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Hala Gorani Tonight
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Aired June 24, 2019 - 14:00 ET
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:00:35] HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR, HALA GORANI TONIGHT: Hello, everyone. Happy Monday. Live from CNN London, I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think a lot of restraint has been shown by us, a lot of restraint. And that doesn't mean we're
going to show it in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: New sanctions and a new warning. With the stroke of a pen, Donald Trump targets Iran's top leaders. We're live in Tehran and Washington.
Also tonight, he's the frontrunner to be Britain's next prime minister. But an alleged fight with his girlfriend has Boris Johnson under pressure.
And the opposition celebrates a crushing defeat for Turkey's president. What a mayoral loss could mean for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, going forward.
Tensions were already high between the U.S. and Iran. Now, Donald Trump has upped the stakes as he imposed what he called "hard-hitting" new
sanctions on the Islamic Republic. And the U.S. president made it personal, targeting the country's highest authority.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The supreme leader of Iran is one who ultimately is responsible for the hostile conduct of the regime. He's respected within his country. His
office oversees the regime's most brutal instruments, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Sanctions imposed through the executive order that I'm about to sign will deny the supreme leader and the supreme leader's office and those closely
affiliated with him and the office, access to key financial resources and support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, Mr. Trump called the move a strong and proportionate response, but he didn't offer exact details as to what he was responding
to. He said the shooting-down of a U.S. drone last week was one factor, but he says there were "many other reasons," without going into detail.
Fred Pleitgen, our reporter in Tehran; Michelle Kosinski is at the U.S. State Department in Washington.
What is the end goal here for the United States, Michelle? What is the end goal, here, for the United States, Michelle? What are they trying to
achieve with these increased sanctions?
MICHELL KOSINSKI, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT: Well, supposedly -- and what they've been saying for a long time is, they want Iran to change
its behavior and to come back to the negotiating table. But as we've seen, these sanctions, over a period of years now, incrementally get tougher and
tougher.
Now, getting to the point at the U.S. sanctioning the supreme leader of Iran, there is no indication that either of those two things is happening.
In fact, there is a big question as to whether U.S. action is just further heightening the tension at this point. Does Iran have any greater
likelihood of coming back to the negotiating table after a move like this?
It's hard to look at it and say yes. In fact, the stance of Iran and some U.S. allies, in looking at this situation, has been that they can just try
to outlast the Trump administration -- Hala.
GORANI: Right. And that's a good question for Fred. What impact will these increased sanctions have on the regime, on the top leadership
directly targeted here by the president today?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they probably won't -- will have very little, if any, sort of impact at all on
the top-level leadership here. I think in a lot of ways, the Iranians see these new sanctions as being something more symbolic than anything that's
going to have any real impact on the way that the government here and the power structure here conducts itself.
And if you look at the sanctions and the way they're structured, they target some individuals around the supreme leader and the supreme leader
himself, and then also some senior leaders from the Revolutionary Guard. All the people who are targeted are among the most loyal and the most
hardline folks here in this country. So it's hard to see how they would change their ways or change their behavior as the United States says,
because of new sanctions against them.
And particularly if you look at the figures in the Revolutionary Guard, like the head of the Revolutionary Guard navy, the head of the
Revolutionary Guard aerospace forces -- which is of course, Hala, the branch of the Revolutionary Guard that actually shot down that drone -- a
lot of those entities have been sanctions in the past.
So the big question is, would this have any sort of impact on them, moving forward? It's certainly not broad sanctions or hard-hitting sanctions that
would target the entire country and make things more difficult for the entire country. It's difficult to see how targeting a few individuals
would get Iran to change its ways.
But I think one of the interesting things that I heard from Steve Mnuchin as he was announcing all this, was the fact that apparently President
Trump, he said, had also told him to sanction Iran's top diplomat, Javad Zarif, the country's foreign minister --
[14:05:11] GORANI: Yes.
PLEITGEN: -- and of course, it's quite interesting to see, from the U.S. perspective, to say they want Iran to go back to the negotiating table and
to go back to diplomacy, and then threatening to sanction the country's top diplomat -- Hala.
GORANI: Well, and Michelle, as you know, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, is in the region. He says he hopes to build some sort of broad
coalition on the Iran question.
I spoke to a minister in the foreign office here in the U.K. And I asked him for his reaction -- in the name of the U.K. government, really -- to
these increased sanctions, and this is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAN DUNCAN, BRITICH FOREIGN OFFICE MINISTER: Well, I haven't had a chance to study the details because they've only just been announced. But I think
we do have deep concerns that if Iran is increasing its nuclear ability and would appear to have been associated with putting limpet mines on oil
tankers in the Gulf of Oman, this is very, very provocative. And of course, they've also shot down a UAV, which was American.
So I don't quite see why the Iranians think it's clever to push their luck like this. So I can quite understand the president's firm reaction. And
he's also shown considerable measured restraint because he's thinking about what the broader consequences would be if there were a conflict.
So we stand very closely, of course, with the U.S. although we are supporters of the nuclear deal itself. But I would caution Iran not to
take risks like this. This is not what the world needs.
GORANI: So you support, still, the Iran Nuclear Deal, despite the fact the U.S. walked away from it and is now imposing much harsher sanctions on the
country in order to -- what do you believe the end goal is, then?
DUNCAN: Well, the end goal is not having nuclear weapons. So of course we support it. It took many years to piece together --
GORANI: But the deal was working, was it not?
DUNCAN: -- and it's a deal and we don't like walking away from a deal. They've adhered to everything so far, but are threatening not to adhere to
it. So if it is proven that they have not adhered to it, then of course you'd have a point. But at the point United States pulled out, our
understanding, very clearly, was that Iran was adhering to it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: So this is interesting, Michelle, because at least in his initial response, this foreign office minister was supportive, it seemed, of the
move by the Trump administration, to impose more sanctions and called the actions of the regime provocative.
KOSINSKI: Yes --
GORANI: So is Pompeo on his way to building some sort of coalition like he wants?
KOSINSKI: Well, this is so complex because we have sanctions built up over a period of time, to the point that it has cut down significantly on Iran's
ability to output its oil. That's a big deal. But it hasn't had the desired effect.
It's clamped down on the economy, yes, but it's only infuriated Iran and caused the hardliners to dig in further, at least for the foreseeable
future, to the point that days ago, apparently, the U.S. was ready to launch strikes against Iran.
The president said he pulled back at the last minute. And now, here we are, back at the sanctions again. So it's just hard to see what effect
this is going to have.
And publicly, a high-ranking member of the U.K. government might say those things. But privately, what we hear from high-level U.S.-allied officials
is that they feel it's U.S. actions over the period of time that have brought us where we are today.
They feel that what the U.S. has done has just exacerbated the situation. And they see, as one source told me, a direct line between what the U.S.
has done and Iranian actions today.
So, yes, they want to hold onto the nuclear deal as long as possible. But as I mentioned before, the calculation now is, can Iran's economy withstand
the end of the Trump administration? Can they hold out that long? And that's, it seems now, what they intend to do.
GORANI: All right. Let's try to look at a best-case scenario here, Fred Pleitgen in Tehran. Pompeo, others in the administration are saying,
"We're ready to talk. No preconditions. Let's try to defuse this." Now, obviously, they're increasing sanctions and all the rest of it --
PLEITGEN: Well --
GORANI: -- so those two things are contradictory, but they're saying it. Is there a diplomatic off-ramp here?
PLEITGEN: Yes.
GORANI: So that this situation doesn't lead the world to all-out conflict in that part -- in that region.
PLEITGEN: Well, I think at the moment, it -- I don't really see a diplomatic off-ramp, at least not one that anyone seems to be willing to
build or willing to make at this point in time. Because as you said, the administration, President Trump says that he's willing to talk without
preconditions.
But fundamentally, the Iranians see the sanctions and the U.S. leaving the nuclear agreement as America imposing preconditions. I mean, one of the
things that we've heard today from a senior advisor to President Rouhani, he said, "Look, these things are fundamentally contradictory. The Iranians
reject the notion of talks without preconditions while there's sanctions pressure."
[14:10:16] And one of the things that the Iranians have said, Hala, is that they view war and sanctions as two sides of the same coin, as they put it.
And one of the things they've been talking about with these sanctions, is they call it "economic warfare."
So essentially, I think what you have right now is, you have that fundamental disconnect right now between Tehran and the Trump
administration, where the Trump administration is saying, "We're going to sanction the Iranians until they come to the table," and the Iranians are
saying, "We're not going to come to the table because of the sanctions."
So at some point, I think each side is expecting the other side to put a carrot out there and to build some sort of off-ramp, if you will. But
right now, it seems as though they're -- seem to be working themselves much more into a rut than moving forward and moving towards some sort of
diplomatic solution -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Michelle Kosinski at the State Department and Fred Pleitgen, live in Tehran. Thanks to both of you.
As Mike Pompeo meets with Arab allies, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton is in Israel to talk about the perceived threat from Iran. The
well-known hardliner doesn't need to do any convincing because, well, his interlocutor is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has long said Iran
is the biggest danger to the entire world.
Let's go live to Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem for the latest.
So what are the two men talking about here? What is John Bolton saying publicly about the prospect of war with Iran?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, whenever these two meet, Iran will always be at the top of the agenda. Now, these meetings were
scheduled before the events of this past -- the past few days here, so it was supposed to be Iran and Syria, but now the conversation has much wider
implications and much wider ramifications across the entire region.
The conversation, of course, remains about Iran but it was National Security Advisor John Bolton who basically put the threat on the table,
saying, "Yes, President Donald Trump may have called off this strike, but that's at this time." And he very much emphasized those words, leaving
open the possibility that more military action is possible, that a strike is possible.
And that, of course, is something that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is happy to hear. He wants maximum pressure on Iran, that is,
Netanyahu. Netanyahu made no mention of Trump calling off the strike, instead saying the sanctions are working, "Keep it up."
He has tried to convince other nations to impose their own sanctions against Iran. But so far, that effort has not yet paid off. Still, as you
point out, Hala, when you put Bolton and Netanyahu together, they sit exactly on the same page when it comes to Iran.
GORANI: Right. Let's talk about this curious Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal, where there were no Palestinians, where Arab countries are
sending deputy finance ministers, where many critics say it's unworkable and that basically it's dead in the water. What are the hopes on the
Israeli side, that this will lead to anything? I'm talking, of course, about the plan proposed by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law.
LIEBERMANN: Well, you're absolutely right to point out that Palestinians, or at least the Palestinian Authority, have boycotted the Bahrain
conference. Israeli officials simply weren't invited. There is an Israeli delegation, but it's private sector. There is one Palestinian businessman
in attendance, that would be Ashraf Jabari. He is, in fact, the co-founder of the Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce. So that gives you an idea of
where he sits on the political spectrum.
But you're right, no Israeli officials, no Palestinian officials. And that's just the smallest bit of the challenges facing the Bahrain economic
workshop, as it's being dubbed by the Trump administration. $50 billions of investment they're promising, with no pledges as to where that money is
actually coming from.
Meanwhile, the Arab states who are attending, many of them have either said, "Look, we're reinforcing our commitment to a two-state solution, or
we'll wait and see how the Palestinians respond." And we already know what that response is going to be. What will come out of this? That's an
excellent question, if anything will come out of this. And we'll certainly wait to see how it all unfolds over the next couple of days.
The Trump administration has certainly been hyping this. They're making a big deal of the fact that there are Israeli journalists in attendance in
Bahrain, a country that has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
And yet that doesn't change the reality, that there are far more challenges ahead if this is to move anywhere at all. We'll have a better sense of
that when this is over, but I think the bet is that nothing solid, nothing concrete comes out of this.
The Trump administration would like to see the Arab states commit some money to this. Instead, they may just commit to a two-state solution.
GORANI: All right. Thanks very much, Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem.
Here in the U.K., two men are fighting it out to become the country's next prime minister. One of them will be the next U.K. prime minister. It's
proving anything but easy for the frontrunner. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IAIN DALE, CNN TALK CONTRIBUTOR AND LBC RADIO HOST: Does a person's private life --
(BOOING)
[14:15:00] BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER CANDIDATE: Don't boo. No, no, no. Don't boo the great man.
DALE: When he answers this question, I will move on. Does -- does a person's private life have any bearing on their ability to discharge the
office of prime minister?
JOHNSON: Well, I -- look, I've tried to give my answer pretty exhaustively. I think what people want to know is whether I have the
determination and the courage to deliver on the commitments that I'm making.
DALE: Just to be clear, you're not going to make any comment at all on what happened last night?
JOHNSON: I think that's pretty -- that's pretty obvious, from the foregoing, Iain.
(LAUGHTER)
But I --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Boris Johnson reputedly ducking questions about an incident in which the police was called to the London home he shares with his
girlfriend, after the neighbors there said they heard screaming and banging.
Meanwhile, his opponent, Jeremy Hunt, has a message for Mr. Johnson. "Don't be a coward." That's after he pulled out of a televised debate with
Hunt. Let's get the details on this now. Bianca Nobilo is here.
So the police came out on Thursday, early Friday morning. Neighbors heard some screaming, some banging. They said they were concerned for the safety
of the people inside.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.
GORANI: And it turned out to be Boris Johnson and his girlfriend. He's not addressing it, though.
NOBILO: He isn't. So what we know is that Scotland Yard have said they were called to a disturbance at 24 minutes past midnight, the early hours
of Friday morning, so just hours after Boris Johnson was confirmed as being in the final two.
Now, the neighbors said that they were concerned for the welfare of the female involved. But when the police arrived, they said that there was no
cause for concern or for further investigation.
It then transpired over the weekend in the British press, of being either more and more focused on Boris Johnson's character, and the fact that he
has had a tumultuous personal life, and we needed an investigation and answers as to what exactly happened that night. That was one school of
thought.
The other, being that this is a private matter and some doubt being cast over the people who actually not only reported this to the police, which is
understandable if you're concerned for the welfare of your neighbor, but then recorded what they heard and then sent it to "The Guardian," which is
a left-leaning newspaper.
GORANI: Sure. But I guess if you look at the polls now, among Conservative Party members, this has had an impact. And people are
interested in what --
NOBILO: Yes.
GORANI: -- Boris Johnson does in his private life because those who are of the opinion that this matters, believe this says something about his
character.
NOBILO: And justifiably so. Even one of the top Conservative donors, John Griffiths, he's the second-biggest donor to the Conservative Party, has
come out today saying that he now has concerns about the morality of Boris Johnson, and also not only does he feel people are owed an explanation, but
that he has to handle this well.
And that really strikes at the heart of not only the questions over Boris Johnson's character, which some people have, but also his competence. It
reminds me of when Amber Rudd, the former home secretary, made a statement back in 2016. She said, "Boris is the life of the party but not the man
you want driving you home."
That sort of criticism sticks with Boris Johnson because that's what people are concerned about, which is why these events, transpiring as they did,
have added a lot of fuel to the fire of those critics of Johnson that say that he's unfit for office.
Boris Johnson, however, and his partner have not addressed this publicly. But there were photos of them --
GORANI: But --
NOBILO: -- looking happy together on the front cover --
GORANI: We have a --
NOBILO: -- of the "Evening Standard."
GORANI: -- of the "Evening Standard" --
NOBILO: Yes.
GORANI: -- and some people believed, perhaps this was a bit of a staged event --
NOBILO: Yes.
GORANI: -- of course there's no confirmation of this, but certainly the editor of the "Evening Standard" seemed to suggest that, you know, there --
fortuitously have a photographer in the bushes --
NOBILO: They made a comment, "It's not known whether or not the couple were aware of the photographer. They would not confirm or deny."
GORANI: Interestingly, in the U.K., what hasn't made front-page news is the fact that this video from last year of Steve Bannon, the far-right
ideologue who was the chief strategist for Donald Trump, discussed in a documentary that was being filmed at the time, the fact that he was
exchanging texts with Boris Johnson, and giving advice on his speech, a very important post-resignation speech he was going to give to the Commons.
Why hasn't that gotten any traction here?
NOBILO: The Johnson campaign have poured cobalt (ph) all over that. They've said it's a preposterous conspiratorial thing --
GORANI: Well, they would.
NOBILO: -- to say, as they would. I had then spoke to some of my contacts within the Brexit Party, who say that they, through intermediaries, have
been in contact with Boris Johnson regularly over the last couple of months.
I asked them if they had any knowledge of the situation, as the Boris camp is denying this, and they said that as far as they're concerned, it is
Steve Bannon reaching out to Boris Johnson and not the other way around, even though they understand that they've been in contact. These are men
who have been in discussions with each other in the past.
But for Boris Johnson's part, he's denying that Steve Bannon has been regularly in touch with him, and that he's exerting any influence over his
policymaking or his speeches.
And now that Boris Johnson is facing the membership rather than the Conservative Party, as you heard in that sound bite that you played,
they're generally sympathetic towards him.
GORANI: Sure.
[14:20:04] NOBILO: He's been one of the favorites for a long time. The key question now is, it's always been that his political charisma has
outweighed the drawbacks of his impulsiveness and his ability to be gaffe- prone.
GORANI: Yes.
NOBILO: The question now is, is it tipping too far in the other direction.
GORANI: And we shall see soon enough. Thanks very much, Bianca.
In fact, I asked a senior government minister about this, with Johnson facing increasing pressure and questions being raised about his character,
"How concerned are Conservatives?" I spoke to Alan Duncan, who is a Foreign Office minister who's worked with both Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, his
rival.
I started by asking him if Johnson owes voters an explanation about that alleged domestic altercation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DUNCAN: No. I think it's none of your business and it's none of mine. And I'm surprised you asked the question.
GORANI: Why would you be surprised, though? Doesn't it speak to his character?
DUNCAN: I'm perfectly happy to discuss his character and his suitability. But I think dwelling on a personal matter is not something that we in the
Hunt campaign want to spend any time on. And we're not prepared to be drawn into any kind of conversation about it.
If you want to ask about suitability, then I have plenty to say. I think he is unsuitable compared with Jeremy Hunt. I've been the deputy to both,
and I think that by far, the more outstanding of the two is Jeremy Hunt. He's got intellectual acumen, he concentrates on detail, he's a genuine
person.
Whereas I think there is an element in Boris Johnson, which is a bit shambolic, a bit slapdash. And I think that I would feel far more
comfortable having Jeremy Hunt as prime minister of this country than Boris Johnson.
GORANI: I'm going to get to that in a moment. But the reason I'm asking about this row is because his standing in the polls has fallen sharply
after it emerged that this happened and the police were called, which means people do care about it. What do you make of that?
DUNCAN: Well, they can care about it if they want. I don't. I did, however, go to the hustings, the sort of auditions on stage in Birmingham
on Saturday. And there, actually, you could see a real distinction between the two.
Boris just didn't feel that he looked as though he was interested in being there. He didn't seem to have been prepared. He didn't really answer any
of the questions, he kept on looking at his watch. He just wanted to go.
Whereas Jeremy Hunt came in and he just took the place by storm, he answered all the questions, he had accurate answers which were not just
waffle (ph). And I think as someone who was there, you could feel the whole mood just sort of evaporating for Boris Johnson and rising for Jeremy
Hunt.
GORANI: I guess the question is, is Jeremy Hunt the person to lead the Conservative Party if there's a general election? Is he the person, as
prime minister, that would lead the party to victory? There's a question mark, according to Conservative Party members, over that. And that's why
some of them feel like they need to support Boris Johnson.
DUNCAN: Well, I think there are two points there. The first is that I think that Boris Johnson's electoral appeal has significantly diminished
over the last couple of years. I mean, following the referendum, he probably is not popular in London because they were very pro-Remain. He's
not popular in Scotland because they're very pro-remain. And whereas he could be a sort of characterful person as mayor of London, there are
different qualities to be prime minister.
And my second point is that it's not just about the selfish interests of the Conservative Party. The prime minister is the prime minister of the
whole country. And that is why I think Jeremy Hunt is head-and-shoulders above Boris. He'd be a unifying figure. I think he's appeal to young
people across the generations, across to all parts of the United Kingdom.
Whereas I think, increasingly, Boris Johnson is becoming -- and has become -- a divisive figure.
GORANI: Right. But --
DUNCAN: So if you want unity, which then will convert into electoral appeal, I'm certain it should be Jeremy Hunt.
GORANI: And Jeremy Hunt is still behind, though, in the polls. But let me ask you about a figure very well-known to Americans, and many of our
viewers on CNN. And that is Steve Bannon, and a video that emerged from last year, in which he details text back and forth between him and Boris
Johnson before a speech he gave to the Commons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: He gave a speech on national TV, they had a debate that night. And it was magnificent. And
all I was telling him all weekend, is just to incorporate those themes, the same themes -- basically, he was saying that June 23rd was independence day
for Great Britain. Their independence day, it would be like our July Fourth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that the date of --
BANNON: That's the day of the vote. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Is this something that concerns you, as a foreign office minister, as a minister in this -- in the U.K. government?
DUNCAN: I think one of the growing threats in the world is the rise of the far-right, particularly in Europe. And if indeed, as we've heard, Steve
Bannon in the past thinks that that is a good phenomenon, I most certainly do not.
So if there were any continuous and detailed contacts between Boris Johnson and Steve Bannon, I would find that a matter of deep concern and I think it
would require a very detailed explanation from the Johnson camp. But I have seen no obvious proof of that. But I am aware of the press
speculation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:25:19] GORANI: Well, that was Alan Duncan, clearly not a fan of Boris Johnson in this race, supporting his rival.
Still to come tonight, Turkey's ruling party loses a crucial election at (ph) Istanbul. Voters tell CNN this is more than just a race for mayor.
This, they say, is about democracy itself. We've live in Turkey.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, it was a crushing defeat for Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The next mayor of Istanbul is promising a new beginning for the city after winning
the redo vote for mayor.
Massive celebrations erupted in the streets of the city. The opposition candidate and now mayor-elect easily won the race with 54 percent of the
vote. He says he's willing to meet with President Erdogan, who forced the rerun vote, you'll remember, when his party's candidate lost. Many people
are now wondering how this race will affect the overall political picture in Turkey.
Arwa Damon is in Istanbul and joins us now.
One has to wonder if the ruling party is regretting having called for that redo in these mayoral elections because this was a worse defeat than the
first time around.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot worse, Hala. The first time around, they lost by the slimmest of margins, 13,000 votes.
This time around, by 800,000, an indisputable win for the opposition party, for Ekrem Imamoglu.
But just about everyone who we were talking to yesterday, during the course of the voting or at night when all of these street celebrations erupted
across the city, was saying that this is about so much more than just a mayoral candidate. That they weren't necessarily out there just
celebrating that their candidate had won, but that they were celebrating that democracy had won.
And, Hala, people flew in for this vote from overseas. They cancelled their vacations. Turks take their vote very, very seriously. This country
has a historically very high voter turnout. It was 84 percent for this election, same as it was for the first time they went to the polls to vote
for mayor.
And here's what the mayor-elect, Ekrem Imamoglu, told his crowds yesterday. He said, "You safeguarded Turkey's democratic reputation when the whole
world was watching. You defended our democratic tradition of over a century."
[14:29:54] Interestingly, this is also what the Turkish president said, hailing the vote, congratulating the opposition candidate and saying that
this was the will of the nation, that the that this was the will of the nation, that the national will had one out in the end. And pro-government
newspapers are calling it a win for democracy. On Turkish television, there are a fair number of debates speculating as to where all of those
extra votes came from, how many people changed their minds and had voted -- decided to vote for the opposition candidate or was it perhaps as some
analysts have been speculating, because he was viewed as being something of the underdog going into this the second time around, and Turks do tend to
have a soft spot for the underdog.
But either way, right now, Ekrem Imamoglu is going to be facing the challenge of having to run the city, Turkish financial heart. And
remember, the city council is dominated by the ruling party. Now, initial words are that they will be willing to work together, but still, we're
going to have to wait and see how this all plays out and what kind of a turning point it might be for Turkish politics.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: All right. Arwa Damon, thanks very much.
Still to come tonight --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE A. WALLACE TASHIMA, U.S. 9TH CIRCUIT COURT: If you don't have a toothbrush, if you don't have soap, if you don't have a blanket, it's not
safe and sanitary. Wouldn't everybody agree with that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The debate about the border. A look at the legal arguments being made in the name of the Trump administration that no soap and no toothbrush
and sleeping on concrete floors is not safe and unsanitary.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: We want to look at a story now that has been brewing for several weeks, what life is like inside migrant detention facilities at the U.S.-
Mexico border. There have been reports of overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions, especially for migrant children. And now the U.S. courts are
asking the Trump administration some tough questions.
CNN's Nick Valencia has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I find that inconceivable that the government would say that that is safe and sanitary.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A contentious court hearing on the awful conditions, in which some child migrants are being held.
Conditions described by one inspector, who this week visited this Texas Border Patrol station, as "unconscionable," calling it, "A pervasive health
crisis," where toddlers are, "left to fend for themselves." One walking around only in a diaper, another in a filthy onesie, teenagers not faring
any better.
"Older kids are taking care of the babies," an inspector tells CNN, adding, "There doesn't appear to be childcare there."
CLARA LONG, SENIOR RESEARCHER, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: It just makes me -- my heart hurt to think about what kind of lasting damage these experiences
might have for these kids.
[14:35:08] VALENCIA (voice-over): But before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, a Justice Department lawyer was put on the spot about
those conditions.
TASHIMA: It's within everybody's common understanding that, you know, if you don't have a toothbrush, if you don't have soap, if you don't have a
blanket, it's not safe and sanitary. Wouldn't everybody agree with that? Do you agree with that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think it's -- I think those are -- there's fair reason to find that those things may be part of safe and sanitary.
TASHIMA: Not maybe; are a part.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, that exchange you just saw went viral with many people expressing outrage at the position taken by the Trump administration's
lawyers.
But what's interesting is, there have been cases in the past predating the Trump administration.
Joining me to talk about this is CNN legal analyst, Joey Jackson. And, Joey, what's important for people to understand, I think, is because this
lawyer is arguing to these judges that these are not necessarily safe and unsanitary conditions. It's -- in order to be able to appeal the request,
the requirement to abide by a ruling that, by far, predates the Trump administration that goes all back to the Reagan administration. These
cases of kids not being treated in the best possible way is not new necessarily.
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, Hala, I don't know that it's new, but I do know that it's reached an epidemic proportion and it's
disgusting, it's pitiful and it needs to stop.
So let's go back and have a little context. In 1997, under President Clinton, there was an agreement and that agreement was the source of this
court hearing, that agreement provided for children to live in safe and sanitary conditions.
Now, we're to the point where we're talking about and we're having a government lawyer defend the fact that kids don't have a blanket, that's
still safe and sanitary, no toothpaste, what does that matter?
And so this is part of what we're seeing and this is an attack in this administration to be clear, right? Involving immigrants and immigration
and the dehumanizing ways in which they're treated, more context.
When we look and examine this issue, we know that we have a situation where we have the immigrants' separation policy, right? And, of course, the
Trump administration tried to blame that on Obama, was fact checked and said, no, wait, not so fast. That's not the case. It was you, Mr.
President, not that ended it, but began it.
Now, we have more situations where you're seeing -- where you have children, where you're in court, where you're brought to court to address
something that's very basic, give them a toothbrush, give them blanket, allow them to sleep, have them have the ability to have some humanity there
and now you're hearing all these arguments, how it started it, it began a long time ago, nonsense.
GORANI: Joey, my point is I get -- no, no, no. I get that that this is reaching epidemic proportions, that the number are much higher. But the
Trump administration is essentially using an immigration framework that predates it, it is enforcing rules in a draconian way that existed before
it, and I guess those who are looking at the situation are saying, a presidential election will not solve this, necessarily. That you might
have situations where kids are treated in this way, where it's going to take again and again court hearings and appeals in order to protect the
rights of some of these migrant minors.
JACKSON: Great points to be making, Hala. And I think, though, the problem is that we have an administration that's using kids as pawns and is
saying, you know, we're going to do ice raids, we're going to just lock up every immigrant around. We're going to do that to Congress--
GORANI: But they're not making up laws. My point is they're not making up laws to do this. They're using existing laws.
JACKSON: Well, here's the point.
GORANI: Yes.
JACKSON: I get it. But what happens is, when you're in the executive, you enforce laws and that comes upon you. And what they are looking to do that
is the Trump administration is they're using children to have Congress working with Congress to fix an issue. I'm not suggesting in any way,
shape, and form that the administration is to be blamed for all the ills known to humanity as it relates to immigration.
What I'm suggesting to you is that they're enforcing the way in a draconian manner. So, yes, you might have rules that are on the books. I don't know
if there's any rule on the book saying a kid can't have a toothbrush or a blanket, but I think the manner in which they're enforcing it is
problematic, and that needs to be fixed by the president and by Congress, or else they'll go to court repeatedly.
GORANI: Yes. And this happened -- there is -- the United States does have a minimum standard of care for these kids. When they're being ignored,
they're being ignored in a way that would require them to comply and also require monitoring, and I presume this is what the Trump administration is
arguing shouldn't happen by trying to say things like you don't need a toothbrush for an environment to be considered safe and sanitary.
Because otherwise, they would be forced to comply with an existing requirement, something called the Flores Agreement which you mentioned was
an agreement that was struck in '97 under the Clinton administration.
[14:40:07] JACKSON: Absolutely. You know, I'm just thinking, though, it's an easy fix. And the fact is, it's a question of, do you have the will?
Do you have the humanity and will you give the edict in order for it to happen? You can't continue to have cruel immigration policies because it's
politically popular, because you want to force Congress to negotiate in a manner in which you think is the best.
You have to have a policy that, I think, is humane. If it's not humane, you should be take it to court. I repeat, the administration enforces the
law, to the extent that the executive enforces the law, executives have a vast amount of discretion, Hala, in terms of how that law is going to be
enforced.
And I think that anyone would agree that this administration with its draconian measures and policies has enforced it in a way unlike that which
we have ever seen. That's a problem. That's why we're in court, and that's why it needs to stop.
GORANI: That certainly is the case according to many people who have covered these immigration issues for a long time.
Joey Jackson, always a pleasure. Thanks so much for joining me.
JACKSON: Thank you, Hala.
GORANI: Appreciate it.
JACKSON: Always.
GORANI: A magazine columnist is accusing the U.S. president of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room more than 20 years ago.
E. Jean Carroll says her experience with then private citizen, Donald Trump, reflects the way he bragged about groping women on that notorious
Access Hollywood tape.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump told reporters I have no idea who this woman is. The president has vigorously denied the allegations of more than a dozen
women who say he's groped or sexually assaulted them.
Joining me now from Washington is Sara Murray with more reaction.
Sarah, tell us more about what E. Jean Carroll, who also spoke to CNN, is saying about what happened to her.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. E. Jean Carroll says that woman after woman has come forward with allegations against
President Trump and he has faced no consequences. She said that she was sick of it as she shared her account with CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Described what happened --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MURRAY (voice-over): Author and columnist E. Jean Carroll standing firmly behind her claim that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a department
store dressing two decades ago.
E. JEAN CARROLL, ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM: The minute he went like this, I proceeded into the dressing room. The minute he closed that door I
was banged up against the wall.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He slammed you against the wall?
CARROLL: Yes, hit my head really hard. Boom.
MURRAY: Carroll recounts the alleged attack in her new book, "What Do We Need Men For: A Modest Proposal."
As excerpts became public, President Trump vehemently denied the allegations from the White House Saturday.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no idea who she is. What she did is -- it's terrible. What's going on? So it's a total false
accusation and I don't know anything about her.
MURRAY: Carroll says she had a chance encounter with Trump at Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s. But she says a lighthearted exchange turned violent
when they ended up in a dressing room.
CARROLL: He pulled down my tights and it was a fight. It was a -- I want women to know that I did not stand there, I did not freeze. No, I fought.
And it was over very quickly. It was against my will, 100 percent, and I ran away.
MURRAY: Carroll goes into more graphic detail in her book, writing, "He opens the overcoat, unzips his pants and forcing his fingers around my
private area then thrust his penis halfway or completely, I'm not certain, inside me." But Carroll still struggles to call it rape.
CARROLL: I don't want to be seen as a victim because I over -- quickly over went past it. It was a very, very brief episode of my life. Very
brief. I am not faced with sexual violence every day like many women around the world, and so, yes, I'm very careful with that word.
MURRAY: Despite Trump saying they never met, photos show them chatting in a party in the 1980s.
TRUMP: There's some picture where we're shaking hands. It looks like at some kind of event. I had my coat on. But I have no idea who she is.
None whatsoever.
MURRAY: Trump dismissed Carroll's account as a publicity stunt.
CARROLL: I never mentioned Donald Trump in the description of the book, on Amazon you don't see it.
MURRAY: During the 2016 presidential campaign, a 2005 Access Hollywood tape surfaced showing Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women.
TRUMP: Just kiss. I don't even wet. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.
MURRAY: At least 15 women have confused Trump of sexual assault, harassment, or lewd behavior. All from before he was president. Trump
denied all of their claims. At the time, Carroll says she didn't feel compelled to share her story.
CARROLL: There were an army of women. They were coming forward. So I sat back and -- also, I thought it was my fault. And when I -- if I was going
to come forward, I'd have to say I was stupid, I was a nitwit, I allowed this. So my frame of mind was not the best.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MURRAY: Now, Carroll says she shared her account of what happened soon after it allegedly occurred some 20 years ago. CNN spoke with the two
friends she said she told about the allegations, both confirmed that Carroll shared this version of events with them at the time. They said she
appeared to be shocked over what had occurred.
[14:45:08] Back to you, guys.
GORANI: All right. Sara Murray, thanks very much.
Still to come tonight, we'll hear from a woman Canadian woman who fell ill while vacationing in the Dominican. What she has to say years later after
this rash of unexplained deaths there. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A U.S. State department official confirms a 10th American tourist has died while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. There's no official
cause of death yet. But police say the man died of respiratory failure.
Dominican officials say the recent deaths are isolated events and they insist the island is safe. A Canadian woman, meanwhile, tells CNN she's
still feeling the effects of her visit to the Dominican Republic years after falling ill at a resort there.
CNN's Drew Griffin has this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their story sounds similar to others, a dream trip to the Dominican Republic that
ends in seriously illness. The trouble for Tina and John Hammell started when they were woken from a nap by a powerful chemical smell in their hotel
room.
TINA HAMMELL, FELL ILL AT DOMINICAN RESORT: It was so strong that I was burning and coughing and it was -- it was very upsetting. But just panic
sets in because you don't know where this smell is coming from.
GRIFFIN: Tina lost her voice, felt nauseous. The couple move rooms, but Tina's health kept getting worse.
T. HAMMELL: I remember saying something is not right. Something is not right. I don't -- and he said, do I call the doctor? And I said, I think
so, and after that, it just quickly, quickly progressed among the bed and I remember --
JOHN HAMMELL, HUSBAND OF TINA HAMMELL: It's OK.
T. HAMMELL: I remember my muscles, my hands all turned in and my legs came up. I just was spasming and I lost consciousness.
GRIFFIN: She spent four nights in a hospital in the Dominican Republic where doctors found lesions on her lungs, according to hospital records.
J. HAMMELL: My wife still having a hard time basically breathing and staying alive.
T. HAMMELL: My muscles, my muscles.
J. HAMMELL: She just kept having these convulsions and they just kept sticking needles into her. You don't want to lose anybody, especially your
wife or you children, and there was nothing I could do.
T. HAMMELL: You got me there. You got me there.
GRIFFIN: It's been three years now, but Tina says she still has lingering effects. She doesn't know what made her sick. All her doctors in Canada
can tell her is something she encountered in the Dominican Republic could have poisoned her.
T. HAMMELL: I never had a breathing problem before. I never had asthma, I never smoked, you know, we were healthy.
J. HAMMELL: The first doctor in there was very adamant that she had been poison. He just said to us in the room, your wife has been poisoned.
[14:50:04] GRIFFIN: The Grand Bahia Punta Cana hotel where the Hammells stayed is run by the same company that operates the Grand Bahia La Romana
where the recent mysterious deaths of three American tourists are under investigation.
And CNN has spoken to dozens of tourists like the Hammells who have gotten extremely sick while on vacation in the Dominican Republic. Many who spoke
to CNN believed their symptoms go beyond typical travel-related illnesses. Though it's unclear what caused them.
Several reports smelling is strong chemical order in their rooms before getting sick. Many say they suffered stomach cramps, diarrhea, and malaise
that lasted after they returned home.
CNN previously reported the case of Kaylynn Knull and her boyfriend, Tom Schwander, who both fell ill after smelling chemicals in their room at
Bahia La Romana in 2017.
According to medical records, their doctors in Colorado think they were exposed to organophosphates, toxic chemicals found in pesticides that
poisoned them.
TOM SCHWANDER, FELL ILL IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: The abdominal cramping and the GI upset lasted for a few weeks.
GRIFFIN (on-camera): And you said drooling?
SCHWANDER: Yes, drooling.
GRIFFIN: Sweat?
SCHWANDER: Bad sweat, tearing.
GRIFFIN: Dizzy?
SCHWANDER: Dizzy, nauseas, and the abdominal cramping is the worst. That was the hardest symptom to deal with. It was just so much pain.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Bahia Principe Hotels and resorts says it can't comment on specific allegations, but did send a statement to CNN saying the
safety and comfort of our guests and staff stand at the core of our company values and that we regularly audit all hotels in respect to health and
safety and consistently receive high certification scores for hygiene.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Stay with us. A lot more to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: The number of people over 60 is expected to reach more than two billion by 2050 and no society is aging faster than Japan. So we decided
to take a look at how artificial intelligence, robotics, and other high- tech gadgets are impacting the way Japan ages.
Here's CNN's Will Ripley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I've just arrived at one of Japan's leading robotics firms and it feels like I'm
walking into a science fiction movie. Japanese inventor, Dr. Yoshiyuki Sankai is a pioneer creating robots that work together with humans. The
name of his company is Cyberdyne.
RIPLEY (on-camera): I hear you're a science fiction buff. What was your inspiration at the beginning?
DR. YOSHIYUKI SANKAI, FOUNDER, CYBERDYNE: So when I was 9 years old, I read U.S. literatures book, I, robot, written by Isaac Asimov. And that's
the time I decided to be a scientist.
RIPLEY: His team is creating breakthrough technology to improve people's lives. He's especially proud of this cyborg suit, Hal, a medical device
that helps patients and senior citizens with mobility trouble by strengthening signal pathways between the brain and muscles.
To understand how it works, I decided to give Hal a try. Getting suited up is complicated.
RIPLEY (on-camera): The part we could not show you on camera, there are 18 sensors stuck all over my lower body. So obviously if I move my leg, it
matches my movements. But if I just plant my leg down and I think I'm going to bend my knee back, it does it, or I want to keep my leg forward,
it does it, and my knee back.
That is -- so for somebody who has no movement, they're still sending those signals.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Normally, I need to be accompanied by a physiotherapist. Today, Cyberdyne's (INAUDIBLE) is helping me step into my
cyborg exoskeleton robot suit.
RIPLEY (on-camera): This is kind of how I walk, anyway, very awkwardly. Turning around is interesting.
Hal has been approved for use worldwide. Dr. Sankai hopes to give people everywhere more freedom of mobility.
SANKAI: So, of course, you know now Japan faces on a very severe aging society problems. By using this technologies, even the (INAUDIBLE) or the
patient's physical functions gradually increases in order to establish the independence. Then that one is very important for the aging society.
RIPLEY (voice-over): He imagines a world full of robots and humans in lockstep, cyborgs helping to carry the burden of life, especially as we
age.
In Japan, science fiction is already becoming science fact.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right. Thanks for watching tonight. Look who's here.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: I'm here.
GORANI: I was helping him log in to his computer because that's what I do. I just assist Richard with his I.T. problems.
QUEST: Technically savvy.
GORANI: Coming up.
QUEST: Markets are on a bit of a role.
GORANI: Why?
QUEST: Well, that's a good question. Why should the markets with so much uncertainty? But the Dow -- it's not for the record, but I mean, we're
well back towards record areas. Record territory.
GORANI: And people are confident. Things are going well. It's a small gain, but 26,700 --
QUEST: 26,850 is the record. So -- but it is interesting with so much worries about China and now you've got Iran, and the problems with Iran.
You would expect that that to be up, but it's not, which tells you it's a strange old world we live in.
GORANI: So we'll see you at the top of the hour, and I will see you next time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
END
