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Businesses Worry about Johnson's Brexit Strategy; South Korea: Russia Apologizes for Plane Mishap; U.S. Justice Department Launching Antitrust Review of Big Tech; U.K. & France Brace for Extreme Heat This Week; Tokyo Games on Track to Open July 24 Next Year. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 24, 2019 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:00] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello everybody! Thank you for being with us. I'm John Vause, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Ahead this hour, Conservators crowned Bojo the clown. Will Boris Johnson be the dude that delivers Brexit or the No Deal dud.
The Democrats last chance to present the Mueller report in a new light and disprove the false claims by the President, his Attorney General, and conservative media and convince Americans the Russia investigation did not find no collusion, no obstruction.
It's the uncertainty, stupid. The IMF slices forecast for global economic growth over concerns of looming trade wars and a potential no deal-Brexit.
He's been criticized as clownish and cocky, brash, full of bluster, and blonde ambition, but just hours from now Boris Johnson's long strange journey to the peak of British politics will be complete. The former London Mayor and newly elected Conservative Party leader will be summit at Buckingham Palace and there the Queen will invite him to form a government Boris Johnson will become the 14th Prime Minister to serve her majesty, the first was Winston Churchill.
And with the top job comes Brexit. The Frankenstein Johnson partly created and has long been a champion of. He says he's ready to leave the E.U. do-or-die, Deal or No Deal by the October 31st deadline. And he is wasting no time firing up his fellow conservatives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, NEXT PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: And we know the mantra of the campaign that has just gone by. In case you've forgotten it, you probably have. It is deliver Brexit, unite the country, and defeat Jeremy Corbyn.
Deliver, unite, and defeat was not the perfect acronym for an election campaign since unfortunately it spells DUD, but they forgot the final E my friends, E for energized. And I say -- I say to all the doubters, dude, we are going to energize the country. We're going to get Brexit done on October 31st. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Larry the Cat is outside number 10, so too is CNN's Anna Stewart at this hour. So I guess Johnson, you know, he's assuming power here after winning you know, vote among the Conservative Party at 90,000 or so votes, not exactly a mandate, and he doesn't exactly have a strong majority in parliament. It seems there will be some difficult days ahead for Bojo.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: It certainly does. And that's the problem really here. OK, what is different? Well, firstly that we will leave on October 31st do-or-die as he said in his campaign with a deal without a deal, that's just 99 days and 18 hours away. He will have a more Brexiter cabinet. He will have a cabinet potentially representing more women and ethnic minorities.
What has not changed is the parliamentary math. And in fact, the Conservative Party actually has a much smaller working majority than they did just a few weeks ago. They have to suspend an MP yesterday, by-election next week they may lose another. That could leave them with a work majority of just two and they rely on the DUP Party from Northern Ireland as well for that majority.
So pushing anything through a parliament which is so divided will be incredibly difficult, add to that that the MPs are actually heading off for their summer holidays recess as of tomorrow so actually the time they have to reach any kind of deal is actually something like 30 days.
Add to that, even if that was possible, the E.U. says they will not reopen the withdrawal agreement. They will not renegotiate that. So today will be a set piece in terms of the prime minister delivering her final speech, Prime Minister questions time, leaving, going to the palace and tendering her resignation.
Boris Johnson also go to the palace becoming the prime minister, coming here, but the 99 days that follow, well, they are going to be incredibly turbulent, John.
VAUSE: Yes. And part of the turbulence will be because many within the cabinet, many of the remainders are rushing for the exit, you know, the jumping ship faster than the rats who within the cabinet, they're sitting -- heading for the doors because they are either you know, it's a show defiant it seems, a calculated show defiance, also seems to be a symbolic act and they're getting out before they're fired.
But then Johnson is talking about replacing them all with this cabinet from modern Britain. Is that some kind of stunt? What does he mean?
STEWART: Well, I think by modern Britain, he is highlighting the fact that he will have more women in his cabinet. He will represent them I think minorities as well. I think we can expect to see some of his big supporters like Sajid Javid maybe take the top role of Chancellor.
The ones that are resigning or have resigned, the ones that we expected resign today like Philip Hammond the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, well, that is really symbolic because they would be out anyway. Boris Johnson wants to make sure that particularly key roles and most of cabinet that everyone there really supports a No Deal Brexit if it comes to that.
Obviously, they want to get a deal but they have to really prepare and really tell the E.U. that they are absolutely serious about this that come October 31st, 11:00 p.m. here in London, midnight in Brussels, that the U.K. will leave the E.U. come what may. But I have to say Boris Johnson says that he will get a deal just with a load of optimism and can-do attitude. John?
[01:05:23] VAUSE: Yes. Larry the Cat doesn't seem too bothered. Good to see you, Anna. Thank you. Boris Johnson has always identified himself as a modern-day Winston Churchill. The much- revered prime minister who led Britain to victory in World War II.
In the years after the war, Churchill warned of a new emerging threat, the spread of communism across Europe and around the world. On March 6, 1946, at Westminster College in Missouri, Churchill delivered his now-famous iron curtain speech, but that speech is memorable for another turn of phrase which has survived until this day.
It was the first time the alliance between Great Britain and the United States was described as a special relationship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WINSTON CHURCHILL, FORMER PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: This means a special relationship between the British Commonwealth and Empire and the United States of America. Ladies and gentlemen, this is no time for generality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Churchill went on to explain how the relationship was about more than friendship and a mutual understanding. He went into specific details military about military corporation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCHILL: But the continuance of the intimate relation between our military advisers leading to common study of potential danger, the similarity of weapons and manuals of instructions and to the interchange of officers and cadets at technical college.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So an indication of just how not special the special relationship is now, on Tuesday Time reported, in the lead-up to last month's aborted U.S. military strike on Iran, the Trop administration made the decision to not inform their U.K. counterparts, a decision described his unprecedented.
And according to Time, the U.S. decision to withhold information sent a tremor through an alliance at least superficially dented by Trump's Twitter attacks on outgoing British prime minister Theresa May and savaging of the former British ambassador to the U.S. Sir Kim Darroch.
So can the next Prime Minister of Britain, a man with Chilean aspirations and the nickname Bojo the Clown repaired this relationship which by most accounts has hit a post-war low. Michelle Egan is a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center. She is with us from Washington. Michelle, nice to see you.
MICHELLE EGAN, FELLOW, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: Nice to see you.
VAUSE: OK. Well, in recent months, Johnson has made a point of staying on Donald Trump's good side, you know, when his rival for the Tory leadership Jeremy Hunt caught out Trump and his attacks on the British ambassador, the silence from Johnson was deafening, and in return Trump has said nothing but praise for Johnson which continued to this very day. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a really good -- man, he's going to be the prime minister of the U.K. now, Boris Johnson. A good man, he's tough and he's smart. They're saying Britain Trump. They call him Britain Trump and people are saying that's a good thing, that they like me over there. That's what they wanted. That's what they need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I'm pretty sure Britain Trump it's not a compliment but nonetheless you know, if Donald Trump is the main reason for the fraying of the special relationship at the moment, will Boris Johnson's close ties to told Trump be of much help in trying to save it?
EGAN: I think it'll be a double-edged sword. On the one hand the ties with Theresa May, she was the first person to visit Trump in the White House, and then subsequently was much maligned by the president. So you know, this can turn on a dime.
But you know Boris Johnson also has to contend with the fact that Nigel Farage also has the ear of Donald Trump and he is in some respects the rival Brexit party in the U.K. so there are much to be seen. And then thirdly you know can Boris Johnson deliver Brexit and if he can then there'll be obviously interest in a U.S.-U.K. trade deal, but all of that is speculation at this point and Boris Johnson has a very difficult 100 days ahead of him.
VAUSE: Look, there's a lot of speculation but we do know the opinion that the U.S. president has of traditional European allies. Here is Donald Trump speaking again in Washington on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Other countries have been ripping us off so badly and some of the worst offenders are our so-called allies. They rip us off on trade. European Union is worth to us on trade than China. OK, nobody would think that. You know, a lot of us come from the European Union, we come from Europe, our grandparents, our great-grandparents, so you think oh, isn't that nice, except they kill us, the European Union. It was formed in order to beat us economically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Assuming Johnson has some success in you know, improving and breathing some life back into the U.K.-U.S. relationship, chances are it won't look much like the special relationship Churchill had talked about more than 70 years ago right?
[01:10:11] EGAN: No, it won't. In two historical points to your Churchill listeners here, one the Marshall Plan was a huge you know, foreign aid scheme to promote European cooperation. And I think that the other issue reflects Britain's ambivalence, its transatlantic but it's also European. And Churchill basically said we are with Europe but not of Europe.
And so the special relationship has always been from the British point of view special but I think they're going to have to work very, very hard to repair some of the damage and some of the ties and also to sort of indicate some of the same strategic interests that perhaps this president has with regard to trade and other issues.
VAUSE: We've also heard from the new leader of the European Union. She extended what seemed to be sort of had a friendship, maybe an olive branch of thought to the incoming British prime minister. This what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: I'm looking forward to have a good working relations with him. There are many different and difficult issues to tackle together. We have challenging times ahead of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: We also heard for the E.U. chief Brexit negotiator. He was tweeting about working together. He added, we are ready also to rework the agreed declaration on a new partnership in line with E.U. Commission guidelines. So given Johnson's anti-Europe sense, would he perhaps at least embrace what seems to be an offer for a do-over at least initially and then maybe after Brexit allied more closely with Trump's America?
EGAN: I think the fact that you know, he's talking about possibly a no Brexit and you know, a No Deal, and he you know, the EU has by the tweets made it very clear that there'll be some tinkering on the margins, but the agreement that they gave Theresa May is the one that stays.
And of course, you know the British have to decide if they stay aligned with the E.U., if they accept the withdrawal agreement it's going to be 21 months before they can negotiate a trade agreement with other partners. And those other partners that are going to look at Britain -- you know, if Britain is part of a 28 country block, that's a huge market.
If it's a single block negotiating a trade treaty, it's in a much more vulnerable position --
VAUSE: OK, let's --
EGAN: -- even with the United States.
VAUSE: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. But let's finish up with the man of the moment Boris Johnson and his commitment to Brexit, getting Brexit done by the deadline. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: We're going to get Brexit done on October 31st. We're going to take advantage of all the opportunities that will bring in a new spirit of can-do. And we are once again going to believe in ourselves and what we can achieve. And like some slumbering giant, we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self-doubt and negativity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, roll up the sleeves. We are British jolly hockey sticks, all that kind of stuff it's great, but when it comes to an actual plan post Brexit, how it will all work, Boris seems to be all tip and no iceberg.
EGAN: And we have to remember that he has a two-seat majority to get any deal through and he's got a lot of opposition from his own party about 17 members at least who basically want to stop a no Brexit, you know a cliff edge. And so he's got to deal with the dynamics in his own party.
So he's got 100 days, we've got a summer recess, we would come back in September 3rd, and that doesn't leave a lot of time to can do. So even if there is a hard Brexit, I think people need to look at the fact it will be accompanied by huge tax cuts, a burgeoning deficit, and the pound slumping.
So it's going to be you know, what are the implications, what are the risks. There are political risks and they're economic risks and he seems to be much more determined to move closer to that Brexit cliff edge.
VAUSE: Yes. Interesting days ahead to say the least. Michelle, thanks so much. Good to see you.
EGAN: Nice to see you.
VAUSE: Please state with CNN as Theresa May formally steps down, Boris Johnson steps up to become the next British prime minister. Our special coverage right outside Parliament begins at 9:00 a.m. in London, that's noon in Abu Dhabi, 4:00 p.m. in Hong Kong. It's a coverage you will only see right here on CNN.
When we come back, the reluctant Robert Mueller will soon have his moment in the sun, subpoenaed to appear before Congress. New details this hour on how the former Special Counsel is preparing for his highly anticipated testimony.
Also ahead, London and Paris get ready. Records are set to be broken as another heatwave sweeps parts of Europe.
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[01:15:00] VAUSE: In a matter of hours we'll hear Robert Mueller explain his findings in the Russia investigation as he testifies before the House Judiciary and intelligence committees. The hearings could potentially be incredibly polarizing in an already deeply divided country.
And a last minute relatively routine request by Mueller has ruffled and already irritated Donald Trump. CNN's Manu Raju has a preview now from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Late drama on the eve of the most anticipated Congressional hearing in decades after former Special Counsel Robert Mueller made a last-minute request to allow his former deputy to be sworn in to answer questions.
The GOP raising alarms with the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee Doug Collins saying doing so would undercut the committee's integrity, while Democrats agreed to allow the deputy Aaron Zebley to sit next to Mueller.
The committee's source told CNN the special counsel is expected to be the only one sworn in as a witness. The feud underscores the stakes ahead of Wednesday's testimony about Mueller's probe into Russian interference and the president's conduct.
Many Democrats argue the hearing will change public perception but Present Trump's alleged criminal conduct.
Do you think that it could change the dial on impeachment?
REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (R-TX): I think it certainly could.
RAJU: After Mueller requested guidance ahead of his testimony, the Justice Department responded by warning Mueller not to go beyond the boundaries of the report or talk about individuals who are not charged which could include the President's son Donald Trump Jr.
REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): I think it's incredibly arrogant of the Department to try to instruct him as to what to say. It's part of the ongoing cover-up by the administration to keep information away from the American people.
RAJU: Privately both sides holding mock hearings to prepare. Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee focusing on five episodes of potential obstruction of justice including Trump's alleged efforts to fire the special counsel, limit the investigation and urged witnesses not to cooperate with federal prosecutors.
Then the focus will shift to the House Intelligence Committee where Democrats plan to ask Mueller about Trump's advanced knowledge in 2016 of the WikiLeaks e-mail dump and campaign contacts with the Russians.
Republicans want to train their focus on the origins of the probe and alleged bias on Mueller's team while drilling home the point that no one on the Trump campaign was charged with conspiring with the Russians in 2016 as top Republicans in the Senate are dismissing the hearing.
[01:20:04] SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I don't think if anything Mueller can say this is going to change anybody's mind.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Well, I don't intend to be watching him.
RAJU: Now, as he walked into his mock hearing earlier this afternoon, I asked Jerry Nadler whether or not the hearing would go on. He said it is going to go on tomorrow but he would not comment about the issue involving the deputy and whether or not that has been ultimately resolved by the special counsel but conference from the Democrats this is going to happen. At the same time this is probably the only time we're going to see the special counsel on Capitol Hill.
Republicans in the Senate have no desire to bring him before their committees. They control that chamber of course. And the chairman of the key Senate Intelligence Committee told me that he has no desire to bring in Bob Mueller and when I asked him why not, he said he did a report. Manu Raju CNN Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: And the president says including Aaron Zebley, the deputy as part of the hearing is "a disgrace to our system." He's also said the president is more irritated than anxious ahead of the hearings and still managed to repeat those false claims about the findings of the Mueller report on Tuesday to a group of young Conservatives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: This whole witch-hunt that's going on, should I shy talk about it for a second? The Russian witch-hunt, OK. First of all, it's very bad for our country. It goes on for years and years no collusion, no obstruction. They interviewed 500 people. Listen to this, 2,500 subpoenas. They did everything. The collusion, no collusion. They have no collusion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: With us now from Los Angeles Ron Brownstein, CNN's Senior Political Analyst and Senior Editor for the Atlantic. So Ron, we just heard from U.S. President. The same message he's had for months now, in fact, four months and two days since Mueller delivered the report to the Justice Department. And here's how the House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler with a typical Democrat response/
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADLER: The President and the Attorney General have systematically lied to the American people about what was in that report. I know -- they've said no obstruction, no collusion, he was totally exonerated, although those three statements are not true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Now, listen to a Trump supporter after she was told by the Republican Congressman Justin Amash all the details in the Mueller report. He's what Cathy Garnaat, a Trump supporter told NBC News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHY GARNAAT, REPUBLICAN VOTER: I was surprised to hear there was anything negative in the Mueller report at all about President Trump. I haven't heard that before and I mainly listen to conservative news and I haven't heard anything negative about that report and President Trump had been exonerated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That is the gap between the perception most Trump supporters have of the Mueller report shaped by the President and the Attorney General and conservative media and the reality of the report. The goal of Democrats were to try and bring reality into the world of many Trump supporters but is it too late?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, I think -- I think in many ways it is true. You know, Robert Mueller did an exemplary job of investigating this whole huge question that was dropped on him. But in in almost every way since the report was completed he has seemed like a man at a time and playing by the wrong rules, assuming a level of decency and kind of fair play in the Justice Department to begin with not understanding that in this modern media era to the public to understand exactly what he concluded, it was not enough to turn in a 440 page report written you know, often in double negatives and very careful legal language.
He, I think, in some extent has failed to give the American public a full sense of the magnitude of what he concluded and it is going to be very difficult I think to revive it now.
VAUSE: Well, back in May, Mueller did make a public statement. He did try to correct the record in a way and push back against some of the more blatant lies coming from the administration. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT MUELLER, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL: If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: What was interesting, that was enough to convince some Democrats who are running for president to support impeachment. So will three hours of Mueller testimony be enough to convince a majority congressional Democrats it's time to move forward with impeachment.
BROWNSTEIN: I doubt it. I really do. I think -- I think that's the wrong goal, John. The thing that we don't know from public opinion but I think I have a sense of, you know, the idea is that people don't want to impeach President Trump because they don't think he did something impeachable. I'm not sure that's the reason they don't want to impeach him.
I mean, I think that the opposition to impeachment in the polls may be rooted less in a view of what he did do that any practical -- series of practical concerns. It's very late in his term. You know, we're going to have an election in 15, 16 months, and there's virtually no chance of the Senate convicting.
I think it is probably more plausible for the Democrats to try to come out of tomorrow increasing the share of Americans who think that the president broke the law or did something wrong which has always been much higher than impeachment.
You know, support for impeachment has been less than the share of Americans are saying there's something wrong. I think if they have a good day with Robert Mueller tomorrow, that number, the share who thinks he broke the law or did something wrong will go up. I'm not sure the share who supports impeachment will radically change.
VAUSE: Well, it seems the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Democrat Adam Schiff believes there is probably nothing which Mueller can say at this point which would have an impact on Trump supporters. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): serious people are pretty dug in on not just Trump and Russia but they're just dug in on this president. If that appalling display of racism over the last two weeks wasn't enough to move people, is there anything that Bob Mueller can say that will?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Big picture he may be correct but you know, as far as the Russia investigation goes, if Mueller's testimony does not move the needle, is the Russia reports also dead politically? Is it no longer of use to the Democrats when it comes to just trying to defeat Donald Trump?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, first, again, I have a different needle right. My needle is share that he did something wrong rather than share of supports of impeachment because I think that's the resistance that has other concerns. But no, I mean, I don't agree with that.
You know, the thing that I haven't focusing on quite a bit and we saw it again in the NPR, PBS poll that came out yesterday is that there is an unprecedented share of Americans who say either that the economy is working for them and or that they approve of Trump's handling of the economy, but yet they still disagree with his performance overall and or intend to vote Democratic in 2020. That Delta, that -- it's roughly 16 to 20 percent of the people who
say they approve the economy so say they disapprove him, that is rooted in everything that Adam Schiff is talking about. I mean, that is rooted in Russia, it is rooted in divisiveness, it is rooted in open racism.
He has lost a number -- you know a degree of support from swing voters who are doing well in the economy that is really unlike anything we've ever seen under Barack Obama or George W. Bush or Bill Clinton. All of that is baked in is real.
Is it enough to beat him when unemployment under four percent and the Dow is over 27,000? We'll see, but there's no question he is in a much more precarious and tenuous position because of all of this in almost any other president would be in this economy.
VAUSE: You know, I guess the big question Wednesday is can Democrats stick to this game plan they've been working on? Can they pull together and try and get some kind of you know, memorable moment, some breakthrough or revelation from Mueller. You know, will they give in to the temptation of the spotlight and will they be -- will they grandstand?
BROWNSTEIN: What do you think? Look, these Congressional hearings are very hard on the best of circumstances. Five minutes back and forth, you can't establish any inflow because the Republicans are simply going to use the time to defend President Trump or attack the FBI. And you have you know, fundamentally a witness who only wants to be so cooperative.
I think the moment that Democrats won, he is very -- all signs say he's determined not to give to them. I mean, you know, he will go through many contortions to avoid providing the sound bite that says yes, I would have prosecuted him if he was anybody else or yes this was clearly meant to encourage you to impeach him.
You know, if he says that, that is going to be a very big deal, paraphrase Joe Biden, but I would be very surprised as I think most people be if in fact he does it.
VAUSE: You know, Mueller's testimony, it does seem to be on the President's mind. On Tuesday night he tweeted, just got back only to hear of a last-minute change allowing a never Trumper attorney to help Robert Mueller with his testimony before Congress tomorrow. What a disgrace to our system. I never heard of this before, very unfair. It should not be allowed. I read witch-hunt.
Here's reporting from the New York Times of why it happened. It's not uncommon for a government witnesses to bring aides along to congressional hearings for that purpose. It has, in other words, to help Mueller remember the key details. Though it always all cases the aides sit behind rather than next to the witness.
Mr. Mueller is being asked to account for two years' worth of investigative details uncovered by a large team of investigators and to do so while avoiding the disclosure of nonpublic information. Again, the difference between the presidential perception and there's no proof that this aide is a never Trumper and the actual reality.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, and again, as you noted before with the -- with the woman at the Justin Amash rally, these are not really arguments designed to persuade. These are designed to mobilize and harden.
I mean this is not really designed to persuade people who entered this hearing with an open mind, if such a person actually exists, it's really designed to provide talking points for the conservative media infrastructure to then use to kind of solidify his base against it.
[01:29:47] You know, there was -- this report has a lot of very damaging information in it against the President. It is pretty clear that the report envisions that the Justice Department legal guidance did not exist that you cannot indict a sitting president, that they may well have indicted the President.
And I think just the sheer magnitude of what Mueller found, repeated tomorrow is going to have some impact. But the fact that this is happening so far down the road, that Mueller allowed I think to passivity this initial cloud of dust be torn up by the administration, that he hasn't moved more aggressively to help the American public understand what he did and what he wrote, in careful, you know, guarded legal language, all of which I think is kind of -- from the inside out, corroded the potential of this to truly be a turning point in the Trump presidency.
VAUSE: Ron -- we're out time but thank you so much. Good to see you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
VAUSE: Britain already feeling some economic jitters over Brexit. Just ahead, how BoJo plans to use a little mojo to avoid a costly crash.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.
The House Judiciary chairman is weighing in on expectations just hour before Robert Mueller is set to testify on Capitol Hill about his Russia investigation. Jerry Nadler seems to be managing expectations saying does not if the hearings will change the course on impeachment. And he's realistic about how much impact the former special counsel's testimony will have.
Former London Mayor Boris Johnson hours away now from becoming the next British prime minister. The newly elected Conservative Party leader will inherent the Brexit mess and the hardliner has long insisted he'll leave the E.U. deal or no deal by the deadline come October 31st.
Many business leaders have been closely watching Boris Johnson and his Brexit strategy. And as the deadline draws near, there's increasing's anxiety idea about a looming economic disaster, a view supported by many analysts.
Once again, here's CNN's Anna Stewart.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEWART: It's been a bumpy journey to Number 10 for one of Britain's best known politicians. Boris Johnson has a reputation for gaffes and bluster.
His Brexit stance has been clear from the start, although it hasn't always been communicated well.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I will be advocating to vote leave, whatever the team is called, I understand there are many of them.
STEWART: Now, the world wants to know more details.
JOHNSON: Brexit -- we'll of course, be pushing our plan into action. So we're getting ready to come out on October 31st, come what may.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do or die.
JOHNSON: Do or die.
STEWART: Making no deal but default option on October 31st has businesses worried and markets jittery.
JANE FOLEY, SENIOR FX STRATEGIST, RABOBANK: Investors getting very worried and the pound is beginning to price in a greater probability that we could indeed see a no-deal Brexit.
[01:05:00] I think somewhere between 110, 105 on a no-deal Brexit is certainly a very strong probability.
STEWART: As Boris Johnson prepares to enter the doors of Number 10, warnings about a no-deal Brexit are growing. A government report says that the U.K. could face a year long recession and the pound could plunge 10 percent.
The answer from the Boris team though -- optimism.
LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY: If they want somebody who's going to go out there and make a positive case for Britain, who's going to attract business investors into our country.
STEWART: Then there's the new prime minister's wider attitude to business.
JOHNSON: Can the secretary of state confirm and remotely justify that his response was to say "f business"?
I don't think anybody could die -- passionate term -- the board of this government for business and it maybe, it maybe that I have form time to time expressed skepticism about some of the views of those who profess to speak up for business. STEWART: Boris Johnson has announced an array of plans, including tax
cuts, leaving many to compare his economic policies to another maverick politician.
TRUSS: I don't necessarily agree with everything Donald Trump does or says, however, I do think some of the policies on economic growth had been successful in the U.S. and certainly there are lessons to be learned.
STEWART: From cutting taxes to spending on infrastructure, (INAUDIBLE) bans, police and education it's not yet clear how the new government will afford it all especially if Boris Johnson's do or die no-deal prediction blow the economy off course.
Anna Stewart, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: And concern over Brexit is one issue behind the downgrade in forecast for global economic growth. The IMF has slightly lowered its outlook for 2019 to 3.2 percent rising to 3.5 percent by 2020. Trade tensions between the U.S. and China is always dragging on the world economy.
Well for more now on the global economic outlook, Nicolas Veron, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics joins us now from Washington. Nicolas -- thanks for coming in.
NICOLAS VERON, SENIOR FELLOW, PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Ok. Well, is there any reason, have you seen any data, have you heard details of any plan, seen any roadmap from Boris Johnson that would lend an out of credibility to this unbridled enthusiasm and optimism that he has that a no deal Brexit may not be an economic disaster but in fact a great opportunity for British business?
VERON: No. There is no evidence for that. Obviously there are a lot of indications to the opposite view, that a no deal Brexit would be very disruptive for the U.K. economy. But obviously, we are still in the aftermath of a hotly contested electoral competition in the U.K. And specifically the Tory Party, so I guess we are not yet into the next phase which will be the one of negotiation with the E.J. and probably a bit more of landing into reality.
VAUSE: Yes. Well, the chief economist for the IMF explains and in very sort of broad brush strokes the reasons behind this economic forecast for the weakest global growth in a decade. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GITA GOPINATH, CHIEF ECONOMIST, IMF: Global growth is sluggish and precarious, but it does not have to be this way, because some of this is self inflicted. Dynamism in the global economy is being weighed down by prolonged policy uncertainty. As trade tensions remain heightened despite recent U.S.-China trade truce. Technology tensions have erupted, threatening global technology supply chains, and the prospect of a no deal Brexit have increased.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So if we're talking about just the possibility of a no deal Brexit having an economic impact, much like the possibility of a global trade war having an impact. Between those two uncertainties which is having a bigger impact on slowing economic growth? Or put it another way, which of those two downside risks is a bigger concern to investors and economists?
VERON: Well, it depends of course, if the outlook is focused on the U.K., in which case a no deal Brexit is a much bigger event or on a broader geographical scope.
From a global perspective the U.K. is not that big. It doesn't drive global economics. Even a no deal Brexit from a global, or even arguably, European perspective would not have a major impact. It would be negative but not a big negative.
Trade war, of course, if it does involve the U.S. and China or the U.S. and Europe, or both this is a much more significant event on a global scale. For the U.K. however, there is no scenario in which the uncertainty on Brexit can be left at anytime soon. And I think that's one of the major drivers of for a bad (ph) outlook we see for the U.K. economy at this point.
[01:39:54] VAUSE: Well, you know, the IMF may blame Donald Trump's trade policies, you know, for contracting economic growth or slowing it down, if you like, but Trump is using those policies as an example of how his administration is simply righting the wrongs of the past. This is what the President said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are revising decades of ruinous trade deals that ravaged our communities and pillaged our factories. We were sending companies out of our country -- great companies, they were leaving us going to Mexico, going to China, going to so many other places. The deals we made were the dumbest deals in the history of this world. It was unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And also what we hear from Donald Trump is sort of this economic boost tourism. And we hear it from Boris Johnson as well. So that can actually help economies defy gravity, I guess, at least for a time but clearly not indefinitely. It has an impact, right?
VERON: There is really a difference between the U.S. and the U.K. situations here. The U.K. is underperforming its neighbors and peers, the economic uncertainty that comes from the Brexit situation is dragging down the U.K. economy.
Even so unemployment is at a low point. The prospect for the economy are not great but at this. So U.S. economy by contrast has been enjoying a very long recovery and has record low unemployment also but very dynamic growth still even so we're at the lead state of the cycle.
So if anything it's the boost tourism of Donald Trump is probably not justified by his own policies but it has more financial (INAUDIBLE) basis on the U.S. economy than the optimism we were hearing for the U.K.
VAUSE: Ok. Well, you know, the IMF noted that not every country is looking at slowing economic growth. The U.S. and the Eurozone numbers, for example, are revised slightly upwards while China was revised down.
Again, the chief economist for the IMF. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOPINATH: Now, the revisions are a reflection of downward revisions, mainly in emerging and developing economies. They are offsetting positive surprises in advanced economies. And the factors for this are multiple. There's trade tensions, they're escalating associated with that in May but also domestic factors in many of these emerging markets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: If I could just expand on that, is there a simple way to explain why this is happening, why some economies -- the best economies are doing better, you know. The not so advanced ones or the emerging economies are doing worse?
VERON: The picture is very differentiated across the globe and as Gita Gopinath, the chief economist of the IMF was explaining there are many countries with specific factors especially in an emerging market.
But what one thing that is weighing down on the global economy is clearly a political uncertainty generally. We are at the point where there are very few parts of the global economy where the political outlook is benign, where there is stability on political prospect and that has an impact on investment, especially if you take a long term view.
VAUSE: So just quickly to sum her up, you know, without this uncertainty the U.S. and the Eurozone will be doing a lot better, those emerging markets, those emerging economies would be doing even, you know, slightly better.
VERON: Clearly the global economy is not at its full potential. It is dragged down by political development and political uncertainty. Things are not catastrophic we are still in a phase where the global economy is holding, but there are downside risks and there are particularly extreme in the U.K. but they exist elsewhere in the world as well.
VAUSE: Ok. We appreciate it. It's a complicated subject but thank you for simplifying it for us. We very much appreciate it. Thank you.
VERON: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, the plot thickens off the coast of South Korea. How China and Japan now figure in a mid-air military showdown between Russia and South Korea.
[01:43:45] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Well, according to some local reports, as many as five military aircraft from Russia and China violated South Korea's air defense zone. And while the area is small and it's above a disputed island, Seoul says Moscow has issued an apology.
According to the officials in South Korea, they say the Russians took responsibility for the incident blaming a mechanical malfunction. South Korea and Japan responded to the airspace violation by deploying its own fighter jets.
It's a very confusing situation. CNN's Steven Jiang is with us now, live in Beijing to try and clarify exactly how all this played out, you know, who violated whose airspace I guess is the question here? And were there shots fired a any point?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John -- that is -- what you mentioned is the latest twist in this very chaotic and at least initially very confusing situation.
As you said, a Russian military attache in Seoul has now acknowledged to his South Korean counterpart that the Russian aircraft A-50 aircraft may have indeed intruded on South Korean airspace but unintentionally due to a mechanical problem on Tuesday morning.
South Korean officials are quoting this Russian official as saying this aircraft veered off its preplanned route as part of a joint patrol between Russia and Chinese aircraft on Tuesday morning and then veered into South Korean airspace.
But now the Russian officials are telling South Korean officials to produce a proof and evidence including timing of the intrusion, location and coordinates as well as any images to help Russia launch its own investigation. And he also said just to ensure that any future -- to avoid any future incidents like this.
So as of now, it seems the Russians have acknowledged it may have indeed accidentally intruded onto South Korea's air space. But as you said it involves other countries as well in the region including Japan and China. I mean all these countries involved -- Russia, China, Japan and South Korea have their own geopolitical disagreements and disputes. That's what make this situation very concerning.
But it seems like all sides are now trying to really battle down the temperature trying to clarify the situation in Beijing. This morning I asked the Chinese defense ministry spokesman about this and he emphasized of course, the Russians and the Chinese aircraft, at least initially were conducting a pre-planned joint air patrol in this area and he emphasize that these four aircrafts involved in the operation did not enter any other country's airspace and saying that -- they emphasized this out -- it was routine and was not targeting any other country.
So now it seems like the situation is becoming clearer and we are just waiting to see what the Moscow side is going to add now that Russian officials in Seoul has acknowledged a possible intrusion on South Korean airspace -- John.
VAUSE: It seems mistakes were made, I guess.
Steven -- thank you. We appreciate you being on top of the story. Thanks.
Well, the U.S. Justice Department is launching a formal anti-trust review of the biggest tech companies and some of them in the world. The review seems wide ranging and could cover why these tech giants are reducing competition or stifling innovation.
Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon -- they're not mentioned by name but the report did say it would investigates companies that are dominant players. This announcement comes as Facebook braces for a multibillion dollar fine from the Federal Trade Commission for data security and privacy violations.
Facebook and Google declined to comment. Amazon and Apple are yet to respond to our request.
Next up on CNN NEWSROOM -- Europe already struggling to cope with scorching heat. And now guess who's going to get hotter.
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Well, authorities in Singapore say they've seized nearly nine tons of off illegal ivory. It could be the biggest haul in the country's history and it comes from the tusks of nearly 300 elephants. It's worth at $13 million dollars but that is not all. Nearly 13 tons of pangolin scales were also seized. They could fetch more than $35 million dollars in Vietnam and China because they are believed to have medical qualities. It's all headed to Vietnam from the Democratic Republic of Congo at transits through Singapore.
Weather forecasters are warning the U.K. about the sizzle this week -- A heat wave could set records. Temperatures will peak Thursday when the mercury reaches the mid to high 30s. the hottest place in the U.K. will be London and southeast England. France also is getting ready for that record breaking heat. Temperatures in Paris could top 40 degrees Wednesday and Thursday potentially breaking those records which were set just last month.
Let's hear more now from meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. You know, it was hot last month. It's hot this month. What's the bet it's going to be really hot next month.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Pretty good bet it's going to happen again. Yes. And next year as well. We will break down all of this John because heat advisories have
already been issued across a wide spread area of Europe in particular portions of Belgium. A high alert there for extensive heat in place at least the next couple of days. And we're not talking about five six degrees above average. We're talking about running 15 to nearly 20 degrees above average in some of these areas. So among the warmest ever observed.
And climatologically, this time of year, third week of July into he beginning of August, that is what you expect for the northern hemisphere across the summer season to see the peak summer temperatures take shape that's falling in line with when you expect it.
But the severity of it, the extensive nature of it is what's unprecedented. And of course, you notice a very large area of real estate there across the western, central, and southwestern Europe where the heat wave is going to be building over the next couple of days.
In fact Brussels climbs up to 37, eventually just shy of 40 degrees. Notice 22 is what we expect for an average day this time of year. And it cools off dramatically come later into this weekend but still staying above that threshold going in towards the beginning of next week and that's across Brussels.
But morning temperatures, the sun begins to rise in London, temps sitting at 20 degrees, that is closer to what you expect for the afternoon high this time of year around sunrise in Glasgow and we're seeing kind of -- low temperatures coming in at 21 degrees which is one degree warmer than what you're afternoon high should be this time of year.
And if that's not all impressive, look at this London by Thursday expects to climb to 38 degrees. That would be warmer than the forecast high out of Cairo sitting at 37 degrees. So this ridge system plays and extends further going into this weekend, pushes the heat on into portions of Scandinavia for Saturday and Sunday.
And then western Europe gets a brief break there going into this upcoming weekend. But Paris forecast highs somewhere around 42 to 43 degrees, the warmest ever observed in the city is 40.4 from 1947.
And the United Kingdom, a 38 degree observation would come in very close to the all time high for the nation there 38.5 in that deadly heat wave of 2003 only edges that slightly and of course, this is a forecast that could be exceeded there depending on how things play out come Thursday afternoon.
So really an incredible heat wave there in place -- John.
VAUSE: How excited are you about the Olympics next year? The summer games.
JAVAHERI: It's going to be a challenging one, yes.
VAUSE: Well, it's going to be hot I guess. But it's now as I said -- it's now exactly one year until the games play out in Tokyo.
[01:55:05] Good news -- the construction on the stadium which will be home to the track and field events is on schedule as you would expect. The host city is celebrating the milestone with a number of events to try and boost the enthusiasm and the interest ahead of the Olympics.
Joining us now from Tokyo is reporter Kaori Enjoji.
So this is everything that you expect from Tokyo. Little tiny, itty- bitty robots and stuff right.
KAORI ENJOJI, CNN COMMENTATOR: There's going to be a lot of that -- John. And I think there's a little bit of the Olympic carnival going on here in downtown Tokyo to give the public a little bit of flare as to what they can expect in exactly a year from now.
This is going to be a logistical challenge for Japan as well. So all throughout the day this week and today, there are a bunch of dress rehearsals going on around the city. They're stopping the traffic on the highways. The people are being asked to stay at home and not work between 8:00 and 10:00 to try and ease up the congestion because Tokyo is already a pretty dense urban city.
Japan knows that it's going to be in the spotlight and it's a lot of pressure too because they want to stage what they did -- they want to repeat what they did in 1964 when they wowed the world with the Tokyo Olympics back then. This was the big comeback story for Japan after World War II. So they want to make sure that this is a repeat and plus on that experience.
The public is getting fired up. They have 100,000 volunteers already signed up for these events. They're also expecting a lot of people coming through, IOC president Thomas Bach was here in Tokyo to kick things off. There will be a count down later on tonight to mark the 365 days until the Olympics.
And you're just seeing a lot of new technology here, virtual reality I think is going to feature well. You're going to see a lot of robots because this is being Japan (INAUDIBLE) is going to roll out a lot of robots as well.
So if you're watching a javelin event or a discus event, don't expect everyone to be running across the field to get those discs. You're probably going to see a robot go fetch those pieces of equipment.
So I think technology is going to be big. I think they're also going to try and showcase that this is a very eco friendly Olympics.
And what we're expecting in about two hours' time are the medals -- John. And these are all going to be made from donated recycled electronic gadgets
VAUSE: That's kind of cool. Thanks -- Kaori.
And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Stay with us. The news continues with Will Ripley right after the break.
[01:57:32] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
