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Sudan Commutes Death Sentence for Teen Bride; Trump Predicts Backlash against Harley-Davidson; Trump Defends Tariffs as Positive Measure; Messi Delivers for Argentina. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 27, 2018 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, HOST, NEWSROOM LA: You're watching "CNN Newsroom" live from Los Angeles, ahead this hour, third time lucky for the Trump administration and its controversial travel ban. While the US President spikes the football, critics say this ruling will go down in history as one of the worst ever made by the Supreme Court.
Plus, spared from death by an international outcry, a Sudanese teenager who murdered her abusive husband will not be hanged, but the court rules, she must still pay blood money to his family.
And Trumponomics and reality to the US President's economic policies as it faces, you know, facts. Hello. Thank you for joining us, I am John Vause, and is this "Newsroom LA."
After two failed attempts and months of uncertainty, Donald Trump's travel ban looks like it is here to stay. On Tuesday in a 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled the third version of the President's executive order falls within his authority. The ban restricts travel to the US from seven countries, five with Muslim majorities. Critics point to the President's own words as proof, the real intention is to keep Muslims out of the United States. The President though says it's all about national security.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A tremendous success, a tremendous victory for the American people and for our Constitution. It is a great victory for our Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN senior international correspondent, Sam Kiley joins us now from Istanbul, and Sam, I guess, the issue here is how is this decision by the Supreme Court being seen around the word, in Muslim countries and not just in isolation, but in light of the recent controversy on the US-Mexican border the Trump policy of family separation?
SAM KILEY, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, I think, John, it's fair to say that the international community has been looking a scant at the caging of children and the separation of children on the US-Mexican border, but the changes to the visa regulations, because they have come through or attempted to come through, this the third attempt which has been successful, that impact has already been felt, I think, in large part because there were a lot of students, lots of families who are trying to get reunified and so on.
The last time around that the ban was imposed, then a lot of people aren't that shocked, but nonetheless, the Iranians have hit back very hard saying officially that there has been in their view never a terrorist attack on -- by an Iranian on American soil, and therefore, this can't possibly be seen as the Trump administration claims to be part of a national security effort, but by implication, they are saying that this is an anti-Muslim and an anti-Iranian piece of legislation.
Of course there is a very large Iranian community in the United States equally Syrian refugees have really switched their attention away from trying to get into the United States to focusing on the European option. They are completely banned. Yemenis are in a state of war, refugees there really fetching up mostly in Europe.
So, I think really, this is seen as an entrenchment of a preexisting policy rather than some radical shift. People have basically pretty much given up and there is a slight improvement from their perspective John, in that there is still the option for immediate family reunification, which didn't exist in some of the previous bans. John?
VAUSE: Yes, the reaction does seem to be different this time around, almost an acceptance that this is just essentially how it will be. Sam, thank you. We appreciate the update.
Well, joining me now, Omar Noureldin, a civil rights attorney and Vice President of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Also, with us, California Republican National Committee member, Shawn Steele. Okay, so after all the legal challenges, the protests, the anger, this decision by the Supreme Court now seems to settle the legal argument once and for all, here's President Trump.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you consider that the final order, sir?
TRUMP: Well, I think it's pretty much the final word. It's the Supreme Court, you know, we went up. We'd win it, we'd lose it, but we just waited for the Supreme Court, yes, that's the final word. That's the Supreme Court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE; So, Omar, for Muslim-Americans, what is that final word? What are they hearing after this decision?
[01:05:11]
OMAR NOURELDIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL: Well, Muslim-Americans and advocates on all sides of this issue don't think that this is the end, and the reason is that the Supreme Court actually focused much of its decision on the INA -- the Immigration and Nationality Act. And in that Act, It does delegate some authority to the President and has an anti- discrimination clause, but the Supreme Court interpreted that clause only to apply to visa issuance and not admissibility.
So Congress is to decide if -- could say, "Actually that's not what we meant and we're going to amend the Act." So there is still challenges that could happen through advocacy on Capitol Hill, and the Supreme Court remanded it back to the lower courts given this new standard. So there could be further challenges there, and the community is not deterred.
VAUSE: Okay, Shawn, not over yet. We could still see legal challenges, what do you say?
SHAWN STEELE, MEMBER, CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Well now, you know you why Omar teaches at USC, it's a good breakdown. We have an executive for a reason and their primary duty in my view is really for protection of the nation's state, and so the Constitution very clearly gives the primary authority for those that enter the country, if it's a security basis to the President, not to Congress, not to the court.
The Supreme Court certified that. This is not just important for Donald Trump, it's for any future President, past Presidents. We had the same issue in World War II, during the period of fighting where the challenge was communism, we weren't taking a lot of people from China or East Germany or Czechoslovakia or Russia, so it's a normal course, and it keeps changing.
In other words, the ban that was applicable even two years ago is now changing today. There are certain hotspots that we may not want to have a whole bunch of people that are un-vetted coming to this country. Some of the other countries, may be stabilized. Iran probably not for a long time.
VAUSE: Not for a while. You know, I think what we saw when the first travel ban -- the first executive order came out, you know, that first week of the Trump administration, there seems to be some muted response. There's the protest internationally, there's almost this acceptance that this is just how it is, why is it not the same level of outrage? You say there are still legal challenges to come, but there almost does seem to be an acceptance that this is how it will be.
NOURELDIN: You know that this is a disappointment, you know when you have the Supreme Court abdicating its authority to review the President and the Executive when making religious discrimination, blatantly calling for complete control of shutdown of Muslims. There's going to be a muted response.
So, there will be some time of re-gathering, regrouping and figuring out to do what's next. But that's not to say that advocates are not still ready to keep this fight going forward, and to bring new challenges on many of these issues including the family separation issue because this really is part of larger strategy to reduce legal immigration in this country, not -- you know, the President likes to talk about illegal immigration, but what's not being talked about is the deliberate reduction of legal immigration into this country.
VAUSE: And Shawn, we heard the President earlier talk about this decision being a win for the Constitution. This is the same President who wants to divide the Constitutional rights to undocumented immigrants here when it comes to due process. This is a President who constantly chafes at the whole concept of the rule of law.
STEELE: I very much disagree, John.
(CROSSTALK)
STEELE: Let me tell you why I disagree, somebody comes into the country without permission, without papers, without documentation, has zero Constitutional rights. That's how it works.
VAUSE: They do have Constitutional rights. They do have rights to due process.
(CROSSTALK)
STEELE: That maybe very much of a court fiction, but...
VAUSE: No, it's actually a court decision.
STEELE: No, but court fiction is what I said, but it's -- that should be challenged as well. So, there are activities -- immigration is the greatest controversy because it hasn't been acted on in Congress by a long term. We're still operating under laws that might have been applicable 50 years ago does need to be reformed and I think everybody agrees with that. The trouble is...
VAUSE: But it's still the law now, right? I mean that's what I am saying.
STEELE: Who knows what the law is. It keeps changing.
VAUSE: But we need to find out what the law is, right? I mean, the law right now...
(CROSSTALK)
STEELE: Are we going to -- that illegals are going to have greater rights than Americans?
NOURELDIN: And not only that, you know, the US court and the Tadeo case about 10 years ago said that even in criminal prosecutions, noncitizens have due process rights, and they actually have a right to affirmative immigration advice in their criminal proceeding. So, not only do they have due process, they have a right to public defenders in that. So, they do have...
STEELE: And they're getting...
VAUSE: They are, okay.
NOURELDIN: They are getting it. STEELE: At our expense.
VAUSE: So, Donald Trump...
STEELE: Not even a thank you note.
VAUSE: Donald Trump continues to insist the travel ban is all about border security.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have to be tough and we have to be safe and we have to be secure, at a minimum, we have to make sure that we vet people coming into the country. We know who is coming in, we know where they're coming from. We just have to know who is coming here.
[01:10:16]
VAUSE: You know, Shawn given the administration's history of vetting nominees to senior government positions, kind of makes it a bit of a mockery of Donald Trump. All the vetting and extreme vetting of those coming into the country.
STEELE: Look, it's been pretty good 95 percent of the time. You could find a couple of the bad apples. Look, the truth is that, the great controversy about child separation from their parents started with Obama. They did it without any opposition from the left. No controversy, no noise at all except from a few Mexican American organizations. They called Obama at one point, the Deporter-in-Chief.
And so there was some resistance, but now that Trump is doing the same thing, Jay Johnson who is just the outgoing Homeland Security Chief just said three days ago on a national television network that, "Well, that's what we did. It wasn't pleasant, but we don't believe in catch and release." So he sounds like he'd be very comfortable in the Trump administration.
VAUSE: Omar, explain why the situation in 2014 under President Obama was completely different to the situation in 2018 under President Trump.
NOURELDIN: Well, in 2014, immigrants right advocates did bring legal challenges against the Obama administration and actually, one in court, there was a 2015 ruling that interpreted the Flores Agreement that the children could not be detained over 20 days. So, the Obama administration was held accountable in court. So, this is something that has been going on for multiple it iterations.
But what the Obama administration decided is that a policy of family separation was unpalatable, that it couldn't be implemented, that it would be harmful for the children. And so they did alternative programs that either kept people monitoring until they have their court dates. There was an increase in asylum applications and processing which has been shut down now.
So what the Trump administration is doing is actually taking policies that were considered and considered not able to be implemented at that time and thinking, "You know what, we're going to do it anyway and we don't care what anyone thinks about it."
VAUSE: And also, at the time, there was a surge of undocumented immigrations and unaccompanied kids in 2014 coming from Central and South America, but if you look at the numbers, they surged in 2014, in 2017 though, at record lows, but we shall move on. Just over a year ago, President Trump tweeted this, "The Justice Department should have stayed with the original travel ban, not the watered down politically correct version they submitted to SC -- Supreme Court." So, Shawn, is this is a politically correct watered down version of the travel ban?
STEELE: Well, it sounds like Trump was at war with his own administration and that's at the time the President -- you have millions of employees, they're not all going to agree with you. But Trump appointed the people that are making these decisions, and he's going along with this. Sometimes, obviously, not happy. Look, he's an A to B kind of guy who doesn't believe in the process. He wants to get things done. That's part of his charm and that's also part of the peril.
He's very, very impatient. He is impatient with his own advisers, but he's not firing the people as quickly as we thought. We thought, you know, General Kelly was going to be fired, well, he's still there with all kinds of -- Jeff Sessions is going to be fired, he's still there. So, Trump is learning and some of us don't want to hear that, he's learning to become President.
VAUSE: Okay, because back in 2015, back in December 2015 as a candidate, he caused quite the controversy.
STEELE: There you go again.
VAUSE: When he made this call.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, Omar, you know, there is a belief now that the President feels emboldened, he's sort of empowered by this decision, could you see the possibility of that original sort of Muslim ban or a version of it at least, the administration attempting to put that in place?
NOURELDIN: Well, and that's -- what the Supreme Court did today in its decision is give the President an ability to go beyond what he has currently done. He said, "Look, when you say national security, we're going to stop." And I think that was the wrong decision. We have the First Amendment and we have the establishment cause to have a higher level of scrutiny on the President and this is not only problematic for President Trump, but future Presidents. What the Supreme Court did was give a roadmap for President Trump and
future Presidents on how to evade judicial review. You can say what you want, you can say you have a complete shutdown of Muslims into this country, make your policy and then sanitize it after the fact and say, "Actually, it was because of national security," and then you're going to get rubber stamped by the Supreme Court.
VAUSE: Sure, you know, it could be Muslims today, it could be Jews tomorrow, it could be Israelis, you know, you just don't know where this would stop.
STEELE: Oh, stop. Oh, stop. The sky is our problem.
VAUSE: With Koreans.
STEELE: The sky -- well, that would be a serious international catastrophe. Now, my wife is a great American. The key is this, this is a decision that's not changing the world. It's a fairly innocuous. It's fairly minor, but something that makes a majority constitutional sense. Somebody has got to make a decision. If there is a national threat from other countries and making decisions that may be arbitrary, it may be unfair. Congress can change it. That's why we have Congress in the first place.
[01:15:13]
STEELE: So, we have checks and balances. The good news is, the sky is not going to fall. The sun is going to rise in the morning...
VAUSE: Good to know.
STEELE: ... and we're going to have breakfast.
VAUSE: Very quickly. I want to stay the Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan calling on a Democratic Congresswoman, Maxine Waters because on Monday, she was the one who said that, "Those who oppose the Trump administration should push back wherever they see members of the Cabinet. They should protest." Saying, "Let them know about their displeasure. Here is Speaker Ryan chastising Ms. Waters."
(START VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL RYAN, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: There is no place for this. She obviously should apologize. When we, in this democracy are suggesting that because we disagree with people on political views, on policy views, on philosophical views, that we should resort to violence and harassment and intimidation, that's dangerous for our society, it's dangerous for our democracy. She should apologize and there is just no place for that in our public discourse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Omar, clearly, Ryan just returned from a year and a half on Mars. I mean, for him to go after Waters given the time which is set by the US President seems kind of ironic. NOURELDIN: And the President was the one that asked for Russian
hackers to hack the Clinton campaign and the DNC, so for the Republican Party and for the Speaker and the leader of the Republican Party to chastise Maxine Waters in this win -- by the way, she didn't ask for violence of anybody. She asked for persistent protest wherever you find them is to her credit, nonviolent protest. It is hypocritical at best and undermining the words.
VAUSE: Shawn, you'll get the last word. What do you say?
STEELE: I am going to use the last words. Nobody at this table, in the studio or anywhere in Los Angeles except for Maxine Waters' Beverly Hills home, that's not even in the district believes that's she's a rational person not inciting violence, and she's the best gift that Republicans vet and the other reason is that Paul Ryan, we need to have him as Speaker. He is so rational. He is so direct. He is so good. He is so clean. And that...
VAUSE: And you've been on Mars with him for like the last...
STEELE: That's a just good example of what a typical Republican looks like.
VAUSE: Okay, thank you. Thank you, Shawn. Thank you, Omar. Appreciate it. Well, President Trump's defense chief is in China amid increasing strained relations between Beijing and Washington. Defense Secretary James Mattis says, he wants to talk with Chinese military and government officials about security issues.
CNN's Will Ripley live now in Beijing. So, Will, Mattis says he just wants a conversation, but the US Defense Department has already done a lot of talking there in China, a strategic competitor, deterring an invitation to military exercises, and then there is the US concern about Beijing's military buildup in the South China Sea. It's going to be quite a conversation.
WILL RIPLEY, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Yes, just a few things on their plates, although when they were appearing in public, I guess, this si not too surprising. Secretary Mattis and his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe didn't really have much to say as they did all of the pomp and circumstance as you see during an official visit, but behind closed oors, all right, one may have to talk about North Korea.
The US still needs China to cooperate to put economic pressure on Pyongyang or the sustained pressure that the US is counting on to push North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un to denuclearize simply won't work. Of course, Chinese President Xi Jinping has meet three times in recent months with Kim Jong-un. Their relationship only seems to be getting better and better as the US and China relationship seems to be getting worse and worse.
The trade war escalating, $50 billion in tariffs due to take effect next month. An announcement expected any day now of significant restrictions on Chinese investment in American technology, which is certainly angering Beijing. Beijing has vowed to strike back. Then you have the militarization of the South China Sea. You have these reports of lasers being fired up at American planes flying over these disputed islands in the South China Sea. All of that on his plate as he tries to get China to cooperate on North Korea, certainly, a tall order ahead.
He will be heading to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming hours, John, and then heading on to more friendly turf, South Korea and Japan later this week.
VAUSE: It's going to be quite the conversation. Will, thank you. Will Ripley live for us in Beijing. We'll take a short break. When we come back, caught in the crossfire of Yemen's Civil War, a main port is under siege and that means there are now fears, it could lead to the death of a quarter of a million people. We will go to the front lines in just a moment. Also bad weather creating serious problems in the search of 13 people believed missing in a cave in northern Thailand.
[01:20:00]
VAUSE: The US is warning a quarter of a million of people who could die in the ongoing battle over a crucial port city in Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition is fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels and right now at the this airport. It seems to be the focus of military action. CNN's Nick Paton-Walsh has rare footage from the front lines.
(START VIDEO TAPE) NICK PATON-WALSH, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: This is the race to the front of the least visible, yet most vital war in the world now. A fight for the port down the road here is part of what could be the deadliest chapter yet in the battle between Yemen -- powerful Gulf armies are trying to put the ousted Yemeni government back in power.
In defeat, the rebel militia, the Houthis backed by Iran. The airport down the road here in the port city of Hodeida was the latest prize. The Houthis were kicked out just hours earlier and face a huge blow if they lose Hodeida altogether to this rank tank Gulf backed army, the biggest losers though remain ordinary Yemenis, 20 million relying on aid shipments that come mostly through the Hodeida port that could be cut off as the fight intensifies.
There were previous warnings he says to civilians and the clashes at just some outskirts of the city, so people can stay in their homes and remain safe. This war is part Yemini chaos and part high-tech.
The US military has helped its Gulf allies with fuel and intelligence for air strikes and top end US designed armored vehicles are driven by Emirati troops here. But the Pentagon publicly backed out of the Hodeida fight because so many civilians were at risk. Yet regardless, this is already the world's worst humanitarian crisis killing a child under five needlessly every 10 minutes says the UN.
Amidst the impish innocence is the fact food is a weapon of war haunting every childhood. Majeed (ph) fled Hodeida with his family two days ago. I am fisherman he says who can't go and do our jobs, at any moment rockets or mortar could strike and our homes are made of simple material. Our escape from Hodeida should have taken two hours, but it took two days through the mountains and valleys because the direct road was full of mines.
Olla (ph) led her family to safety, albeit homelessness five days ago. It's been three days she says without any sleep because of the constant sound of explosions over the house. When the fighting stops, we'll go back.
But that isn't close and even if Hodeida is a closing chapter, it is one which the UN has warned could kill 250,000 people. Yet, the numbers right here are smaller. One mother, must prepare one meal in the dust.
[01:25:16]
PATON-WALSH: With one tomato and nine mouths to feed. So the tomato serves as a source to make the old bread appetizing before milk is added. Every mouthful here is a struggle. One that is barely seen by the world despite the huge powers and consequences involved. Every child on the line as the world rumbles through their lives. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
VAUSE: Bad weather is hampering the search for a group of a dozen teenage boys and their soccer coach. They are believed to be somewhere in a cave in northern Thailand lost in a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers, some blocked by recent heavy rains. Anna Coren has the latest now live from Hong Kong. So Anna, I guess this has been going on for days now since the weekend, has there been any sign that maybe these boys and the coach, that they are still alive and that there is some hope they will actually be rescued?
ANNA COREN, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Look, John, the Governor of Chiang Rai which is where these caves are located, he is confident that the boys and the coach will be found alive, but you know, they disappeared on Saturday. It is now Wednesday and there is no sign, no sign whatsoever that they are alive.
What is believed to have happened is that when they entered this cave on Saturday afternoon, that there was a flash flood and that they have somehow been cut off. You described these caves as a labyrinth and that's exactly what they are. They are about eight kilometers long, they are approximately 40 chambers and narrow passageways connecting those chambers and it is monsoon season now in Thailand. So, the rain has been torrential. It has not stopped.
As you mentioned, it has hampered these rescue efforts, so they believe that there has been a flash flood in the cave and that has somehow cut them off from getting out of this cave. What has been activated since Saturday is a team of Navy SEAL divers, police divers, other diving experts, but the conditions in these caves are extremely dangerous, they are also very muddy, they cannot see.
So, they have had to bring in electrical cables up to six kilometers of electrical cables have now been brought in that is to assist the divers with lighting, fans, communications, but also to set up pumps. They need to pump the water out of these chambers so the divers can have air pockets to put their head above the water to see which way they are going.
John, for the families, this is absolutely agonizing. They have been gathered outside the mouth of the cave since Saturday, ever since one of the boys' mother alerted police that he hadn't come home from soccer practice. They are desperately waiting for some news, waiting for miracle that their boys will walk out alive, John.
VAUSE: Gosh, I mean, time obviously is ticking and clearly, hope is that they found some safe base in there, but as you say, parents are obviously just waiting for that word to come through. Anna, thank you. Anna Coren live for us in Hong Kong. When we come back after an international outcry, a Sudanese teenage bride has escaped execution, but her ordeal is not over yet. My interview with the lawyer for the "Justice for Noura Campaign" on what still has to be done. That's next on "Newsroom LA."
[01:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:31:14] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
We'll check the headlines this hour.
Donald Trump is claiming a tremendous victory for the American people and the Constitution after the Supreme Court ruled five to four to uphold his controversial travel ban. It restricts people from seven countries from entering the United States. Critics though call it bigoted and xenophobic.
The U.N. says a Syrian government offensive has forced more than 45,000 people to flee their homes in the rebel-held southern province of Daraa. Activists say regime forces backed by Russia have launched missile attacks and air strikes.
Uber will be allowed to keep operating in London, one of its most lucrative markets. A court in Westminster granted the ride-sharing service a 15-month license after the company reformed the way it responds to serious crimes. London's transport authority had refused to renew Uber's license back in September. >
In Sudan, a teenager who murdered her husband after he raped her will be spared the death penalty. After an international outcry, a court commuted her sentence but instead ordered her to spend five years in jail and pay about $19,000 in blood money to her husband's family.
Mo Seifeldin is a lawyer for the Justice for Noura campaign. He joins us now from Washington via Skype. Mo -- thank you for staying up.
Obviously, there is good news here. But Noura's family has been ordered to pay what -- about $19,000 to her husband's family. This is what those relatives did to her according to Noura.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NOURA HUSSEIN, TEEN SUDANESE BRIDE: We arrived at the honey moon flat. I locked myself inside one of the rooms. I refused to eat. I refused to leave my room.
On the ninth day his relatives came. His uncle told me to go to the bedroom. I said no. So he dragged my by my arm into the bedroom. All of them tore at my clothing. His uncle held me down by my legs and each of the other two held down my arms. He stripped and had me while I wept and screamed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So Mo -- she has to pay this money to the very same relatives who held her down while she was raped by her husband?
MO SEIFELDIN, LAWYER, JUSTICE FOR NOURA: Yes. It is a very tragic situation and the complexity of the case, the culture makes it difficult for outsiders to understand. That's why the Justice for Noura campaign has been very careful in framing this issue.
What the lawyers are doing now and her family at least they are celebrating the moment that she is going to be spared the death penalty. I think the issue remains that she defended herself and will still have to face potential five years in jail with that fine.
So it is a tragic situation. And definitely no one wins here at all. But we are at least satisfied for the moment that she will be spared the death penalty.
VAUSE: If there is a decision to appeal the five-year sentence, and obviously, this blood money -- what are the chance of success? And does that open her up to maybe, you know, the possibility of the sentence being increased again?
SEIFELDIN: Well, we spoke with Noura and her lawyer earlier today and we are expecting to get some more information -- information from them tomorrow.
[01:34:55] But from speaking with them they don't seem to think that there's going to be a likelihood of an appeal. Even if there is one, it probably won't be a strong one.
But it's still a possibility that while we, you know, celebrate today for Noura and the international community involvement I think we're a long way from done and I think the deceased's family may have something to say about that. So while we're hopeful, we do expect an appeal.
VAUSE: You know this was a case that sparked a lot of international attention. There are a lot of demands from around the world for Noura to be set free. There were petitions and hundreds of thousands of people signed those petitions. You know, the government of Sudan was put under a lot of pressure.
Would she have been, you know -- had her sentence commuted to these five years in jail if there had not been that spotlight? Or would she have just eventually been hanged and that was it?
SEIFELDIN: Yes. You know, I think the Sudanese lawyers did a great job in her appeal. But I think the international community and the outrage and people speaking about the issue had definitely dealt with the matter. And it helped that we think a lot -- her lawyers think that it has something to do with it given that the decision on the appeal is faster than what they expected.
So I think this is a testament to the international community, an (INAUDIBLE) of what can be achieved if people go after an objective.
So to that end we do think that international media and international organizations jumping on with the Justice for Noura campaign here in D.C. and (INAUDIBLE) helped a lot. And we are thankful for that. But I think that certainly got a lot of work done within the country itself and the law.
Definitely we had that intervention, without which I think she would not have been out of the situation that she's in right now.
VAUSE: Our thanks there to Mo Seifeldin from the Justice for Noura campaign.
We'll take a short break. When we come back, it was once held up us a model American company -- an icon. Harley-Davidson is the latest target for President Trump and his international trade disputes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: President Trump once praised Harley-Davidson as a model American brand. Now he says the iconic motorcycle company will end up paying high taxes and he predicts a public backlash.
[01:40:00] It comes after Harley announced it would move the production of motorcycles, shift to the European Union to international facilities to avoid the E.U.'s new 25 percent tariff on imported bikes taking the total tariff to percent. Mr. Trump says Harley is surrendering in the trade battle with Europe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Harley-Davidson is using that as an excuse. And I don't like that because I have been very good to Harley-Davidson. And they used it as an excuse. And I think that people that ride Harleys are not happy with Harley- Davidson. And I wouldn't be either.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: For more on this we're joined now by Ryan Patel, a global business executive; and Eric Schiffer CEO of Reputation Management Consultants and the Patriarch Group. Good to see you.
Ryan -- we saw you last week. And Eric -- it's been a while so welcome back. Ok. Hell hath no fury than a president scorned, especially if that president is Donald Trump. Earlier in the day on Tuesday he warned Harley-Davidson if they went ahead with the move it would be the end of the company.
So Ryan -- first to you, given how close Harley was with this U.S. president, is this a warning that corporate America, you know, don't be surprised, you know, if you kiss a rattlesnake it will bite you on the face.
RYAN PATEL, GLOBAL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE: Well, here's the thing. When you get -- the E.U. singled out Harleys -- right. This is why --
VAUSE: They did, yes.
PATEL: And this is why they had to make a decision right away. Other companies right now are kind of in the wait and see mood. And when you're on the flip side of supporting the administration the E.U. attacked you here. And I think this is where they had to make a move.
Either it went into play -- there was only one choice at least Harley could have made to kind of stay profitable and still be able to sell to the E.U. which is a pretty -- they were number two I think in top sales there.
VAUSE: Ok. Eric -- Isn't all of this basically the spirit of free enterprise? You know, the American spirit; you know, you take your company away and make money?
You know, just like Ivanka Trump whose fashion line is sourced from factories all around the world, one thing "The Post" reported last year.
In China assembly line workers produced Ivanka Trump woven blouses, shoes and handbags. Laborers in Indonesia stitch together her dresses and knit tops. Suit jackets are assembled in Vietnam, cotton tops in India, denim pants in Bangladesh. If Harley-Davidson is being un- American, which is essentially what the President is implying here, so too is Ivanka Trump.
ERIC SCHIFFER, CEO, REPUTATION MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS: Well, I think it's the interesting point. You know, we don't know, at the end of the day, why they are really doing it. But certainly there are benefits in producing overseas. I mean there's no question about it.
But whether it is really because of these taxes, that's to be determined. I think that Harley-Davidson is making a move in their best interest. I think it ultimately may hurt the brand in the U.S. for many reasons not withstanding the fact that it has been tied to America for so long and they are leaving American workers.
But this is going to be one of many different companies that gets affected like this so there is no question there will be casualties in the short run. But in the long run it's good for America to be tough at this point and cut deals in my opinion.
VAUSE: Ryan -- you seem to disagree.
PATEL: Yes. I mean I understand you've got -- I mean there's the whole heart of the trade tariff is to protect IP. This is where it kind of stemmed from the degree, you know. At the end of this you're still going to do business globally.
And in the short term, these companies are going to suffer. How long and the trade that we need to get to the end of this, when is it going to come and how much better is it currently.
VAUSE: Yes.
You know, it was somewhat overshadowed on Tuesday because of the Supreme Court's decision on the travel ban. But the President did reveal a lot about -- his thoughts about how the economy actually works. So here he is talking about his view of a trade deficit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We can't allow the European Union to take out $151 billion out of the United States. We can't allow Mexico to have a NAFTA deal that gives them over $100 billion. And I call it profit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, Ryan -- it's interesting too because, you know, trade deficits, they're basically about how much you spend. If I go to the pub on the corner, spend a lot of money and leave it there and don't make a lot of money back from the pub, that doesn't imply I'm being exploited in any way.
PATEL: Yes. I mean I think -- you want to have an (INAUDIBLE) trade deficit where we're going to get to a trillion dollars but to have a trade deficit doesn't mean that the economy is bad or you are doing something wrong.
Obviously the economy is doing really well where just people are selling more stuff here from exporting. And the American consumer is the one that's benefited for the time being.
SCHIFFER: Yes.
PATEL: And I think at the end of the day again, I think he is using it to tie it to his rhetoric a little bit. I think -- I just want to make it clear. Just having a trade deficit doesn't mean that you are --
VAUSE: That there's a problem.
PATEL: Yes. There's a problem.
VAUSE: Ok. The President also talked about the impact the steel tariffs have had on the U.S. steel industry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: Our steel industry is going through the roof. U.S. steel just announced they are expanding or building six new facilities. Last night in South Carolina, right -- go ahead Georgetown Steel, the factory has been closed, the plant's been closed how long -- Lindsey?
[01:45:03] SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: About three years. But what's interesting is it's a British company. A steel manufacturer in Britain bought Georgetown Steel to make steel here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That was Senator Lindsey Graham at the end. But you know -- ok, steel industry doing all right in the U.S. But in Missouri the impact of those steel tariffs have already cost 60 jobs at one factory. Mid Continental Nail blames the layoffs on Trump's tariffs and the company says all 500 employees could lose their jobs by Labor Day. The next round of cuts could come in a matter of days.
We also have the Tax Foundation which adds all of these tariffs which have being announced so far actually implemented, U.S. GDP will fall about half a percent. Wages will fall as well. And the big number in all of this it could end up costing more than 300,000 jobs.
So Eric -- yes, isolated the tariffs are helping the steel industry but overall the bigger picture is it's having a much bigger detrimental effect on the economy or at least potentially.
SCHIFFER: Well, it has the potential to in the short run, there's no question.
VAUSE: The immediate (INAUDIBLE). Yes.
SCHIFFER: Well, I think that's true. But what's been the impact the last 20 years? And America has definitely been affected. It's been an uneven playing field. China has been taking advantage in a significant way. And there are these, you know, isolated tariffs by many countries that there's no question that's been unfair.
I think many people would agree with that. The question is how was he going about doing it and is this the smartest way? This is his style. This is the way he operates. It is also the mandate he got politically. People wanted to see someone take the reins.
For 20 years it wasn't really happening. And you know, you have a country like China that if we don't get things aligned and don't get into a situation where we're at some level of parity, they're only going to get more powerful. Now is the time to try to negotiate a deal.
VAUSE: Ok. Well, with that in mind the President believes that now is the time because the economy in the U.S. is strong and it can easily survive a trade war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're so high up. We've picked up 40 -- if you look at the kind of numbers we have picked up, it is up almost 40 percent -- the market. And that's not -- the real market is the overall. And the overall is up much more than that. But we picked up about $8 trillion in value doing what we are doing.
Now, we have got a little bit of uncertainty because of trade. To me there's no uncertainty. And to other people that happen to be smart there's no uncertainty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I mean Ryan -- I think he was taking about the stock market and $8 trillion. And I'm not entirely sure what the two have to do with each other.
But 51 trade groups have joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups and big corporations urging Congress to pass legislation to limit the President's ability to impose tariffs. Here's part of what they wrote.
"It is now also increasingly clear that the way the steel and aluminum tariffs have been used will result in retaliatory tariffs from our largest trading partners and closest allies and the retaliation will have serious negative economic impacts on the United States."
This letter has been signed by multinational corporations like Amazon and GM and Wal-Mart. And they're worried. They're extremely concerned about the impact this will ultimately have on the economy.
PATEL: I would. If I'm Wal-Mart and Amazon -- they are spending a lot of money in, specifically in China. Wal-Mart sold their business at the E.U. to get in to put more money into China specifically. So these things will hamper some of their comparable growth sales. They're looking at other places specifically there.
And not only that, I think that at the end of the day the businesses and corporations want certainty. I think this ability to -- I don't think anyone thought this will go this long. I mean maybe there is. But to be in multiple trade wars -- if that's where I think the companies have (INAUDIBLE).
If you just want to go after China and be able to create one deal, great. But now you're creating multiple trade wars that it kind of hurts the value of each of these companies.
VAUSE: And before you respond to all of this, Eric -- the Chancellor of the Exchequer in Britain, among many officials around the world, warning of a global financial disaster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP HAMMOND, BRITISH CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER: We live in uncertain times because the old certainty for many decades has been that the United States was completely wedded to open markets and free trade. And now the United States is questioning the value, the fairness of some of our arrangements.
I very much hope that we can avoid a full scale trade war. That would be a disaster for everyone not least for the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So Eric -- I guess what is so unsettling for so many around the world is that, you know, this is a policy not just of the U.S. government but of a Republican administration, you know, which traditionally have been champions of open markets and free trade.
SCHIFFER: Yes. The Republican Party has changed. And I think that President Trump views this time as one in which he has had this long standing policy for years, decades in his own thoughts and mind about what he thought was fair to the United States. And there are many people that agree with him, obviously put him in the office.
[01:49:58] There is a lot of projections about what this all will do -- and a disaster and there's going to be massive layoffs, et cetera. But no one really knows, ok, especially if we get a deal in the short term.
And what I think you have to look at are what are the underlying forces? The underlying forces are Trump cannot continue to stay in office if there's a bad economy.
VAUSE: Right.
SCHIFFER: That's what's keeping his numbers -- his Gallup poll, you know, record numbers for him. It's largely because of the economy.
He is acutely aware of this. At the same time the politics are driving some of his moves with these isolated tariffs because it feeds into the benefit of many of his -- the base.
VAUSE: We are clearly out of time -- Ryan so I'll give you 15 seconds.
PATEL: Well, I think at the end of the day I think it's going to be really important for Trump to pick an ally and get a deal done. He cannot keep doing this with everybody.
VAUSE: The question is, are the tariffs the best way of going about these negotiations. It's a blunt instrument, many people say so.
But great to have you guys with us. We appreciate the discussion. Thank you.
VAUSE: Lionel Messi delivers for Argentina at the World Cup but it was a nail biter to move on to the knockout round. We'll have the highlights with Patrick Snell -- just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Argentina lives to fight another day after a late goal in their match with Nigeria. Let's go to World Sport anchor Patrick Snell at the intergalactic headquarters to CNN in Atlanta with the highlights.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Hi there. Thank you -- John.
Yes. Argentina are very much breathing a huge sigh of relief beating Nigeria. Nigeria were four minutes away from making it through to the last 16 of this year's World Cup but for Lionel Messi, talk about winning over the critics because so much pressure. And he looks at times as though he's carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
But I'll tell you what. That was a superb goal early on in the 14the minute -- brilliant touch and an exquisite finish with his right foot, please note, his right foot.
And from that moment, you thought Argentina were going to kick on with Diego Maradona watching every step of the way. But it wasn't the case because Nigeria clearly hadn't read the script; Victor Moses with the penalty making it 1-1. So we get to four minutes from time and the winning goal is not from Messi; it's not from Higuain, all stars. That is Man United defender Marcos Rojo with a really nice cushion volley finish.
Argentina, by the skin of their teeth 2-1 victor. I'll tell you what -- their fans loved every moment of it. It's a heartbreak for Nigeria -- you can see the emotion on Angel di Maria's face there.
But how about this fan -- he doesn't even know how to act. He is just overcome with what he saw. He can't believe it. And then there's another fan who just loses it and pours -- well, he just pours his drink all over himself.
Meantime in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires -- relief and one massive roar as they take in the fact that they have won by two goals to one.
All right. It's all about the fans and we love the emotion. We love to see it. The Peruvian national team have really won over so many -- not just for best style of play but for the passion of their fans as well. Here they are to gather in Sochi ahead of the match with Australia -- Australia Socceroos.
And you know, the Peruvian national team, they hadn't won in either of their first two games. They knew they weren't going to advance but they really put on a show; (INAUDIBLE) again for Socceroos on this occasion.
[01:55:03] Andre Carrillo giving them the lead in that one. And then the talisman -- their all time leading scorer Paolo Guerrero with a second. This, by the way, Peru's first World Cup victory since 1978, would you believe.
And we have got some really fantastic video to show you from Peru. Look at this. The kids, the youngsters are watching this historic moment and historic occasion 40 years in the making. That is one they will be able to talk about for many, many years to come. The achievement for Peruvian football very special indeed even though they are not advancing from the tournament.
John -- back to you there in L.A.
VAUSE: Patrick -- thank you so much. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow.
Ok. We'll finish here with a question. If you were the keeper of a 500-year-old wooden statue of one of the most important saints in Christianity and it was in need of a little restoration would you call in a professional or decide the handicraft teacher at a local school could do the job?
Take a look at these before and after images of St. George. Taking the chance that the decision made by the parish officials at Spain's Church of St. Michael. Yes, Saint George who for years, hundreds of years has been locked in a battle with a dragon now looks more like the children's cartoon character Tintin.
It's not the first time a restoration project has gone so horribly wrong. Remember this century-old fresco of Jesus labeled Monkey Jesus? That was the work of an elderly parishioner back in 2012.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. Stay with us because a lot more news after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:03] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: The Trump administration wins a major legal battle. The Supreme Court says the travel ban is constitutional. But critics say it's a betrayal of American values.
