enforcement there obviously very experienced, unfortunately, in these types of a tacks. They'll be getting assistance from other, but they'll be going through the processes to determine what are the person's identification, who or his or her associates?

Everything about them. They'll try to figure out everything they possible can because in a situation like this, it's just speculation, but if someone was assisting or there were associates, you don't want those people moving on and doing another attack.

So, it's a herculean effort that's under way. All hands will be on deck. I think they have a very difficult task ahead of them in order to fully identify this person and his or her associates.

WHITFIELD: All right. Josh, also joining us, law enforcement analysts, Juliette Kayyem and Gail Lemmon. So, Gayle, to you first, what are the questions that you have about all that we know and so much that we don't know about this investigation right now?

GAYLE TZEMACH LEMMON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: You know, I've been following German media all morning. I actually lived in Berlin during the 9/11 attacks in New York, and, you know, what German media's been asking people is please send information if you have it and also please don't put photos on the internet. We're using those pictures. Please stay off the road.

Local police are saying please stop posting pictures to the internet. What they're trying to figure out, and I know Juliette will point to this, right, is what is behind this, right. They know that one person drove a van. They know that tens of people are injured. They know there are varying reports over how many people were killed.

And what they don't know is the why and what drove this person and whether there is a second person. And there's been all kinds of German media discussions this morning about whether there is a second person who was involved.

I think the motive will be central to figuring out how many other people were involved and, you know, if it turns out to be a broader attack that's linked to ISIS or others, again, I say if, right, I think it points us to, again, it's much easier to slay a fighter than it is to kill an ideology.

WHITFIELD: And Juliette, the questions that you have at this point. I know there are, of course, concerns that this person didn't act alone that there might be, you know, a second or third, you know, tier to this kind of attack.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: That is true. But in a lot of these attacks, remember, the terrorists, assailant, you know, is often acting alone and is someone who is known to local law enforcement, potentially for other reasons. So, this is one of the challenges of the kind of terrorism we're seeing now, is I'd like to say that a lot of these guys are buying hate and ISIS is selling it.

So, they find an ideology that justified already violent or you know, a social behavior. We just don't know what his network is like, but in a lot of these cases in the past there actually was a minimal network and it was more of a digital radicalization process.

So, we're all going to be careful about what we know right now and what the Germans are willing to say. I would doubt that German officials did not know of this person in some capacity. Every single time, across the board, these guys have sort of been in the network of law enforcement, and then something happens that radicalizes them.

That is good news though. I know it's disappointing they can't be stopped but it's good news because then you're able to begin the process of figuring out what happened. Were there radicalization moments that should have been captured. What did his family know? And then you begin this process of an investigation. So, the challenge of ISIS right now in Western Europe.

WHITFIELD: Yes, OK. So "Washington Post," Rick Noack, in Berlin, if you're still with me, talk to us about what concerns there have been about terror networks, whether it be in Munster or Germany, period.

NOACK: Well, there's been mounting concerns about terrorism and terror networks in Germany over the last few years. Obviously, although we did not know whether this particular incident today is connected to terrorism.

Concerns have mounted especially since December 2016 when 12 people were killed when a truck plowed into a group of people on a Christmas market in the very center of Berlin. That really did have a long-term impact on security measures that were taken here.

[12:10:03] For instance, when you go to events in Germany, you'll find a lot of concrete barriers but also police officials and authorities stepped up their efforts to crack down criminals and terrorists and figure out how those groups are connected.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much. Everyone, hold tight. We're going to reconnect with you. We're going to take a short break and we'll resume our conversation on this breaking news story of a delivery van crashing into a crowd of people there in Munster, Germany. People have been killed and many injured as well. We'll have much more after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We're following breaking news out of Germany this hour. Three people are dead after a delivery truck was driven into a crowd of people in Munster, Germany. A police spokeswoman telling CNN police are treating this as a deliberate attack and the driver of the truck committed suicide by shooting himself. Police say 20 people are injured. There are six victims with life threatening injuries and six more in critical condition.

[12:15:12] Joining us right now, CNN international correspondent, Erin McLaughlin. Erin, what can you tell us about the few details we are learning?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. There's much we still do not know, Fredricka, about this attack, which authorities at this point say that they are treating as deliberate. It happened around 3:30 p.m. local time on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

According to a police spokesperson, a man driving a delivery van plowed into a restaurant with an open-air terrace injuring some 30 people. Of those 30 injured, six have life threatening injuries, and six are considered to be in critical condition.

Several were killed in this attack and that would include the driver himself. According to authorities, he shot and killed himself. Now, authorities have sealed off the area of the old city where this apparent attack took place. They say the investigation is ongoing and it's intensive.

And this has happened in a medium-sized city to west of Germany of some 300,000 people live there. It's also a university town. We understand actually the local university is actually opened up its blood bank urging people to donate their blood in connection with this incident.

People there must be absolutely traumatized by this now, what authorities are saying, is a deliberate attack. A government spokesperson said their thoughts are going out to the victims today.

WHITFIELD: Erin, do we know that because it was a very sunny day and likely very crowded, people were out, that this driver was able to hit so many people because of the volume of people that were out or do we know anything about the distance in which this vehicle was going, you know, plowing down a number of people over a great distance?

MCLAUGHLIN: At this point, Fredricka, those details are not clear. What we do know, as I said, from that police spokesperson, the driver did apparently target an area that was, would have been crowded on a sunny Saturday afternoon and the target apparently being this restaurant with that open terrace, that it seems likely would have had many people there out enjoying the sunshine as well as a meal.

WHITFIELD: All right. Erin, thanks so much. Standby. Rick Noack, "Washington Post" foreign affairs reporter is based in Berlin, is back with us. So, Rick, what can you tell us about how investigators are going about seeing whether there's a connection between this driver, any kind of terror network, if he was acting alone, et cetera?

NOACK: Police appear currently to believe there is no further threat at this stage. They've asked people to stay away from the area where the incident happened. Authorities now are looking for explosives inside the van according to some who were at the scene. They will likely try to determine whether there might have been a mental illness or whether this really was a deliberate attempt that would be classified as terrorism.

WHITFIELD: National security analyst, Juliette Kayyem and Gayle Tzechmac Lemmon also with us. I wonder, you know, Juliette, you had mentioned how intensely these investigators would be looking into, you know, any kind of second or third phase of this attack. At what point will they rule out that this was part of any kind of organized crime as opposed to this being, just as Rick just said, whether it's one person acting alone, you know, mental instability, et cetera?

KAYYEM: I try to be very careful because, as Rick said that about they're looking into mental illness issues, we just simply don't know if this person is known to local authorities as something else. He might be known as a terrorist or someone who's radicalized or someone who is just crazy, mental illnesses, and violent.

So, for purposes of CNN viewers, it may seem strange that we're not saying terrorism right now. We just have to stay put and see if they have the assailant there. Regardless of what the motivation is though, obviously, you want to protect the citizens of Germany and Europe.

So, they will be assessing who it is and ensuring that local and federal law enforcement agents are essentially prepared for anything that could happen. Just from looking at the German media right now, they seem pretty confident that this is a solo incident no matter how tragic.

[12:20:03] And now the motivation comes in to play. Once again, this is an important distinction. However, you know, however it may seem to those watching, like why aren't we just saying it's terrorism? It's because the motivation matters.

It matters to people in Germany about what problem they have, but it also matters because investigators have to determine if it isn't that radicalized individual from ISIS or whoever else or are others who might be planning an attack.

That is why people pause when they're on air and elsewhere. So, we'll see. It sounds like the Germans are suspecting various potential theories, so we should wait it out.

WHITFIELD: Right. And again, we have heard nothing about any alleged associations with any groups. It's early on in this investigation. So, Gayle, to hear that the investigators are looking for explosives in the vehicle, that has become relatively routine when you're talking about incidents like this striking so many. What else might be routine about investigating getting to the bottom of this attack?

LEMMON: It is, you know, just as you said, right, it's all become routine. That is the very grim reality of it. You know, the questions at this moment of great care about who this person was, why they did it.

However, we answer those, the reality is, tons of people are injured and there are fatalities. I think the big thing that everybody starts to look to now immediately is social media, right, who was this person what kind of profile did they have, and the authorities have the job of trying to keep people off social media and trying to share too much because there are really important pieces of information that will hold.

I think that's why you see law enforcement asking people please don't put photos from the scene up. Even though media had been from that moment on and so there are so many questions because whether this person acted alone or not, there's a clear indication they were inspired by something.

Whether that something was mental illness or a more radical cause and that is really where investigators start. I think for those of us who have been watching this for years, what we see now is just how grim and how routine answering all of these questions have become amid loss and condolences to all those involved.

WHITFIELD: Thanks to all of you. And stand by. I want to go to Germany right now. Julian Reicheld is the editor in chief of "Bilt," one of the leading newspapers in Germany. And so, Julian, is there any new reporting you can add to how investigators are going about discovery of who this person was, the intent behind this attack?

JULIAN REICHELT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BILD (GERMAN NEWSPAPER): Well, for now, there are conflicting reports about if this person acted alone. There are some witnesses who said that someone else jumped out of the vehicle. The police right now say they're looking into that, but they're not commenting in any way.

We have seen places in the past. We have this attack on the Christmas market, at Christmas one and a half years ago, where investigators actually found the papers of the terrorist in the car after they have opened. So, sometimes they leave those papers behind because they want to show who did this.

But for now, the police are very hesitant to open the vehicle that is still standing where the attack happened because they found or spotted a bag on one of the -- and they are concerned that this may contain explosives so they're very hesitant to open the car right now and investigate who the person who killed himself who drove the car may actually be.

WHITFIELD: And Julian, what can you tell me about any concerns, overall concerns that law enforcement may have had about potential terrorists or whether they're acting alone or even by way of any kind of terror networks in throughout Germany? REICHELT: Well, from talking to the sources, the intelligence community, in the past months basically since around Christmas, I've heard numerous times what we are -- security agencies call chatter, stuff they see on social media, stuff they listen in on, this has increased intensively over past months, and that they were expecting something to happen.

But obviously it's always impossible to say that this now is connected to a wider ban or if it's well known attack. But security agencies, the police in Germany, expected something to happen in the past months from everything they were listening in on or that was provided by other intelligence agencies, mainly the American agencies around the world.

WHITFIELD: Julian Rreichelt of "BILD" newspaper, thank you so much. I'm sure we'll be checking back with you momentarily.

[12:25:10] Meantime, CNN national security analyst, Samantha Vinograd is also with me now. So, Sam, one thing that really popped out that Julian said was, you know, the importance -- sorry, we don't have Samantha's connection. Do we still have Juliette Kayyem? Juliette, are you able to hear me?

KAYYEM: I can hear you.

WHITFIELD: Juliette, let me ask you about something that Julian just said about the importance of eyewitness accounts. Possibly eyewitnesses may have seen some kind of activity involving that van before that van careened into a crowd. So, talk to me about the importance of what people are saying about what happened just prior to this incident and even in the midst of.

KAYYEM: Right. So, what people are seeing, saying, excuse me, is often less reliable than, you know, the pictures, any videos, things like that because, remember, when you're in a crisis like this, your viewpoint is only from the position that you're in. It's why eyewitness accounts tend to be unreliable during an attack like this.

So, the investigators are going to essentially begin with not just interviewing people what did you see, how many people, and try to get validity or some sort of consensus of the crowd so to speak.

Did enough people see a bag or whatever he was doing to give them confidence that that is, in fact, what happened, and then at the same time looking at the iPhones and the videos and whether there are surveillance cameras and all sorts of other sort of, you know, materials that may help them put a clue together.

That's still not getting the motivation, but it might give hints to motivation because if there's two people in the car, one runs out and one commits suicide, that's unique, to be honest. And so, you know, that might give you some sense of, OK, this is a conspiracy of at least two, if not more.

If it ends up being just an individual who, you know, does this or commits suicide and then that individual might have been known to local law enforcement for other reasons, that's going to lead the investigation.

So, we are in such early stages right now that the eyewitness accounts are important, they're essential, but even as we saw with the school shooting in Florida, you know, they're really hard for investigators to essentially go by on their own. The investigators are going to be wanting to validate some of that stuff.

WHITFIELD: You're making reference to like the Parkland, Florida, school shooting.

KAYYEM: They were three exactly. It's just a challenge because people are only, you know -- first of all they're in a crisis and they're viewing it from their perspective. And then memories, it's just the way it works. I've been around, you know, a long time, memories tend to fill in some of the blanks like, I did see two people so --

WHITFIELD: For now, this is a horrible situation that is being experienced there in Munster, Germany. We'll continue our conversation about this breaking new, a van, a delivery vehicle, careening right into a crowd of people there in Munster, killing individuals and injuring many others. We'll be right back.

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[12:32:53] WHITFIELD: Back (ph), we're following breaking news after a delivery van plows through a crowd of people in Muenster, Germany, killing and injuring many. Here's what we know, police say that three people are dead, 20 others are injured and some of them have life threatening injuries.

The driver of that delivery van committed suicide by shooting himself. Authorities are treating this incident as a deliberate attack and we'll continue to follow this story and update you as it develops.

And now, to a CNN exclusive, President Trump's legal team is preparing him for potential questioning by Robert Mueller. A White House official and a person familiar with the situation, said, this is a sign the president's legal team is intensifying its deliberations over whether to allow Trump to be questioned by the Special Counsel.

CNN White House Correspondent Abby Phillip joins us now live from the White House. So, what are you hearing about this preparation?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi Fred. Well, this is the first and latest sign that we have right now that the president is actually preparing for the possibility or perhaps the likelihood of an interview with the Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Now, our sources tell us that these preparations are in its infancy and what the president's attorneys are doing is essentially giving him a sense of what the topics are that he might encounter if he were to sit down with Mueller. But at the same time, it's still unclear whether or not that interview will happen at all.

The negotiations between the President's team and Mueller's lawyers are ongoing. And the president himself has publicly wavered back and forth about whether or not he'd be willing to do it. Listen to what he said over the last several weeks on this subject of whether he's willing to sit down for an interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, would you still like to testify to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, sir?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Thank you. Sure, I would like to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you be willing to speak under oath, to give your version of these events?

TRUMP: 100 percent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to talk to Mueller?

TRUMP: I'm looking forward to it actually.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To reach on higher standard, you would do it under oath.

TRUMP: I would do it under oath.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: And sources tell us that the president also waivers in that very same way privately. Some days he's willing to do it, other days he's frustrated with this investigation and the fact it has gone on this long. He is also hearing from outside advisers and friends that perhaps an interview with Mueller would essentially be a trap.

[12:35:12] Meanwhile, there are still some big open questions. If he were to sit down, would it be under oath or would it not be under oath? Lots of questions still remain about whether this is a possibility.

WHITFIELD: Abby Phillip, thank you so much from the White House. Appreciate it.

All right. The U.S. is now taking aim at Vladimir Putin's inner circle with sanctions targeting seven senior Russian officials along with 12 companies they own or control. The sanctions are meant to punish Russia for interfering in the 2016 election and other aggressions around the globe.

I've got with me now, International Litigation Attorney and Former Pennsylvania State Senator Bruce Marks. So, State Senator, now put on your international attorney hat for me.

You've actually taken some of the people named in the sanctions to court. Namely, and I'm going to, you know, try to pronounce these names for you, Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg. So, how badly do you believe these sanctions can actually hurt them? BRUCE MARKS, FORMER REPUBLICAN PENNSLVANIA STATE SENATOR: Well, you know, absolutely. And thank you. I did bring suit against Mr. Deripaska and Mr. Vekselberg, you know, it's widely considered that these folks have ties with criminal organizations in Russia. And I happen to think that these sanctions are going to have a significant impact.

In Russia, you know, there's a word troika, means, you know, the big three. And they've sanctioned Deripaska, they've sanctioned Viktor Vekselberg and Kerimov. And all three of these people control very substantial businesses in Russia who I think are going to be damaged and I think it's going to affect employment there significantly.

WHITFIELD: So, when Russia vows a harsh response, what does it mean? How harsh could it be? How would the U.S. be impacted?

MARKS: Well, number one, they could deny visas to Americans, you know, like me. I have an office in Moscow. They could make it more difficult for Americans to do business there. There are a number of American businesses there, Exxon and other folks in the oil and gas industry. They could impose sanctions on them.

But, I mean, the impact on the American businesses in my opinion would be much less than the significant impact that finally meaningful sanctions are going to have on Russia.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then to shift gears a little bit, you've probably heard by now exclusive CNN reporting that President Trump's lawyers are walking him through questions with the special counsel might potentially ask if indeed they all agree that he will be interviewed.

So, if you were representing the president, would you recommend that he does speak with Mueller? Because, you know, the president's been on record many times saying 100 percent he wants to talk, he'd love to do it. What would you recommend?

MARKS: Well, you know, I've known Mr. Trump since when I was in the Senate. And I represented his campaign in the recent election. But I have to tell you, I would be enormously cautious about having my client, whether it's the president of the United States or a small person speak with the government.

Because what happens oftentimes is that they don't bring charges for really the substantive wrongdoing, but instead they bring claims, you know, for perjury because they say that somebody intentionally misspoke. And I would be very worried about that. There's a different procedure --

WHITFIELD: Well, by not talking, though. Flip side of that, by not talking, isn't the inference there that you must have something to hide?

MARKS: Well, I mean, that's number one not really. I mean that's why we have, you know, the fifth amendment that you can plead it and you're not suppose to take an inference at least in the courts in criminal matters. Of course, politically, you know, it won't look good. But the other thing that his lawyers can negotiate is that to have answers to questions in writing. A legalese term for that are interrogatories, and those are under oath.

WHITFIELD: Would that suffice to you?

MARKS: I think that I should suffice for Mr. Mueller because what he's interested in is honest answers to questions. And he shouldn't be putting the president, in my view, in a position where he could accidentally mystique. Interrogatories are often used in civil -- certainly in civil cases.

WHITFIELD: All right, Bruce Marks, we'll leave it there, thanks so much.

MARKS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And it's just the end of CNN. Facebook has suspended a Canadian data firm with alleged ties to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. Facebook says that company, aggregate I.Q., may have, I'm quoting now, improperly received F.B., Facebook user data. We have added them to the list of entities that we have suspended from our platform while we investigate.

Back from Facebook. All, this before Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress next week about the data scandal.

The U.S. and North Korea holding direct talks in preparation for a Summit. The details and location though still unknown. That's next.

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[12:44:43] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back, CNN has learned that that high-stakes preparations are underway between the U.S. and North Korea for a highly anticipated Summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

CNN's Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labbot joining me live right now. So, Elise, there are no official diplomatic ties between the two countries. So, exactly how do preparations like this happen?

[12:45:05] ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, there's been this existing channel between the CIA and the North Korean what's called the general reconnaissance bureau. That's really the North Korean intelligence equivalent.

And we understand that officials from those agencies have been speaking. They even met in a third country. CIA Director Mike Pompeo has been involved in this channel. And we understand that they've been working on setting up a location and also kind of setting a scene for a meeting between Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart in the near future to prepare for those talks.

And, you know, we haven't heard anything from the North Koreans yet officially about, you know, their confirming that President Trump accepted their invite. But we do understand that, you know, now that they're in these preparatory talks, it's giving the U.S. a lot more confidence that the North Koreans are serious about talking.

And we understood that even denuclearization, which the North Koreans have resisted in the past, something very important to the U.S. and President Trump for these talks will be on the table.

WHITFIELD: And then where would these talks happen?

LABOTT: Well, the North Koreans are suggesting Pyongyang. I'm not really sure that the White House would be up for that. But the capital of Mongolia has also been suggested. I don't know that Kim Jong-un would come all the way to the United States for talks. But, I think it'll be probably be in a third country.

You know, all of this preparation right now going on and Mike Pompeo is coming over to the state department as -- it's confirmed, as secretary of state. And he'll working with national security adviser John Bolton who started work today before his official day on Monday. And I think all of these kind of preparatory things will go in to more firming down of a date, of a location and an agenda, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And John Bolton seen at the White House today. All right, Elise Labott, thanks so much, you appreciate it.

All straight ahead, round three at the Masters and Tiger Woods, he's under pressure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:51:37] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back on round three of the Masters is in full swing and eyes are almost always on the tiger. But this time Tiger Woods, well, he's far from the lead today. But bad weather is what's front and center. Andy Scholes is live for us in Augusta. Even with the bad weather, it seems like Augusta and Masters, it's always a good place to be. So what's happening today?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Always great, Fred. And I'll tell you what, but, you know, we had two beautiful days to start off the Masters in round one and two. But we get a gloomy one today. I can't have them all perfect, but the round three getting off as scheduled earlier.

And Tiger, one of the guys who had a tee off early and deal with the rainy wet conditions. And he's coming off of round two where he really struggled out there. There was points in the round where (ph) you didn't know if he was actually going to end up making the cut. He hit the ball in the water on hole number 12 for a second straight day. But he did end up making the cut and Tiger said after his round that he was just pleased to make it into the weekend.

And so far, today, he's playing pretty well, even par on the front nine, despite the wet rainy conditions so far today.

Now, the guy on top of leader board is a guy who idolized Tiger Woods growing up, Patrick Reed, the 27-year-old Texan came out on fire in round two birdieing his first two holes of the day. And Reed, he's known as Captain America for his heroics at the Ryder Cup. He's never won a major before, but Reed said he's been dreaming of winning the Masters since he was a kid.

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PATRICK REED, LEADING MASTERS AFTER TWO ROUNDS: Ever since I was, you know, really small, as a little kid and just growing up through my whole entire life, you know, I don't know how many times I'm putting greens, you know, I was like, all this price (ph) to win, you know, win the green jacket. And have the reality to be able sit up here after Friday and having to be (ph) on a tournament and, you know, it's great. But, we're only halfway. I got a long way to go. I just need to continue doing what I'm doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Right. Going into the third round, Reed had a two-shot lead over Australian Mark Leishman. Rory Mcllroy and Jordan Spieth meanwhile are both five shots off the lead. And I asked Spieth how he thought all of the rain today would affect the play.

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JORDAN SPIETH, 2015 MASTERS CHAMPION: It becomes a tactical golf course when the conditions get tougher, or you're presented with kind of tough breaks like that. And I think that's an advantage for me this weekend, you know, in contention of the Masters is nothing new to me. And, therefore, I won't be extremely anxious I don't think.

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SCHOLES: Spieth, tees off at 2:10. And be sure to tune in to CNN later this afternoon for a all access pass at Augusta. We'll get you ready for all the action for the rest of the weekend. That's 2:30 this afternoon.

And a fun fact, Fred --

WHITFIELD: Yes?

SCHOLES: Patrick Reed are the leader out here. He's more familiar with Augusta national than maybe some of the other golfers. Because he actually went to Augusta State for a couple years and he won two NCAA titles during his time there. So, this is a part of the country that he's very familiar with, right. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: You're right. And just at 27-years old. At 27-years old. All right, well, anything can happen, what, Tiger Woods was in his early 20s when he won his first Masters. So, you know, age is just a number. All right, Andy Scholes, thank you so much.

All right, so much straight ahead in the "Newsroom", but first, Sex and Love Around the World. Tonight, Christiane Amanpour takes us to Berlin to see how the city has cracked the code on love, sex and intimacy.

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[12:55:08] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sex is the form of expressing love.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Berlin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it kinky?

AMANPOUR: Carnal capital of Europe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So good.

AMANPOUR: Legendarily daring.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want (INAUDIBLE), I want casual sex.

AMANPOUR: Did your all family go naked?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sort of.

AMANPOUR: And disciplined even when recreating.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the city of love.

AMANPOUR: What about the whole idea of romantic love? Do you have a good sex life? Are you having enough sex?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, go Christiane. Christiane Amanpour, Sex and Love Around the World, airs at 10:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN. And we'll be right back.

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