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U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis; Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher Acquitted of Murdering ISIS Fighter; Team USA Advance to Final in Women's World Cup; Nike Cancels Controversial Sneakers with Flag. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired July 03, 2019 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church, this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Coming up, outrage after a government watchdog says migrants at U.S. detention centers are being crammed into overcrowded facilities.
The closely watched trial of a U.S. Navy SEAL accused of murder has ended, we will analyze the verdict with a legal expert.
Military tanks and warplanes flyovers, the Pentagon gives in to President Trump's request for a one of a kind Independence Day parade, why critics say it's more political than patriotic.
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CHURCH: Good to have you with us.
There is growing concern about conditions in U.S. border detention facilities and the agents working in them. A new inspector general's report raises a red flag on overcrowding and now agents are under investigation for what they have posted on social media. Nick Valencia has our report.
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NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New images from the DHS Office of the Inspector General show what one CBP official calls a ticking time bomb in a new report obtained by CNN, dozens of migrants crammed behind a chain-link enclosure, some with barely enough room to lie on the concrete and about 30 percent of minors held longer than the 72 hours allowed, according to the report, some children held for two weeks.
ROBERT PEREZ, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: We have for quite some time been speaking to the overcrowding at our facilities never designed to deal with the volume of migrants that have been coming our way. VALENCIA: The lack of capacity has put a strain on an agency under fire and now under investigation over this closed Facebook group reportedly made up of thousands of current and former Border Patrol agents.
ProPublica first exposing "I'm 10-15," reportedly named after a code for undocumented immigrants in custody. According to ProPublica, members also shared lewd and sexist content about Latina members of Congress, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
BRIAN HASTINGS, CHIEF OF OPERATIONS, U.S. BORDER PATROL: These do not represent the thoughts of the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol. Each one of these allegations will be thoroughly investigated.
VALENCIA: CNN sat down exclusively with someone we have confirmed is a longtime Border Patrol agent in El Paso. The agent expressed disgust at the Facebook group and says being derogatory is part of the Border Patrol culture, even hearing a supervisor joke about dead migrants.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was making fun of them.
VALENCIA (on camera): Saying what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That, what difference does it make? It's just another life. He made a comment also regarding running over illegals. And I'm like, you can not run over people.
VALENCIA (voice-over): The allegations come on the heels of growing outrage from Democratic lawmakers visiting detention facilities today in Florida.
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D-GA): When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to say something. You have to do something.
VALENCIA (voice-over): Nick Valencia, CNN, El Paso, Texas.
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CHURCH: A federal judge has blocked a Trump administration policy that denies bond hearings to asylum seekers. Attorney general William Barr announced the policy in April, that would keep thousands of asylum seekers locked up indefinitely, while their cases are heard.
The judge ruled people who are detained after entering the United States illegally are entitled under the Constitution to bond hearings and the chance to be released. The ban on the place goes into effect in two weeks.
New polling by CNN finds Americans are growing more concerned about the situation on the southern border but it's clearly become a partisan issue, with Republicans and Democrats, drawing their own conclusions about who is to blame and what should be done to solve the crisis.
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CHURCH: Political analyst Michael Genovese joins me now from our Los Angeles bureau.
Good to see you.
MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Good evening, how are you?
CHURCH: Good. So let's take a closer look at the poll, 74 percent of Americans say there is a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, a steep increase from 45 percent who felt the same way and differing on what constitutes a crisis.
Most Democrats say it's about the treatment of migrants, Republicans say it's the number of migrants at the border.
What do you make of those numbers?
GENOVESE: I think where you view the situation depends on what you said, Republicans tend to think it is a crisis of an open border, where people are coming in illegally. And the answer is that they are, many are.
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GENOVESE: Democrats tend to think of it as a humanitarian crisis, that we have the opportunity to deal with this in a much more humane and better way.
So in a way, both sides are right about this because there are multiple causes to the crisis at the border.
But clearly what you are seeing from these pictures that are just gutwrenching is that there is clearly a humanitarian crisis, with multiple causes and the administration has not been able to get it right.
They have faced this for weeks and weeks but keep on coming up with excuses and the question is, are they current trying to deal with the problem or just trying to paper over it?
As president, you can't pick and choose the issues you want to deal. You have to deal with whatever crosses your desk. Things are uncomfortable, things you don't want to deal with, that's still the president's job. We need to get to doing the job because the picture we are presenting to the world is of inhumane, uncivilized conditions.
This is not who we are. We have to get this right.
CHURCH: A lot of countries horrified at those images going out, this is the same poll, finding very little movement in President Trump's approval rating for handling immigration, 42 percent approve now, 41 percent in January. Mr. Trump's overall approval numbers held steady in the new poll, at 43 percent, approving, 52 percent, disapproving.
What do those tell you? GENOVESE: Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same. These numbers have been solid and fixed, so what we are seeing is that, opinions are not changing, they're hardening and this will become more pronounced when we come to election time.
The president has a solid base, he plays to the base, he caters to the base and he does a tremendous job in dealing with the base. But he's the first U.S. president to govern very self consciously, only to his base, he chooses very deliberately not to be President of the United States of all of us.
He chooses to be president of his base. As long as he does that he won't be able to expand the base. The strong point that he makes in a reelection is, my base is loyal, they will show up, your voters won't, I will win again.
CHURCH: Right, on an issue that is related to this, after days of defying last week's Supreme Court decision to reject the citizenship question that was to be added to the 2020 census form, the Trump administration has now dropped plans to pursue it but President Trump is not happy, tweeting this.
"A very sad time for America when the Supreme Court of the United States won't allow a question of, is this person a citizen of the United States to be added on the 2020 census, going on for a long time, I've asked the Department of Commerce and the Department of Justice to do whatever is necessary to bring this most vital of questions and this very important case to a successful conclusion."
Then the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday it will go ahead and print the 2020 census without including the citizenship question.
What do you think happened?
GENOVESE: As with so many times, the president is challenged in court, rather than making a convincing argument, he levels bold assertions of power. The point of his many different policy moves he has made, from banning Muslims coming into the country to this is that they never try to convince you that they have arguments on their side. They assert power.
In this case it's very clear that the intent was to politicize the census and the administration never made an argument as to why they wanted to do it that would have countered that.
So quite wisely, the courts have been reluctant to turn over to the president the power to basically rewrite the census as it wishes. And they said you have to have standards and tell them what those standards are. Show us why we need to add this question, what is the problem we are trying to solve. The administration refused to do that.
I think it's a function of, number one, their arrogance, they think they can just assert power and that people should fall in line. But number two, I think it's also a function of the president seeing virtually everything in political terms, in terms of political gains and he sees politics as a zero sum game, I win, someone else has to lose.
Instead of saying, let's work together and deal with this, what's the problem we're trying to solve, he says, this is my way or the highway. Well, the president has been shown the door to the highway several times.
CHURCH: Michael Genovese, thank you for joining us.
GENOVESE: Thank you.
CHURCH: A U.S. Navy SEAL accused of war crimes in Iraq has been found not guilty in the murder of a wounded ISIS fighter. A military jury in California gave its verdict Tuesday in the case of Eddie Gallagher. Other SEALs accused him of stabbing a young captive in 2017 and said Gallagher also shot at civilians.
But he was only convicted on --
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CHURCH: -- one charge, posing for a photo with a human casualty. Gallagher had backing from FOX News personalities and President Trump was reportedly considering a pardon. CNN's Nick Watt has more on the case from San Diego.
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NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It looks like Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher will be at home, a free man, for the Fourth of July. He had been facing life behind bars. Had he been convicted of premeditated murder.
Remember, he was charged with stabbing to death an ISIS detainee in Iraq back in 2017 and of posing with the corpse. He was also charge with firing into crowds of civilians using a sniper rifle to shoot an old man, a civilian and a young girl and also charge with pressuring his fellow SEALS not to turn him in and then retaliating against those who did. Not guilty on six of those charges. The only charge he was found
guilty on, was posing with that photo. And the defense had never really argued against that. The photo existed. Everyone had seen it. There was no real point in arguing against that.
But that photograph was really the position prosecution's key piece of evidence. That and the text messages that Eddie Gallagher sent along with that photo saying "got this one with my hunting knife. Got this one. Got my knife skills on."
But there was no forensic evidence in this case. None whatsoever. It was really about Navy SEALS taking the stand and giving testimony. Some of them saying Eddie Gallagher did this, we saw him stab an ISIS fighter. And others saying he never did. He didn't do it at all.
And in the end, the jury decided that Eddie Gallagher was not guilty. So, he is a free man. The sentencing still going on. That will continue later this morning. But the maximum he can be charged -- he can be sentenced with for posing in that photo is four months. And he's already served around nine months behind bars during pre-trial confinement.
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CHURCH: CNN legal analyst Areva Martin joins me now from Los Angeles.
Good to have you with us.
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Eddie Gallagher was found not guilty of murder and the death of the 12 year old ISIS prisoner in Iran but he was found guilty of posing for a photo with the body.
How surprised were you by the verdict in the end?
MARTIN: I'm not really surprised by the verdict. Unfortunately the prosecutors had a very difficult case on their hands. There was no body, no forensic evidence; the knife that allegedly Eddie Gallagher used to stab the ISIS fighter did not have any identifiable DNA on it.
So it was very difficult for the prosecutors to make their case without the kind of concrete, physical evidence you would expect in a murder trial.
In addition, you have conflicting testimonies. Some of his SEAL members of the -- members of his troop testified that they saw him take the knife and stab the ISIS fighter and others say they did not see that.
So conflicting evidence and you had the surprise witness that said he actually caused the death by suffocation, after Gallagher had stabbed him. So all this conflicting evidence, the lack of physical evidence that you would expect to see in a murder trial, so not really surprised at the not guilty verdict, on the most serious charges.
CHURCH: Everything appeared to change when that star witness for the government's case confessed and said he did it.
What did you make of the confession and how did prosecutors not see that coming?
MARTIN: That was startling. You have to imagine that prosecutors spent hours interviewing this medic before they put him on the witness stand. And reports are that he was granted immunity, so he knew that anything he testified to with respect to the alleged killing by Gallagher would not result in any criminal prosecution of him.
So for him to startle, providing this incriminating testimony during the trial was quite shocking and surprising. And now there are some reports that he may be facing perjury charges himself.
I can't imagine the prosecutors knew he was going to testify in that way and still put on the kind of case that they put on. So they were as shocked as everyone who has been following this trial very closely.
CHURCH: The sentence will be delivered on Wednesday but Gallagher has already spent time and he's only likely to get four months, so he will probably walk away with.
How likely is it that Gallagher will file for some sort of compensation or restitution and what are the optics of a trial like this?
MARTIN: I don't think Gallagher will do that, I think, like any defendant that has been charged and tried for murder, he is happy with the outcome of the trial. His attorney has maintained --
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MARTIN: -- all along that this was just a setup. The defense has always been that some Millennial subordinates of Gallagher who did not like his management style were angry at him and that they engaged in this course of conduct to frame him for multiple things and then ultimately this murder of this 12 year old ISIS fighter.
I think Gallagher and his family takes this win and probably he will move on with his life. He faced the possibility of life in prison without being released, so this probably as, you expect, a great sense of relief on his part. I don't expect he'll file any charges with respect to the claim that was made by the government against him.
CHURCH: Areva Martin, thank you, we appreciate your analysis.
MARTIN: Thank you.
CHURCH: A titan of the American auto industry has died, Lee Iacocca, the man behind the Ford Mustang has passed on at the age of 94. Here is CNN's Stephanie Elam on his legacy.
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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Leo Anthony Iacocca, better known as Lee, was born in the Rust Belt in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1924, trained as an engineer, he vaulted to auto industry superstardom by helping design and championing the amazingly popular Ford Mustang.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is the car that dreams of itself.
ELAM (voice-over): He also fathered the world's first minivan.
LEE IACOCCA, AUTO INDUSTRY LEGEND: Dodge Caravan, Plymouth Voyager, they're the most versatile wagons ever built in America. There's nothing like them. ELAM (voice-over): With a master's degree from Princeton, Iacocca started at Ford in 1946 as an engineering trainee. He earned his reputation with Ford's racing program in the '60s but found his place in history with the introduction of the Ford Mustang at the 1964 World's Fair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): The Mustang can be tailored to be virtually anything its buyer desires.
ELAM (voice-over): The Mustang was an overnight success. It spawned the American muscle car movement and is still in production today. He was named the president of the company 26 years later in 1970.
Despite his success at Ford, in 1978, he was unceremoniously fired by company chairman and namesake, Henry Ford II, who told him, according to Iacocca's biography, "Sometimes you just don't like somebody."
Within months, he was hired at Chrysler. The next year, Iacocca was named CEO. The company was in serious financial trouble and nearly out of business but Iacocca persuaded Washington to bail Chrysler out with $1 billion in federal loans.
As part of that effort, he agreed to take a personal salary of just $1 a year. Even so, he took heat from critics when he cashed in stock options worth millions.
His response was vintage Iacocca.
IACOCCA: I mean, that's the American way. If little kids don't aspire to make money like I did, what the hell good is this country?
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IACOCCA: You got to give them a role model, right?
ELAM (voice-over): Iacocca was Chrysler's pitch man. He starred in 61 Chrysler commercials, touting American cars and American values.
IACOCCA: I have one and only one ambition for Chrysler: to be the best.
ELAM (voice-over): He made Chrysler profitable again and paid the government back every penny. He did it with an emphasis on quality.
IACOCCA: If you can find a better car, buy it.
ELAM (voice-over): Iacocca introduced longer warranties, lower prices and a new kind of vehicle. The minivan sold so well, dealers had waiting lists 6-10 months long. Iacocca's quest for new models actually redefined the landscape for Detroit's Big 3. He engineered the buyout and eventual demise of number four carmaker American Motors, just so he could add AMC's Jeep brand to Chrysler's inventory.
Iacocca chaired the commission that raised almost $300 million to restore Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
IACOCCA: We remember the millions drawn here by that flame and we renew our commitment to the ideals that kept it burning.
ELAM (voice-over): Iacocca was known for talking tough and he often sounded like a politician.
IACOCCA: The administration seems to understand the importance of bargaining chips in nuclear disarmament for example but they don't have the faintest idea how to bargain in trade.
ELAM (voice-over): In the 1980s, he resisted entreaties to run for the White House himself but has campaigned since for both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. Iacocca retired from Chrysler when he was 68. Yet when the company presented him with a legacy award 20 years later, his vision could not be any clearer.
IACOCCA: I think the Big 3 is coming back.
ELAM (voice-over): Only one car was ever named for Iacocca, a 45th anniversary special edition Mustang, produced in 2009.
IACOCCA: What did you expect?
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CHURCH: Stephanie Elam with that report.
Now just do it or change your mind and don't. Why Nike is under fire for canceling these red, white and blue sneakers. That's coming up in a moment.
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CHURCH: The U.S. Women's soccer team is celebrating another trip to the World Cup finals. They beat England 2-1 in a thriller Tuesday to advance. Alex Morgan celebrated her 30th birthday with a game-winning goal. Christen Press also scored for the American team. U.S. standout Megan Rapinoe was sidelined by a strained hamstring. She is expected to return this Sunday for the final against the winner of Sweden-Netherlands.
Nike is defending its choice to cancel a line of sneakers featuring an early version of the U.S. flag. The shoe giant's decision has its supporters but it's also facing backlash from some politicians.
And you can see the shoe here, featuring the so-called Betsy Ross flag, it's a banner associated with the U.S. War for Independence. But for some, it's also linked to slavery. With more on the controversy, here is CNN's Alison Kosik.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Nike reportedly began pulling the sneakers from stores about two weeks ago, after former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick --
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KOSIK: -- told Nike that the emblem on the shoes of an early American flag was offensive. This all according to "The Wall Street Journal."
The shoes feature what's commonly known as the Betsy Ross flag and it's controversial because the flag was used at a time when slavery was legal and has more recently been adopted by some extremist groups.
Nike was going to roll out the sneakers this week as part of a celebratory Fourth of July week launch but is now removing them from circulation, saying this.
"Nike has chosen not to release The Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July sneaker, as it featured an old version of the American flag."
Nike had been in the process of building a third manufacturing plant and a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, but after Nike pulled the sneakers, Arizona's governor said this on Twitter.
"The state will rescind financial incentives that were offered to Nike to build a $185 million manufacturing plant and bring 500 jobs to Arizona."
The Republican governor tweeted, "The company has bowed to the current onslaught of political correctness and historical revisionism. Words cannot express my disappointment at this terrible decision. I'm embarrassed for Nike."
It was just on Monday that the financial incentives for the manufacturing plant were approved. Local council members agreed to waive almost $1 million in fees and reimburse Nike for up to $1 million for the jobs the athletic giant would create. Now the status of that project is in question.
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CHURCH: CNN's Alison Kosik with that report.
The U.S. Senate majority leader is adding his opinion to the controversy.
He said this Tuesday, "Instead of celebrating the birth of our nation, a shoe company has deemed the flag which flew during our independence too offensive." He went on.
"If we are in a political environment where the American flag has become controversial to Americans, I think we've got a problem."
The tanks are rolling in to Washington for Donald Trump Fourth of July festival. Just ahead, we will look at why not everyone is saluting the commander in chief's plans for Independence Day. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:31] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to update you now on the main stories we've been following this hour. An air strike on a migrant center in Libya's capital has killed at least 40 people. 80 others are injured. The U.N. recognized government of national accord blames the opposition Libyan national army for the attack.
There has been no independent confirmation of who is responsible. U.S. government investigators saying they have found extreme overcrowding at border detention facilities, including migrants in standing room only cells and children being held far longer than the 72 hours allowed. The report also found a lack of hot meals and inadequate access to showers.
A military jury has found a U.S. Navy SEAL not guilty in the murder of a captured ISIS fighter. Eddie Gallagher was cleared of several other chargers Tuesday but he
was found guilty of posing with a human casualty. The jury is set to deliberate a sentence on that charge in the coming hours.
Well, United States is getting ready to celebrate Independence Day. July 4th with fireworks, cookouts, and summer concerts. But tanks are rolling into Washington for Donald Trump's take on the holiday and critics are not happy. CNN's Tom Foreman has the details.
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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The iconic fireworks over the national mall will be moved to a new spot, all flights will be grounded in Washington's Reagan National Airport for more than two hours. And three times the usual number of National Guard Troops will be deployed for security. Also President Donald Trump can be the centerpiece for D.C.'s 4th of July celebration, giving an unprecedented speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to have a great 4th of July in Washington, D.C. It will be like no other.
FOREMAN: For all the costly changes, it's still not precisely what he wanted early on. A grand military parade as seen in some other countries, such as France, Russia, and North Korea, but cost estimates for that plan quickly ran into tens of millions of dollars. The D.C. City Council mindful of expensive street damage howled no tanks. The park services remained quiet about how much it will cost to take on the additional requirement.
And the Pentagon is not discussing the price tag for a flyover by the Blue Angels, a plane that serves the Air Force One, some other aircraft and a couple of tanks and troop carriers that will also be there but simply parked near the mall.
TRUMP: We want to bring millions of people into the city and we want people to come who love our country. Those are the people we want. FOREMAN: The President tweeting, the Pentagon and our great military
leaders are thrilled after asking the chiefs of every branch to stand with him during the celebration. The Pentagon, not saying which if any are going. And adding to the frustration of those who claim the traditionally nonpartisan event is being hijacked by team Trump. The White House and the Republican National Committee are reportedly giving VIP access to favored friends and colleagues.
Democrats say on the scorching week, they are largely being frozen out. The White House response?
KELLYANNE CONWAY, UNITED STATES COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT: This is a public event, it's open to the public.
FOREMAN: One group that may not be so happy to see, protestors who fly the Trump baby balloon have received a permit, and that will also be up in the air on the 4th of July. Tom foreman, CNN, Washington.
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CHURCH: Let's get more on all of this with a Colonel Cedric Leighton in Washington, he is a CNN Military Analyst. Welcome. Always great to have you on the show.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thanks, Rosemary. It's great to be with you.
CHURCH: Well, as a military man yourself, how concerned are you that President Trump is hijacking 4th of July celebrations, turning them into a campaign event essentially as some critics have suggested?
LEIGHTON: Well, I'm very concerned about it, Rosemary, because the American military is an apolitical military, that's what we're supposed to be. Obviously, military members have their own political views, but they are really prohibited from campaigning for candidates, for -- from showing up at campaign events or from doing anything that is perceived to be a partisan, political piece or anything of a partisan political nature.
And to do something like this on the 4th of July is I think really getting very close to the line that divides the military from the political world.
[02:35:03] CHURCH: Right. And President Trump tweeted this, the Pentagon and other great military leaders are thrilled to be a part of his salute to America. Is he right on that point or is it difficult to make an assessment on that?
LEIGHTON: Well, none of the military leaders that are currently serving of course would never say what they really think except perhaps in private. But I can tell you that and most of them are not thrilled to be here and they certainly don't want to be used for partisan political purposes because that then cheapens not only their advice to the President which they're legally bound to give, but it also calls into question the separation of the military from the political process. The military is controlled by civilians in the United States, but it is also supposed to be very independent of the political process.
CHURCH: Right. Because of course, President Trump has asked the chiefs of every branch of the military to stand with him during the celebration. The Pentagon is not saying who might be attending. How do you think those chiefs will respond to that request?
LEIGHTON: That's going to be very interesting to watch because technically, they are supposed to follow the orders of the President. He is after all the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces. But they also have an obligation to maintain themselves in an apolitical fashion they can send one or a couple representatives that may be useful, or the deputy representatives of their respective services, but that is -- it's a tough call to make and it and it kind of puts them in essence between a rock and a hard place because what they're trying to do is they're trying to of course show support for the Commander-in-Chief in the sense of his position, not his politics.
And they also have to maintain that separation between the political and the military side of things.
CHURCH: Yes. (INAUDIBLE) will be very awkward. Indeed. And the iconic fireworks display we know will be moved to accommodate Mr. Trump's new plans, all flights will be grounded for more than two hours at Washington's Reagan National Airport and the number of National Guard Troops will be tripled for security. And while the Pentagon won't say how much it will cost for the flyover, the tanks, and of course the troop carriers, could that money be better spent on veterans and they're pressing needs at this time?
LEIGHTON: Certainly, from my personal standpoint, I would say yes. It would be much more important to support the veterans, the people who have served and to have suffered because of the -- their service as a consequence of that service. They should be really looked at and made a high priority. We of course have a lot of politicians here in the United States that say very good things about the veterans and tend to applaud the veterans for the service which is great.
But, you know, it's one of those things where you have to put your money where your mouth is and in this particular case, the money wouldn't be better spent to support veterans causes and to support veterans' healthcare needs.
CHURCH: And of course, it's worth pointing out, this is a compromise arrangement. The President initially wanted a grand military parade on the same massive scale he's seen France, Russia, North Korea but the cost was just way too high. What do you make of a U.S. President who wants to display America's military hardware in this way?
LEIGHTON: Well, I think he is missing a point that previous presidents have really been able to use to their advantage. America has been known for wielding its power fairly quietly until it really has to go out and perform a military mission. In World War II, a lot of people that I spoke with in countries that were enemy states of the United States would tell us when the Germans march through their territories you could hear the boots marching on the -- on the cobblestones.
When the Americans came through, you couldn't hear them because their boots were so silent, and it had a completely different effect on the population. And it's the silence that winds in this case and I think we need to learn that the silence is more powerful than the bluster.
CHURCH: Yes. Interesting points. Thank you so much for joining us Colonel Cedric Leighton. Always a pleasure to chat with you.
LEIGHTON: Same here, Rosemary. It's great to be with you.
CHURCH: Well, the Syrian regime is stepping up, bombing in Idlib Province where antigovernment fighters are making their final stand. But it's not just a rebel stronghold, it's also home to some three million people, many who simply have nowhere left to run. Since the latest government offensive began two months ago, the U.N. says at least 330 civilians have been killed and that Idlib is on the brink of a humanitarian nightmare.
Our Senior International Correspondent Arwa Damon is once again in Idlib Province and she reports on the crisis facing those who do make it out alive.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This Idlib Province is considered to be the last relatively safe area that people who want to flee the regime and the Russian's bombardment can actually come to.
[02:40:04] Problem is for months, the newest arrivals have been living in conditions like this. Barely able to string a couple of blankets around all of trees for shelter, and that's because the main camps that exists here are completely full. They've gone, they've asked for tents, they've been told that there are none. And NGOs are estimating that one in three women here are either breastfeeding or are pregnant.
This little baby was born a month before her parents had to flee. Other mothers that we have been talking to say, they don't have diapers. One woman we spoke to actually gave birth in her tent underneath the olive trees. This is a population that is being squeezed. The bombing in the southern part of the province is so intense. The fighter jets are almost constantly overhead, it's absolutely terrifying.
Medical clinics are being targeted, and so more and more people are fleeing into an area where they're being squeezed up against the Turkish border. And so many of those who we're talking to here are wondering how it is that eight years into this conflict, not only have world leaders failed to stop the violence. They have even failed and providing them with the most basic of things. Arwa Damon, CNN, Idlib Province, Syria.
CHURCH: The mystery behind a stowaway's death. Who was he and how did his body drop from the sky into a London neighborhood? That's next on CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [02:44:48] CHURCH: Police in London say the body of a man fell from a passenger jet approaching Heathrow Airport. It landed near a man who was in his garden.
The body was traced to a Kenya Airways plane, a stowaway. Water and some food were discovered in the landing gear compartment once the plane touched down. CNN's Nina dos Santos reports on the tragedy and the reaction.
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NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was on this tranquil terrace street in Southwest London, on the flight path towards Heathrow Airport that a body plummeted from the sky, falling around about 2,500 feet into the backyard of this property. Just yards away from where a resident was sunbathing.
Well, pictures of the scene showed the depression on the ground that this impact had made. And residents say that they're still shocked that this could have happened in this part of the capital.
EMERIC MOLNAR, RESIDENT, CLAPHAM, SOUTH LONDON: I am fortunate, it's quite frightening as well. Because my garden is just a few doors down from there. So, (INAUDIBLE) yes, it's quite frightening. And as I coming back on the basket through hundreds of people out and they're coming. And it could've been a major tragedy if it's falling on the crowds over there. It's a tragedy anyway.
DOS SANTOS: Very little is known about this stowaway, thus far. All that is known is that they are male. We don't know their identity, their nationality or indeed their age. The police have said that they will conduct a post-mortem examination.
But airline experts say that the conditions that they will have endured inside that landing compartment will have been treacherous for the 8-1/2 hour journey from Nairobi to London.
ALASTAIR ROSENSCHEIN, AVIATION CONSULTANT: We're talking about extremely low temperatures. And we're talking here around minus 60 degrees Celsius. And the other thing is the partial pressure of oxygen is so low that a stowaway will pass out at about 20,000 feet, and about 30,000 feet they will shortly expire and dying. And then they freeze.
DOS SANTOS: This is not the first time that the bodies of stowaways have been discovered either in the back gardens or on roofs of buildings in the south and western suburbs of the capital falling from planes that have often taken off from African airports as they headed in towards London and the landing gear was deployed.
In 2012, the body of the Mozambican man who stowed away on board a plane which had set off from Angola was found. And in 2015, another stowaway was discovered after having taken off from Johannesburg.
Well, this latest incident will be investigated. The Kenya Airports Authority said in a statement that they have set up a joint investigation team to work with the U.K. authorities to determine who this individual was and how he managed to get onboard this plane. Nina dos Santos, CNN, in Southwest London.
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CHURCH: And we'll take a short break here. Still to come. From lawmakers to lobbyists. A new push to stop former members of the U.S. Congress from cashing in on their old jobs. We'll take a look at that when we return.
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[02:51:36] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, one of China's top tech billionaires wouldn't let a little cold water dampen spirits at a company event. The CEO of Baidu, Robin Li was giving a speech on artificial intelligence and self-driving cars, when a man you just saw walked on stage and dumped a bottle of water on Li's head.
Now, it's not clear who the man was or why he did it. But, Li took it all in stride, telling the crowd, as you can see, all kinds of unexpected things may happen on our way forward in A.I. development. Good at living there.
Well, for a former U.S. politicians, it's been a natural transition going from writing laws to lobbying either for or against them. And many are doing just that. Leveraging their connections in Washington to make money as lobbyists. But as Manu Raju reports, it's now causing some ethical concerns.
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MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As a senator, David Vitter railed against the swamp.
DAVID VITTER, FORMER SENATOR LOUISIANA: It's all about lobbying, it's all about ethics.
RAJU: But now that the Louisiana Republican has been out of office for more than two years, he's part of the Washington lobbying culture he once railed against. Lobbying for chemical, energy, in pharmaceutical firms, while even registering as a foreign agent to lobby on behalf of companies tied to a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin.
As he rubbed elbows near the Senate floor recently with Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, Vitter then returned to Cassidy's office, where he has stored his luggage, a perk many lobbyists do not enjoy. He didn't want to talk about it with CNN.
VITTER: I'm in the middle of a meeting right now --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it appropriate to be cashing in on your position, sir?
VITTER: Thank you, slide. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it appropriate to lobbying for Russian oligarchs? Can you talk about why do you think it's appropriate to be lobbying, sir?
There are 323 former lawmakers from both parties, now who are registered lobbyists. A 2016 study shows the last three decades have seen more than a third of departing House members, and more than 40 percent of former senators registering to lobby.
In between meetings in the Senate Dirksen building, CNN caught up with Republican senator turned lobbyist Norm Coleman, who defended his work.
NORM COLEMAN, FORMER UNITED STATES SENATOR: I think the First Amendment is a wonderful thing. I hope we're doing the service, and I enjoy doing it.
RAJU: But there's a vocal contingent in Congress that disagrees.
REP. DAVID CICILLINE (D-RI): I think banning members of Congress to become a lobbyist is one way to help restore the public's confidence that this place is working for them.
RAJU: Liberal firebrand Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Texas conservative Senator Ted Cruz are working together to root out the practice.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): That would be much harder for corporations and special interest to do on their own.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Washington for a long time has had a culture of corruption. And I think the American people are fed up with it.
RAJU: Former members turn lobbyists had access that regular lobbyists don't. Like attending this prayer breakfast on the first floor of the Capitol with top senator. Former Democratic Senator Mark Pryor, a partner at a Washington law and lobbying firm and one-time Republican senator now lobbyists Tim Hutchinson both were there.
They say like you're cashing in and your (INAUDIBLE) influence from you gain as a public servant?
TIM HUTCHINSON, FORMER SENATOR OF ARKANSAS: I'm fine with whatever rules they want to -- they want to pass. I think America is a free country of people are always going to be trying to talk to advocate lobby their elected officials.
[02:54:58] RAJU: Feet from the Senate floor last week, former senator turn lobbyists Trent Lott greeted senators in an area off-limits to the public. Lott called efforts to ban members from becoming lobbyists ridiculous. Telling CNN, "After you leave the Senate, what are you going to be? A brain surgeon?" Not everyone on Capitol Hill is ready to crack down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good lobbyist bring you information.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It would be hard to dictate to people what their chosen career field should be.
RAJU: And at the moment is not even an issue top leaders are concerned about.
Would you support legislation to prevent lawmakers for eventually becoming lobbyists?
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): No. I don't even know what you're talking about.
RAJU: Now, one reason why we are seeing David Vitter more on Capitol Hill is because he is through that two-year cooling-off period that was mandated by the 2007 ethics law, that law designed to limit the influence of lobbying in Washington passed overwhelmingly in the Senate, 83 senators voted for that law, including David Vitter. Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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CHURCH: And thanks for joining us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back in just a moment with more news. You're watching CNN. Do stay with us.
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