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Kim Makes Concession Ahead Of Trump Summit; Memos Trump Asked Comey To Drop Flynn Probe; Saudi Arabia Ends 35-Year Ban On Movie Theaters; North Korea Drops Withdrawal of U.S. Forces As Condition of Denuclearization, Moon Says; Djokovic Crashes Out Of Monte Carlo Masters; Wozniacki Suffered Sleepless Nights After Miami; Wife Of Legendary Spurs Coach Passes Away. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired April 20, 2018 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:10] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour, North is Korea is silent on a key demand in exchange for giving up its nukes. Is this real change from Pyongyang or just a tactic?
Plus, the release of the Comey memos, what they've say -- what they show us around the FBI director's conversation with Donald Trump on everything from media leaks to Russian hookers.
And in Saudi Arabia, a night out at the movies is no longer against the law. The kingdom has listed its decade long path on cinemas.
Hello, great to have you with us, I'm John Vause, we're now in the third -- I'm sorry to say, final hour of NEWSROOM L.A.
North Korea may have made a major concession ahead of that possible summit with the U.S. President, Donald Trump. According to South Korea's President, North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un has not raised a long standing demand that U.S. troops leave South Korea as a condition to denuclearization.
More than 28,000 American forces are stationed in the South, there's no indication they'll withdraw anytime soon. And this is not the only goodwill gesture it seems from the North. Last month it dropped opposition to military drills between the United States and South Korea. Those drills have long outraged Pyongyang.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the North and South Korea will have their own historic summit, one week from now. Both sides are scheduled rehearsals for the coming days.
Paula Hancocks joins us now live from Seoul. So, Paula, North Koreans, they're OK with the U.S. troops on the peninsula, there's been this deafening silence about the military drills between the U.S. and South Korea, no missile launches, their nuclear tests. It's a whole new game isn't it, a whole new North Korea it seems?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're seeing this from all sides really, John. The fact that all three sides appeared to be bending over backwards to make sure that at least the beginning of this summits goes well. As you say, North Korea has made some concessions not kicking of course about the military drills. It's very unusual for them. But of course on the other side, the U.S. military didn't have any media day. So they didn't front it and show the -- those pictures of the military drills on international television.
So there's a bit of give and take on all side at this point, a real sense that that they want at least the beginning to go well. So a week today will be when that North side Korean summit happens. As you said, they're going to have rehearsals, a couple of rehearsals on the South side, even the North Korean officials are going to rehears coming over into the Peace House where that's going to happen that meeting.
And this is because probably it's going to be televised live according to the South Koreans. Now, from the first handshake, potentially going into the Peace House where they'll meet clearly the meeting itself where we broadcast.
But it really shows that this is quite open, it's quite transparent. It's really quite remarkable that at the same time you're having a North Korean leader for the very first time crossing into South Korea, they're going to broadcast it live as well, John?
VAUSE: Yes. It's all moving ahead quietly. Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks live for us there with some of these crucial details, thank you.
Let's go to Paul Carroll now, the senior advisor with nuclear disarmament group, NSquare. He's joining us now from San Francisco, Paul, always good to have you with us.
PAUL CARROLL, SENIOR ADVISOR, NSQUARE: My pleasure John.
VAUSE: So, this is exactly what President Moon told, you say, newspaper publishers in Seoul. North Korea has exposed willingness to give up its nuclear program without making a demand that U.S. forces withdraw from the Korean peninsula. They only talk about ending the hostile policy against North Korea and then guarantee of their security.
With that complication the U.S. and North Korea, they've agreed to sit down to this summit, we were goes off saying. Now, a lot of the reporting over the last 24 hours about this, is that the demand for the U.S. troops to actually withdraw from the peninsula is more propaganda then substandard (ph).
In fact, in private North Korean officials tell a very different story. So, if that is true, this concession doesn't really come as much of a surprise does it?
CARROLL: No, it doesn't, in fact, the phrasing that you read there's so many caveats and qualifiers there that you can drive a truck through. A willingness to discuss or a willingness to consider dropping the demand is just that, a willingness. It all is going to come down to the North, South Summit Meeting next week and what actually gets discussed and what the perimeters of those conversations are. And that then will set the stage for when President Trump meets with Kim Jong-un later down the road sometime, either in May or June.
And so, it is important to pay attention to the nuances of the language. However, I will say this, it is encouraging. I mean, President Moon of South Korea is after all more of a sunshine type of President for the South. He wants to engage and open up more with the North.
[02:05:11] So, he's going to be inclined to see things more optimistically. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But we all have to go into this with a little bit of skepticism and the devil will be in the details. And until we're in the same room at the same time, it's only so much speculation.
VAUSE: That's the point about President Moon Jae-in, is that he essentially, you know, you say he has an optimistic point of view, could you say he's also spinning this to his own advantage?
CARROLL: Well, I'm not sure whether there's political, sort of, points to be scored or not. Because if he set the expectations to high or he comes out saying, hey, they're dropping this concession or they're not going to demand that this obligation be met. And then it falls apart, he's going to have a quite a bit of egg on his face.
On the other hand, he is looking to grease the skids, so to speak, if he can entice the President -- President Trump and the U.S. interlocutors, with some optimism or some encouragement, that, hey, you know, Kim Jong-un may be willing to deal. In fact, he's even indicated this and he's said that. That could grease the skids for a more successful meeting with President Trump.
VAUSE: It does seem though we're watching a very, you know, sort of, softer, kinder, gentler North Korea, in some ways. Is this real change? Or is this the country which is basically being crushed by sanctions will soon run out of foreign currency reserves and will say and do anything for financial relief.
CARROLL: Well, this question is excellent. It's been on my mind quite a bit in these past few days. I wish I had a good solid answer for you. But a couple of things come to mind. We still don't know exactly what came of this surreptitious meeting between Kim Jong-un and President Xi of China. They met several weeks ago. Kim Jong-un took a train to Beijing.
What came of that? What was the message sent or received from either leader. It's very unclear whether China offered something to North Korea and said, hey, if you do this right, it's all going to be fine. We don't know if Kim Jong-un came with his own leverage. So that's something that is, I think, a huge X-factor in all of this.
Now, whether Kim Jong-un himself or whether the regime in North Korea is kinder and gentler, way to soon to say. They have not launched missiles in months. They have not conducted another nuclear test. They have not done anything out of their, sort of, bag of tricks in the past, like sinking a South Korean vessel. Whether that will stick, I think these next couple of summit meetings, that's the real litmus test of whether this will be lasting, enduring change and frankly a process to get to that change.
VAUSE: Yes. It is a long road to go. Very quickly here to finish up, we have this reporting from Axios that President Trump believes this could be his great moment in history. Sources close to him say, he genuinely believes he and he alone can overcome these seemingly, impeccable disaster on the Korean peninsula.
A source who has discussed North Korea with Trump, he thinks just get me in the room with the guy, Kim Jong-un. And I'll figure it out. Is this the type of negotiation with someone you can just wing it, go in there, slap something of the table, get a deal, pick up the Nobel Peace Prize on the way home?
CARROLL: Well, no it's not, and I have to be completely honest and put my own personal opinions aside. You know, a family member of mine has always said that it's important that you don't care who gets the credit, you just get the job done. So, if we could all put aside whatever opinions or feelings we might have about the current president.
Getting something done that's positive, that reduces the risk of North Korea and puts us on a path toward a more stable and maybe even peaceful relationship is a good thing. If he can do it and his team in place can help him get there, fantastic. Can he wing it? Absolutely not. That's why CIA Director Pompeo's visit was so important.
VAUSE: Paul, thank you so much, as always, great to have you with us.
CARROLL: Thank you.
VAUSE: Join me now CNN political commentators, Democratic strategist Dave Jacobson and Republican consultant John Thomas.
OK, so, you know, we've heard that -- we just had that reporting there from Axios about the president. Apparently this is his moment. Dave when he was first elected, Donald Trump thought he'd actually might bring peace to the Middle East. But this is really hard.
So he's given up on that apparently and now it's all about solving the North Korea problem. But here's the thing, when Jimmy Carter negotiated a peace deal between Egypt and Israel, Jimmy Carter was deeply invested and knew that the people of the region, he knew the history, he knew the facts, and, you know, he was committed to that. He knew everything about it.
When Bill Clinton negotiated a peace treaty between the Israeli and Judeans, it was the same thing. You know, these are people who know history and who know the region, you know, they didn't go there and wing it. [02:10:00] DAVE JACOBSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right, absolutely. I mean the stakes couldn't be higher because President Trump has presented himself as this ultimate deal maker, that only get can get a deal done. He is now the real sitting Secretary of State, Pompeo was still going through Senate confirmation. He doesn't have an ambassador --
VAUSE: He may not even be confirmed, Pompeo.
JACOBSON: Precisely. And so the stakes couldn't be higher for the president. And that's his own fault, he set up this expectations game that only he can deliver. So, if he goes and he has this meeting, he elevates the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to sit with the sitting U.S. President, and he fails to get anything done, that is going to be a massive body blow to his foreign policy agenda. And it's going to reflect a very weak President Donald Trump, both domestically and abroad.
And the other issue is, I mean, if he is going in with a deal, we don't know what he's willing to give up, John. Like, is he willing to pull U.S. troops off of the demilitarized zone? Is he willing to perhaps modify our alliance with South Korea or Japan? Like what is he willing to give up?
Honestly, I don't think that Kim Jong-un is going to cut a deal with just, he makes concessions and we don't, right? So at the end of the day, the question is, what is the deal look like? And no one knows because there's no experts involved in this.
VAUSE: Yes. The table has not been laid before we get to the meal. So, John, the motivation I guess, is it important here? Because there is a feeling that, you know, Donald Trump is doing this for the headline rather than for the result.
JOHN THOMAS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think every politician would do this for the head line.
VAUSE: Well, John Kerry is certainly in the need to be top --
THOMAS: So, yes, I mean, they're politicians so that's -- there's always a P.R. benefit to this.
VAUSE: Seems a little more lopsided a bit.
THOMAS: But also President Trump understands that the rhetoric and the situation was so escalating with North Korea to the fact that he was able to even in -- he's been likely --
VAUSE: He was the one that escalating this.
THOMAS: Well, but the risk and the threat from the region was escalating much way before Trump ever took office. But you're saying that Trump's aren't prepared. Well, he's not a foreign policy long time expert. You look at the team that he's assembling from John Bolton. These are people that know their stuff.
JACOBSON: They're also warmongers.
THOMAS: Well, but they're not people that get bossed around. They're not people that get taken advantage of by Kim Jong-un.
VAUSE: When a guy with a nickname, "Mad Dog", is the modern amongst them, I think you've got something to worry about, don't you?
THOMAS: No, or you come in with a real position of leverage and strength, and negotiation because Trump looks like the modern compared to all the people standing behind him.
VAUSE: Maybe John Bolton, absolutely.
THOMAS: So, I think, the President actually is coming this as the right perspective, which is thinking big picture, like a CEO. And then that's why it's important we get Pompeo confirmed. And the fact that Democrats are blocking this confirmation is weakening the U.S.'s ability to perhaps strike a good deal with North Korea.
VAUSE: Nice positioning.
JACOBSON: Pompeo went over and met with Kim Jong-un over Easter.
THOMAS: Right.
JACOBSON: So clearly it's not an impediment right?
THOMAS: No it is, because he's not in his official position.
VAUSE: OK. You know, we mentioned Middle East peace that was something Alice (ph) which Jared Kushner was meant to get done but didn't. This is the Presidents son-in-law and advisor. Brian Friel at the New Yorker, has an interesting report about the demise and departure of Rex Tillerson, the Secretary of State, apparently he believes it was Kushner who was stoking the rumors about his demise and bringing it about soon rather than later.
Here's part of his report, "When I mentioned the White House, as well, in the escalating rumors of his demise, Tillerson appeared to be waiting for the question. Tillerson leaned in and for a moment I realized that it must be unpleasant to be fired by him, I know who it is, I know who it is, and they know I know."
Dave every White House has back stabbing and office politics and ego clashes, regardless if they are Republican or Democrat. The Trump administration though seems to be in a league of its own.
JACOBSON: It's unprecedented. And I think the dysfunction is unhealthy. I mean, you have a President who has empowered somebody with no foreign policy skills to broker a peace deal in the Middle East with Jared Kushner. And then you have, not that I'm a fan of his, I'm not a big oil person, but you know, when Exxon Mobile, CEO, who has made big global deals all across the world.
Has relationships with world leaders, undercut by a young man who has never done any interactions with those, he has no idea what he's doing. And time, and time again, right, Jared Kushner was reported, you know, went out into the Middle East, didn't even notify the State Department or Rex Tiller. So, I mean we have these stories leak out over the last year and a half and it undercut the Secretary of State and diminished that office tremendously.
THOMAS: I've never been a fan of nepotism. I don't think it's healthy for any administration, whether it's the Kennedy's or what not. The Javanka grip on the White House has been nothing but, I think, a conflict of interest and causing these spats. And then you add in other people like Steve Bannon, it's a recipe for disaster.
VAUSE: And it still isn't sorted out, I mean what, we're a year and half in almost. OK, this brings us to the fired FBI Director James Comey. The Department of Justice has handed over 15 pages of Comey's memos to Congress. For the most part they confirmed what has all ready been reported. Here's what he wrote about the conversation he had with the President about foreign national security advisor, Michael Flynn.
[02:14:59] "If you ever turn to the topic of Mike Flynn, saying that Flynn is a good guy and he's been through a lot. He mislead the Vice President but he didn't do anything wrong in the call. He said, I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go, he is a good guy, I hope you can let this go. I replied by saying I agree he is a good guy, but said no more."
You know, Dave, it is notable when you go through these memos or these pages and the Republicans have pointed this out.
Comey think makes no note that he's being threatened by the President, that he feels like he's being obstructed by the President, does that actually matter?
JACOBSON: I'm not an attorney but I don't think it does. And to me that sounds like -- I mean we'll see what Bob Mueller ultimately comes up with. Clearly, he was able to put the squeeze on Michael Flynn and get him to flip. But to me that looks like obstruction of justice. I mean, it looks like he's trying to, you know, impact in some way an ongoing investigation. And that's not something the President of the United States should do.
VAUSE: OK, so we'll get to you in a second John, because here's another highlight from those memos. "The President said the hooker thing, is non sense, but that Putin had told him, we have some of the most beautiful hookers in the world. The conversation which was pleasant at all times was chaotic, the topics touched left and then returned to later, making it very difficult to recount in a linear fashion.
Earlier, Comey was interviewed by Jake Tapper on CNN. They talked about Trump and the possibility that he had been compromised by the Russians.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: There's a reason I say it's possible, two things struck me. One, the President is constantly bringing it up with me to deny it. And in my experience as an investigator, it's not an iron clad rule. But it's a striking thing when someone constantly brings up something to deny that you didn't ask about. And second, I've always been struck in my cares with him, that he wouldn't criticize Vladimir Putin even in private, which struck me as odd.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: What do you think of it?
THOMAS: I look at a disgruntled employee trying to sell books. But I think in that -- in the memos that were leaked there's also an important lines relates to the kind of the Russians having the goods on him. That they both share similar stories about, Donald Trump says repeatedly the year 2013, which sounds like it was a trip he had to Russia. And then Trump said, "You think I could have been surreal" and Comey basically says "It's very possible," and Trumps says, "Yes, I always assume my rooms were wired, whenever I travel."
Is the guy who makes the assumption that he's under surveillance is he taking golden showers and gifts from Vladimir Putin? And the idea of saying that Russian hookers are beautiful, yes, Putin probably did say that because his wife is Eastern European, right? He has a flavor. I didn't say she is that. But he likes Eastern European women, I mean it's clear.
VAUSE: Probably leave it there. OK, let's move on. Very last --
JACOBSON: Moving on.
VAUSE: Sorry, for the question President Vladimir Putin. OK, as the President is contemplating on going down in history as the greatest peace maker of all time by solving North Korea's crisis, at the same time he's furious about the legal trouble facing his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President could Michael Cohen slip? Are you worried he's not loyal?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you everybody. I hope you saw the crowd center in Key West. I've never seen anything like that, it was really very inspirational.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The crowds were huge. OK, privately those close to the President are apparently worried that Cohen will in fact flip. When anybody faces spending a long time in jail, they start to reevaluate their priorities and corporation can't be ruled out. One Trump ally who knows Cohen told Politico.
Dave, what's interesting about this conversation about Cohen and then Donald Trump, no one is arguing if they've done anything wrong or if they're innocent or if they're guilty. It's all about will he, or will he flip, it's all about will Cohen --
JACOBSON: Spill the goods.
VAUSE: Exactly.
JACOBSON: Yes, part of that is because like, he hasn't really been an attorney, he's been known as the fixer. He solves problems, and the question is how loyal is he to President Trump? We saw that the President pardons Scooter Libby the other day potentially sending a smoke signal to Michael Cohen, hey, if you play this game I'll take care of you, don't worry about it.
I guess the larger issue, and again, I'm not an attorney, or somebody with a law enforcement background. But what is the potential sentence. Is it two years, is it four years, or is it a lifetime, is it 20 plus years? Because I think that is going to --
THOMAS: Sounds like 20 plus.
JACOBSON: And that's kind of a massive impact, I think, on his calculations. Like, whether or not I'm willing to flip. We've seen Michael Flynn flip. We've seen a number of others, Rick Gates an so --
(CROSSTALK)
JACOBSON: Right, right. So I think it's plausible that Cohen does flip if the FBI does have the goods on him, the question is what did they find?
VAUSE: But, you know, they diagnose it, they've got to have something otherwise they wouldn't have brought the warrants to search his office, his home, and his apartment.
JACOBSON: Right.
THOMAS: I think this is just Trump being a disciplined politician going, why am I going to speak about something, it just inflames the situation. Let's see how it plays out. I guarantee you that the President is focusing on this issue behind close doors.
VAUSE: Talking to Cohen.
THOMAS: Yes.
VAUSE: I'm sure he is. He apparently called him on the Friday, when the raid happened which was probably one of the silliest things to do.
JACOBSON: And they had like dinner a week ago.
VAUSE: Yes.
THOMAS: Right. We'll see how the Cohen thing evolves. I mean, I think the idea of the pardon is interesting but --
[02:20:02] VAUSE: But most people do learn to focus on North Korea when you know that the guy who knows everything, he got where all the bodies are buried. Could be about to talk to the prosecutors.
THOMAS: I mean I'm sure it is. You know, I've read stories about how, you know, Nixon when he was facing his challenges and Clinton when he was facing his challenges, that's all you can focus on. It makes it very difficult to get anything else done.
VAUSE: Yes, Yes. Dave and John, thank you.
THOMAS: Thanks John.
VAUSE: Well, popcorn and a movie. It's finally return to Saudi Arabia as a brand new cinema opens its stores. How the social reform might just boost the country's economy at the same time.
Also ahead, we go to the trial of the man suing magician David Copperfield and we see what really goes on behind the curtains.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC CLIP)
VAUSE: All the way back there to 1964 and "The Drifters" pulling from music box was and still is a shared ritual in so many places around the world. Whether you're catching a movie in the U.S., going to the pictures in Britain, seeing a flick in Australia, going to the movies is one of those rare common cultural moments a milestone of independence. And a universal first date. And perennial favorite for date night. And now for the first time in 35 years it will soon be Saturday night at movies in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this week an official ban on movie theaters was lifted with the opening of a new single screen cinema in Riyadh. About 500 VIP's were invited to a screening of "Black Panther". A movie with a plot line about a new Prince who inherited a Kingdom, struggles to hold onto power. And then ultimately leads his people in a new direction.
Joining me now from Riyadh is John Sfakianakis. I hope I got that right. He's the Director of Economic Research at the Gulf Research Center. John, thanks for being with us. If the Saudi Crown Prince was looking to send a message, not just to his people but to the rest of the world, that reform and modernization are both on the agenda. It seems this was pretty much it.
JOHN SFAKIANAKIS, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, GULF RESEARCH CENTER: Absolutely John. This is the time of change. It's really happening, this is a new Saudi Arabia and a lot of people are extremely happy with just the things that are taking place in this wonderful kingdom. The cinema issue is just the beginning. The young people of Saudi Arabia which comprise 70 percent of the population are very jubilant.
With, you know, cinema, the driving part for women just the whole change of mindset. Finally it's coming to Saudi Arabia, as you said.
[02:25:04] VAUSE: Explain why the ban was put in place, what 35 years ago? What was the reason for that? SFAKIANAKIS: Well back then remember Saudi Arabia was facing an Islamist wave after the Iranian revolution, and also the events in Mecca, violent events in Mecca. And so, Saudi Arabia had to adopt a more stringent Islam that we saw happening over the decades. Now, there is this new wave. And there is a new change and as Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said quite clearly there will be a more moderate Islam.
People have embraced that. And finally, Saudi Arabia is capturing this youth wave. And the youth bulge that is very much a positive for the country and its economics.
VAUSE: Alongside this, you know, the symbolism of it all, the modernization, the liberalization of Saudi Arabia. There is also it seems the very simple recognition of reality here when it comes to technology. I guess 35 years ago you could ban a movie theater. But these day's you can't stop people from streaming content on their iPhone, or downloading a movie over the internet. So if - I guess if people are going to do it you may as well regulate it. And cash in on it.
SFAKIANAKIS: Absolutely. Just the economics is stunning. It's a country that didn't have cinemas for 35 years. So you can imagine a country of 31 million people. A lot of young people will be participating in the entertainment industry. And over the next 10 years more than $65 billion is going to be invested, so a lot of potential for the private sector, and for people to be involved in this.
So, more than 300,000 jobs are going to be created over the next 10 years. So, this is a fantastic news for everybody. And as you said technology you can not avoid it. Everybody looks at their phones and participates in this globalization, so better to embrace it than deny it.
VAUSE: You know we just said that song from "The Drifters" about grabbing my girl for Saturday night at the movies, you know, hugging in the balconies. Saudi Arabia has some pretty strict social rules I guess. So will there be hugging in the balconies at these cinemas? Or will they be segregated?
SFAKIANAKIS: No, absolutely not. They're not going to be segregated. As we've seen already the showing on Wednesday, this was not a segregated event. And I think that this is defiantly what Saudi Arabia needs. I think everybody's going to be involved. And segregation is going to be something over the past, John.
VAUSE: Well John, enjoy the movies. Go off and catch "Black Panther". I saw it the day. It's actually pretty good. Roll a couple chatters down the isle for me. We used to do that growing up in Brisbane in Australia. Enjoy.
Well, a magician secrets are sacred unless a judge says otherwise. Up next we go inside the trial of a man suing a magician, David Copperfield. We'll see what happens through the magician's most famous trick. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:00] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour. The president of South Korea says the North has not made a demand for U.S. military to leave the Korean Peninsula as a condition for denuclearization. The apparent concession comes ahead of a possible summit between North Korea and the U.S. North and South Korea will hold their own historic summit next week. Former FBI Director James Comey's memos on his conversations with Donald Trump have been released and they're pretty consistent with what he told Congress last year.
Comey says Mr. Trump asked him for his loyalty and to drop the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. In Berlin, Germany, the disposal of an unexploded World War II bomb or just dropped part of the city on Friday as police dry to defuse the 500 kilogram explosive. The bomb was discovered during construction work near the city's central train station. An 800-meter area near the site will be evacuated in the coming hours just as a precaution. Well, magicians, they hate to reveal their secrets. They apparently never do but the producer of David Copperfield's stage show was forced to do just that because of a lawsuit. Omar Jimenez has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's called the dancing crowd or Lucky 13 illusion. David Copperfield picks participants at random by throwing 13 balls into the audience. The volunteers were placed in a cage that hovers over the stage and abracadabra, they disappear and then reappear in the back of the room. Well, they come out of the back.
CHRIS KENNER, AMERICAN MAGICIAN: Once these lights come on, they are outside of the physical prop. Once that group of lights comes on. During this light period, they're on route let's say, right? They're on route to appear in the back of the theater.
JIMENEZ: As executive producer, Chris Kenner explaining how the magic trick works.
KENNER: I mean this is a little hallway from the top that David come through and then step down the stairs. That will be the first exit out --
JIMENEZ: In reality, the participants are lead through back passageways in the hotel through a kitchen at a quick speed, so they can pop up and surprise the audience. A man named Gavin Cox took part in the trick in 2013 and says he tripped backstage and fell into a dark construction zone. He claims to have permanent brain damage. A year after the incident, Cox's filed suit against Copperfield, the MGM Grand Hotel, and three other companies connected to the show. Copperfield told the court the night Cox participated in the trick, he ran the course with no problems.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said that if there was an obstacle or a problem in the way.
DAVID COPPERFIELD, AMERICAN MAGICIAN: And I didn't deal with it. I can join them in about during my (INAUDIBLE) I took a pass the porch --
(CROSSTALK)
KENNER: (INAUDIBLE) right here and --
JIMENEZ: Copperfield's executive producer says he never got the impression Cox was seriously injured.
KENNER: He said that a gentleman slipped during the trick and fell after -- at the trick, he spoke to him and asked him if he was OK. He said, yes. Mr. Cox said yes.
JIMENEZ: Copperfield has been performing the illusion in the showcase for 10 years. It's unclear if it will remain part of the show. I'm Omar Jimenez reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining us for more on this is Los Angeles-based attorney Anahita Sedaghatfar and I got that right.
ANAHITA SEDAGHATFAR, AMERICAN ATTORNEY: You got it perfect.
VAUSE: Thank you. It's been a while, so --
SEDAGHATFAR: It's been awhile. Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Thank you for coming back here. OK. So David Copperfield's lawyers try to really had in a pretrial motion to this part of the hearing are basically close to the public. They argue that if it was put out there how this magic trick was told to the world, there would be financial harm done to David Copperfield and that seems actually a pretty reasonable request, so why was it denied.
SEDAGHATFAR: I agree with you that that's a reasonable request. His attorneys fought hard to not have this secret disclose in open court because this is his brand. This is his business. It's kind of like having Apple going publicly disclosed all of their coding. It's unreasonable. But the judge held, no, no, we can talk about this in open court because guess what, he's performed this tricks thousands of times over 10 years. People knew the secret about the trick and it hasn't damage Copperfield, so having it happen in open court is not going to damage him. I disagree with that ruling.
[02:35:15] VAUSE: It's like bring the recipe of Coca-Cola out there or something.
SEDAGHATFAR: Absolutely. It's a trade secret. This is his brand. So I disagree with that court's ruling.
VAUSE: OK. Well, we have David Copperfield -- when he was just fine, lawyers of the injured man a guy called Gavin Cox, the attorney kept hammering away on the issue of fault. Who was to blame for this construction does which they claim? It was along the pathway Cox fell. This is probably exchange here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was on route and they fall and get injured is never your fault, is that a correct statement? It's never your fault?
COPPERFIELD: There was a piece of debris in the middle of the way. If we were force him to do it, it comes to all these hypothetical things then of course it will be the course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So why is this question o, you know, fault so important here about what was in that tunnel and what was it?
SEDAGHATFAR: They're trying to blame him for his own injury. I can tell you this attorney here was being very aggressive. He's acting like a bulldog and that's good. That's OK. You want the attorney to kind of be like an advocate but sometimes that can backfire and the jury can hold that against you and I think this attorney was taking it a little bit too far and when you're asking for millions of dollars in a case and you have an attorney that's not aggressive, not so good.
VAUSE: So it can go against him? OK.
SEDAGHATFAR: Yes, it's going to backfire.
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) back in 2013. The lawsuit was filed a couple of months after that. And again, Copperfield was pressed if he knew anything about this accident when it happened at the time. And again, this is another example sort of an aggressive exchange between the attorney and Copperfield.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You didn't know about it?
COPPERFIELD: I found out a year later when we were sued.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it happened, you didn't know about it, correct?
COPPERFIELD: Correct.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was my question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So why -- again, why is this relevant?
SEDAGHATFAR: So the attorney is probably trying to say you didn't care. You don't even know about things that happen in your own show. You're just about making money. I think again that's a -- that's just his, you know, trying to be a bulldog. That's his tactic. It's going to backfire. I've seen this in trials before where the attorney tries to blame the defendant personally for something that he really had no part in and I think that's what he was trying to do there.
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) Copperfield because Copperfield is so high profile because there are party's name in this lawsuit.
SEDAGHATFAR: Absolutely. Absolutely. So he's going after Copperfield because he's the star. That's why we're talking about it. If it was just the MGM, we wouldn't be all over TV talking about this case.
VAUSE: And Copperfield I guess is really deep pockets too?
SEDAGHATFAR: Yes. So the insurance company will pay of this judgment or whatever happens but they're going after Copperfield's personally and they know that he has the money to satisfy any judgment they get.
VAUSE: I just went for the plaintiff here. It does seem like a really tough case because I always thought that if you go to a magic show like this where you all go watch higher, you know, (INAUDIBLE) you assume a certain amount of risk when you go to this. You got to assume a responsibility here for and even more so I guess if you participate in a magic trick like Cox's was doing.
SEDAGHATFAR: And that's a great point and when this case goes to a jury, they will make that decision. They will say, how much of it was this individual's fault? She contributed to his injury. They can then make that allocation when they're giving the judgment. They can say, OK, we want a million dollars but he was 40 percent at fault. He assumes of the risk that something like this could happen. I think that's absolutely reasonable and in fact it could be that they get a defense verdict in this case that the plaintiff gets absolutely nothing.
VAUSE: It's the same day that Copperfield isn't a real magician and if you could go back in time and fix everything, you know, wave a magic wand --
SEDAGHATFAR: If he was a real magician, he could get rid of this lawsuit, right?
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE)
SEDAGHATFAR: No, unfortunately.
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE)
SEDAGHATFAR: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Thank you. Well, President Trump is looking forward to that summit with Kim Jong-un but the most important steps he take could be actually towards the exit. We'll explain next on NEWSROOM L.A.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:41:08] VAUSE: Well, Donald Trump says he is planning to meet with Kim Jong-un probably early June the summit with North Korea might just be doing from the very start. Here's Jeanne Moos to explain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nothing like threatening to walk out of a summit meeting before it begins if it begins.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If the meeting when I'm there is not fruitful, I will respectfully leave the meeting.
MOOS: The art of the walk out.
TRUMP: We end.
MOOS: We've seen a few Donald Trump walk outs mostly from interviews.
TRUMP: That's enough.
MOOS: We doubt the president would wave dismissively at Kim Jong-un and let's hope there's no way more lobbing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've been labeled a racist. You've been called a sexist. How --
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you respond to that?
TRUMP: I am the least racist person you've ever meet.
MOOS: But things could turn negative with North Korea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back to the negative.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back to the negative.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back to, you know what, do this interview with somebody else. You don't need this. Do this with somebody else.
MOOS: Donald Trump once walk out on a Madonna concert years ago walk out because the concert was terrible. In his book, The Art of the Deal, Trump dishes out advice like, no one that walk away from the table. The worst thing you can possible do in a deal is seen desperate to make it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MOOS: But, you know, Kim Jong-un is probably going to be wise to these tactics because last year, Dennis Rodman gave the North Koreans a copy of The Art of the Deal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOOS: It's probably safe to assume the leaders won't call each other by names like --
TRUMP: Little rocket man.
MOOS: And --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dotard.
MOOS: After all, the president suggested he would --
TRUMP: Respectfully leave the meeting.
MOOS: He was very respectful when he walk out on Ali G, the fake rapper who tried to get Trump to invest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This ice cream flops --
MOOS: Trump handled him with kid gloves.
TRUMP: Good luck, folks. It's been nice seeing you. You take care of yourself, OK?
MOOS: But Mr. President if you do walk out on North Korea, make sure you have a door to walk through. Jeanne Moos, CNN New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: And that moment with George W. Bush never gets old. Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. "WORLD SPORT" is next after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:45:12] KATE RILEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ANCHOR: Hello and welcome along to WORLD SPORT. I'm Kate Riley, at CNN Center. Well, first day to another set batch to Novak Djokovic. The crash start at the Monte Carlo Masters in the third round to the 24 year old Dominic Thiem.
The lost itself was not surprising. Thiem, of course, one of the best clay courters in the world. In fact, last year, he was the only player to record a win over Nadal on the red dirt. However, Djokovic, this loss was yet another stumbling block when his challenging journey back to the top.
In the summer of 2016, nearly was on top of the world having claimed the French Open to become just the third player in history to hold all four majors at the same time. He has lamented his status as one of the all-time great. Then, at Wimbledon, things began to change, at third round shock exit, he's early as (INAUDIBLE) exit since 2009. At the end of the season, he parted ways with his coach of three years, Boris Becker.
He started 2017 with the loss in the second round of the Australian Open. It was the first time in his career, he'd lost to a player outside the top 100 as a major. A few months later, he had parted ways with the rest of his coaching team, bringing in the legendary player Andre Agassi to replace him. However, an elbow injury to Rio, things effectively ending his season after Wimbledon. But fast forward to 2018 and his return to action, so far, his played four tournaments losing in the opening round of chose them and posting his many losses as wins. If Djokovic is going to return to the form of two years ago, he is got a long way to go. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOVAK DJOKOVIC, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER, 12-TIME GRAND SLAM CHAMPION: Ideally I would want to -- you know, be playing the way I played for so many years, but, you know, obviously, patience is required, and trust in the process and believe in myself, and in my game, and people around me, and you know, I really believe that if I continue doing -- you know, doing what I'm doing so far, and you know, believe in myself, I know that it eventually, I'm going to get there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RILEY: Anyway, continuing with more tennis, a one player, he's experiencing a career optic in 2018 is Caroline Wozniacki. And (INAUDIBLE) game at No. 1 world ranking after finally winning a grand slam title at the Australian Open in January. Just this week, she was announced as a global ambassador to the new health and fitness app Lympo. And the only (INAUDIBLE) who knows in her year so far was (INAUDIBLE) suffered by friends and family at last month's Miami Open.
When she complained about how they were treated during her defeat to Monica Puig, the organizer says (INAUDIBLE) unheard anything. And that something our Alex Thomas, after about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX THOMAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Last month, you were playing at the Miami Open, and your family suffered a bit of torrid time while watching you played Monica Puig. How happy are you with the way your complaints was dealt with -- by these organizers?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER, WOMEN'S TENNIS ASSOCIATION: You know, I can really tell you anything about how they reacted to it. Obviously, I don't think that they do a great job. So, I am as a bit disappointed with their statement and obviously, they didn't do anything about it. But, you know, as part of the way that I stood up for myself and my family, and you know, having 10 year old -- my fiance's 10 year old niece and nephew there, and trying after to the match and having to explain to them on the car right home that this is not how people normally behave.
You know, it was -- it was very hard for me, and I definitely didn't sleep well for a while after that. And you know, I think you'd lived and you learned. And I think the beauty of tennis is that normally we have incredible fans in all over the world. And they're very respectful usually and I hope this is just the one as playing inbound until it won't happen again.
THOMAS: Have you got more ambitious targets now for the season, now that you've got that Australian Open title in the bag?
WOZNIACKI: (INAUDIBLE) think so. I think, going in1to the next three grand slams -- you know, it definitely have more belief. And I think, less press2ure on my shoulders and I think that can be a great combination and I'm just try to work hard every day to pick for the friends and obviously (INAUDIBLE) Open. So, we'll see, I'll definitely do my best and then we'll see what happens.
THOMAS: You feel like you have some unfinished business at the U.S. Open in particular. Twice runner-up there, three other semi-finals as well.
WOZNIACKI: Yes, I definitely feel like that's the one that I was the closest at, and I feel like those courts really fit me and suit me well. And I have great fans there, and it's definitely one where I feel -- that was the first -- that was the one that I thought that I was going to catch first. But, we'll see I have a chance this year and hopefully if the draw provides good luck for me then hopefully I can -- I can go all the way.
[02:50:05] THOMAS: You're only 27 year old, it feels like you been around forever, Caroline. You made your debut back in 2005. Didn't you still be playing top-flight tennis age 35 like Serena was?
WOZNIACKI: Definitely not. I don't see myself playing for that many years. I think that's incredible that she has been playing Perth and playing so well for so many years and obviously, that's why she's one of the greatest women's athletes ever and that makes so much history. But, you know, I see myself by that point probably just enjoying my time with Margarita on the beach.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Riley: All right, then coming up on the show, he is one of the most (INAUDIBLE) coaches in the NBA. Here house the league is running around Gregg Popovich, during such a crying time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RILEY: Players and coaches around the NBA are sending their condolences to the legendary San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich. Gregg's wife Erin, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 67 after battling a long time illness. The five-time NBA champion said he was overwhelmed by the support he and the Popovich family have received.
Gregg is one of the most respected coaches in the league and the Spurs family were quite emotional when speaking about Erin and Gregg, a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
R.C. BUFORD, GENERAL MANAGER, SAN ANTONIO SPURS: Erin and Gregg, we're best friends, we're together for 40 years. And Erin's impact and influence on our organization, on our families, on our players and their families will be felt for years to come.
TONY PARKER, PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER, SAN ANTONIO SPURS: But for me is very emotional to them. She was the very lady, and always (INAUDIBLE) like you know, that your mom, you know, everybody knows it because I really nice seem and see. To be with him last night -- you know, on his house and share those moments -- you know, with his family was very, very emotional.
MANU GINOBILI, PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER, SAN ANTONIO SPURS: As I said, we are all hurting. We want to be next to Bob, we want to support him. And we got to go out there and compete today. But for sure we are struggling.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RILEY: The Spurs will be without Popovich, as they continue their Playoff series against the Golden State Warriors. Hall of fame basketball journalist David Aldridge gave us his reflections on what Popovich means to the Spurs and the NBA.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[02:55:04] DAVID ALDRIDGE, REPORTER, TURNER TELEVISION NETWORKS: For all of us who have covered the NBA for a while, obviously know what Gregg Popovich means to the Spurs, and what he means to the NBA. I mean, the Spurs have been the standard, sports organization and all of sports I would serving last 20 years. I mean, when you look at the Patriots, obviously, and when you look at some other teams and other sports. But if you look for consistency not only of effort but in terms of character development and how people relate to one another, the Spurs have been the best organization in sports.
And Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford are the main reasons why it is. And so on something as tragic as this happens and it hurts to all of us, it's a very sad occasion. Pop did not talk very much about his family, and with some -- and I got that. But, we all knew, we had all (INAUDIBLE) Erin. If (INAUDIBLE). And you know, she was the one that defended all at sideline reporters when Pop was short with us. He told us that many times that -- you know, Erin tells me how to stop being a jerk to you guys. But, it's a sad day. It's very sad for the Spurs family, but it's sad for the NBA family because all of us who know Pop and respect so much what his done over the years, know how much he's hurting right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RILEY: All right, many thanks to David, for that. And that is it from us, thank you so much for watching. Stay with CNN, the news is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: North Korea is silent on a key demand in exchange for giving up its nuke. Is it real change from Pyongyang, or all just for show?
