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Trump and National Security Officials' Russia Tune Does Not Rhyme; U.S. Navy in Full Alert on Iran's Show of Force; Emmerson Mnangagwa Won Zimbabwe's Presidential Election; U.S.-Turkey Muddy Relationship; U.S. Watching Iran Naval Exercise Under Way In Persian Gulf; Mnangagwa Declared President Of Zimbabwe; Prosecutor's Highlight Manafort's Lavish Lifestyle; Europe On The Hot Seat; Google May Scale The Great Firewall; The Big Apple Of Silicon Valley. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 03, 2018 - 03:00   ET

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


[03:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN HOST: Ahead this hour. The U.S. closely watches an Iranian military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz. We'll tell you why.

CYRIL VANIER, CNN HOST: Another mixed message from the White House. The national security team says Russia is still a threat to American security while President Trump calls, his words, the whole Russia thing, a hoax.

ALLEN: And celebration in Zimbabwe. The election commission says the governing party has won the presidential election but the opposition is fighting back.

VANIER: As always it's great to have you with us. I'm Cyril Vanier.

ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen. And CNN Newsroom starts right now.

VANIER: So we start in the Persian Gulf where Iran is putting o a show of force. U.S. officials say naval exercises are now underway and they are concerned that Iran might be using these drills to show that it can shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage for global oil supply.

ALLEN: Usually this type of exercises happen later in the year. But U.S. officials believe the timing could be tied to escalating tensions with Washington.

VANIER: Our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is on his way to the Persian Gulf. He joins me now on the line. Is this Iran sending a message, Nic? And if so, what's the message?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It isn't clear in this Iran is sending a message, so it's not making it publicly explicitly clear. The information that we have comes from officials at the Pentagon and Washington. They're saying that what they're seeing is a major military exercise and it (Inaudible) expected. They say it involves dozens of small boats that are being organized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Council. This is the IRGC. And very influential ability body with the state

Iran. And it comes at a time when there's been increased rhetoric between exchange between Washington and Tehran. We've seen they had at the IRGC a month ago followed up by Iran's president and Iran's supreme leader all saying that if Iran isn't able to export oil products through the Strait of Hormuz, that key narrow waterway that actually the Persian Gulf where 20 percent of the world traded oil passes through.

And if they, Iran, aren't allowed to, then no one will. So the concern in Washington is this could be Iran, if you will, putting heat on the tone of this rhetoric. But also President Trump had an all-caps tweet several weeks ago warning Iran, assuming consequences if it does continue to threaten this sort of action.

So, at the moment, (Technical Difficulty) come out publicly from the Iranians, nor from other countries in this region. The government here has spoken about it that it does seem to indicate it changes atmosphere to what the United States at least would be expecting right now.

VANIER: All right. CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson on his way to the Persian Gulf. Thank you for joining us on the line.

ALLEN: Let's turn now to Arash Aramesh, he was a national security and foreign analyst. He comes to us via Skype from San Francisco, California. Ara, thank you for being with us. I want to ask you first, how does this (AUDIO GAP) exercise by Iran impact a growing tension between the U.S. and Iran?

ARASH ARAMESH, NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN POLICY ANALYST: Well, two factors. First of all, Iran controls a very large part of that and has a very long coastline both in the Sea of Oman and especially the Persian Gulf.

And if you look at the Iranian military structure you will see that it is the act of the IRGC, notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that control that body of water, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz (Inaudible) global oil get shipped through every day.

So, you know, this military exercise is an IRGC-led exercise. Secondly, it comes pretty close to the presence of international vessels in the Persian Gulf.

And also it is coming at time when tension, at least rhetorical tensions between the U.S. and her allies and Iran are pretty high. Not to mention that the Iranian economy has suffered major blows in past -- the past few months that what the value of the Iranian real has plummeted.

[03:05:01] Iranian economy is getting closer closer and closer to the point return. Not to mention that new sanction, new oil sanctions designed by the Trump after withdrawing from the -- withdrawing from the nuclear deal is going to actually hit the Iranians in a very short time. So things are going to look more bleak in the near future.

ALLEN: They've threaten this action before. What are the chances you think Iran would actually block the strait?

ARAMESH: Well, you know I've always said that the Iranian government, the Islamic regime in Iran is it might be homicidal but it's not suicidal. But again, at some point, we got to see if they lose their train of logic in this thought thinking rationally and behave rationally.

Now, they know that closing the Strait of Hormuz while it might impact globe oil -- global shipping or oil shipping and prices, it's not going to be the end of the story. The U.S. Navy can clean that out within a matter of, you know, hours, if not days.

But it will create a -- it will have a major impact on what's going to happen to Iran. The U.S. forces are not just going to allow any power, any regional player to just shut down a major shipping vessel or major shipping artery and then that would also give all be the more legitimacy for military action.

Now I think Iranians know that's a bluff and they know that's going about a measure of last resort. But if they go ahead and try to block the Strait of Hormuz, that is in fact a major act of hostility which will be -- which will not be -- which will not go without an answerer from the global community.

ALLEN: Yes. Elaborate on that. The U.S. defense secretary said if it were blocked the U.S. would expect a regional response to open it, you just said, the U.S. would clean it out. What might that looked like and what countries would be involved?

ARAMESH: Well, it would be led by the United States first and foremost. The French, the British, the Dutch, the Australians, they all have naval presence in the Persian Gulf. Obviously, the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf which is the United Arab Emirates, the Saudi Arabians, the Bahrainians they have some naval presence.

The Qataris may not be involve because as you know the relationship between Qatar and Iran has gone better over the past few months.

But again, it will be a U.S.-led operation. We have the resources, assets, means, experience and the know-how to do this. And to give you an example. Back in the 1980s in the late '87, '88 when the Iranians would not come to the negotiating table to accept U.N. resolution 598, U.N. National -- U.N. Security Council 598 and they engaged the U.S. Navy and the tanker wars.

The U.S. Navy sunk -- sank more than half of Iran's navy in less than half a day. So, again, it's not a fair fight or an equal fight. It's just a warning shot saying, hey, if you try to shut down the Strait of Hormuz as a -- as an optional last resort, then the reaction will be devastating to your navy, to your armed forces. And also potentially other strikes will go on over other targets of value over Iran.

But again, what countries will be involved? Yes, as countries I mentioned but it will be led mostly and the heavy lifting will be done by us that the U.S. Navy and her air force have the capability, know how, and power and the technology to do it and the presence to do it. ALLEN: All right. We thank you for your insight. Thanks so much for

joining us.

ARAMESH: My pleasure.

VANIER: The U.S. election system is under on a -- under ongoing attack from Russia. But the White House is on the case. That was their message today.

ALLEN: Yes, that's the message from the Trump administration bringing out the big guns to say they take the threat seriously.

For more about it here's Jeff Zeleny.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR White House CORRESPONDENT: President Trump's full national security team stepping forward today to say something he is not. American democracy is under attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN COATS, UNITED STATES DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The intelligence community continues to be concerned about the threats of upcoming U.S. elections. Both the midterms and the presidential elections of 2020.

KIRSTJEN NIELSEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Our democracy itself is in the crosshairs.

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, DIRECTOR, FBI: Make no mistake the scope of this foreign influence threat is both broad and deep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: At an afternoon briefing the comments from the director of national intelligence, the secretary of homeland security, and the FBI director standing in stark contrast to the president's tepid assessment of Russian election interference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: It was a show of force clearly intended to change the subject, and perhaps to make up for lost time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COATS: The president has specifically directed us to make the matter of the election meddling and securing our election process a top priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ZELENY: If the president has done so it's not been in public. Standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, Mr. Trump said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Every since that moment at the Helsinki summit which even some of the president's staunchest supporters called a debacle, the White House has been trying to clean up his words.

[03:10:04] National security adviser John Bolton trying to do so again today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: When the two leaders got together with with their senior advisors, President Putin said the first issue that President Trump raise was election meddling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: But the comments from all officials were far cry from what the president has repeatedly said about Russian election meddling and what he recently told reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is Russia still targeting the U.S., Mr. President?

TRUMP: Thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Press, let's go. Make your way out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you don't believe that to be the case?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's go. We're finished here.

(OFF-MIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Press, let's go.

TRUMP: Thank you very much everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Make your way out.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ZELENY: The question of course whether the president will make this claim in his own voice. He's been to rally after rally across the country saying election meddling is nothing more than a hoax. But he dispatches national security officials out to make the case for him. Now the question is whether he'll do it himself.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania.

VANIER: CNN national security analyst Samantha Vinograd joins me now. Samantha, why did we see this show of force at the White House today on this topic on which the top national security people has been ambivalent up until now?

SAMANTHA VINOGRAD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think that the president was trying to send a message to this national securiteam that he's taking this issue seriously. We had all parts of the intelligence community represented with Ambassador John Bolton, the national security adviser would be coordinating all parts of the U.S. government in term of detecting the threat and responding to it.

But the problem is, we have the show of force at the White House. The intelligence community agreed that the threat has not gone away. And then just hours later the president undercut what they said by actively and knowingly participating in words that actually help Russia's information warfare attack against our country by sowing divisions and and creating confusion.

VANIER: So, OK. So I'm going to play that and just before I do, what was interesting was that the top national security officials didn't just say this is a big threat, and we know it is. They said the president knows it is and the president has directed us to counter the threat.

Now listen to the words that the president actually used when he got a chance to speak at his rally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: In Helsinki I had a great meeting with Putin. We discussed everything. I had a great meeting.

(CROWD CHEERING)

TRUMP: We got along really well. By the way, that's a good thing, not a bad thing. That's a really good thing.

Now we're being hindered by the Russian hoax, it's a hoax, OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: All right. That word again. It's a hoax. The Russian hoax the whole thing. So why go to the extent of having that show of force at the White House and then on the same day call the whole thing a hoax?

VINOGRAD: It's completely in Congress. But what this really tells me that the president is completely, completely disconnected from his national security. So, on one hand, logically, he directs them to counter a threat which is from Russia its information warfare, psychological operations, its cyber hacks and other forms of attacks against the country.

But then he cannot control himself when he gets in front of the cameras or he has his iPhone and feels the need to start tweeting. What this really tells me is that there's sometime a deep state of paranoia or inferiority complex that is driving him to undercut his team and put his personal interest first.

And the fact to the matter is every time that he does it, he just gave Vladimir Putin another opening. Come in and stoke that paranoia and to say I understand what you're saying. We did get along great in Helsinki.

And the truth is, President Trump should not -- should not want to get along great with Vladimir Putin because we're still under live attack. But it doesn't -- what makes him feel good about himself, and again, Vladimir Putin is going to keep poking at that.

VANIER: What I still don't understand and I don't know what your thoughts are on this. It's like there are two parallel realities. One is which Russia is the threat, and one in which the whole thing is a hoax.

And normally, when you have two contradictory, not just different but contradictory messages they end up colliding, right. And when you're the administration you end up having to clarify things and choose one. And here they are just running on parallel tracks and coexisting. How can that even be?

VINOGRAD: Well, I think unfortunately, the president has been conflating two different things. One is, Russia's attack on our country. And the counterintelligence operation that they're waging, remember, this investigation that President Trump likes to call the Russian hoax is a counterintelligence investigation.

The FBI started investigating Russia's attack on our country well before President Trump was put into office because, again, they were waging a counterintelligence campaign and using campaign officials to accomplish that.

[03:14:57] So, we have a hostile foreign power attacking the United States. And then of course we have the issue that really upset the president which he tweets about every day. It's like, it's on repeat with him that has to do with whether or not members of his campaign colluded with the Russian government.

And the president conflates those two issues and puts his personal insecurities, personal paranoia about whether someone on his campaign did act inappropriately above again the fact that we're under live attack by a hostile foreign power.

VANIER: And CNN national security analyst Samantha Vinograd, thank you.

VINOGRAD: Thank you.

ALLEN: Another story we're following for you. It took four days of tense waiting, including a day of deadly protest. Now supporters of Emmerson Mnangagwa are celebrating his election as president.

VANIER: Now he's been keeping the seat warm since Robert Mugabe was forced out last year. But it has not been a smooth transition.

CNN's David McKenzie has the latest from the capital.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The ruling party supporters are celebrating outside the building behind me where just moments ago they announce the president-elect of Zimbabwe after this highly contentious vote process.

Winning with more than 50 percent, just more than 50 percent of the vote according to the electoral commission, Emmerson Mnangagwa, the current president of Zimbabwe.

Now the president-elect after these violent few days here in Harare the capital. Now the opposition has said it will not accept this outcome.

Nelson Chamisa telling me that they will use any means possible to contest the decision of the electoral commission to announce his critic that Mnangagwa is again the president of Zimbabwe.

Throughout the day there were military and police on the streets. Earlier they were telling people to leave the central business district closing up their shops. A virtual ghost town. The police also raided the opposition headquarters and arrested more than a dozen people.

The question will be now is how will the electrical observer missions react to this when this narrow win in terms of being just over the threshold of not having a runoff that Emmerson Mnangagwa is now the president-elect of Zimbabwe.

David McKenzie, CNN, Harare.

ALLEN: The U.S. secretary of state tries to find common ground with Asian leaders, but with a trade wars, sanctions and nuclear tensions Mike Pompeo has a challenge on his hands. We'll have that story for you next in a live report.

VANIER: Plus, bombshell testimony in the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. We'll have the details on that as well.

[03:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Singapore for the ASEAN summit. He is expected to address Southeast Asian leaders on North Korea's denuclearization and other security issues.

VANIER: But a little while ago, Pompeo met with Turkey's foreign affairs minister. The two countries are lock in a dispute right now over the jailing of an American pastor in Turkey. And the U.S. just levied sanctions on two Turkish officials.

CNN's Ivan Watson is in Singapore. So Ivan, I have to ask you, do we know how that meeting went?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Mike Pompeo has so many issues to discuss with the various diplomats that are gathered here, but probably the most pressing and immediate one is the latest, I would call it a crisis between Washington and Ankara, Turkey and the U.S. to NATO allies.

They've had a rocky relationship, but it erupted this week when Washington imposed sanctions on two Turkish cabinet ministers over the ongoing detention of this American Pastor, Andrew Brunson who was detained back in 2016 and being charged with espionage.

So on his flight here to Singapore just a matter of hours ago, Mike Pompeo told journalists that the Turks were on notice. Adding quote, "Brunson needs to come home, as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government. It's pretty straightforward. These are innocent people."

Now it appears he's not just referring to Pastor Brunson but also to other employees of U.S. diplomatic missions in Turkey who were detained back in October of last year, Cyril. And in response to that and facing terrorism charges, I might add, at least two U.S. employees of the U.S. diplomatic missions in Turkey in response to that for two months, the U.S. suspended issuing visas for non-immigrant visas to Turkish citizens in the sign of how bad the situation got that.

Well, the two diplomats met at a Ritz-Carlton hotel here in Singapore. I was in the lobby as the officials were coming in and out. The meeting took place for less than half an hour and we since gotten a statement from both the U.S. Secretary of State spokesman, Heather Nauert and the Turkish foreign minister himself who went on to say that, you know, we told basically the Americans that quote, "using threatening languages or language or sanctions will not be productive. We believe they understand this."

He went on to say that in his discussions with Secretary of State Pompeo they talk about what steps could be taken to resolve this issue. He said it was a, quote, "positive meeting" and that the issues cannot be resolved in one single meeting.

And that's effectively what Heather Nauert said that this was a constructive discussion and that more discussion would take place to try to resolve some pretty thorny issues between two countries that are supposed to be strategic military allies. Cyril?

VANIER: All right. Ivan, bringing us the very latest on this, what you characterize as a crisis, I agree with you, U.S.-Turkey crisis.

Let's get the latest from Turkey now.

ALLEN: Let's do that. Yes, thorny and complex issues to be sure. Let's go to Istanbul now live and bring in our Jomana Karadsheh. Jomana, let's start with all those issues that Ivan just pointed out. Let's start with this pastor. How did the U.S. pastor ended being detained in Turkey in the first place?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Andrew Brunson, Natalie, has been living in Turkey for more than 20 years. And following that failed coup attempt in 2016, you had thousands of people who were detained for alleged links to the group that Turkey accuses of being behind that coup attempt the Gulen movement.

And one of those people were detained in October 2016 was Andrew Brunson. And he's been accused of espionage, ties to the Gulen movement and also links to the Kurdish militant group, the PKK.

His trial started here in April and he faces up to 35 years in jail.

Now U.S. officials has said there is no credible evidence against him. You had U.S. lawmakers attending that trial back in the spring. One senator describing it as a kangaroo court and saying the charges against him are a collection of nonsensical conspiracy theories.

[03:24:56] And you had U.S. officials coming out and saying that he's being used as a, quote, political hostage, and you know, that is something they stress after that hint was made by President Erdogan late last year where he suggested a swap, saying that, you know, following this trial of Andrew Brunson he can be exchanged for a Fetulleh Gulen the cleric, the Muslim cleric who's been living in Pennsylvania in the U.S. in exile and Turkey has repeatedly ask the U.S. to extradite him.

So, you know, there are some who were criticizing the Trump administration when you have the president and the vice president so focused lobbying, pushing and acting when it comes to this one U.S. person who is a detention here.

As you heard from Ivan there in his report, there are others including Turkish employees of the U.S. mission here who have been behind bars facing terrorism charges too, and also other dual Turkish U.S. citizens who are in prison here in Turkey.

And while these talks between the foreign ministers may bring up these other individuals who are also detained the criticism is - you don't have the U.S. president and vice president pushing so publicly as they have for Andrew Brunson which raises a lot of questions about why this one person is of so much interest to the leadership of the United States.

Some criticizing saying this is a domestic U.S. politics that's because he's an Evangelical Christian and that is an important part of President Trump's base in the U.S., Natalie.

ALLEN: Very remarkable how this one pastor has become the headline right now among these complex issues. We thank you both, Jomana Karadsheh for us there in Istanbul and in Singapore our Ivan Watson. Thank you both so much. VANIER: Now prosecutors are highlighting lavish spending by President Trump's former campaign chairman in his tax evasion and money- laundering trials. We'll have a look at how Paul Manafort spent and lost the money when we return.

ALLEN: Also ahead here, the heat has been turned off in Europe and their trying their best to keep cool. We'll tell you where record smashing temperatures are in the forecast, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VANIER: And welcome back to the Newsroom here at CNN. I'm Cyril Vanier.

ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen. Let's update you on our top stories this hour.

Iran is carrying out a military exercise in the Persian Gulf and U.S. officials expected to be a major show of force. Their concern Iran may try to demonstrate that it could shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

[03:30:00] The operation comes just days before the U.S. reimposes sanctions on Tehran.

VANIER: Emmerson Mnangagwa has been declared the official winner of Zimbabwe's presidential election. The opposition continues to allege the outcome was rigged, but the military has prevented public protest after six people died in post-election violence on Wednesday.

ALLEN: Top U.S. security officials are warning of Russia's continued efforts to interfere in the U.S. political system and divide the country, the Director of national intelligence says President Trump has specifically directed him to make the issue a top priority.

VANIER: Let us stay with U.S. politics for a moment. Special Counsel, Robert Mueller is pressing to interview Russian popstar Emin Agalarov who help set up the now infamous 2016 Trump tower meeting.

ALLEN: Mueller would like to also speak with Agalarov's father the Laura father Araz, a Russian oligarch. The Agalarov's helps President Trump bring the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow in 2013. The Agalarov attorney says he cannot predict whether Mueller will get to meet with the man and that talks to set up an interview had been ongoing.

Well, we turn to another off shoot here. The investigation, the tax evasion and money laundering trial at Paul Manafort.

VANIER: It is day three of his testimony or a least it was on Thursday and prosecutors highlighted the former Trump campaign chairs lavish lifestyle. They gave jurors an earful about fake business records that he allegedly filed. Our Jessica Schneider explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Paul Manafort dire financial situation outline for the jury. The prosecution dropping the bombshell that Manafort was essentially broke by 2016. After spending millions of dollars maintaining his luxurious lifestyle. Attorney Greg Andre said that after Manafort's Ukraine consulting money dried up. He turned to bank fraud lying to banks to secure loans for his cash flow. Manafort's business and personal estate bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn, spend hours on the stand detailing how Manafort lobbying firm was financially strapped after his clients in Ukraine were driven out of office.

The retailers and other vendors who are taking the stand say they often didn't recognize the company names Manafort used to make payments for the services to their companies, but the amounts match the invoices they sent prosecutors are presenting these wire transfers from offshore bank accounts to prove their claims of tax and bank fraud.

Paul Manafort has seemed calm and stayed silent to the three days of testimony, but the question lingers, will he testify. Defense attorneys did not offer any clues when Judge T.S. Ellis raised the issue, stressing he will not be penalized for the right to remain silent, but Judge Ellis added if Manafort does testify, it will be more likely the Judge will allow evidence that the IRS never audited Manafort. Something his attorneys want to use to bolster his defense.

One person we now know will take the stand, Rick Gates. After some question Wednesday. Prosecutors conceded they will call Gates. Some are calling their star witness and it could be as soon as tomorrow or Monday. Gates was Manafort's Deputy during the campaign and with his longtime associate. He has pleaded guilty to two counts in D.C. and is cooperating with the Special Counsel.

The defense said it intends to pin the blame on Gates saying he embezzled millions from Manafort. But the prosecution is going to great lengths to show Manafort alone was the one spending the millions, they've submitted reams of receipts documenting the hundreds of thousands of dollars he spent on high-end suits and clothing. In April 2012 Manafort paid $18,500 for a python jacket just a few months earlier. It was $9500 on an ostrich vest to apparently complement the ostrich jacket. He later paid $15,000 for. There are also photos of the jackets and suits. He paid a pretty penny for from the store that bills itself. The most expensive in the world, Be John (ph), one blue jacket from Be John (ph), $32,800.

Manafort also kept his seven homes in pristine condition. His landscaper testified that Manafort spent about $450,000 over five years for his Hamptons home commissioning him to care for the hundreds of flowers plus one of the biggest personal ponds in the Hamptons and Manafort kept it high-tech. He paid more than $2.2 million in electronics including $10,000 on a karaoke system in 2010 and prosecutors have also present these vendors with fake invoices that Paul Manafort may have created to look like it came from them to cover for the money he moved out of his overseas bank account.

Prosecutors are now in the middle questioning Paul Manafort's accountant, who said he never knew about Paul Manafort's foreign bank accounts and prosecutors are whipping through these witnesses and expect they could wrap up their case next week. Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO)

[03:35:00] VANIER: The suspected Russian spy work for more than a decade, at the U.S. embassy in Moscow before being fired last year. That is what a senior administration official tells CNN.

ALLEN: The woman, a Russian national came under suspicion during a routine security review in 2016. The security office found that she was having regular unauthorized meeting with Russian intelligence service, the FFB. But the administration official insist the woman did not have access to classified material.

Coming next here, Europe may experience its hottest day in history. We will have the forecast for you, coming up.

VANIER: Plus, Google's reported reentry to the Chinese market means a hard climb over the great firewall, we will speak to the reporter who broke the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: The record heat waves are sweeping across the world. For example, Portugal and Spain are on high alert for wildfires at the European heat record may soon be broken there.

VANIER: And we also got extreme weather in Japan, extreme temperatures. First of all, the record heat killed 119 people there in the month of July. And of course that is on top of the deadly typhoon and on top of flooding from torrential rains also. That makes it the deadliest summer there in decades.

Joining us from our air condition studio, much day's relief our own Ivan Cabrera. Ivan is looking like you are actually --

IVAN CABRERA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We will continue with this and it just the statistics here which of course are people that we lost and a lot of them up is just astounding that you expect that will do typhoon or with a hurricane, but just because the temperature is hot. It is a killer heat wave, let's talk about this, because this is going to continue, unfortunately over the next few days here.

And that Cyril and Natalie were mentioning this is a global problem right now to necessarily localize. We will talk more about that. 48 degrees wise and overboard while that was the hottest temperature ever recorded in the continent of Europe, while since we will be keeping records right in Manhattan back in 77, in Athens, Greece. So we get close to that. Well if we do it will be across Iberian Peninsula, I think for later this weekend. In fact, on Friday and into Saturday as well.

What will happen on Thursday, temperatures in the lower 40's. That is hot enough, we were in the mid 30's, we are going to do that again and make a good run at 40 plus and here's what we're talking about across the Korean peninsula all-time record, we never had these kind of readings across of the Korean peninsula since again we had been keeping records 37.9 Pyongyang and Seoul it is 39.6 Celsius and there you see.

[03:40:11] Hottest temperature ever for South Korea at 41 degrees in (inaudible) there in South Korea. You get the idea, incredible numbers here now on top of course the hot temperatures. This usually coincides with the lack of precipitation, lack of rainfall that is exactly what we've had so far this year. Some areas as high as 35 percent below normal, particularly in the Brussels and these are the exact areas are looking at temperatures that can be very hot. I must say, with the exception of the U.K. and Ireland. I think you be much better shape.

Look at this, heading into one of the weekend. Lisbon upper 30's the lower 40's, another day and another day and another day I mean it's not going to be until not even Monday, Tuesday, so this is again an event that is going to continue heading against the latter part of that next week. So far this year, these are the global heat records that we had been talking about 28,068 of the Japan the all-time record high, Seoul, in South Korea, Pakistan, dozens of fatalities as well.

Of just of this year that happened in May, we will cover that as well and they were talking about the third longest heat wave in the U.K. with the hottest temperatures of recorded in Oman in Africa. We are not leaving out the friends in the United States, Seattle, and that Death Valley. The hottest July on record, that is saying something Death Valley. It's very, very hot and of course in Canada over 90 fatalities. It was dozens of records broken, so, sounding like one you get the idea here. This is something that is obviously not impacting just one area.

ALLEN: Right and that big question, big pictures, is this the new normal? It is a trend.

CABRERA: It is really is. It's the new normal. We've been hitting these records each year, it is getting hotter and hotter in the last 10 years, we have some of the hottest years we thought ever has. So this is just going to continue and of course, remember it's a climate system, right, planet wide sort impacts, not just temperatures, but also ocean temperatures as well, which I just wreaks havoc with marine life and with the rest of the planet. So it's one of those things were everything is connected.

ALLEN: Right. All right, Ivan, thank you. I guess. The Trump administration has announced plans to relax meantime, national emissions and fuel efficiency standards for cars.

VANIER: And the proposed rollback would also apply to California which currently sets its own, the more stringent requirements for emissions. The Trump administration argues that current regulations impose significant costs on consumers and eliminate jobs. Nick Watt, has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, another legal battle could be brewing for the Trump administration here in the U.S. as they try to dismantle one more plank of President Obama's legacy. Back in 2012, the Obama administration set fuel efficiency standards for ultimatums like 2025, they would have to have across their fleet an average fuel consumption from around 50 miles per gallon. Now President Trump administration wants to freeze that proposed that 20/20 level, which is about 43 miles per gallon.

Now, they say this is primarily for safety reasons that rationale here is that if automakers don't need to stick by such stringent guidelines. That cars will be cheaper therefore more people will buy new cars. Therefore there will be fewer odorless safe cars on the road. Opponents say that actually this will cost consumers money, because they will have to pay more for gas at the pump and this is just a push by the Trump administration to prop up the oil industry. Now, 20 states Attorney General has already said that they will

legally challenge this if it gets to that point, the Massachusetts say that Attorney General said, this has to go down the book. One of the dumbest ever. California's Governor Jerry Brown says California will fight this stupidity in every conceivable way and environmental campaign are telling us that this legal battle, if it even gets to that could lost long after President Trump has left the White House whenever that maybe. Nick Watt, CNN, Redding California.

(END VIDEO)

VANIER: And English football club is doing its bit to fight climate change. The Forest Green Rovers are living up to their name becoming the world first U.N. certified carbon neutral football club.

ALLEN: Players and fans eat vegan to counter what the club called the environmental and animal welfare impact of livestock farming, the club also uses solar power and recycled rainwater. Well, everybody would join in. Maybe we wouldn't have the hottest years on (inaudible).

VANIER: Everybody catch that. All right coming up, the tiny computer company launched 40 years ago in Silicon Valley is now the richest company in U.S. history.

ALLEN: Perhaps you had heard of it, called Apple. Plus if China ready for Google 2.0, the U.S. tech giant will plan to give the huge Chinese market another try.

[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Apple had made history many times in its 40 plus years. On Thursday it did it again by officially becoming the richest corporation in America.

VANIER: the tech giant is the first U.S. company to reach a market value of $1 trillion meeting rivals Amazon and Google to the symbolic milestone, how many zero is that, 12 zeros.

ALLEN: I was trying to count them. It is all about Apple's latest and most expensive iPhones. Strong sales around the world helped push Apple stock about $207 a share on Thursday. The magic number that put it in the trillion dollar club.

VANIER: It was not easy coming up with the gadgets and devices. Many of us now take for granted. Apple had plenty of setbacks and failures along the way.

ALLEN: To stay competitive. The company had to constantly reinvent itself for look back, here is CNN's (inaudible).

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Decades after its groundbreaking Macintosh commercial 1984, Apple is smashing barriers again. The companies that 30 (inaudible) journey from fledgling IPO to $1 trillion corporate colossus is the stuff of legend and had never could happen without Steve Jobs'. His vision for Apple got it where it is today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I takes Apple during the 10 years beginning in 2000 and is holding a direction, reinvents the music industry, reinvents the telephone industry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He discovers now we have to think differently again and he says we are going to do devices. Devices that will make your computers sort of the heart of your digital lifestyle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Job's run a revolutionary device began with the iPod in 2001.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we are calling it iPhone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it would be iPhone that clearly change everything. Released in 2007 when Apple's market cap was just $100 billion. The iPad followed three years later when the street value of Apple at around 300 billion. Apple's market got its more than doubled under Tim Cook, CEO since 2011.

Cook has launch only one major new hardware line. The Apple watch. Its commitment to strengthening the Apple ecosystem with services like Apple pay, Cloud computing and music streaming guarantees a steady flow of revenue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iphone is the most loved phone in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Making no mistake. However, it is the iPhone will be key to Apple's fortune well into the future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether it be there adventure or entertainment or some of the other things they are doing. Obviously, those are additive for the business, but the business is driven by the iPhone. The people pay a thousand dollars for something that is in your pocket. Enough is obsolete in a year and a half or two years. That is a remarkable business model.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A business model that has been mashing profitable for Apple investors. Dane Asha (ph), CNN money, New York.

(END VIDEO)

ALLEN: I will cool is that for company and how cool is that commercial. I have forgotten about it.

VANIER: It has been a while, it has been admitted.

ALLEN: 50.

VANIER: Google may be jumping back into Chinese market with a search app tailored and censored just for China.

ALLEN: As you could imagine, Google's reported plan is stirring up a lot of controversy. CNN's Sherisse Pham have more.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

SHERISSE PHAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Google has made most secret of its wish to get back into China, this is a lucrative market with hundreds of millions of internet users and it is impossible for any big U.S. tech for him to ignore.

[03:50:10] So when the Intercept reported, that Google would launch a version of its search engine in China. That would block sensitive sites, it wasn't a big surprise. Google declined to comment on that report saying it wouldn't comment on speculations about future plans, but if it does bring a censored version of its search engine to China. It wouldn't be the first time. Goggle launch a Chinese language version of its search engine back in 2006. One that complied with Beijing strict censorship laws.

It gave users filtered search results but it is still hold users when information was removed from results. Now, I talked to a tech executive who was with Google when it launched in China and he said look, we were reminding people in China every single day that they were looking at filtered results that the world was not what it seems. Still critics back then and now accused Google of compromising on a stance of a free and open internet, in return for access to China's big market. Now after hacking attack, Google left China in 2010, saying it was no longer going to censor search results and its main products, like YouTube and Gmail, they also been blocked for almost a decade.

But a few years ago Google's parent company Alphabet changed its motto from don't be evil to do the right thing and from a business perspective, getting back into China is the right thing for Google. Advertising is still Google's name source of revenue and a billion potential user that is hard to ignore. The critics in human rights groups are already accusing Google of bending to China's will, saying the China of today is much more restrictive than the China of 2006. It is more aggressive about tracking people and it has in the past requested western companies to pan over sensitive data.

Google has said, in the past that it wants to be in China to serve Chinese users. But the former head of free expression for Google in Asia, told CNN, if its search engine returns to China. The reality is that Google will be serving the Chinese government. Sherisse Pham, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEO) VANIER: Ryan Gallagher, is national security reporter for the

Intercept and he is the journalists who broke the story. Ryan, it is great to have you show, tell us first about the product. What is going to be different about Google's Chinese version?

RYAN GALLAGHER, SECURITY REPORTER, INTERCEPT: Well, what they're doing is there is a developing an App for Android phones which is the dominant phones that people use in China. It is basically just like army Google that is being manipulated to basically censor information not the reeling communist party regime in China is deemed undesirable and sort censoring a wide range of content political information.

VANIER: What kind of website?

GALLAGHER: Yes. We are talking about a huge broad (inaudible) you know, academic studies that contain analysis that is unfavorable to the government of China, Western news website, like the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, your Facebook, quite all this social media sites are banned. This would be affected in Google search engine would remove these websites from start the search results in the molten and the page would also be blocking certain words and terms, the more famous examples of the censored terms in China are released to for example, the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and someone tries search for that, they are not going to get any pictures, they will not get any website links or anything it will be blocked. These are the kind of censorship that we are talking about and this is what Google would have to be cooperating (inaudible) and launch what is planning to do.

VANIER: Yes. So this is the kind of typical censorship that you come to expect from China, we have seen it here at CNN, we see it regularly when we speak to our correspondent in China, if something is said, the government, the subject the government doesn't want to see they just cut the signal. So it's really typical. My question is why is Google going back? There were already in China. They left, because they didn't want to be a part of this government censorship. So what changed their minds?

GALLAGHER: Well, there are different dynamics to your existing ones are to first of all, there's a new leadership in Google since 2010 when we would go to China and (inaudible) send a he is a totally does not shoot towards Chinese banks is a mistake that they left.

[03:55:06] And he wants to be back in China, serving Chinese users so the leadership, that is a very, very (inaudible) and had a huge impact, I believe that is why they are doing this.

VANIER: But not without the money?

GALLAGHER: that is what I was going to say, yes. The money is another factor because amount of (inaudible) users in China is now at 750 million, that number is more than the entire population of Europe and so you just think of the revenue that could be generated just for example advertising on the Google search platform.

Actually they are still running not to mention and helping for several years. This generally huge amount of money through the Chinese companies advertising to foreign markets and Google's has been wasting billions of dollars through that and not launching the search. So when the wants to start the revenue sky rockets. So of course, that is going to be another consideration.

VANIER: So at some point he decided they couldn't keep turning down the money and turning down this huge market, can there be a backlash for China though? Are they going to have 100 percent control? Is the Chinese government sure that they are going to be able to control this second Google experiment or do you see a possible scenario where they lose control of, at least to a degree?

GALLAGHER: Well I mean, I don't know, maybe like Google has thinking that somehow it will launch in China and it would just incrementally like, sensor less, you know, bypass, but you know, everything I have seen with the documents I see and talk to sources everything suggest to me that there or in there with the intention of a 100 percent cooperation with the Chinese government. I mean, they are climbing in need this system to actually block less completely certain terms, so that someone does not search for that term, the pages are blank.

VANIER: Ryan, thank you so much for staying out for us. We appreciate it.

GALLAGHER: No problem, thanks for having me on.

VANIER: And one footnote to the story and it's an important one. Our state-owned media in China says that it is not true that Google is returning to China that we just got this news from them that comes from China securities daily and they cite relevant departments. Google's parent company alphabet for their part, they will not comment on this story as of yet. So we will just have to wait and see if it happens or not.

ALLEN: Yes we will.

VANIER: All right. Thanks for watching CNN Newsroom, I'm Cyril Vanier.

ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen, there is more CNN Newsroom coming next with Max Foster in London. Please stay with us. Thanks for watching.

VANIER: Have a great day.