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Hala Gorani Tonight
Interview With Anna Taylor, Student Activist; Trump Blocks Congressional Access To Whistleblower; Rudy Giuliani Admits Something He Point-Blank Denied; Trump Announces "Highest Level" Of Sanctions Against Iran; CNN Tours Sites Of Strikes On Oil Facilities; U.K. Supreme Court To Rule Early Next Week; U.S. President Contends With Multiple Controversies; CNN Goes Behind-The-Scenes To See What Awaits F1 Fans. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired September 20, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:10]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, happy Friday. I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, we're following two major stories. Climate protests sweep the globe today: Millions of young people have flooded streets around the
world to demand action. I'll ask one leader of this global movement exactly what they want.
Also ahead:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know the identity of the whistleblower. I just hear it's a partisan person, meaning it comes
out from another party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Donald Trump, forced to respond to reports of a whistleblower in the intelligence community who raised a red flag about a conversation Mr.
Trump had with a foreign leader. What we are learning about what the U.S. president said, and to whom? That is coming up in just a few minutes.
We begin with a focus on the health of our planet, Planet Earth. From South Africa to Australia, Thailand to France, hundreds of thousands of
young activists are demanding action on the climate crisis. Students are putting pressure on politicians and policymakers to act on climate issues.
They are raising their voices to say, we do not to inherit a dying planet.
As you can see, about -- many people -- it's estimated about 100,000 -- took to the streets in Australia. Some businesses, like Microsoft, Amazon
and clothing-maker Patagonia are joining this global climate strike. But as Nina dos Santos reports, this is overwhelmingly a youth movement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Australia, they gathered in hundreds of thousands, determined to make their voice heard.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seems that the only people standing on the wrong side of history on this issue, is our government.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): A message of anger, desperation, but also hope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really want to change the future because it's our future and I want to grow up in a good place.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here for my kids' future. Honestly the politicians are doing absolutely nothing and I'm sick to death of it.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Friday's Global Day of Action began in the Pacific Islands, countries that have already been impacted by rising sea
levels.
In Asia, too, students demanded action from their political leaders.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our education won't be important if we don't have a life to live for anymore.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): It is a call to action that reverberated around the world. In the Philippines --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- a better (ph) world, responsible (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- a better (ph) world, responsible (ph).
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): -- in India --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we want? Climate action! When do we want it? Now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want? Climate action! When do we want it? Now.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): -- and in Africa.
DOS SANTOS: Here in London, thousands marched on Parliament, many of them children, accompanied by their parents, and who'd made their own homemade
signs. The message was the same, the world over. It's time today's current leaders took stock of the environmental legacy they're leaving
behind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not going to have a vote in 18 months. I don't have that kind of political power yet. So I'm exercising my voice the only
way I can.
UNIIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to kind of make people think, you know, actually, this is something I really need to be thinking about, something I
really need to be acting on.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): It was a similar theme from protestors in the French capital.
And also in Germany, where activists shut down roads.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A lot of people support our movement, but we want to go a step further because politicians decide on
our future. We urgently demand that something happens.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): A year ago in Sweden, Greta Thunberg began a weekly school strike for climate. Today, on those same streets, students
gathered in the thousands, while she travels the world, advocating for change. A tribute to the power of one individual too young to vote, yet
influential enough to make world leaders listen. Nina dos Santos, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And it is all about young people. More than a million students in New York City got excused from classes today, for a chance to learn lessons
about the climate crisis from some passionate young activists.
And our Chief Climate Correspondent, Bill Weir, joins me now from New York, where the mayor is calling the young people there our conscience. Bill,
talk to us about what's going on where you are. I know it's a bit loud around you.
BILL WEIR, CNN CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a bit loud. We are right at the base of the Canyon of Heroes, the stretch of lower Broadway,
where tradition says they shower ticker tape down on astronauts and baseball champions. But, today, it is tens of thousands of kids who love
the planet, and the family members who love them.
We're actually right next to the family (ph) (INAUDIBLE) --
[14:05:00]
GORANI: His signal's breaking up.
WEIR: -- profits, profits, profits, chanting (ph) shame (ph) (INAUDIBLE) march (ph) crowd so big, New York (INAUDIBLE).
GORANI: Yes. Keep the aerial pictures, would you mind?
WEIR: -- four million kids around the world took to the streets. But somewhere in this throng (ph) --
GORANI: All right. Bill, apologies, we're having problems -- oh.
WEIR: -- Hala, is Greta Thunberg.
GORANI: Bill, go ahead, actually. We've got you back. Your audio broke up --
WEIR: I'm sorry, I can't --
GORANI: -- a lot --
WEIR: -- I'm having a hard time --
GORANI: -- keep going, Bill.
WEIR: Yes. Somewhere in the crowd is Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old teenager -- who's this? Oh, I got you there. Forgive the communication
difficulties, folks. But, yes, somewhere in here is Greta, the famous, now, Swedish teenager who plopped down in front of Parliament just about a
year ago in Stockholm, and said she wasn't going to school because if adults don't care about her future, she doesn't either.
And look at what that movement, that small, slight, soft-spoken, wide-eyed girl, look at what she's inspired here today. And this is just one world
capital, where the crowds are massive.
GORANI: Bill Weir, our chief climate correspondent. Thanks very much, live from New York. Apologies for those comms problems. But, really, we
got the message here, as you can see from this aerial footage that we're -- on your screens right now, hundreds of thousands of people, it's estimated,
across the United States. And certainly, thousands of people -- young, mainly, demonstrators and protestors, in other big capitals around the
world.
In London as well, there was a march. Take a look at some of these images.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now! What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now! What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!
GORANI: There were 200 climate demonstrations organized across this country today. In London, many other cities as well. The energy, the
ideas and the action on climate change, coming from young people.
Anna Taylor is here with me. She's one of those activists. She's the co- founder of the U.K. Student Climate Network. Thanks for being with us. So you're 18 years old. You were telling me you were 17 years old, last time
you were interviewed by CNN. What inspired you? Was it Greta Thunberg?
ANNA TAYLOR, CO-FOUNDER, U.K. STUDENT CLIMATE NETWORK: Originally, it was actually the Australian students, going out on strike in Autumn. It was
when I started to see loads -- you know, thousands of students my age, going out onto the streets in their own country, and I realized that it
wasn't happening in the U.K., which is what pushed me to try and spark a new surge of activism here.
GORANI: Talk to us about today, your day today.
TAYLOR: Today has been a very emotional day. We've been striking for over six months now, and today's the first day that students have called on
adults to go on strike with them. It's a very significant global strike. We've had millions worldwide, and it's sending a clear message out to the
world leaders, that what they're doing is not enough currently.
GORANI: What do you want them to do, more than they're doing?
TAYLOR: We want them to implement the urgent action we need on climate change. In the U.K., we're calling for a Green New Deal, which is a just
transition towards a green economy, whilst also addressing the social and economic injustices in our society.
GORANI: And what -- I mean, you're now old enough to vote. And many of you friends, who've demonstrated and protested with you, are also old
enough to vote. How do you plan on using that vote? I mean, are -- in terms of elections and pressuring, perhaps, candidates to commit to --
(CROSSTALK)
TAYLOR: Certainly, I think it's important --
GORANI: -- your future?
TAYLOR: -- to pressure all candidates regardless of their political party. It's something that everyone should commit to. Though I also do believe
that the system we have at the moment, will not enable the type of transition we need in order to transform into a green economy.
GORANI: You need a radical rethink. By the way, the education secretary in your country, Gavin Williamson, said, "Every child should be in school.
They shouldn't be bunking off, and it's very irresponsible for people to encourage children to do so." This is the education secretary, so he's in
charge of schools across this country.
TAYLOR: Yes. We've heard that a lot over the last six months.
GORANI: What's your reaction?
TAYLOR: And my reaction to that would be that I've learned more as a result of the climate strike movement than I did in my last year of school.
This is about science, it's about the facts, and kids feel empowered by going out on strike. It benefits them so much.
And what's -- you know, you're comparing missing one day of school to our entire future, to the future of this planet. It's a very silly comparison
to make.
GORANI: Do you think my generation and previous generations have failed you? And if so, how?
TAYLOR: I think focusing the question on blame can be very problematic, because it's not about blaming people. It's about working together towards
the solutions. We do feel let down by past generations, we do feel very let down by those in power. But it's also incredibly empowering to realize
that the public is starting to wake up, and now they're coming on strike with us and we do have widespread support from those generations.
[14:10:02]
GORANI: Anna Taylor. Good luck, you're going to university tomorrow, first day of uni. Good luck to you. What are you studying?
TAYLOR: Thank you. English lit and history.
GORANI: All right. Maybe you'll be a journalist there. That happens. English lit and history are very, very popular -- popular areas of study
for journalism. Thanks so much for joining us, Anna, and good luck.
TAYLOR: Thank you.
GORANI: A beautiful, totally appropriate conversation. That's what U.S. President Donald Trump calls his talks with a foreign leader that triggered
an urgent whistleblower complaint by an American intelligence official.
Mr. Trump spoke about this controversy today, during a meeting with Australia's prime minister. "The Washington Post" and "New York Times" now
report the president's mysterious conversation involved Ukraine and an unknown promise. We still don't know who was on the other end of the
phone. Was it the Ukrainian president, Zelensky? We're not sure.
Mr. Trump calls this story ridiculous and a potential hack job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: -- don't know the identity of the whistleblower, I just hear it's a partisan person, meaning it comes out from another party. But I don't have
--
Which conversation?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we're trying to figure out which conversation - -
TRUMP: Well, figure it out. You're supposed to be the media. Figure it out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: July 25th, it was some --
TRUMP: It was -- which conversation?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: July 25th with the president of Ukraine (ph)?
TRUMP: I really don't know. I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The Trump administration is preventing its top intelligence chief from turning over that complaint by the whistleblower to Congress. That is
required by law. A top congressional Democrat is now vowing to get to the bottom of this, quote, "come Hell or high water."
Let's bring in White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins and congressional correspondent Sunlen Serfaty. What more are we learning, Kaitlan, about
this whistleblower story, and why the White House is saying, to its intelligence chiefs, do not share this with Congress?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, the White House isn't detailing why they're blocking that complaint from getting to
Congress, if it is, as they've maintained, above-board and appropriate, as you heard the president say there, in the Oval Office today.
And while the president is defending himself against this claim and dismissing it as a political job. He's also admitting he doesn't know who
it is that made this complaint against him. The president said, today, he doesn't know the identity of the whistleblower.
He said he also hasn't read the whistleblower's complaint, though he said his staff had and that they laughed and that they laughed at the complaint,
though he didn't detail exactly why it is they were laughing at the matter, including because it is a whistleblower saying that the president made a
commitment that was so alarming to them, they felt the need to go to this length to make this complaint.
The other thing we don't know is whether or not it was this call the president had, back at the end of July, with the Ukrainian president, that
caused this complaint to happen. It was filed about two weeks after that call took place. It's the last known call we have where the president
spoke with the Ukrainian president.
And while he was asked about that today, he said he didn't know if that was the communication that was at issue here. But the president said that that
was an appropriate call. Yet he did not deny speaking to the Ukrainian president about Joe Biden during that call, as some have alleged could have
been the option.
His critics are saying, potentially the president talked about Joe Biden, pushed the Ukrainians to investigate Joe Biden and his role in removing
that Ukrainian prosecutor. Because, of course, that would be troublesome, if the president did go to that length to do that and threatened to
withdraw or withhold foreign aid if they did not pursue that investigation.
GORANI: And, Sunlen, what options does Congress have at this point, to try to get more information on this complaint? To -- because this complaint is
just not being shared them, as is required by law.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right, and that's what we have seen from the chairman of the House Intelligence
Committee. We've seen from him, over the last 24, 48 hours since this story broke, really pushing hard for the information, and confirming that
they are essentially going to use every tool in their toolbox to try to get it.
And you noted that very strong quote from Adam Schiff this morning, where he says, come Hell or high water, we're going to get our hands on this
complaint, that they of course have not seen yet. We do know, according to sources, that they are talking right now to House Counsel to see
potentially what sort of legal avenues that they could take here.
But of course, that certainly could -- has a likelihood to unfold over weeks, potentially even months. But certainly, Adam Schiff, as the
chairman of the committee, has the full backing of Nancy Pelosi.
Notably, this morning, she told my colleague Ted Barrett that this is the law, that the DNI should sent the information. And she said -- "shall,"
not "should" -- shall send that information to Congress. So, certainly, the support of Nancy Pelosi to push forward in whatever avenues they take,
is important.
And, notably, the acting DNI director will be up here on the Hill next week, a big potentially explosive hearing on Thursday of next week, where,
certainly, lawmakers will push him for this information. But, of course, no indication that he will give over anything.
GORANI: And, Kaitlan, Rudy Giuliani, the president's lawyer, yesterday, was in an explosive interview situation with Chris Cuomo. And then within
seconds, he denied then admitted that he'd asked Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his family. Did the president react to that at all today?
[14:15:14]
COLLINS: Yes. Explosive is one word for that interview. And as you watched Rudy Giuliani go back and forth about whether or not he had pushed
the Ukrainians to do that, later admitting he had, you saw the president take a similar line of approach today.
Because that was last night, when Rudy Giuliani first started saying that they believed this whistleblower was a Democrat. That's what Rudy Giuliani
said, even though he provided no basis for -- or evidence for why he believed that. And you saw the president say similar today.
And then the president also took other similar lines, this (ph) attack, saying that he believed any conversations he had with these world leaders
was appropriate regardless of what he said. He believed they were all above-board.
And of course, the question is whether or not it was the president and Rudy Giuliani, acting in concert to speak with those Ukrainian officials.
Because we know this is something Rudy Giuliani has been trying to do for several months now, including back to May, when he scheduled a trip to go
to Ukraine to discuss this matter with officials, and then cancelled it after he was receiving a lot of backlash for it.
Even though he did cancel that trip, he has spoken with other Ukrainian officials about it. And we're told privately, this is a subject that the
president is interested in. And they feel, in their mind, that the media is not going far enough to cover it, even though there are questions about
the validity of it and what exactly these accusations are that the president and Rudy Giuliani are making today.
But the president did make clear today, he is not going to stop talking about this. In fact, he was encouraging reporters in the Oval Office to
look into it, without noticing the fact that this whole whistleblower complaint has stemmed from something the president himself has said.
GORANI: Thanks so much, Kaitlan Collins and Sunlen Serfaty.
Coming up next, more on this whistleblower scandal entangling the White House. We'll speak with a former chairman of the House Intelligence
Committee.
Plus, this new piece of the puzzle we were just referencing (INAUDIBLE):
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST, CUOMO PRIME TIME: So you did ask Ukraine to look into Joe Biden?
RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: Of course I did.
CUOMO: You just said you didn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: President Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, admits something he had just point-blank denied. How does his awkward admission
relate to this reported promise by President Trump that caused concern in the intelligence community? We'll explain, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: I want to return to the whistleblower scandal involving the U.S. president, but I want to give you all the context that you need to
understand it, because this is a story that goes back in time. So I want to back up for one second to April. That's when TV comedian-turned-
politician Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president of Ukraine.
A couple of weeks later, Donald Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, said he was going to Ukraine to talk about a dropped corruption
investigation into a company linked to Joe Biden's son, Hunter. Giuliani scrubbed the trip under pressure. That was in April.
[14:20:01]
But then in July, the meeting ended up happening. Giuliani held talks in Madrid with an aide to Zelensky, a meeting set up by the State Department.
And in late July, July 25th, to be exact, President Trump talked on the phone to the Ukrainian president, a phone call that "The Washington Post"
and "New York Times" say is at the center of this whistleblower controversy.
On August 12th, the whistleblower voiced concerns to the inspector general. And later in August, President Trump put a hold on $250 million in military
aid to Ukraine. At the time, officials said the president wanted to make sure that American interests were being prioritized.
Then, on September 9th, three Democrat-led House committees announced that they would investigate Rudy Giuliani and efforts to influence Ukrainian
investigations. Just three days later, the Trump administration announced that it would unfreeze the $250 million in aid, promised to Ukraine. Of
course, I should also mention, President Trump and Ukraine's president are expected to meet face to face next week at the U.N. General Assembly.
Ukraine seems to be a key part of this whistleblower scandal, therefore. And this led to a bizarre and awkward moment -- very awkward -- Thursday
night, when CNN's Chris Cuomo asked Giuliani about his talks with Ukraine on behalf of the president, and Giuliani contradicted himself within
seconds. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: Did you ask the Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden?
GIULIANI: No. Actually, I didn't. I asked the Ukraine to investigate the allegations that there was interference in the election of 2016 by the
Ukrainians for the benefit of Hillary Clinton, for which there already is a --
CUOMO: You never asked anything about Hunter Biden? You never asked anything about Joe Biden and his role with (ph) the prosecutor?
GIULIANI: The only thing I ask about Joe Biden is to get to the bottom of how it was that Lutsenko, who was appointed --
CUOMO: Right.
GIULIANI: -- dismissed the case against AntAC --
CUOMO: So you did ask Ukraine to look into Joe Biden.
GIULIANI: Of course I did.
CUOMO: You just said you didn't.
GIULIANI: No, I didn't ask him to look into Joe Biden, I asked him to look into the allegations that related to my client, which tangentially involve
Joe Biden in a massive bribery scheme --
CUOMO: Rudy --
GIULIANI: -- not unlike --
CUOMO: Rudy --
GIULIANI: -- what he did in China.
CUOMO: Rudy --
GIULIANI: You explain to me how the kid got $1.5 billion from China --
CUOMO: Rudy, I have no problem with you launching (ph) allegations --
GIULIANI: -- when Joe Biden was selling us out --
CUOMO: -- but just be careful about what you say. I asked you, did you ask Ukraine to --
GIULIANI: I am very careful about what I say.
CUOMO: -- look at Joe Biden? you said no.
GIULIANI: I didn't --
CUOMO: Then you went on to say that you did.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Let's bring in Mike Rogers, CNN national security commentator, live from Washington. He's also the Republican former chairman of the
House Intelligence Committee. What do you make of this exchange between Chris Cuomo and Rudy Giuliani, where he denies then admits, almost in a
single breath, having asked Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his family?
MIKE ROGERS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COMMENTATOR: Clearly, the campaign has been engaged, being Rudy Giuliani as the leader of that, in seeking
these kind of -- this kind of information for the benefit of their campaign. And it happened when he was trying to go to Ukraine earlier.
And by the way --
GORANI: Yes.
ROGERS: -- he said he was going there, he said he wanted to do an investigation there, he said he was going to try to gather up information
that he would use in the campaign. And, to me, this is just an extension of it.
You know, obviously, it wasn't a very clear exchange there. But clearly, that happened. And I guess, again, the question is, is this something that
the president was also doing in conversations with the senior leadership in Ukraine? That, to me, would be the biggest issue here.
GORANI: Because the issue being, is the president using his office to promise something or withhold aid in exchange for asking Ukraine to
investigate a political rival. And that would be a serious, serious issue, if that's the case.
ROGERS: If it's the case, absolutely. And just -- I mean, for the audience here, there -- what happens in these complaints, it's a
whistleblower complaint. It says, you know, Mike Rogers, whistleblower, says that, you know, person A did this bad thing. And I make that
allegation or that -- and I allege that in a form, and it goes to the I.G.
The I.G. then has to determine, is this even credible for an investigation? Or is it not credible for an investigation. He determined it was credible.
And that's what stirred all this up. Remember, it's not a completed investigation, it's only one person's allegation.
GORANI: But it's also being withheld -- right, but it's also being withheld from Congress. And that's something --
ROGERS: Right.
GORANI: -- that Congress and Adam Schiff, who's the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is saying is unacceptable, and that he's
going to do everything he can to get this information.
ROGERS: Yes. I always found, when I was chairman, that any time the government would say, no, you can't have it, it's -- that was just a long
and painful way to yes. And so it's going to come out --
GORANI: Right.
ROGERS: -- and you can already see it dribbling out. And I think it's a mistake for them not to go ahead and say, take a look at the complaint.
Remember, no investigation -- I think, you know, it's all hyped up that this is the conclusion. This is just the allegation. And by law, it
should be -- it should go to Congress for at least the notification, so they can make some determination if it has a bigger problem within any
organization.
[14:25:11]
Obviously, the difference here, the law wasn't written thinking that the president of the United States would be the one that has been reported on.
So that -- there is some blurry --
GORANI: Yes.
ROGERS: -- gray areas in the law on this particular issue.
GORANI: And when you were chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, did you ever have a case that you had to consider where a whistleblower was
implicating the president of the United States?
ROGERS: No, never. Nothing even close to that. Most of the whistleblowers, even though they had some serious allegations, maybe on
policy sometimes, they didn't like a certain policy that an intelligence agency might be engaged in, that happened.
And, you know, eight out of 10 whistleblower complaints that came through the committee, were found to be not of merit. But they are taken
seriously. And everyone has to be taken seriously, but nothing like this. I don't know if there's ever been, on record, one of these cases that
implicated the president of the United States.
GORANI: How concerned are you? And I know this is not the conclusion to an investigation, as you rightly pointed out. But how concerned are you
that the president's personal attorney is essentially admitting -- he is his attorney -- that he asked Ukraine to look into Biden and his family?
Is that something --
ROGERS: Yes, no.
GORANI: -- that, in itself, warrants looking into? I mean, forgetting the whistleblower aspect, almost, here.
ROGERS: You know, I came out pretty strongly when Hillary Clinton's campaign went and engaged private investigators to look at dirt in foreign
countries, I thought that was bad. I think this is equally as bad, and we ought to talk about it. This is not the normal way that these campaigns
should be run. And we all should be concerned about it.
I don't -- it would not be illegal for him to do that, but it certainly is unseemly and I would question the tactics of this, if you want the United
States to remain in the position of moral authority in the world, this is not a way to do it.
GORANI: But so it's not illegal? I mean, just for the benefit of our international viewers, it is not technically illegal for the president of
the United States' attorney to ask a foreign government to investigate and find dirt on the political rivals of a sitting president? That's not
against the law?
ROGERS: It is not against the law. Remember, he does this in a private capacity, not a government capacity.
GORANI: Right.
ROGERS: And that's a very big difference in U.S. law, so that it wouldn't be illegal for him to do it. And that's why he's so open about saying it
on national TV. He knows it's not illegal to do it. But as I said, you know, if you want to maintain moral authority, this is certainly not the
way to do it.
GORANI: And, lastly, this whistleblower, if for whatever reason the information from the complaint keeps being blocked and not sent to
Congress, do you think this whistleblower should go straight to Congress?
ROGERS: You know, as I have said, multiple times, you -- this whistleblower has the ability to go to Congress, as long as it's the
jurisdiction, which would be the intelligence committees, either the Senate or the House or both, he has the ability to do it.
GORANI: Yes.
ROGERS: I would argue, if they don't feel that they're getting some adjudication along this process, then maybe that would be the right way to
go.
I will say this, just in the sense of following the law. The president, the executive branch does have the ability to say, you know, stop, only
because this was an executive privilege conversation, I have the right as president to have frank and open conversations with foreign leaders.
So he has the right to do that. But at some point, they'll have to be a check on that. And that's where I think this process needs to be allowed
to go forward. And if it is nothing, great, we can move on. But if it's something more than that and if there were some promises made, that is
about as serious as you can get.
GORANI: Mike Rogers, thanks so much for joining us. We really appreciate your time.
ROGERS: Thanks for having me.
GORANI: Still -- thanks.
Still to come tonight, U.S. President Donald Trump slaps new sanctions on Iran while talking up the possibility of military action, but he says he's
going to show restraint instead, at least for now. Details ahead. We'll be right back.
[14:29:09]
Also, the U.K. prime minister says his side is making progress in Brexit negotiations, but his plans still hang on a much-anticipated Supreme Court
ruling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:41]
GORANI: As we've reported, the U.S. blames Iran for last weekend's attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities. And it's now ramping up sanctions on
Tehran in response. Here's how the American president, Donald Trump and treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, announced the new measures earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have just sanctioned the Iranian national bank and that is their central banking system and it's
going to be at the highest level of sanctions.
STEVEN MNUCHIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: This is very big. We've now cut off all source of funds to Iran.
TRUMP: These are the highest sanctions ever imposed on a country. We've never done it to this level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Mr. Trump later added that he thinks he's showing, great restraint with Iran, saying that it would be, very easy, a very easy decision to go
into the country for military action.
Nick Paton Walsh joins me now from Tehran with more.
What impact will these additional sanctions have? Because I mean, people could be forgiven for thinking that the U.S. had already applied what it
called maximum pressure. What difference will these make?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTENTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I don't really know. And I've been talking to analysts as they're renounced, and
they're not particularly sure either.
The two elements that will be sanctions are the central bank. Well, that was already sanctioned when Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal again.
And that sovereign wealth fund called the NDF.
Now, nobody really knows how much money is left in that and where it is around the world. They say in the treasury press release, the $5 billion
have taken out in January of this year, suggesting that quite likely Iranian government knew it may be the target down the line.
The big difference about this designation is that they're all prescribed as being assistant to terror organizations, because of the link between these
parts of the Iranian government and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, which the U.S., a few months ago, prescribed as a terror group itself with
an extraordinary move.
But it isn't really clear, given how these organizations were already under a cloud, the potential sanctions, all sanctions themselves before, but this
suddenly makes people change their minds about doing business with them.
A lot of this could have been predicted. There's some questions about whether or not restricting the central bank's ability to change foreign
money might hamper humanitarian aid, but at the same time, the U.S. says it doesn't want to do that.
So the one analyst said to me really, Trump has already emptied his magazine when it comes to sanctions. The only thing left they could do is
apply terror designation sanctions against people like third countries like Russia or China to do business with these entities they're already
sanctions, and that would be a far-reaching foreign policy move. It'd be very complicated indeed.
So, well, Donald Trump sounded very forceful there. You're right to say, Hala, he's pretty much, given all the sanctions he can towards Iran,
they're finding ways around it and these actual ones may sound tough, but they're probably not going to change at all in the immediate future.
GORANI: So, where do we go from here? I mean, there are no talks possible --
WALSH: Extraordinary, isn't it? Yes.
GORANI: -- because on -- right. On the one -- on the one hand, on the one side of things, Iran is saying unless you lift sanctions, we're not going
to come to the table. The U.S. is slapping more sanctions even if they're symbolic at this stage.
But it all appears pretty deadlock in terms of moving forward in any kind of positive way.
WALSH: Except you have an episode in which no one doubts. There's been a substantial attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities when this dispute is
about who did it.
[14:35:00]
But there's been no major retaliation or change in the posturing in this particular region. So, you're right to say, yes, diplomacy is off the
table. Unless the sanctions from the nuclear deal removed, we're quite clear, he told yesterday, by the foreign minister, will be no talks with
the United States, maybe with Iran's neighbors, maybe with the United Arab Emirates or the Saudis. That's possible.
We'll have to see what happens when Iran and the president and the foreign minister go to the U.N. General Assembly in the coming days in New York.
One of them already having arrived.
There has been very likely no military action plans in the days ahead. You heard Donald Trump there talking about how he felt strong if he was being
restrained, saying strangely that he can order a strike that very minute. We should get the reporters in the room, a big story, if he did it.
So he's clearly not wanting to do that just yet to this particular point and their suggestions as officials are presenting with different military
options short to something what they would call kinetic i.e. violent.
As to the question, what is the conclusion from all of this? There has been an attack. The U.S. and Saudi have blamed Iran certainly. They've
not been particularly good of putting conclusive evidence forward to suggest these things were launched from Iranian territory themselves.
The Houthis, the rebels in Yemen who claimed this attack are still saying that. And so, we're left in a point where there has been a substantial
attack on Saudi severing territory, but no come backs yet at this particular point. Diplomacy ongoing, then try to talk about voting a
security alliance. But some might say that even if Iran didn't do this, they might be looking at how this week has turned out. And they seemed to
have come out relatively unscathed, Hala?
GORANI: Nick Paton Walsh, thanks very much.
Well, Nick mentioned that attack on Saudi oil facility, and we're getting an inside look at that facility targeted in the attack. The officials are
praising recovery efforts as they pledge to boost oil production.
Our Nic Robertson is on the ground and he got a tour of the damage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So when it hits, these metals spread. It's not the civilization that has affected, it's the piping associated.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (on-camera): So it's the piping that has the most damage of everything? It's the most
important.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The piping, the civilizers, and the boilers, and many things.
ROBERTSON: And how long is it going to take to repair?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's coming back. You see, this was not the same. This was burned.
ROBERTSON: What have you done to it already?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We fixed the shield, we fixed the piping, we fixed the system, we changed the whole thing. Supply chain is moving like a train.
And people are working day and night.
ROBERTSON: Tell me about these holes here. This is from the shrapnel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is from one of the lines. It had several effects of it.
ROBERTSON: So, it's big pieces of shrapnel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ROBERTSON: This gives you an idea of the size of some of the shrapnel flying around here. Look, palm size. Huge holes punched in this thick,
quarter inch thick steel piping. That's the ferocity of the attack.
ROBERTSON: Officials here say they were on sight putting out the fire within 10 minutes of the first explosion. They say that they were affected
getting it under control within about five minutes. The other explosions, they say, it took them about four or five hours here to get those fires
under control. They are proud, they say, that within 24 hours, they got capacity up here, backup to 30 percent.
But the real problem for Saudi Arabia right now is not in reviving the full production here at this plant, but the recovery of international confidence
that this is a one-off strike and not a signal of a wider war to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Nic Robertson reporting there from the facility in Saudi Arabia. And officials there were very eager to show journalists around and show
them the damage.
As the end of another week of Brexit negotiations come to a close, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters, the U.K. is making progress in
Brexit negotiations.
The British Brexit secretary, and the E.U.'s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, held talks in Brussels earlier today. That meeting left Mr.
Johnson feeling more confident that a deal could be secured by October 31st.
But he says his government is also preparing for a no-deal Brexit. So no change in rhetoric there. And there's the prime minister there touring a
part of England.
But in London, there are still issues for the prime minister to deal with. The U.K. Supreme Court has wrapped up three days of hearings to decide on
the legality of the prime minister's decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks. A verdict is expected next week. Here's Matthew Chance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the latest flashpoints in Britain's agonizing Brexit, the country's highest
court being dragged to battle.
While protesters banging at the doors, the real fight over a five-week government suspension on prorogation at Parliament rages inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ongoing issues around the approach to be taken.
[14:40:01]
CHANCE: Well, as the critics of the government argued, it was an undemocratic and illegal move.
DAVID PANNICK, PLAINTIFF GINA MILLER'S LAWYER: The prime minister's motive was to silence parliament for that period because he sees parliament as an
obstacle to the furtherance of his political aims.
CHANCE: Not true says the government. But even if it was, it's a matter of political judgment, not law, state the government's lawyers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are dealing with a prerogative power. It's a prerogative power that has been especially preserved by parliament.
CHANCE (on-camera): Lower British courts have already issued conflicting rulings on the issue leaving it to the 11 judges sitting here in the
Supreme Court in London to decide which view should prevail.
It's important because it's an extraordinary use of the British court system to check the power of the prime minister. And the final decision
could have a profound impact of the way this country works.
CHANCE (voice-over): It could also have an impact on Boris Johnson whose first week as British prime minister have been dogged by public heckle
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you should be in Brussels negotiating. Where is the negotiation going on?
CHANCE: There's also the unprecedented loss of his first six votes in parliament.
JOHN BERCOW, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: The noes to the left 46 --
CHANCE: And even an embarrassing diplomatic snub in the tiny European state of Luxembourg where he was empty chaired by its prime minister. The
decision of the Supreme Court back in Britain could deliver yet another humiliation.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still ahead tonight, never a dull moment for the U.S. President Trump from dismissing an urgent whistleblower complaint to warning Iran
that the United States is locked and loaded. It's been a heck of a week at the White House. We'll bring you the latest next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: If you feel overwhelmed by all the headlines coming out of the White House, you're not alone. It's hard to keep up and to keep track of
the seemingly endless controversies, political attacks and palace intrigue.
But there were some big developments that stood out this week, even for an administration that is no stranger to scandal. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI (voice-over): Another week rich in drama and mixed signals from the White House. The U.S. President used Twitter to weigh in on a week rich
and big developments.
On Monday, fallout from a weekend report detailing fresh allegations against Supreme Court Justice, Brett Kavanaugh. For the president, this
was a smear story.
Tuesday, more fireworks on Capitol Hill. A former Trump campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, in a combative Q&A session with House representatives.
COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Oh, I'm sorry. Nobody in front of Congress has ever lied to the public before. I'm sorry.
[14:45:01]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, is that an admission that you did you lie?
LEWANDOWSKI: Absolutely not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you lie, sir, in television interviews denying that you have been asked to give answers to the special counsel?
LEWANDOWSKI: I don't believe so.
GORANI: Followed by a stunning admission.
LEWANDOWSKI: I have no obligation being honest to the media.
GORANI: Again, the president used Twitter to jump to his supporter's defense, defending himself against accusations of wrongdoing.
There was no midweek slump in the news cycle with several explosive moves by President Trump. First, announcing an increase of sanctions on Iran,
following that weekend attack on Saudi oil facilities.
Earlier in the week, it was this with a locked and loaded tweet.
But asked by Fox News about the tough talk seemingly threatening military action, the president soften his tone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you tweet locked and loaded if you don't want to go to war?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we'll see what happens. I mean, you may have some very strong hit where the strongest
military in the world by far. We can have a peaceful solution that's good. It's possible that that won't happen.
GORANI: That same day, Trump went on another offensive, this time, against his country's federal reserve, slamming his own appointee, Chairman Jerome
Powell, even after Powell cut interest rates a quarter point, less than the president wanted, leading to questions. Will he try to push him out?
TRUMP: I'm not thrilled with the Fed. But despite that, we have an incredible economy and we don't have inflation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chairman Powell's job is safe?
TRUMP: It's safe. Yes, it's safe. I mean --
GORANI: And another big development. The president announced the appointment of a new national security advisor, Robert O'Brien.
TRUMP: A lot of people that I respect rated him as their absolute number one choice.
GORANI: Late Wednesday night, a bombshell and fallout that would carry the rest of the week. A Washington post report about a whistleblower inside
the intelligence community, so troubled by a promise the president allegedly made to a foreign leader that he made an official complaint about
the matter, identified in two reports as being Ukraine.
TRUMP: I don't know the identity of the whistleblower. I just hear it's a partisan person. Meaning, it comes out from another party. But I don't
have any idea. But I can say that it was a totally appropriate conversation. It was actually a beautiful conversation.
GORANI: But for Congress, this is not the end of the matter. They will fight, they say, to get more information.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): We do not have the complaint. We do not know whether the press reports are accurate or inaccurate about the contents of
that complaint.
GORANI: Capping off a week of wild developments and even wilder interview on CNN. Anchor Chris Cuomo chats with Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy
Giuliani, he denied then admitted that he urged the key of government to open investigations that the president could use to raise suspicions about
his political rivals including Joe Biden.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Did the president talked to the Ukrainian president about what he wanted done with Joe Biden and what he wanted done
with Paul Manafort?
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: I have no idea. I've never asked him that. I don't know if he did. And I wouldn't care if he
did. He had every right to do it as the president of the United States.
GORANI: As we stake stock of yet another eventful few days, remember, the week is not over yet.
TRUMP: We're not being affected at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, we're joined now by CNN Political Director, David Chalian.
David, what do we make of the president's reaction to that whistleblower report that within the intelligence community, someone was so concerned
about a conversation he had with the foreign leader, that they made a complaint about it?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, the reaction is a bit odd, it's a bit confused, because the president was speaking today in the Oval
Office with great clarity that about the phone call that he knew what it was, he tweeted about it, he said it was totally appropriate phone call.
But then when asked specifically, is this that July 25th phone call with the president of the Ukraine? And then he said, well, we don't know which
one it is. And he said that the whistleblower here is a partisan whistleblower. But then when asked if he knew the identity of the
whistleblower, he said no, he was just told that it was a partisan from the other side.
So, he seems to have a lot of information about this that we don't have publicly. And yet, then he's claiming ignorance in a lot of issues too.
So, you know, that's part of the Trump strategy, overall, as to trying and cloud the issue a little bit.
GORANI: Would the president have -- the president, presumably, has the information, right? On who the whistleblower is and what the complaint is
exactly or not?
CHALIAN: Well, he claims he does not know who the identity of the whistleblower at all. I don't know if he has read the complaint.
But, Hala, I think you're getting to why this story, of all those stories you've called on this week, it is the one that is going to linger for quite
some time. And that is because why -- what are they hiding? What is being kept from the public? There is a -- there is a process here. And the
administration is trying to short circuit that process in terms of Congress not having the ability to read and see the whistle blower's complaint,
because the administration is making claims that it doesn't really involved intelligence matters and it's outside the purview.
[14:50:03]
That is a battle between the executive and the legislative branches. A battle between the oversight branch and the executive branch, if you will,
that is going to play out for days and weeks to come.
GORANI: Right. And the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, the Republican, Mike Rogers, told me that in all his years of
fielding whistleblower reports that none had ever involved the president of the United States.
So just for that reason, this is something that I'm sure journalists certainly opposition politicians from the Democratic Party, are not going
to let go.
CHALIAN: Yes. Nor should anyone really let this go, right? I mean, there is a process for this. Obviously, the inspector general felt that it was
an urgent enough need to talk to Congress about it, even though he was being prevented from actually providing the complaint.
So it seems to me that even people like inspector general inside the administration are not eager to let this go, because exactly as you're
saying, what Congressman Rogers said, it's unprecedented.
GORANI: And on Iran and this is, of course, interest to our viewers all around the world watching us now. The president did send mixed signals,
there was a locked and loaded tweet. But it was followed by an increase in sanctions, but then it was followed by real softening in his tone. And an
interview with Fox where, essentially, he said, well, you know, we're putting maximum pressure on the country through these sanctions for now.
It sounded like he's saying that's enough.
CHALIAN: Yes. I mean, he was trying today in the Oval Office to talk up - - you know, the new sanctions are very tough. They go to the very top. He had the treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin there by his side to make the
case for these sanctions. And then clearly seems that any kind of meeting with Iran at the U.N. -- that's off the table.
But you're right to notice -- to different audiences, the president tells or emphasizes different pieces of his story on Iran which is why it is not
entirely clear, I think, where he is going on Iran in a -- remember, he's just shifted national security advisor sort of in a post-Bolton Trump White
House.
GORANI: All right. David Chalian, thanks very much. Have a great weekend.
CHALIAN: Thank you, Hala. You too.
GORANI: Still to come, a lot -- yes. A lot to come. Singapore is getting the engines ready for the Formula One Grand Prix. We'll have that after
this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: This weekend, Singapore lights up for the Formula One Grand Prix. Hundreds of thousands of people are filling the city for the only night
race this season.
And our Kristie Lu Stout has a behind the scenes look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A picture of Italian cool zipping through the streets of Singapore.
Oh, I am feeling every bump on this road in this sidecar.
From heritage sights to candy colored shop houses, a vintage best a sidecar can take you through the city state in style.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to get people they want to jump on your sidecar, especially kids.
LU STOUT: Oh, really?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They love it.
LU STOUT: Oh, that's so sweet.
Founded in 2018. Singapore sidecars is a social enterprise. And an official F1 Singapore partner that gives back by giving visitors a more
local experience.
[14:55:01]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see a lot of local authentic Singapore and you get to connect to get a lot of spots that are usually a little further apart.
It's too far for walking and not so interesting if you're in a bus and you get to experience the journey. So, you are in a completely open-top
vehicles so you can see the architecture, you can see the murals, you can smell the food from the bakeries.
LU STOUT: Really?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And you're getting lots of happy people and smiley faces waving at you.
LU STOUT: I can tell they love it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they love it. Yes.
LU STOUT: As I cruise to Singapore by sidecar to see the sights, and hit the local hawker center, some of the world's most elite drivers are gearing
up for the Grand Prix.
And perhaps, the best way to watch the F1, track side, an air-condition luxury. This is one of Singapore's exclusive hospitality suites 23. A
price at over $4,500 for three days of access. It is ridiculously luxurious for a temporary structure.
Beyond the garden entrance, there's a lineup of folk cuisines, a two-story nightclub, and a secret bar with 23 whiskeys on offer.
SHAMINI SUPPIAH, DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE SALES, SINGAPORE GP: We would like to offer all our guests that walk through the gates of 23, a lifestyle
experience together with the race. It's attention to detail and a lot of hard work.
And I think we do pride ourselves, the whole team of Singapore GP. We pride ourselves in making this an exceptional event.
LU STOUT (on-camera): But it's during the race when 23 really comes to its own. As the name implies, it's located at Turn 23, the final corner of the
circuit.
Lu stout (voice-over): And in the pit lanes, the most famous stretch of the Singapore Grand Prix circuit, there's an air of excitement. Fans get
to take in the experience at race level, getting an up-close view of the cars, and pit cruise in action.
From motorsport to motor scooters. The Singapore Gran Prix offers thrills both inside the track and on the road less traveled.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Singapore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Finally, welcoming a baby rhino into the world from the Royal Burger's Zoo in the Netherlands. Always a happy occasion.
It's a male rhino calf born on the 15th of August. He stepped out of his stable and into the great Savannah plains today with his mother and five
other rhinos.
He's apparently a brave and curious one, showing no fear of his new environment as he saw giraffes and antelopes for the first time. We need
more rhinos.
Thanks for watching tonight. On that note, on that rhino note, I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
