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Hala Gorani Tonight
North Korea Threatens To Cancel Summit With U.S.; White House Will Continue Preparing For Trump-Kim Summit; A Rare Look Inside Yemen's Devastating War; Mark Zuckerberg To Appear Before European Parliament; Sudanese Teen Forced To Marry Her Husband; 2,000 Pages Of Senate Panel Transcripts Released; Growing Criticism Of Israel's Response To Protests; Palace Reveals Wedding Party For Saturday's Big Event. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired May 16, 2018 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:44]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, it is one of the most hyped political summits in decades but is Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un's meeting about to fall apart. That is what
North Korea is threatening.
Also, tonight, a forgotten war, we have an exclusive report from inside Yemen as the proxy war there tears the country apart.
And a shocking story out of Sudan, time is running out for a teenager who is scheduled to be hanged in just days. We'll have the very latest on that
story.
There is a saying that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Next month's historic summit between North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un,
and U.S. President Donald Trump is now up in the air.
Pyongyang is threatening to cancel the talks if it is, quote, "backed into a corner over its nuclear arms." It is also criticizing comments by the
new U.S. national security advisor, John Bolton, about following the model set by Libya.
So, is North Korea bluffing? Here is what Mr. Trump had to say about the possibility that the summit was off a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We haven't seen anything. We haven't heard anything. We will see what happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So, no answer basically. Mr. Trump looking none too happy, noncommittal, and saying we'll have to see what happens. So, was the
possibility of talks too good to be true? That it all happened too easily, was the North Korean 180 not necessarily a 180?
CNN's Stephen Collinson joins me now from Washington. So, we heard from the president there. We'll see what happens. This is one of his favorite
phrases. Sarah Sanders, the press secretary, when asked the same question had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your reaction to the latest threat from North Korea saying that they are not going to be boxed in to denuclearize?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Look, this is something that we fully expected. The president is very used and ready for
tough negotiations and if they want to meet, we'll be ready and if they don't, that is OK too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said this was fully expected, did you believe that they would sort of pull back at some point or --
SANDERS: We know that this is kind of -- I guess, a standard function that can often happen and you know, we are not surprised by it, but we are going
to continue moving forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Sanders saying she is not surprised. The Trump administration was not surprised. My next guest is Stephen Collinson, in fact, our reporter
in Washington. We'll get to Chris Hill in a moment.
Stephen, were they not surprised because most of the rest of the world was surprised?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: All the indications we've got from officials not speaking publicly is that this came as a rather nasty
shock. This pair of North Korean statements putting the summit into question.
I think what is happening right now is the White House is actually trying to work out whether this is North Korea simply flexing its muscles try to
create some leverage, some negotiation before the negotiations take place or whether this is in fact a genuine threat to the summit.
I think perhaps wisely the White House has not come back with some equivocal statement. We haven't seen an explosive tweet by the president
that could make this thing a whole worst and that is probably a wise strategy.
What I think it has done is perhaps be a bit of a useful corrective. There's been a lot of euphoria in Washington. A lot of talk by the
president and his supporters about Nobel prizes, about how he has managed to do something by getting the North Koreans the table that no other
president has managed, which is not quite true.
This is an introduction to the president, the intractable, treacherous, infuriating process of negotiating with the North Koreans. I think perhaps
in that sense, it might motivate the administration's approach a little bit.
GORANI: But I wonder what that approach will be now because this summit is in question and it was celebrated by the president as an amazing
achievement. He said that he should be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize. How will their approach change now?
COLLINSON: Well, it is very interesting that the North Koreans singled out John Bolton, who was on CNN over the weekend basically talking as you
mentioned about the Libya solution.
[15:05:10] Whereby Libya just handed over his rudimentary nuclear program without any massive concessions from the U.S. It does not seem to me that
that's a very sort of viable process to negotiating with a country that spent 30 years developing a nuclear program and sees it, and the regime
sees the program as the clue -- as a key to its survival in the long-term. It doesn't seem that there is much --
GORANI: It's the leverage
COLLINSON: -- in that so, it does --
GORANI: It's their leverage.
COLLINSON: And Sarah Sanders in a clip that we did not see appear to slightly move back from that Bolton position. I think was to happen now
and what a lot of experts feel should happen is that there should be a single voice from the administration on North Korea policy in the run-up to
the summit.
And that looks like it would be by logic, it would be Mike Pompeo who is the secretary of state, who's made to recent visits to North Korea, and has
been a slightly more conciliatory towards the North Koreans in his media appearances.
So, I think what you could be saying is the North Koreans trying to even drive a wedge between Bolton and the rest of the administration with his
statements here.
GORANI: Stephen Collinson in Washington, thanks as always. My next guest knows a thing or two about dealing with North Korea. Christopher Hill led
the U.S. delegation the six party talks aimed at getting rid of Pyongyang's nuclear arms. He also served as ambassador to South Korea. He joins me
from Denver.
Ambassador Hill, first of all, were you surprised by North Korea's statement overnight attacking John Bolton, the national security advisor,
calling him repugnant, and throwing into question the very -- throwing into question the summit that is scheduled for June in Singapore.
CHRISTOPHE HILL, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH KOREA: You know, it's interesting. If I were the president, I'd be saying to myself can't you
get good help anymore because clearly Rudy Giuliani in not helping him on his court case and John Bolton is certainly not helping him with this
situation with North Korea.
First of all, to talk about Libya, yes, it is true, the Libyans gave up their efforts. They had essentially bought a lot of equipment, never
figured out how to put it together, and gave it back. That was a good thing.
But when people think of Libya, they usually think of Moammar Gadhafi dead on the street there. So, I do not think that was a particularly useful
thing to say on the president's behalf.
Secondly, John Bolton, also weirdly declared that the North Korea will get economic assistance but probably not from U.S., it will come from other
countries. So, (inaudible) these conferences particularly helpful. And I think at this point, I would put the summit chances as well below 50
percent.
GORANI: Interesting. Let's remind our viewers what John Bolton said on the Sunday shows when he referred to the Libya model.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But is it a requirement that Kim Jong-un agree to give away those weapons before you give any kind of concession.
JOHN BOLTON, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think that is right. I think we are looking at the Libya model of 2003, 2004.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And in response to that, the vice foreign minister of North Korea said we do not hide our feeling of repugnance toward him, John Bolton.
What do you make of that very strongly worded statement.
HILL: I am sorry. Yes, the North Koreans have a history of dealing with John Bolton obviously it has never gone well. So, they were clearly
concerned when he was put on the team, but John Bolton has also said that he won't be involved with this.
This is going to be up to Mike Pompeo. So, these comments that he has made seemed like stray comments on Sunday and frankly not helpful to what the
president clearly wants to do. So, I think the ball -- I think the holding will shift over to Mike Pompeo.
I think he needs to kind of step up and calm things down with the North Koreans. Clearly, what they are concerned about is the Trump
administration sort about doing this victory lap before they've even run the race, suggesting that they've got the North Koreans to do all these
things without giving them any sanctions relief and without taking any measures on their own.
So, I think the North Koreans put down a marker saying, don't expect us to do things while all you do is say things. And so, I think there needs to
be an effort by the secretary of state to put down on a yellow piece of paper with a pencil, put down what is it we want to see come out of this
summit.
That is a draft joint communique, show it to the North Koreans, and see what the North Koreans come back with, and start negotiating. Frankly
speaking, this thing should be negotiated even before they meet or before - -
GORANI: And that's usually how it works anyway, right? I mean, negotiations take place before you get there and then you are just
basically trying to rubberstamp something that you have agreed to previously.
[15:10:04] But in this case, there is -- there are so many wild and dramatic developments in this story from the Twitter insults to the sudden
North Korean 180 to now this threat to cancel the summit all together.
I wonder how you'll explain the fact that this back and forth has been so dramatic on this particular story.
HILL: Well, I mean I think Kim Jong-un fashions himself a bit of a showman and so does President Trump, so I think there is a lot of stuff that is
being done for the general public. And frankly, not enough being done between them to kind of hammer out a draft joint communique.
Because, you know, when you get two senior politicians, the president of the United States together with someone and he pulls a rabbit out of a hat,
someone needs to take time to put that rabbit in the hat, and that is usually diplomats.
What we have are a couple of visits by Mike Pompeo. Not a lot of texture in terms of what he said. We understand that North Koreans were looking
for a lot of sanctions relief and he quite rightly was very reticent about that.
But I think he needed to do a better job of kind of laying out what precisely we want to see happen. Clearly, that hasn't taken place, and so
the North Koreans are increasingly worried about the whole efficacy of this thing from the get-go.
GORANI: All right, Chris Hill, thanks very much for joining us from Denver.
Well, it's a war that you rarely see, but now we want to bring your extraordinary and exclusive videos showing some of the horrors of what's
happening in Yemen. The conflict often not in headlines has dragged on for years as regional powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia, appear to be locked in a
proxy battle that is tearing Yemen apart.
Senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh has this story and a warning, some of the following video is very disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the conflict grows with Iran, far from the nuclear negotiating tables, the
missiles over Syria and Israel. Here a proxy war takes a darker, brutal yet unseen tone.
This is the Yemeni city of Tanis (ph) were an already ugly war has metastasized and is grinding the ruins of life into dust. These rare drone
images show how barely wall is last unscathed. Some of this was broken by Saudi Arabian air power, guided and equipped by the U.S. bombarding the
Houthi forces that Iran is backing.
Houthi mortars broke parts of the city too. Three prongs fight down in the frontline between two militia once in the same side and the Iranian-backed
Houthis. (Inaudible) snipers, the mess mines left behind falls to the hardest hit.
Our guide around the city is Mayug (ph), who wants to hide his face as aid workers are targets here. He came from Washington, D.C. as her sick mother
needed help, then the war broke out and he started a charity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a saying in the states that says when life throws you lemon, you make lemonade and I started it mainly to take care of
the injured. OK. The Houthis are right there, by the way. Now that's the line and that is where they send mortar shells into (inaudible) from those
hills right there.
I would say it's so beautiful, yet the situation is too far from beautiful. The worst in here, children being injured in hospitals. A week ago, there
was a mortar shell that attack -- came from the Houthis over to that neighborhood and I just so happen to be in the hospital and a little girl
came in with her heart out.
It was very, very difficult to see she was about 8 years old and you can see her heart pumping. It's inhumane. I mean, who sends mortal shells and
rockets into -- this is the most crowded city in Yemen.
WALSH: Humanity is lacking but also perseveres here in the spirals of dust and torn plastic sheeting that are home for tens of thousands of displaced.
Ready yourself for the unimaginable toll that hunger and disease can take on an infant girl reduced almost to tweaks of bone.
(Inaudible) weighs 2 kilograms and her mother, Miriam, says this is apparently an improvement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When we came as displaced, she was normal, and she could eat then she started to have measles, diarrhea
and vomiting. She got very skinny.
[15:15:02] I feel like crying sometimes. She's getting better now. She's eating. Now their family survivors from (inaudible) where her husband's
brother and son were killed in an airstrike she says leaving them with his six children to feed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They were hit by a jet in the market. Twenty five people were killed. The airstrikes were hitting very
close to our home.
WALSH: Those children who are able to fend off disease have other trauma to digest. (Inaudible) accounts playing in the wheatgrass with his little
friend, Frema (ph), his story of how the mine exploded is (inaudible).
We used to play with rocks, he says. She was moving the grass and came back and sat down. We were playing, and bomb exploded. I get scared now,
anyone get scared of missiles and when we hear the word war, we get scared, scared of bullets, landmines, and missiles.
He says he would like to go home, but there is still bullets and shelling there. And then (inaudible) will Saudis have enough American support and
resolve against Iran to fight on, nobody is going home until many more lives have lost and broken first.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And Nick Paton Walsh is here in the studio with me. As we're mentioning before this piece with all this exclusive material that reminds
us of how awful the situation is there that it's a war that is forgotten. This has been dragging on for years. It is not in the headlines very
often. Where are we now in this conflict?
PATON: We are in a point where it appears the government forces backed by the Saudi's and U.S. intelligence and equipment appears to be tightening
the news to some degree around the Iranian-backed Houthis.
They do appear, as you saw there, to take much ties. They seemed to be thinking about moving further north towards a key port of (inaudible).
That will be a serious blow for Houthi-controlled territory.
And there are even reports too they are taken territory to the north, that is simply because the Houthis are outmatched by the Saudi Air Force with
their American backing too and Iran whilst trying to do what it can with slightly unconventional missile launches hitting the Houthis with those
firing towards Saudi cities can't return that balance.
GORANI: And how closely is Iran or how much support practical, financial, logistical support does Iran provide to the Houthi rebels?
WALSH: Unclear because obviously the Houthis aren't particularly open. They don't let much western media at all. They say minimal, but there have
been many claims by Saudi coalition forces of Iranian weapons intercepts on their way in and certainly the Saudi suggestion is the missiles fall
towards them have been predominantly of Iranian design.
But also, too, as the Iran deal fell apart, this has become kind of the proxy war, which is flaring up the most. The U.S. are adamant in their
desire to back the Saudis. They were adamant in their desire to back --
GORANI: They've been accused of aiding a campaign that has killed many civilians.
WALSH: Ten thousand civilians died in the war and troublingly the U.S. who provide equipment, armaments, intelligence, and even mid-air refueling for
the Saudi Air Force during this come on recently said congressional testimony that they do not know what the plane (inaudible) goes on to do
over Yemen.
They don't know if there has been a civilian casualty instant where the U.S. missions were involved. So, aid is widespread, but this is the
transparency, or the scrutiny isn't always there.
GORANI: And briefly, I mean, are we nearing the end at all? It seems as though the Saudi-backed campaign or the Saudi --
WALSH: Unlikely -- (inaudible) capital city of Sanaa on a huge high plane almost impossible. This is an insurgency still to some degree that have
popular support, and frankly because the violence here, the many losses and the sheer poverty and devastation of malnutrition.
Since we have been talking and seeing that report, it's likely a child under the age of 5 has died from preventable causes. So yes, this is
likely going (inaudible).
GORANI: Thanks, Nick Paton Walsh with those exclusive images from inside Yemen.
Still to come, Mark Zuckerberg is getting ready to face more tough questions about Facebook and your privacy. This time, he is headed to
Europe. We'll tell you about that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:21:36]
GORANI: Meghan Markle is set to say "I do" to Prince Harry Saturday but after dramatic back-and-forth, her father, Thomas Markel won't be walking
her down the aisle after all. So, if he doesn't take on that duty, who will? Max Foster has the latest on this Royal dilemma.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First, he was coming, then he wasn't then he was, now apparently, he's not. Meghan Markle's
father has told the U.S. website, TMZ, that heart surgery will prevent him traveling to Britain for the royal wedding.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone wants their father at their wedding so, yes, I think it should be pretty devastated, but the last I heard he was too ill
to come. So, that's a kind of different story. So, (inaudible).
FOSTER: Thomas Markle was supposed to be at Windsor Castle to greet his daughter and walk her down the aisle.
(on camera): If he doesn't show up, the question then becomes, who will step in for him or will she go solo?
(voice-over): The most likely candidate seems to be her mother, Dori Ragland, who will be driving with Meghan to the chapel.
VICTORIA ARBITER, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: The two were incredibly close. Harry has actually spent a lot of time with Dori as well so there is a
personal connection there, but I think Meghan is the person she is today as a result of her mother.
FOSTER: There is also royal president for the bride's mother taking on the role, Queen Victoria did it for some of her daughters. Another option
could be Prince William, Harry's brother, who is already lined up though to be best man on the day.
Some betting companies are even offering odds on Meghan being accompanied by one of her former "Suits" co-stars, Patrick Adams or Gabriel Mach.
Another left field option could be Meghan's friend, Jessica Milroney (ph), whose sons will be page boys and daughter will be a flower girl. It's a
question everyone seems to have an opinion on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoever is important Meghan life as a male figure, she should be able to choose who she wants. If she chooses not to have
him, then she should be able to choose somebody else that is a father figure to her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the father can't make it then it's sad that he wasn't be able to make it or isn't well enough to make it, well, she can
walk on her own (inaudible).
FOSTER: Whether she walks down the aisle on her own or with Prince Harry or someone else, at this stage, we do not really know, and there is no
official word from the palace either. Max Foster, CNN, Windsor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, appeared before the U.S. Congress last month. Now he is set to go across the Atlantic and appear
before the European Parliament as early as next week. He will be questioned about obviously personal data used in the wake of the scandal
involving Cambridge Analytica.
Samuel Burke is here. What do we expect him to say? I mean, will the questioning be tougher?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN MONEY TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: There's every reason to believe the questioning will be tough. Remember first, he went to the
Senate and House got tougher because the Senate was kind (inaudible) every reason to think that the European counterparts have been watching.
And you have to remember, Hala, you've lived on both sides of the Atlantic. You know that culturally there is much more of a drive for privacy here and
quite frankly Europe has put their money where their mouth is.
If we just take a look at this list of privacy laws that have already gone into effect here in the E.U. over the past decade, the cookies lying on
that annoying message again every time you go to European websites.
The right to be forgotten, which took Google by surprise and now you have the general data protection, GDP are going into effect next week. The
Europeans are serious about privacy. They wanted to grill him for a long time, so they will.
GORANI: I wonder, though, why he was not compelled to testify, right?
BURKE: He had been asked to testify. He had not been compelled -- exactly, but as one business anchor at this network put it there was no way
of getting around this. He already did in the United States. The E.U. has so much cloud here. They are pushing these new laws.
Someone has made the calculus that he did well enough that the stock went up when he was testifying before the Senate and the House. That it would
behoove him to do it here in the E.U. as well.
GORANI: I'm interested in seeing how the European parliament will go about doing this because I'm used to seeing congressional testimony in the U.S.,
but not (inaudible) --
BURKE: We are seeing it in the U.K. Remember the pie in the face of Rupert Murdock, but not at the E.U. level. This is the first time that
we've had something of this nature.
GORANI: All right. Samuel -- as early as next week.
BURKE: I might be in Brussels next week.
GORANI: All right then, thank you, Samuel Burke for that.
Still to come tonight, a story that has sparked anger across the world. A Sudanese teenager is racing against time fighting her death sentence. We
speak to the campaign trying to help save Noura.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: The clock is ticking for a teenager in Sudan who is fighting a death sentence. Noura Hussein and her lawyers have until next Friday to
appeal the sentence, so it is days away. This is a story that is sparking outrage across the world and here is why.
This is a picture of Noura standing next to the man she was forced to marry. Last year Noura killed her husband after he raped her once and then
tried to rape her again. Human rights activists around the world say Noura clearly acted in self-defense.
They are now accusing Sudanese authorities of a campaign of intimidation against anyone who is trying to help her. And that includes barring her
lawyer for speaking to the media.
I want to bring in Mo -- is an attorney, part of the Sudanese GS on the U.S. He is a member of the group, Justice for Noura" and he joins me now
live from Washington. Mo Soifeldein, thanks for being with us. How old is Noura?
MO SOIFELDEIN, ATTORNEY AND MEMBER OF "JUSTICE FOR NOURA": Thank you for having me. Noura is 19 years old when she was -- the crimes committed
which is in 2017, and she is going to be turning 20 soon, but she still a teenager.
GORANI: What is the deadline? There is a deadline for her defense seem to lodge an appeal?
SOIFELDEIN: Right. So, the appeal is going to be on the 25th is a deadline for them to file an appeal so they can take it further to the
courts of appeal in which will hope that Noura would get justice there.
GORANI: But I understand that a press conference that was scheduled for today was banned by the government.
[15:30:00] SEIFELDIN: Hala, that's true. So for as long as you understand why the press conference was held with that tension that the
case is getting -- the defense team has received a lot of requests and there's some inclination out there that's not correct. So the sole purpose
of the press briefing today was to give the world kind of an idea of what's going on, what's happening and what the next steps are and to make sure
they set the record straight. There are some things that are being said that are also not true which might hurt her case. So that was the sole
purpose of the press conference. It was not political at all. So to the attorney who was surprised today and strike a deal, it was going to be on
his -- he's going to be on his office and then authorities got to his office before he did. And then when he came there --
GORANI: I was going to say -- please continue your thought. When you got there, what happened?
SEIFELDIN: It was just going to be a brief telling the journalist exactly what I just told you and then he was told you can't have this brief and
they're attorney's, they know the law and they objected even within Sudanese law, but then they know at the end, it's better and the best
interest of the case and for their own safety to cancel the brief, so they didn't stand down, but they understand it's difficult to operate within
that system.
GORANI: Yes. The -- I mean, in Sudanese law, from what I understand, it is legal to marry a girl at 10, and if he is raped within the marriage,
that is not illegal in Sudan.
SEIFELDIN: It's unfortunate, Sudanese law has a lot of these concerns that we as today see as -- obviously there shouldn't be there to begin with than
the law hasn't been updated in a while, but what I see really the issue here is Sudan is not part of the convention on the elimination of all forms
of discrimination on women had Sudan been part of that, then there had been more international pressure and more room for enforcement of that law. But
Sudan is not part of it, so right now, what the lawyers are left with is would be African commission -- African commission on human and people
rights which is their sole remedy. Now, it protects women and children as well. But it's unfortunate that Sudan has this law that a woman can get me
without her consent, even at such a young age. And this campaign that has been formed by Sudanese people living here and thus far. It's meant to
change that and it's part of conversation and a dialogue which we have bene going.
GORANI: Well, we're shutting light on this, but we reached out to get a reaction internationally. We heard reaction from the U.N. secretary
general, a deputy spokesperson told CNN that Antonio Guterres says he opposes the death penalty for Noura Hussein. Here are some of the other
reaction we've received in this case. It's a joint statement from U.N. women and the U.N. population fund says, "Speaking as the voices of women
and girls of the world, we plead with the government of Sudan to save the life of Hussein and to protect the lives of all women and girls." This is
really as far as the EU had admission would go. They expressed their firm opposition to the death penalty, whatever the places and circumstances. I
guess my point is we are appalled, we find this appalling. We want to make sure that people know the details of this case so that the awareness is
raised surrounding it. But international institutions are really issuing pretty stock statements.
SEIFELDIN: That's correct. I mean, the statements do help to live it and put international pressure on Sudan. And keep in mind that we're dealing
with a different type of regime here that may have other interest. And as you know we sent sanctions on Sudan are being considered to be lifted
fully. So I think Sudan here has an opportunity to show good faith by following on this particular matter and showing the international world
that it's willing to recognize international norms and this is not acceptable. It's not normal. But again, at the end of the day while
appreciate the statements from all these organizations, the ground people are doing the work and we have to make sure that they're safe in behalf the
resources that they need to make sure that Noura is protected.
GORANI: So then I heard lawyers in -- I'd love for us to put our picture back up so we remind ourselves of who we're talking about. Are her lawyers
in touch with her? Are they able to communicate with her? And if so, do we know how she is doing?
SEIFELDIN: The lawyers are able to speak with her and they've told her recently about the international recognition that her case is getting. But
again, really right now, they're concentrating on getting the appeal which is doing a few days so they are concentrating their effort on that part.
But we are accepting letters for Noura, whether they're English where different language, we'll translate them and send them to her. So we're
doing all our part as well and we're respecting the lawyer's time right now so they can make sure that they are briefed as proper and it helps her get
out of this unfortunate circumstances that she's thrown herself in.
[15:35:01] GORANI: Mo Seifeldin, thanks very much of Justice for Noura, joining us live.
And don't forget, you can check out Facebook page, we'll be posting some of the shows content on facebook.com/halagoranicnn.
We are getting new insight today on a meeting that's been a central focus of the Russia investigation, one that involved Donald Trump, Jr., Jared
Kushner and a Russian attorney who now admits she's an agent of the Kremlin that happened in June of 2016. Today, a Senate committee released
thousands of pages of transcripts from interviews with some participants of that 2016 meeting at Trump Tower. The document show just how willing
senior members of the Trump campaign were to get dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Let's bring in CNN's Jessica Schneider in Washington for all the details. What have we learned from all of this -- all of these released transcripts?
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot of pages, Hala, we saw word for word with Donald Trump, Jr. has hold U.S. lawmakers and in
particular his constant insistence that he never told his father, of course, now the president, about that meeting in Trump Tower in June 2016.
We also learned that Donald Trump, Jr. insisted that the Russians, of course, didn't end up giving him any dirt on Hillary Clinton, nor he says
that they raised the possibility of Russians releasing hacked e-mails or Russians distributing fake news in the Trump campaign which of course, we
know happened over social media outlets.
So, I want to read you part of the transcript where Donald Trump Jr. tells investigators that he never talked to his father about the meeting. So the
question came first. They said, "Prior to the meeting on June 9th, 2016, who did you tell about the meeting or about Mr. Goldstone's underlying
offer to pass along information from Russia?" The answer from Donald Trump, Jr., "I believe only Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort. I made them
aware of it." The question next, "Was there anyone else?" "No, not to my recollection." Did you inform your father about the meeting or the
underlying offer prior to the meeting?" "No, I did not." Then later on in the testimony, there was another point in question as well. And it said
this, why wouldn't you share it with your father giving you response that you loved it, especially later in the summer and then Donald Trump, Jr.
answered, "Because I wouldn't bring him anything that's unsubstantiated, especially from a guy like Rob before bi knew what it was actually about
myself. That, of course, referring to Rob Goldstone."
So Donald Trump, Jr. there, Hala, saying his father never knew about it, but there really is another interesting piece of detail that cast a little
bit of doubt on that. So three days before the meeting, Donald trump, Jr.'s phone record show that he talked to the Russian pop star, Emin
Agalarov, of course, it was Emin and his father, Aras, who would asked for that meeting to be setup. Now, immediately after the phone call, Donald
Trump, Jr. called a blocked number and talked to that number for 11 minutes. Now, Don, Jr. has told lawmakers he doesn't recall who that phone
call was to, but in some separate testimony, it was actually revealed that Donald Trump, when he was candidate had a blocked number while living in
New York City.
So, Hala, the fact that Donald Trump, Jr. called this blocked number, it does cast some question out there. Did he actually call his father
immediately after? And if he did, did they really not talk about this upcoming meeting three days later or Donald Trump, Jr. was promised dirt
about Hillary Clinton? So obviously, Hala, that's no doubt part of the special counsel's investigation, just part of what they're looking into
here. Hala.
GORANI: That's a very interesting new information. How many pages was it, 2,000?
SCHNEIDER: A little more than 2,000. We counted about 2,500. It includes transcripts from five members over there and then other documents from so
many other people.
GORANI: All right. It's going to take a while to go through it all.
Another legal issue plaguing the Trump team, there's a new development in the Stormy Daniels saga. Tell us about that.
SCHNEIDER: Yes, there is. SO we're now actually getting direct confirmation that the president did in fact repay his lawyer, Michael Cohen
$130,000 in the wake of that Stormy Daniels payment for silence. So, interestingly, this confirmation is coming directly from the president
himself. So his financial disclosure forms, they were released today and it reveals that Donald Trump made a payment between $100,000 and $250,000
to Michael Cohen. So it doesn't say specifically on the form what it was for, but of course we know from Rudy Giuliani a few weeks ago that he
reveals that Donald Trump did in fact repay Michael Cohen. So now, this is all part of a formal filing. And, Hala, it turns out it could mean a
little bit of trouble for Trump with the ethics office, because the ethics office, after this form was released, it issued a statement saying that
that payment should have bene reported the president didn't do so. So we'll see if there's any implications from this perhaps, ethics violation.
Hala.
GORANI: OK. Jessica Schneider, thanks very much.
[15:40:53] Still to come, many countries are condemning the killing of Palestinian protestors by the Israeli military. But will words change the
reality? We'll look at the increasing feelings of hopelessness with the report from inside Gaza.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Jordan is urging the European Union to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state after the U.S. moved its embassy to
Jerusalem in support of Israel's claim to the entire city. Jordan is also calling on European countries to back demands for an independent inquiry
into the killing of dozens of protestors in Gaza. Words that if there are no repercussions for what it calls Israeli crimes, a new cycle of violence
could destabilize the region and fuel Palestinian despair.
Ben Wedeman is live tonight in Gaza and has been doing some reporting across the Gaza strip. What have you found, Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've been talking to people today about what they see comes next when it comes to the
aftermath of Monday's bloodshed which Israeli soldiers killed more than 60 people on this protest on the -- just near the fence that separates Israel
and Gaza. And many people seem to be very disappointed that even though for instance, you were mentioning Jordan calling for the European Union to
recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
That by and large, there seems to be something new in the equation. First of all, that the United States which in the past did, at least put on the
pretense of being evenhanded when it came to events like this, where in the past it would, for instance, stress Israel's rights to self-defense would
call upon Israel the practice restraint. In this instance, there is no call or even mention of restraint. And on the other side, the Arab states
which traditionally were vocal in their support of the Palestinians even though then oftentimes didn't translate into action. This time around,
even their vocal support is rather muted and many people are beginning to feel that Gaza which has been out of the headlines for a while because the
world's been focused on things like the war against ISIS, is slowly being forgotten that after since march 30th when these marches, these protests
near the fence began more than 100 people killed, at least 60 day before yesterday, but the Arab countries have done very little certainly compared
to Turkey which has sent the Israeli ambassador to anchor it back home. In this instance, the people of Gaza are wondering whether anybody really is
paying attention to what is going on here beyond perhaps a few days of passing media attention. Hala.
[15:45:03] GORANI: All right. Ben Wedeman, live in Gaza, thanks very much.
You may have heard an economy described as sluggish, perhaps even stagnant. But one adjective you might not have come across to describe an economy as
menopausal. But that is exactly how the deputy governor of the Bank of England, Ben Broadbent described the U.K. economy in a recent interview.
He was attempting to describe the period of low productivity or growth. Broadbent has now apologized for his quote, "poor choice of words."
Richard Quest is in the studio with more than a quote from the telegraphed article. By the way, before I get your take on this. The word climacteric
is, according to Mr. Broadbent, a term that economists have borrowed from biology and means you've passed your productive peak that has the same
Latin roots of climax and means menopausal, but it applies to both genders, he said.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: So what he was saying, of course, here is that the economy, he used the word climacteric, is passed its
(INAUDIBLE) which is productive in nature. He was referring to the British economy. One of the problems of the British economy is that it's got low
productivity.
GORANI: Hot flashes, weight gain, erodibility.
QUEST: There's lot of -- lots of those certain problems. Unfortunately, whatever merit that may have been in the deputy governor's arguments, were
lost by his clumsy use of --
GORANI: In my entire life, never heard the use of the term that menopausal to describe anything other than a woman who's going through that naturally
that fate of her life.
QUEST: No. If you can see how he got to where he got -- he ended up, is that he wasn't talking about menopausal, per say, he was talking about the
word climacteric. And climacteric is associated with the word menopausal. So that's -- look, I'm not going to stand in here and defend him. I mean,
this was a ham-fisted lousy, as Robert Peston of ITV News said, it was a lazy way of describing any forward economic activity.
GORANI: And the conservative MP (INAUDIBLE) wrote this. I can't be the only 50 plus woman objecting to Ben Broadbent to of description of the U.K.
economy as menopausal. I've never been more productive.
QUEST: I mean, it was inevitable.
GORANI: Listen, because woman -- we're found it -- women found it offensive because describing the economy that its passed its peak, that's
not productive, that's suffering, that's sluggish, that's trying to find --
QUEST: Yes, that's the offensive part.
GORANI: That's the offensive part. But then you could say, what is it? An incontinent economy or an economy that had --
QUEST: If you say that and those who suffer from those things, but also -- I think, look, there's no question that he said something offensive and
stupid. On the other side, there was also saying tonight, he claimed didn't mean to be offensive and he just chose a word that was perhaps not
the best word and have we gone -- all those criticizing him being too politically correct in their criticism.
GORANI: But thanks to the internet and Twitter, and the 24-hour outrage machine, we get to talk about it on the --
QUEST: It does improve once the discussion of the economy when you get this sort of event. At least people are talking about economic battles.
GORANI: But what was the -- he was trying to make was Brexit will do what to the economy. Let's talk about his point.
QUEST: (INAUDIBLE) articles that the British economy is not as productive as it once was or as it could be. It's known as the productivity gap. And
it has bene around for many years. It is the conundrum that the bank of England hasn't managed to solve or the government have managed to solve.
It is a fundamental structural --
GORANI: That linked to Brexit?
QUEST: Not necessarily, no. It's been here before. It's coming out. It's got worst as we've come out to the great recession. Unfortunately,
and I'm trying to think of any medical terms that one could use --
GORANI: Does it have the flu? Does it need vitamin b12? What does it need do you think?
QUEST: It needs a shot in the arm. And now (INAUDIBLE) talk about shot in the arm. It doesn't need Viagra.
GORANI: Exactly. Does the British economy need Viagra? Let's talk about that.
QUEST: A tonic and spot on.
GORANI: Great. Some sort of tonic.
QUEST: I think we'd better out of the job (INAUDIBLE)
GORANI: Listen, I'm just waiting for HR to meet any minute now. Thank you. We'll see you at the top of the hour.
QUEST: You're going to escape this one. You can get away with it. That's important.
GORANI: We will see, if they were listening. Richard, we'll see you in 11 minutes on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS."
Now, back to U.S. politics for a quick interesting side note today. It's no secret that Donald Trump and his former secretary of state, Rex
Tillerson had a strained relationship, especially toward the end. But Tillerson's comments at a recent event, seem to suggest just how sour
things are between them still.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REX TILLERSON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If our leaders seek to conceal the truth or we as people become accepting of alternative realities
that are no longer grounded in facts, then we as American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Of course, Tillerson didn't mention Trump by name, but it seems like a thinly veiled swipe at his former boss who fired him in March.
[15:50:01] More to come including new details about the royal wedding and what Prince George and Princess Charlotte will be doing on the big day.
We're live in Windsor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A massive plume of ashes creating more problems for the residents of Hawaii's big island. Take a look at it behind me. The cloud that rose
from the Kilauea volcano has prompted a red alert, which means a major eruption is imminent or underway. It is also a warning to air traffic
controllers. It's the first time the alert has been issued since Kilauea began erupting again 12 days ago. So if you're flying to Hawaii, check
your flights because it may get in the way.
He may be the future king of England, but this weekend, Prince George will do to fully serve his royal as a page boy at his uncle Prince Harry's
wedding. The palace announced more details about the wedding party today. His sister, Charlotte will serve as one of six bridesmaids, all of them are
children. Meghan Markle has opted again having a maid of honor because it was reported she did not want to choose any of her friends over the others.
Bianca Nobilo is in Windsor with more details. So, what more are we learning about how the wedding will actually unfold Saturday?
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today, most of the details were about the bridal party that you were just outlining. We know that the rest of
the page boys and flower girls are going to be godchildren of Harry and Meghan, so it again, it just underscores that more intimate family feel
that this wedding has when we compare it to Kate and Will's back in 2011. This is a much smaller space in George's chapel only fits 600 people. So
that's being reflected on the details that we're getting.
I was actually speaking to a royal wedding planner a few days ago and he was talking about how you manage to control all those little ones who are
adorable, incredibly cute but obviously can be a bit unpredictable when you got such a high stakes event as a royal wedding. And he said that wedding
planners, we use little tricks like making sure that not sticky, very tidy sweet to put at the end of the aisle so that the kids are told if they do
as they're told, then they all set in line, they can have their treats when they get to the end. So there's a lot of thought that goes into this,
Hala.
And in terms of other details we're now understanding that Thomas Markle will not be in attendance. So the question on everyone's lips today is
will -- it'd be her mother to walk her down the aisle or will it be Prince Charles or an important male relationship to her or Harry. We don't have
those details yet and we're not sure if we're going to get them before the wedding.
GORANI: So it'll be a big surprise? I mean, is it an option for her to walk alone? Does she have to be walked down the aisle by somebody? And if
it's not her -- this means that her mother is her only relative at the wedding, so it's her mother or someone she's not related to, essentially.
NOBILO: Yes, that's essentially right. And Max Foster was looking into this today and speaking to some people and he said, of course, it is an
option for Meghan Markel to walk alone. That would be quite -- it would probably be the least expected option here. However, there's another model
that which could see the couple walk together, as you see some European countries also quite unlikely. It's also a chance she could -- she use a
close female friend, someone in her bridal party. Again, that would be a less traditional option. And it's been noted that Queen Victoria actually
walked on her daughters down the aisle. So perhaps having a mother walk her down the aisle isn't quite as unconventional as it might originally
appear.
[15:55:08] GORANI: All right. Bianca, thanks very much. Stay with me for a second.
By the way, I want to remind our viewers, we'll give you a front row seat to the big day. Watch our special coverage. It kicks off Saturday on CNN.
Bianca, listen to this audio clip that is causing a lot of controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Laurel, Laurel, Laurel, Laurel, Laurel, Laurel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: What did you hear, Bianca?
NOBILO: I hear Laurel, so I understand that means I hear lower frequencies, I think if I hear Laurel. What do you hear?
GORANI: This is what's incredible. I heard Yanny all day and right now, I'm hearing Laurel. I have no idea how that happens. It's the new gold
blue dress thing. Anyway, others insist it's Yanny. It's crazy.
One expert CNN talk to, and Bianca, you're right. He says the low quality of the recording can contribute to the confusion, because changing the
pitch of the recording can affect, but you hear I imagine what I heard on the phone and what I'm hearing now on television is what explains why we're
hearing. So you heard Laurel, I heard Laurel. Tweet me @HalaGorani, tell me what you heard.
And on that note, thank you, Bianca. Good night. Thanks for watching. I'm Hala Gorani. Do stay with CNN, a lot more ahead on the other side of
this break. It is "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS," next.
END
