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Trump Suspends "War Games" With South Korea; U.S. Secretary Of State Will Be In South Korea This Week; Jared Kushner And Ivanka Trump Detail Vast Wealth; Judge Approves AT&T-Time Warner Mega Deal. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 13, 2018 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:01:04] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour, Donald Trump sales pitch to Kim Jong-un flattering the young North Korean dictator with the help of a flashy video with dreams of real estate glory.
Plus, the ruling which could setoff a Russia, media mega mergers, a judge a case (ph) of huge deal between two giants AT&T and Time Warner, a deal that Donald Trump wanted to stop.
And when sports and politics collide, the World Cup kicking off this week in Russia.
Hello everybody, great to have you with us for the second hour I'm John Vause and this is NEWSROOM L.A.
U.S. President Donald Trump says the world has step back from the brink of nuclear annihilation, thanks to him, and some assistance from the North Korean Kim Jim-un.
Much was made of the declaration the two leader sign in Singapore and it does include a commit to work towards complete denuclearization. But it lack specific like a timeline or verification process or any reference for instance to North Korea's ballistic missiles.
And in the process the U.S. President has made a big concession to the North announcing joint military exercises with South Korea will be suspended, that took many by surprise especially the South Koreans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: We will be stopping the war games, which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see that the future negotiation is not going along like it should. But we'll be saving a tremendous amount of money, plus I think it's very provocative.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Anna, it also legal in the international orders (ph) suppose to nuclear test and missile launches. How are you? Good to see you.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Always good to you John Vause. Yes. Look, Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un is certainly basking in the glory and all the attention that came with yesterday's historic summit in Singapore.
But certainly people here in South Korea are wondering what is next. Well, to discuss this, Professor Daniel Pinkston from Troy University, Professor of International Relations joins me now.
Daniel, Secretary State Mike Pompeo on his way here to Seoul to speak with President Moon, his got a lot of explaining to do.
DANIEL PINKSTON, PROFESSOR OF INTERNTIONAL RELATIONS, TROY UNIVERSITY: That's right, there were a lot of discussion that were held and of course we were not preview too.
If we look at the statement from yesterday's summit, there still a lot of uncertainty and in fact in my view it seems much weaker than previous statements or commitments that North Korea has made. I was quite surprised in that, it did not even include clause to ask North Korea to uphold their previous commitments or statements.
So basically it absorbs them from their previous obligations that they've signed it over the pass 25 years.
COREN: Because of the lack of substance show little preparation, poor planning which was Mike Pompeo was in charge off?
PINKSTON: Well, I'm not preview to that. I'm sure there were a lot of bureaucrats and people who were working very hard under a short timeframe to do that. But when you see President's Trump statements and how his handle that he seems very unprepared and ignorant of many things, not everyone can be specialist in everything, of course.
But some of the statements I was surprised at the press conference for example cancelling the military exercises and calling them provocative war games, which is the type of terminology or adversaries our enemies used.
So that really kind of puzzled me where that type of language comes from.
COREN: That is North Korean language isn't it? To describe joint military drills as war games and provocative war games.
PINKSTON: Right. And if we are to scale back military exercises. I'm not against that per se, but there's a mechanism to that and that should be delegated or relegated to the military professionals.
[01:05:09] And there are channels for that. And it should be tied to Korean people's army exercises.
So to keep stability on the peninsula, some things we could ask from North Korea is, for example, is to resuscitate the NNSC, the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, which was created at the time of the armistice back in 53 to supervise the armistice.
North Korea kick them out in the early 90s, they still operate in the South. We could ask for that. We get in some detail, military talks. There was no asked for North Korea to sign the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty for example.
So basically no obligations, except this photo opts, which North Korea is very, in a very celebratory mood now. If we look at their media, they're spending this up already it was huge win, for Kim Jong-un.
COREN: Absolutely, and it's considered that the United States has given this major concession to the North Koreans by cancelling the military drills. What are the North Koreans giving up?
PINKSTON: Well not much except for a promise to move towards the peace regime and to work on the denuclearization, which is weaker than their previous commitments. It's this vague long-term promise to denuclearize at some point which sounds like Article VI in the Non- Proliferation Treaty.
But they're not in the treaty. So they're not even bound by anything legally or any kind of treaty bound commitments, it just kind of a promise they'll say they'll do this. And they've broken practically every promise they've made in the past in terms of arms control agreements.
COREN: And yet Donald Trump says, that he trust Kim Jong-un that is a worthy negotiator that he is going to keep his word.
PINKSTON: Well time will tell. We have to look at observable behavior in actions. That's how we have to measure this. I'm very skeptical if that happens, it would be wonderful, but if it doesn't we have to be prepared for that.
And in that case, Donald Trump is weakening the rule base, liberal world order. Our alliances and friendships and partners that we need to work together incase this goes badly. Our military commitments and partnerships, export control regimes, counter proliferation. The sanctions regime all of these things require multinational cooperation. And he is making cooperation in that realm more difficult.
COREN: Professor Daniel Pinkston, always great to talk to you and get your analysis. Thank you for joining us here.
PINKSTON: Well yes, great to see you Anna.
COREN: Well, joining us now from Beijing, our very own Matt Rivers. And Matt as you heard Daniel just then Kim Jong-un, the obvious winner from this first round of talks but China as well. What has been the reaction in Beijing?
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the reaction in Beijing has been very positive largely because you can make a very coherent argument that at least so far the other big winner out of the summit yesterday would be China, and for a number of different reasons.
And so you start with what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday they congratulated the North Koreans and the American. But they also very pointedly brought up the notion that countries could start to consider walking back sanctions against North Korea. They said they're still enforcing the sanctions that have been so debilitating for the North Koreans so far but they did specifically bring that up.
And Anna, they didn't have to bring that up. They chose to do that. And we know of the Chinese, generally speaking, there's the view here that they're looking for any excuse to walk back the sanctions. They only really be grudgingly signed on to in the first place. So that's one thing they're happy about.
Then the other things that President Trump said, that made them happy. Start with the fact that the President basically straight up said, that he doesn't want U.S. troupes on the Korean peninsula anymore. He didn't say that that's on the table as of right now, but he said at some point down the road, he would like to see those troupes removed.
The Chinese would love to see those troupes removed. They have felt threatened by the thousands of U.S. troops in this part of the world for decades now. It is high on their list this strategic interest on the Korean peninsula, if not the highest.
And so they're very happy to hear any kind of language about troop removal. And finally, when the President talked about those so-called war games, what military of members here in this part of the world who called military exercises, we have to remember that those are conducted not only with that an eye on North Korea but also with an eye on China, a traditional advisory for the U.S. in this part of the world.
China doesn't like those military exercises anymore than the North Koreans do. And so when you take a potential for sanctions relief. You take military troop removal and you take military exercises off the table. The Chinese government is looking what happened yesterday and saying at least so far, this is pretty good for us.
COREN: Matt, we know that President Xi Jinping has and met with Kim Jong-un twice in the last few months. Are we expecting those two leaders to come together for a potential day brief on the Singapore summit?
[01:10:05] RIVERS: Yes. I don't think anyone would be surprise by that, Anna. Traditionally, any meetings between the Chinese and North Korean leaders are those details are kept extremely close to the vest. We didn't even know Kim Jong-un had met with Xi Jinping officially until after he left Beijing.
The first time they met, several months ago now. But yes, we are expecting Xi Jinping to meet with Kim Jong-un perhaps he'd been going to Pyongyang which is something that has been spoken about before.
So we are expecting and the other thing that we know is going to happen is on Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be coming to China to brief his Chinese counterparts. We're told that there maybe a press availability between the foreign minister in China and the secretary of states will be keeping close eye, a close watch on that as well.
COREN: All right, Matt Rivers joining us from Beijing. We appreciate that update. John, back to you in Los Angeles.
VAUSE: Anna Coren thank you very much for that.
Still to come here, the cheesy video, the White House made to try and convince the North Koreans to buy into denuclearization.
Plus, they earn nothing as Senior White Houses Advises, but Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner has still insanely wealthy effect which is once again raising some serious ethic questions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Well, for Donald Trump a deal is a deal whether he is selling condos in Florida or negotiating denuclearization with the world (ph) regime, is still just a deal. Always the salesman and Mr. Trump arrived in Singapore with a four minute long video showing his vision for a prosperous North Korean future presenting all of this to Kim Jong-un.
The U.S. President has talked up the potential economic windfall for North Korea. If only Pyongyang would abandon its nuclear and missiles programs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're great beaches. You see that whenever they're exploding their cannons into the ocean, right? I said, boy, look at that B (ph). Wouldn't that make a great condo be on? And I explained this. Said, instead of doing that, you could have the best hotels in the world right there. Think of it from a real estate perspective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I hear that like five times. It still gets me.
Let's bring in Political Strategist Mac Zilber and Republican Political Strategist Peter Van Voorhis. OK, just every time I hear it, it's amazing. And clearly here, Mac and Peter, this is how Donald Trump sees the world. You call it real estate politic if you like. Well, it seem pretty obvious when they put out this video from the White House.
It's all about a bit of future, a very Trumpian envision for the future. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[01:15:05] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will this leader choose to advance his country and be part of a new world? Be the hero of his people? Will he shake the hand of peace and enjoy prosperity like he has never seen? A great life or more isolation? Which paths will be chosen?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I guess we shouldn't be surprised by this video in a way because -- here's another clip because from another video, this is how they sell Trump Tower condos in New York. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Mac this is a fact, you know, a deal is a deal. It doesn't matter whether it's condos or nuclear arms or whatever. But there is a big difference between selling a condo and negotiating a nuclear treaty. If the condo is sell full through, no cities are obliterated and hundreds of thousands of people don't die.
MAC ZILBER, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Right, exactly. You know, the Iran deal which a lot of people are comparing this to took 12 years span, three presidential administrations and was 159 pages long. This was negotiated basically over the course of a layover in these new deals about two pages long. I mean, that's a very different thing. It was something that has very high stakes.
VAUSE: Yes. So Peter, just weigh on that. So this -- is it a deal that we got at the end of this with this declaration? What did we get? Well, what do the U.S. get?
PETER VAN VOORHIS, CHIEF STRATEGIST, MAGNUM STRATEGIES: Well, it's not a deal. This is the first of many, many meetings. I mean, to say that like Mac was saying that was just a negotiating a layover. Don't think that both policy advisors and both sides didn't already go out and think about what they were going to put on this. This is simply an initial declaration of what they plan to do.
And I think it's pretty clear Trump uninviting the United States and then reinviting themselves to the summit after North Korea send an emissary to the White House the way they beg for them to come back. Trump is not going to just do this, just to do it. He's only going to do it if it's good for the American people, good for South Korea and our allies.
VAUSE: OK. Here's a little ball (ph) from that video, Donald saves the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Featuring President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un in a meeting to remake history, to shine in the sun. One moment, one choice. What if? The future remains to be written.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: OK. The reviews are in. Schlocky says Vanity Fair, Odd according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "A word salad topped with gratuitous appeasement of a monstrous regime, according to one observer, reporter by the South China Morning Post."
And Mac clearly, the President thought the video was great. How much of this that was actually playing to his ego?
ZILBER: Right. Well, I mean, I have heard the Disney has an option that yet. And this is a strange video. It frankly feels -- yes, reminiscent of almost like a Leni Riefenstahl style propaganda film.
I mean, that there's a reason that a lot of people in the room originally thought that North Korea made the video because frankly it doesn't seem like the type of thing that would come out of democracy. It seems like the type of thing that you give, you spoon feed to the people on authoritarian country.
VAUSE: Yes. And the meeting in Singapore, I know what you feel Peter, but it seems a little bit like a first date between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un --
VAN VOORHIS: It was the first state he went on (INAUDIBLE) off the country.
VAUSE: Exactly. Well, they kind of feeling each other out. But it seems that the President is the one who's been left smitten. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We had a great conversation. It was a very heartfelt conversation.
Really, he's got a great personality. He's, you know, funny guy, he's a very smart guy. He's a great negotiator.
And we had a terrific day and we learned a lot about each other and about our countries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you learn about him, sir?
TRUMP: I learned he's a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much.
He loves his people. He loves his country. He wants lot of good things and that's why he's doing this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Peter, it's understandable, the President of United States regardless of who that is we'll have to deal with dictators at some point in time. But what are the consequences and what do dictators around the world here when Donald Trump talks about Kim Jong-un that way?
VAN VOORHIS: I think dictators run the world, see it eventually. If you take your authoritarian regime to the level of North Korea which, I mean, look they're a lot of authoritarian regimes around the world, no doubt about that. But North Korea is a totally different one. They're talking like a 1920 soviet style way of thinking.
And I think they finally see that, look, you can keep pressuring and pressuring and pressuring with nuclear weapons but eventually your country is going to be turn into a parking lot if you don't come to a negotiating table. And look, Kim, I don't think he really cares about the people. He cares about, you know, preserving the regime essentially because this is about the collapse within from U.S. and Chinese pressure.
So ultimately I think it's really important that we basically keep pressure on these countries with sanctions. We get people like China, one of North Korea's biggest allies to start sanctioning them and that ultimately brings these people to the table. You got to bring them to the table eventually especially when they're threatening us.
[01:20:09] VAUSE: But Mac, it wasn't about how to bring him to the table, they're been demanding to come to the table since the 70s.
ZILBER: Right. And, I mean, the content of the statement was almost identical to the content of a statement that the U.S. and North Korea released in 1993. I mean the reality is that --
VAUSE: He's watching (ph) this detailed as previous statements --
ZILBER: Right, exactly. I mean, and I think this first state might have been a little bit awkward because Donald Trump's used to having like a non-disclosure agreement on this first date. But this is all playing out like some surreal authoritarian version of the bachelor in which the question is, does Kim Jong-un or does Vladimir Putin get (INAUDIBLE) -- yes.
VAUSE: OK. One of the big concerns after meeting is this concession from the U.S. President to suspend the joint military exercises with the South Koreans. He's got a report from New York Times.
"President Trump's pledge on Tuesday to cancel military exercises on the Korean Peninsula surprised not only allies in South Korea but also the Pentagon. Hours after Mr. Trump's announcement in Singapore, American troops in Seoul said they are still moving ahead with a military exercise this fall, Ulchi Freedom Guardian, until they receive guidance otherwise from the chain of command".
Peter, it seems at least from that reporting, obviously, no one was warned this was coming. I'm wondering that also means that the President didn't consult anyone about this possible move before he went in that room with Kim Jong-un. And maybe this is part of his just weighing about the gap and maybe not being aware of the consequences.
VAN VOORHIS: Look, I mean, the idea that President Trump didn't consult his advisors there is ridiculous. You saw Stephen Miller there, you saw John Bolton, you saw the --
VAUSE: But they were alone for 45 minutes before.
VAN VOORHIS: Sure. They were alone for 45 minutes, but the idea that the President of the United States just went in and said, screw it, let's just stop military exercises. I mean, look, you're a smart guy. Do you really think that the --
VAUSE: I am very smart.
VAN VOORHIS: You are very smart and good looking. But would you really think -- VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE).
VAN VOORHIS: Yes, exactly, kudos (ph). Would you really think that the United States is going to pull out of the Korean Peninsula? This is just Trump getting him to negotiating table and letting him hear what he wants because the United States has the upper hand in this.
ZILBER: Right, but --
VAN VOORHIS: You have this third world country -- beyond third world country versus the United States here. I mean, this is not a level playing field. The United States has the upper hand.
VAUSE: Mac?
ZILBER: Right. But this is not the first time that Trump has circumvented the military chain of command without telling his commanders. I mean, when the ban on transgender troops came around, it was announced via tweet, and the military had brass (ph) said not informed. I mean, is this kind of something that is making a pattern of announcing military policy without telling the people who he needs to tell.
VAUSE: OK, stay with us because Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump had revealed new details about their vast wealth. The financial disclosures follow the U.S. officer govern ethic reveal a long list of real estate, fashion and investment assets.
CNN's Tom Foreman reports and following raised new questions about conflicts of interest within the Trump Empire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Money from fashion, from real estate, from investments and more, more, more, more. The new documents reveal Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner maybe much wealthier than previously known.
IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: Hi everyone, I'm Ivanka Trump and thank you for tuning in.
FOREMAN (voice-over): The nature of the disclosures makes precise figures hard to come by but her assets could be worth more than $75 million, he is more than $710 million. That's enough to have the presidential advising power couple closing in on a billion in the bank.
A spokesman for their ethics lawyer says, the new numbers do not indicate a windfall since the election. "Their net worth remains largely the same, with changes reflecting more the way the form requires disclosure than any substantial difference in assets or liabilities." But political foes who have worried all along about conflicts of interest between Donald Trump's presidency and his private empire are once again raising unanswered questions.
ADAM SCHIFF, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: We simply don't know whether the foreign policy of the United States is up for sale. We have to wonder, is Ivanka getting trademarks from China for certain reason.
FOREMAN (voice-over): He is talking about last month, when the final approval for seven new trademarks was granted to the Ivanka Trump brand by China, right around the time her father was calling for sanctions to be eased against the Chinese Telecom Company. The President said he was just trying to protect the market for U.S. goods.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's part of, again, the U.S. relation with China which is complex.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But the relationship between the private and public Trumps has been complex too.
KELLYANE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: Go buy Ivanka's stuff, is what I would say. I hate shopping -- I'm going to some -- on myself today.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Ivanka still makes money from her company even though she stepped back from running it and Jared Kushner still has ownership estates in his businesses but he's not at the Hill now either. Yet from the very start and throughout the Russia investigation --
JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: Let me very clear, I did not collude with Russia.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And while their wealth brings great privilege because they've not taken traditional steps to prevent the appearance of conflicts of interest, sharp scrutiny remains.
(on camera): Neither Jared Kushner nor Ivanka Trump is paid for their role as an adviser. And no link has been proven between their income and any sort of undue influence on the presidency.
[01:25:07] Still last year, they made more than $80 million that makes washed all groups very uneasy.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Look, let's assume the best. Let's assume there's nothing untoward going on here. There is it at the very least of perception problem that maybe there is something. Jared Kushner maybe (ph) bank is in the White House and something there's hundreds of millions of dollars in loan for his Manhattan's skyscraper that struggling financially.
But there's a policy decision on China next thing, Ivanka Trump getting trade marks to China. Why not just completely quarantine, everything off and be done with that parliament?
VAN VOORHIS: Well, look, I mean they have business interest are all around the world. I mean, if you have these two people as policy advisors which-- VAUSE: If they knew that get into it, this is something most happen--
VAN VOORHIS: Sure, of course, and they're complying with all the government ethics.
VAUSE: No, they're not.
VAN VOORHIS: Request advisors (ph), they're not? How are they not?
VAUSE: Well, I mean, there are -- well I mean, I guess Donald Trump is, when it comes to releasing his tax returns, with the Trump Hotel in Washington of which Ivanka Trump earned $5 million last year.
I mean that is a direct connection between an enterprising Washington where diplomats and politicians sustain and the President and his daughter making money. That's the violation (INAUDIBLE) close to the President and the conflict of interest rates to his daughter and as senior White House advisor.
VAN VOORHIS: Well, and by the way, I mean, the ground was broken on the project much before he was even elected to the President --
VAUSE: It doesn't matter.
VAN VOORHIS: It does matter, I mean, you could have a hotel by the White House --
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) trust.
ZILBER: Which is also mention that property has a lease clause and says then an elected official cannot hold the lease.
VAUSE: Yes.
ZILBER: I mean that seems to be ignored but --
VAN VOORHIS: Sure, look --
VAUSE: I'm not saying he's going on --
VAN VOORHIS: Sure, sure.
VAUSE: There is at the very least a perception.
VOOHIS: Perhaps they need a new P.R. first and maybe they can hire Mac for. He's pretty good at it. Look, the idea that somehow, with this North Korea stuff and with the foreign policy that they're going out there just to sell condos for Jared and Ivanka.
I mean, I just think it's ridiculous. The idea that we're just going to throw away American foreign policy interest is to enrich these people. They have enough money. They make money on their fashion lines and all these other staff. I just think it's ridiculous.
VAUSE: OK. Mac, why is that any of this registering there was Americans. Last month The Real Group clear politics reported Democrats roll out an anti-corruption message for the midterm elections, no one noticed.
ZILBER: Yes, there are two problems here. The first is that the economy is doing really well, has been for years but that's starting the sink in. And frankly, if a normal president we're empowered during this economy that have 60 percent approval ratings.
Donald Trump's corruption and his gaps and that sort of thing have brought him down into the low 40s so that's deeply unusual.
VAUSE: I just wonder Peter, he was just turn understand what the (INAUDIBLE) causing, the constitution is all about whether it's kind of too complicated.
VAN VOORHIS: Apparently.
VAUSE: Yes.
VAN VOORHIS: Maybe, a bit maybe a little bit more research next time before I get in there. But whatever they're doing --
VAUSE: Last word on --
VAN VOORHIS: I was just going to say whatever they're doing is not illegal, as far as Trump saying that we want American businesses to go in and invest and maybe bring a McDonald's in. I mean, I think Kim, (INAUDIBLE) we like to dub him, you know, him being excited about McDonald's in there. It doesn't look like he's exactly gone hungry. I think he probably so super cuts a little bit better.
But look at it, I think we're making great progress here. And I think that we should just keep going.
VAUSE: OK, we'll leave at that. Peter, good to see you, and Mac, thanks, come back.
ZILBER: Thanks.
VAUSE: OK, it's barely more than a page long, short on detail and substance are going to critics. We'll have a lot more on the Singapore declaration signed by Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, right after break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:45] VAUSE: And welcome back everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause, we'll check the headlines is hour.
U.S. President Donald Trump is lavishing praise on North Korean leading Kim Jong-un calling him talented, loved by his country, trustworthy. He says, he believes Kim will dismantle his nuclear stockpile.
And a surprise moved after the summit in Singapore. Mr. Trump suspended joint military exercises with the South Koreans. It official AT&T can move ahead with its $85 billion plan to merge with Time Warner. A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Justice Department's arguments to stop the deal with simply not valid. It's a defeat for the President Trump who had votely opposed the merger during the 2016 election.
Macedonia could have a new name later this year. The Balkan Nation will hold a referendum to officially rename itself, the Republic of Northern Macedonia. After cutting a deal with Greeks to resolve what's been a long standing dispute over the name as it happens, Greece also has a region called Macedonia which has great cultural significant (ph).
Well the America's top diplomat, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be in Seoul in the coming hours. No doubt, there will be many questions about the President's decision to stop joint military exercises with the South Koreans. Let's go back now to Anna Coren live in Seoul.
COREN: That's right John, Mike Pompeo certainly has a lot of explaining to do when he meets with President Moon tomorrow at the Blue House behind me, in fact.
But look, people here in South Korea, they're certainly celebrating yesterday's historic summit but they are wondering, why did President Trump make such a major concession to the North Koreans by cancelling those joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.
Something that the South Koreans considered to be so important to the security of this country, but to discuss this further, let's speak to our expert Philip Yun from Ploughshares Fund as well as Paul Carroll from N Square, both organizations working to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. They join us both from San Francisco.
Philip, if I can start with you, Kim Jong-un, he's got what he wanted?
PHILIP YUN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PLOUGHSHARES FUND: Oh yes, I mean, from him coming into this summit, there are four things that I think he really wanted to have and he's gotten. First was his whole notion of legitimacy.
I mean, he's met the President of United States, here someone who was international prior (ph). Now he's on level and good personal terms is seems like with the President of United States.
The previous two or three months because of what he's been doing what I think some very deep maneuvering has met with President Xi of China who did not want to meet with him. He is met with the President of South Korea. He'd been meeting with President Putin, I suspect at some point and maybe possibly even the prime minister of Japan later on down the line.
So he's gotten that. He's international image has completely change. Everyone though we was crazy, irrational, nuts but I think their images of him being like a regular person in certain respects to the surprise of many.
And so his image has been rehabilitated. He's gotten some benefits, the notion that the Chinese have said, they may loosen some sanctions at the circumstances have changed to allow something like that.
And then Donald Trump conceded these military exercises. And finally, I think a really important thing for him internally is accomplish something that his father and his grandfather did not do. Actually, having a meeting with the President of United States getting concessions, this is been a big win for him overall.
COREN: Yes, absolutely, and Paul, if I can ask you, the United States obviously making those major concessions giving up those joint military exercises which the next slot due to happen in August just a few months away. What did North Korea give up?
PAUL CARROLL, SENIOR ADVISER, N SQUARE: Well, they really haven't given up anything yet. I mean President Trump made mention of the hostages have been returned with their families, that was really no skin off North Korea's nose.
And let's keep in mind that happened well before the summit. And there was just a big declaration that I've been reading people's responses to certainly a debate about, oh, well this deal is better than the Iran deal.
[01:35:08] Well, there is no deal, all there is, is a joint communicate saying, we're going to work, we're going to aspire to work toward these goals. There is nothing concrete in the declaration that was signed yesterday.
Meanwhile, in an off-the-cuff and informal remark or in the press conference, President Trump basically went from 0 to 60 by saying he's going to suspend the annual joint military drills and the training exercises that are a corner stone to the U.S./South Korea relationship and alliance and that we are treaty bound to work with them on.
And he could have offered something a little more low hanging fruit. For example, taking North Korea off the states sponsor of terrorism less that wouldn't have been a huge concession. It would have shown good faith. So it's really quite puzzling. I agree with Philip. North Korea got a lot out of this, this photo op. The United States basically, swang open the door to the store way too early.
COREN: And Paul, Donald Trump, he also referred to those joint military exercises, something has been going on for decades between South Korea and the United States as provocative. I mean that is something like Kim Jong-un says, is he not pondering to the North Korean leader?
CARROLL: I agree, he's been using language that has been part of the North Korea's propaganda for years that these are provocations, that these are war games when in fact, they're training exercises to keep our troops or 30,000 on troops in South Korea as well as South Korean troops ready for contingencies. To use the very language that the North Korean regime has used, it is mind boggling, frankly. And the other thing, another example of this is, apparently, there are reports to President Trump has already agreed in principle to have Kim Jong-un met in Washington and got to Pyongyang. And rather than say, when appropriate steps are taken or when they demonstrate some actual dismantlement or disarmament, he used the phrase when convenient. Well when convenient, isn't a high enough bar.
COREN: Philip, if I can ask you, what do you make of this new bromance, Donald Trump comes to this summit making war with his allies declaring Justin Trudeau a backstabber, dishonest, weak, and yet he has this his new found friendship with somebody who just last year, he was calling it a murders dictator.
YUN: Well, I think it causes generally some concern about American reliability calls the question Donald Trump style overall. I think though in certain respect said in this kind of setting, Donald Trump is typically been -- has typically exhibited very good behavior overall. He's been very differential. Remember during the campaign, he was very critical of Mexico then he went visit the Mexican President incredibly differential in those circumstances.
So, it seems to me, when he's caught up in the pump and circumstances of an event that is putting him at the center, he tends to be fair, tends to behave, I guess, this is the best way to put it. But ultimately, what happens with this -- as I've thought about this. I'm reserving judgment right now. We don't know what kinds of conversations have going -- been going on in the background, what sort of agreements they're very close to or not close to.
Having been on that side, I think it's really easy to criticize. This is not an easy circumstances so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I mean, if we look back on this. Six months ago, we thought we're close to war we're not.
And the other thing that we have to note at this point, although -- it can change at any moment. The North Koreans have not tested and they have said to us that they are not going to test an ICB, long range missiles or do anymore nuclear test.
I think there's value in that even though it's not necessarily part of the declaration at this point. It clearly was something that was necessary in order for all of these to actually happen. So, I'm willing to wait a little bit. I think that is -- we've been talking about poll (ph). There is a lot -- there's a lot of catch up to do, there's a lot of skepticism and we're just going to have to give a little time to see where we actually end up.
COREN: Giving President Trump the benefit of the doubt. Philip Yun, Paul Carroll, many thanks for your insights, we certainly appreciate it. John, back to you.
[01:39:43] VAUSE: Anna, thank you. We'll take a short break. When we come back, a judge has ruled AT&T can move ahead and buy Time Warner big defeats of President Trump and the U.S. Justice Department.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: A U.S. federal court has cleared the way for this second biggest showbiz merger ever, an $85.4 billion taker over of Time Warner, parent company of CNN by telecommunications giant AT&T.
After a six week trial, Judge Richard Leon said the government had failed to prove the deal with substantially lessen computation. The Justice Department is yet to decide on an appeal but in a statement said, "We continue to believe that the pay TV market will be less competitive and less innovative as a result of the proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner."
Nonetheless, the court decision is expected to reshape the media business and over the flag gates for a rush of mega mergers.
Well more now on, the legal ruling, the politics and what this means the consumers, CNN's Chief Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin is with us from Washington and Brian Stelter, CNN's Senior Media Correspondent and host of Reliable Sources standing by in New York.
Jeffrey, first to you, the federal judge here issued an opinion not an order, why did he do that and does it matter anyway given how blunt and absolute his findings were interrogating (ph) every argument put forward by the Department of Justice?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: It matters because when a judge lays out a ruling in such enormous detail, a 170 page opinion. It makes it that much harder for an appeals court to overturn it.
The clock is ticking here. Time Warner and AT&T say they're going to settle -- they're going to close this merger next week. And the only way to stop it at this point is for the government to go to the court of appeals and try to get what's called the stay, a delay.
But the judge is order because it's so detailed and because he goes out of his way to say that he thinks a stay is unjustified. It really looks like the government's options to stop this merger are dwindling down to insignificance.
VAUSE: Very quickly, what to do you making the language and the tone used by Judge Leon at least 12 exclamation points in that opinion on words and phrases like, please and Poppycock, the survey was inherently unreliable and produced inflated results, exclamation point and go figure?
TOOBIN: Well, it really is a complete repudiation of the government's case and it really raises the question of why this case was filed in the first place. As even I suspect many of our international viewers will know.
[01:45:00] Donald Trump and now President Trump has always hated CNN. He calls us fake news, he thinks we're bad at our work. And he and he invade against this merger as a candidate and even in his early days as president.
He also said that he played no role in the decision of his justice department to bring this lawsuit. But the fact that the case had so little merit and the fact that the President was so much against the merger really does raise the question, which was not resolved in this court case of how much influence he had in the decision to bring this now defeated case.
And it's really a troubling issue of whether the President is engineering law suits against the people he regards as his enemies.
VAUSE: Well, let's go back to the 2016 election campaign, let's listen to then candidate Donald Trump, a way I actually put this promise forward, he said this deal it was not going to happen. This is the candidate Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: AT&T is buying Time Warner and thus CNN, a deal we will not approve in my administration because it's too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Brian in many ways that argument that the candidate Donald Trump would forge in the election was very similar to the argument that the DOJ was using.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes that's what DOJ and a trustee make Makan Delrahim had said and what his lawyer said in court.
However, the judge did refute that in this ruling today. It's notable that Time Warner, not AT&T but Time Warner issued a statement after the ruling. It said this was political, this was baseless and this case shouldn't have been brought at all.
So in other words Time Warner now saying publicly what executives have privately been feeling for many months that this did seem like it was an issue of political interference by Trump or his aides into the DOJ.
But as Jeffrey Toobin was saying there's not necessarily proof of that right now. There may be proof in the future, there's some lawsuits in the work some FOIA request trying to get documents, trying to see if there was interference.
But certainly that cloud was hanging over this trial in the entire time and it will continue to hang over now that the judges sided with AT&T.
Mean time, the company is moving forward, unless there is a stay as Jeff was describing AT&T will take over Time Warner including this channel CNN by this time next week. So the deal will move pretty quickly now that the judge has weighed in.
VAUSE: Yes. After the opinion was issued we heard from the lead attorney from AT&T saying this merger it will be all good for all consumers, that's what he said listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the evidence in the trial showed that this will only serve to benefit consumers, just as we've seen from all of the vertically integrated companies that are providing so many wonderful new offerings and innovations to consumers as they're watching television and so many do in different ways. And this is just an iteration of that process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Brian, this new combined company, we'll ultimately see what a hundred million wireless subscribers and 25 million pay TV homes paid up with some of those valuable, some of those well-known channels in the world including HBO and CNN.
But what will be the difference for consumers on just a day to day level? What will be most noticeable for them about this new company?
STELTER: In the short term nothing but I do think in the months and years to come AT&T will try to make your phone and your entertainment experience come together in interesting ways. You think about this as just an ordinary daily experience, if I'm trying to watch HBO's Westworld, my phone sometimes doesn't know where I left off.
AT&T might be able to improve things like that. AT&T might be able to send you better alert. Think about the CNN app, maybe if the AT&T phone, your phone service knows where you are. It can better tailor those alerts.
But there are also some clear business reasons why AT&T wants to own Time Warner, it has to do with advertising, much more targeted advertising. This still really is about the data that AT&T can collect up about its users and apply whether you're watching Westworld or watching CNN or watching something else.
So we're going to see a lot of experimentation in those ways, AT&T has said this is not about raising prices but we are generally seeing prices going up across the board by from many providers, one solution to that are better smaller bundles of channels.
So you don't have to have a thousand channels you can have a hundred. AT&T has been trying to do that so has Google and others. And I think we're going to see even more of that experimentation going on as well.
TOOBIN: And John, if I can just add one thing. Any trust law is always about defining the market. Who's competing with whom, and what this merger, one of the issues that really was raised by this merger was that the telecommunications companies and content companies they're not competing against the people they used to be competing against.
Time Warner used to compete against NBC and again Fox. And we still do, but there are also Facebook, Amazon, Google that are starting to get into programming and distribution as well.
[01:50:10] The definition of the market is expanding and that's one reason why the judge said look, we can't stop this merger because the market is so much bigger than it used to be, there's so many more competitors in it and it's not the place of the government to stop a merger in that kind of circumstance.
VAUSE: In fact the other deal was hatched at the Time Warner dining room back in 2016 and the chief executives from both companies as you say, they sold this away competing with the new tech companies like Netflix, and Amazon.
And so Brian with so many other mergers now in the works and expected to get the green light. The media business as we know it right now is about to change forever.
STELTER: Yes, this deal was hatched from 600 days ago and there's been some opportunity cost attached to how long this process is taking. Think about where AT&T might have wanted to be a year from a year ago but was delayed because of this legal process.
Now however, because of this green light from the judge, we're seeing other companies make moves, Comcast in just a few hours is going to make a bid for Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox assets challenging Disney which already has a deal to buy those Fox assets.
So we're seeing a lot of challenges, a lot of competition out there and essentially a game of musical chairs, because not all these companies are going to be around a few years form now, we're seeing consolidation by the tech giants, like Google, like Facebook, like Netflix and as well as telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon.
So we're seeing the CBS' the discoveries, trying to figure out where they're going to live where they're going to end up a couple of years from now. And Comcast making a bid for Fox is the first step in what is really a domino effect as a result of this announcement today.
VAUSE: Yes, but what does it mean for me? Anyway times are changing right now, Jeffrey and Brian thank you so much, appreciate it.
STELTER: Thanks.
VAUSE: Britain's prime minister has survived one of the biggest hurdles of her Brexit strategy to date, Brits may have fought off demands from rebel and peace for a definitive say over the final Brexit deal.
But there was one concession. Parliament will get some say if a deal is not made by October. Next year our NEWSROOM L.A. tensions between Russia and the West have been growing so can politics really be put to one side during the World Cup.
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VAUSE: Well, for all the fans out there we know you are counting the hours right now to the World Cup kickoff in Moscow on Thursday
But before that FIFA is set to pick the host nation for 2026, candidates include Morocco as well as a United bid from the United States, Canada and Mexico. A FIFA Congress gets underway in Moscow in less than an hour and the vote begins three hours after that.
Well in general members of nations will take part in the voting. New York Times vote tracker shows the United bid slightly ahead but still not a done deal.
They sport and politics don't mix but given a long list of Russia's disputes with the west, politics might just be the elephant in the room as Fred Pleitgen reports now from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[01:55:07] FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The flags and banners are up and Moscow is sending a clear message, Russia is ready and excited for the World Cup to begin. The head of the parliamentary committee for sports telling me everything is ready to go.
MIKHAIL DEGYTAREV, MEMBER RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT (through translation): We want this World Cup to be a celebration of soccer for the whole world. And we want to use the tournaments legacy to develop sports in our country he says. The way we will host the cup will be the gold standard for such events by every measure.
PLEITGEN (voice over): But internationally the world cup vibe seems somewhat tainted by Russia's recent altercations with western nations. Both the Netherlands and Australia recently officially blamed Russia for the 2014 shoot down of a civilian air liner.
And Britain and other western countries kicked out dozens of Russian diplomats for the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter using the military grade nerve agent Novichok in the middle of an English town. Russia vehemently denies it was behind either of the incidents.
(on camera) The recent diplomatic turmoil between Russia and the west has caused some western politicians to call for a boycott of the World Cup here, even as most teams are in their final preparation for the tournament.
(voice-over) But that seems unlikely, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and the head of football's governing body FIFA, Johnny Infantino recently visited several World Cup venues. The FIFA boss has said Russia is ready to host the event.
Even as right's groups criticized a crack down on anti Putin Protest and free speech in recent months.
TATYANA LOKSHINA, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: All these thousands of fans who are going to be here for the opening on June 14. They would be mighty in trust with how beautiful Moscow is. Moscow is ready to welcome the fans, ironically however, the World Cup is happening here in Russia at the worst time for human rights.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But Russian politicians like Mikhail Degytarev, warn against politicizing the biggest event in world sports. DEGYTAREV (through translation): We in Russia always say that sports and politics must be separated he says, sports must unite people not divide them and if there are tensions among politicians they must put them aside.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): And the Kremlin hopes those tensions will remain on the sidelines at least until the final whistle has blown at the 2018 World Cup.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Some of us call it soccer. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause, please join us on Twitter at CNN NEWSROOM L.A. for highlights including the show.
The news continues in CNN right after this.
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