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The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo

Hundreds Disembark From Diamond Princess Cruise Ship; More Than 2,000 Deaths, Nearly 76,000 Coronavirus Infections; Assange Attorney: Trump Offered WikiLeaks Founder A Pardon If He'd Deny Russian Involvement In DNC Hack; Democratic Candidates Face Off In Nevada; Candidates Accuse Bloomberg Of Trying To "Buy" Election; Bloomberg To Take Debate Stage As Sexism Allegations Resurface; E.U. Immigration Limited Under New U.K. Rules; Brexit Trade Deal Could Include Fate Of Parthenon Marbles. Aired 5-5:30p ET

Aired February 19, 2020 - 17:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter @JakeTapper. Tweet the show @TheLeadCNN. Our coverage on CNN continues

right now. Thanks so much for watching. See you tomorrow.

[17:00:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Tonight on THE BRIEF, new fears of coronavirus in Japan after some passengers are allowed to disembark the

quarantined cruise ship.

Julian Assange's defense team say President Trump wanted to offer the WikiLeaks founder a pardon.

And as the jury in the Weinstein trial decides his fate, I'll speak to the woman behind the MeToo movement.

Live from London, I'm Bianca Nobilo. Welcome to the show. Now that people have begun to leave the Diamond Princess cruise ship, it's kicking off a

whole new set of fears about whether they're bringing coronavirus with them.

Around 800 people, all tested negative, left the ship, Wednesday, according to Japanese officials. Those people free to go where they like. But experts

worry that they might still be capable of spreading the virus. Officials reported 79 new cases on board the ship, and there are still more than

3,000 people waiting to leave. A passenger who's now at home describes the anxiety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): She says every day it'd be 60, 70, 99 new infections. We were scared how powerful this is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: As healthy passengers disembarked, they were greeted by the cruise lines President and CEO. She spoke exclusively to CNN about the arduous

process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAN SWARTZ, PRESIDENT/CEO, PRINCESS CRUISES: Today as our guest disembarked, they had tested negative for coronavirus. They had a health

check right before they got off. They had a thermal screening. And the Japanese Ministry of Health issued them a certificate saying that they had

tested negative for coronavirus.

This is an unprecedented situation. I mean, nobody going on vacation. Thanks that they're going to be notified in the last days that they've got

an extension of 14 days and they're not going to be allowed to live in - their leave their cabin. So our heart breaks for everybody who experienced

this situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Infectious disease expert are troubled by the way that Japan is handling the quarantine on board the Diamond Princess. Our Will Ripley

explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Diamond Princess quarantine is over. At least for some. Passengers who test

negative for novel coronavirus are finally allowed off the ship. Welcome news for them, a dangerous development for others.

RIPLEY (on camera): Is the Diamond Princess a proper quarantine?

KENTARO IWATA, PROFESSOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, KOBE UNIVERSITY: No, I don't think so.

RIPLEY (on camera): So what does that mean now that hundreds of people are being allowed to disembark today?

IWATA Well, I am very concerned.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Kentaro Iwata is a professor of infectious diseases at Japan's Kobe University. He's been on the front lines of deadly outbreaks

for the last 20 years.

RIPLEY (on camera): Have you ever been this frightened of becoming infected yourself in any of those other outbreak situations?

IWATA: Never, even from the Ebola, even from the SARS. I never got this scared.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Iwata visited the cruise ship on Tuesday. What he saw gave him chills.

IWATA: Inside "Princess Diamond," I was so scared because there was no way to tell where the virus is and everybody was not careful about it. There

was no single professional infection control person inside the ship. The bureaucrats were in charge of everything.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Iwata says those bureaucrats kicked him off the ship when he tried sounding the alarm.

RIPLEY (on camera): What did they say when they kicked you off?

IWATA: They didn't say - well, they said somebody really hated you.

RIPLEY (on camera): You were unable to warn people because somebody didn't like you?

IWATA: Exactly.

RIPLEY (voice-over): In a tweet afterwards, the Japan's vice health minister says, Iwata found his way onto the boat without the knowledge of

the person in charge of the cruise quarantine. And he requested the professor get off because he came onboard for a random reason.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people on the ship do face a higher risk of infection. All Americans from the Diamond Princess

must undergo an additional 14-day quarantine before they are allowed to return home. The same is true for Canada, Australia, South Korea and

others.

But everyone leaving the ship has this letter from the Yokohama quarantine station saying they pose no risk of infection. Allowing them to go anywhere

and do anything inside Japan. On the streets of Yokohama, that makes a lot of people nervous.

SOTYIN LI, YOKOHAMA RESIDENT (through translator): I think the outbreak will continue to expand in Japan, says Yin Li from Shanghai. My friends and

I worry it may be the second Wuhan.

TOMOKO (via translator): I'm scared says Kimiko, from Yokohama. I need to protect myself as much as possible.

RIPLEY (on camera): Could people theoretically become infected as they walk off?

IWATA: Yes.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Iwata is now in a self-imposed 14-day quarantine. He urges everyone coming off the ship to do the same before it's too late.

Will Ripley, CNN Yokohama, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: The coronavirus outbreak is claiming more lives. More than 2,000 people have now died, most of them in Mainland China. But we've seen the

first deaths in the Middle East. Iran's Health Ministry says both patients with confirmed infections died Wednesday. They're nearly 76,000 cases

around the world.

China has expelled three reporters from the Wall Street Journal over an opinion piece about coronavirus. Beijing objected to the piece that was

critical of how the country handled the early days of the outbreak. A foreign ministry spokesman said the headline was racist.

[17:05:00]

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo objected, saying, "mature responsible countries understand that a free press reports facts and expressions

opinions. The correct response is to present counterarguments not restrict free speech."

Now to an exclusive claim made in the London courtroom, an attorney for WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange said that U.S. President Donald Trump

offered Assange a pardon if you would say that Russia had quote, "nothing to do with the leak of Democratic Party e-mails."

Mr. Trump's own intelligence agencies have determined Russian hackers were responsible. Those emails were published by WikiLeaks back in 2016, when

the U.S. presidential race was in full swing.

Assange's attorney says the pardon offer came to Assange through an intermediary, U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. He says Rohrabacher

visited Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on Mr. Trump's instructions, encouraging him to quote, label (ph).

Assange is now in prison fighting extradition to the United States where he's wanted on 18 charges. The White House spokesman denies Mr. Trump

offered Assange a pardon, calling it a total lie.

We are now less than four hours away from what could be a game changing debate in the Democratic race for the White House. Six presidential

hopefuls will take the stage in Nevada, a diverse Southwestern state holding caucuses on Saturday. And it will be billionaire Mike Bloomberg

first debate.

And as a betting person, I'd say that he is sure to face attacks from all sides. A new Poll of Polls CNN's average of five national opinion polls

shows Bernie Sanders holding on to a clear lead, followed by Joe Biden and Bloomberg.

Sanders is under fire today for backtracking on a pledge to release his full medical records. The 78-year-old suffered a heart attack back in

September. Then several months later released three letters from physicians stating that he's in good health.

Last night at a CNN Town Hall, Sanders was asked if he would be releasing anything further. He said, I don't think we will. Pete Buttigieg and Amy

Klobuchar also took part in the town halls, all three of them took game at Bloomberg.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All of the candidates, we did town meetings, we're talking to thousands and thousands people

working on. He says, I don't have to do that. I'm worth $60 billion. I have more wealth than the bottom 125 million Americans. I will buy the

presidency.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think Michael Bloomberg is trying to buy the Democratic nomination for president?

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes. Yes.

(APPLAUSE)

BUTTIGIEG: I mean, what else do you call it? What else do you call it when you dip into your endless reserves of millions and billions?

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think you should just be able to buy your way to the presidency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: M.J. Lee is in Las Vegas, the city hosting tonight's debate. And Jay, Bloomberg is going to have a target on his back tonight, you can all

expect that. One thing that probably could come up are his past alleged sexist comments. Do you think that that's going to predominate?

M.J. LEE, CNN U.S. POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well CNN examined two lawsuits dating back to the 1990s. These are lawsuits that were also examined by

other media outlets as well. To talk about the first one, this was brought forth by a woman named Sekiko Garrison.

She's a former Bloomberg L.P. employee. And she described a culture at the company a boy's club like culture, where women were encouraged to have sex

appeal, and she felt that women would lose out on career opportunities if they got married or had children. And she described in this lawsuit,

telling Michael Bloomberg that she was pregnant.

And according to the complaint, she says, that he said, kill it and muttered "Great! Number 16!", suggesting to plaintiffs this is the woman.

His unhappiness that 16 women in the company had maternity related status.

Now, this complaint also describes other crude remarks that Michael Bloomberg allegedly made in the workplace. And I should note that the

Bloomberg campaign adamantly denies that he said anything that is described in this lawsuit.

And I also just want to note about the second lawsuit that CNN examined that this is also brought forth by a former female Bloomberg L.P. employee.

And she says that - and according to this complaint, and "The Village Voices" report, which looked into Michael Bloomberg's deposition as a part

of this lawsuit. It said that Bloomberg said, he would only believe a rape charge if there was an unimpeachable third party witness.

[17:10:00]

And I want to note that, according to Campion spokesman Stu Loeser, it was a contentious deposition. And this is not what Mike believes. So that is

the campaign's official reaction to that. So, as you said, this is just one of the many issues that could come up at tonight's debate, if not in the

coming weeks as Michael Bloomberg campaign continues on.

NOBILO: M.J., we understand you also spoke to a former Bloomberg employee about these lawsuits and the culture at Bloomberg L.P., what did they say

to you?

LEE: That's right. This person that we spoke to who used to work at Bloomberg L.P. says that, what they saw and what they experienced at the

company tracks with the kind of sexism and misogyny described in the two lawsuits that we just talked about. And I just want to share a part of what

that person said. "When you're a woman who worked at Bloomberg, you have to look beautiful, you had to be gorgeous. If you were overweight, they would

call you horrible names. It's mean stuff."

Now, the Bloomberg campaign's overall strategy and pushing back has been to say that Bloomberg himself does not condone this kind of behavior. This is

a part of what his campaign Chairwoman Patti Harris said in a statement. She said, "In any large organization, there are going to be complaints, but

Mike has never tolerated any kind of discrimination or harassment, and he has created cultures that are all about equality and inclusion. Anyone who

works hard and performs well is going to be rewarded regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation or anything else." Back to you.

NOBILO: Thanks M.J. M.J. Lee there for us in Vegas.

A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Northwest Syria and it could get even worse. Turkey's President suggests a military operation against regime

forces is imminent after talks with Syrian ally Russia failed.

With hundreds of thousands of Syrians moving toward the Turkish border, trying to survive a harsh winter is could become an even deeper tragedy.

CNN's Sam Kylie has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bianca, on the international stage there has been a dramatic escalation in terms of the

language of belligerence that could ultimately lead to direct conflict between Turkey and NATO partner and the Syrian government forces, and on

top of them or behind them, the Russians.

Now, the Turkish President, Mr. Erdogan has said that it's only a matter of time before his forces end up engaging with the Syrian government forces

inside Syria because of this massive refugee problem that the Syrian and Russian offensive into what was supposed to been a negotiated, Safe Zone

has driven people into a position of absolute terror and destitution.

And, of course, there are nearly a million people, half of them, at least children are poised potentially to enter Turkish territory. That is

something that Mr. Erdogan will not contemplate. The Russians have hit back verbally saying that that would be the worst possible outcome - a Turkish

clash with Syrian forces.

But the Turks are sending in reinforcements, including heavy weapons like artillery pieces, howitzers, mobile guns, a very formidable power. So it's

very clear that the Turks are very serious, indeed, about the potential threat and the potential danger for outright conflict. Bianca?

NOBILO: Sam Kiley there for us.

Now the U.K. Government unveiled a major part of its Brexit promise today. A new points based immigration system. It says it's aimed at cutting back

on cheap, low skilled labor from the EU. Under the new system, people are given points for job offers, education and the ability to speak English,

much like the system already in place for non-EU immigrants.

I spoke to CNN's Finance Correspondent, Phil Black earlier about this policy change and how businesses are reacting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL FREELANCE REPORTER: Bianca, some employers are concerned and that's because there is a blunt message in this policy.

Low skilled labor isn't welcome in the U.K.

The government says they'll be pretty much no legal route for low skilled workers to move to the U.K. and work here. And that's a real concern for

businesses and industries that have become reliant on an easy access to low skilled immigrant labor from Europe, just something they haven't had to

worry about under the EU's freedom of movement rules. But the government says it has a blunt message for those businesses as well. You just going to

have to get used to it and adjust and you're going to have to do it quickly.

The government says these businesses must invest in their current workforces to encourage them to stick around or invest in technology or

automation. But employer groups say that it's not quite as simple as that. For these businesses, it's not a question of immigrants or technology.

Successful businesses, they say, need both.

[17:15:00]

And so there are real concerns in some industries, about their ability to maintain existing operations, let alone grow in the future. The most

vulnerable industries are said to be hospitality, construction, care workers, and food and drink manufacturers. But so far it seems little

sympathy from a government that is determined to deliver on what was for some people a really big motivating factor in their decision to vote for

Brexit back in that 2016 referendum. Bianca.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Thanks to Phil Black. He is reporting in London.

Coming up on the program. The #MeToo campaign became a driving force and a global fight against sexual harassment and abuse. The founder of the

movement spoke to me earlier about her mission. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: The jury is finished second day of deliberations in the trial of Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer accused of rape and sexual

assault. The jury was given e-mails, testimony and other evidence, Wednesday, to help deliberation.

Weinstein denies the charges and says the relations were consensual. Harvey Weinstein is one of the most famous and powerful figures to fall from grace

after reports of his alleged abuse. The allegations spot outrage around the world and along with several other high profile cases, it propelled the

#MeToo campaign from a grassroots effort into the mainstream, and it became a global movement against sexual harassment and assault.

For today's "Debrief," I sat down with the founder of the #MeToo movement and I asked her what it was like to see the campaign she'd been working on

more than a decade suddenly go viral.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TARANA BURKE, FOUNDED #METOO CAMPAIGN: I think that the thing that surprised me more - I was not surprised by the number. I really wasn't,

just because I know how much - how far it is. I've never been in a room with, you know, 20 people were at least 10 of them couldn't say me too. So

I knew when you blow that up, then you have, you know, the really the whole world is affected by it.

What surprised me more was that there was an attention span for it. There really hadn't been an appetite from people to talk about sexual violence

publicly, and not just for me, for other people in the field who've been doing this work for years, it's been very difficult to crack into the

mainstream. So that part definitely surprised me.

NOBILO: What does society need to do so that people stand up and pay attention to when it's happening, it's not affecting famous people, names

and faces that we recognize. Because, I think, particularly, of women or men who are vulnerable or powerless, and don't have the money for legal

fees and don't have the position to walk away from a job.

[17:20:00]

BURKE: Yes.

NOBILO: What about those people How do we again to support them?

BURKE: Well, you know the thing that's always so fascinating to me is that, if you think about the lifespan of MeToo, and how it started, yes, there

were very famous people who came forward. But that really preceded the moment, the viral moment.

The viral moment happened because of the people you're talking about. Because everyday people got the courage to come forward and say this thing

happened to them. And then we sort of pivoted away, and we don't - the mainstream media, at least, pivoted away and we don't hear enough stories

about those people anymore.

So those of us who have power, in positions of power who have the means to amplify have to do our job and our due diligence to make sure that those

stories are put forward. First, we have to tell a different story. We have to make sure that the narrative is not focused on this really, really

narrow part of the spectrum of sexual violence, because there is really - I mean, we don't talk enough about what happens to children.

And there's been very little conversation about child sexual abuse in this in this moment, when really, the - at the heart of what I was doing was

around child sexual abuse. There is not enough talk about just any number of things, what happens to black and brown women and indigenous people, so

- you know, queer people or trans people. There's just - there's just on and on and on so much, much to the story and I think those of us who have

the power do that have to tell that story.

NOBILO: So you've touched on a couple of key areas there. But what are the main ways that you think the mainstream media then has perhaps

misrepresented the intention behind what you originally meant with the MeToo movement?

BURKE: Well, you know, you see titles like so and so is the latest person to be MeToo, right? The media has turned him into a verb in many ways, and

it's become a sport. People want to see who the next person is, who's going to be accused and who the accuser is and what does the accuser look like

and are they credible? What's going to happen to the person? Will they lose their job? Are they going to tried? This is - it's just become spectator

sport.

NOBILO: Quite salacious.

BURKE: It is and it just - and if you keep coming back to salaciousness and not to the heart of it, there are systems in place that allow this to

happen. If the media is not focusing on power and privilege, particularly the unchecked accumulation of power, right? We don't have enough

conversation about that.

We need to see long, in-depth stories about what it looks like, how do these individuals who've committed these things, what allowed them to stay

in power so long? What are they using their privilege for, you know, and how did they misuse their privilege?

So I think that's some of the job that the mainstream media can do to sort of shift this narrative. This is more than just about the verdict coming

forward and being positive. This is about policy change, and this is about narrative change, and this is about cultural change. This is about things

that are going to affect people's lives long term.

NOBILO: And you talk about power, and you talk about privilege and using it for service. What has the impact of President Donald Trump been on this

movement and the cultural shift that you would want to see?

BURKE: Not positive. If I could put that in a nutshell. It is it is really hard - it's like, you know, swimming upstream is hard to have somebody who

has the most powerful position in your country, the self-proclaimed sexual predator himself. So what kind of example are you setting for the country?

You can't be a moral authority on this topic, because of who you are. And it makes it difficult, being quite honest, but also not insurmountable.

Because he is an elected official, which means that we have the power to vote him out,

NOBILO: What tangible things would you like to see the movement achieve in the next five to 10 years?

BURKE: Well, we want to start with the election. We want to make sure that we have somebody in the White House that's representative of our goals and

our values and who takes sexual violence seriously and can be an example of leadership and accountability. So that would be an immediate goal, that

would be wonderful.

But we're also looking at narrative shift and culture shift, meaning that we want to change what we're seeing in television and movies. We want to

put more programming out that helps people understand the reality of sexual violence and not just what we see on serial television shows, right? We

want to make sure that people understand that this is about survivors. It's about making sure they have the resources they need to heal, but it's also

about taking action to end it.

And so tangibly, we want to train people, particularly people who have survived sexual violence, to be leaders in the field to go out and to be

the voice and the face that we need, and not have to just keep telling their story over and over again, but tell the story of what survivor looks

like and what - it's necessary to so more people can survive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Big thank you to Tarana Burke, and we'll have more from that interview over the coming days.

When THE BRIEF returns, a 200-year-old disputes between Britain and Greece cropped up in post Brexit trade talks. History and Brexit, my favorite

things. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:25:00]

NOBILO: The lavish classical Greek sculptures, the Parthenon Marbles, or Elgin marbles, as the Brits call them, after the Eponymous Lord who

spirited them away from Greece over 200 years ago, are back in the spotlight after a leaked draft Brexit document reportedly included to -

reportedly including, a clause to return the unlawfully removed cultural objects to countries of origin.

The British government said that's a no go. They belong in the care of the British Museum. And although governments may not have changed their minds,

Louvre in France is still not budging on its Egyptian frescoes, and Germany won't return the bust of the famed Egyptian beauty Nefertiti, there has

been a shift in cultural consensus.

Even though the odd voice resisted their removal at the time, the dashing Lord Byron, for example, to the explorer, colonizer, or victor went the

spoils. But now there are increasing calls to restore artifacts of cultural heritage, sources of national pride to their place of origin. So should

they stay, or should they go? Let me know.

Thanks for watching tonight. I'm Bianca Nobilo. I will see you tomorrow and you'll see "WORLD SPORT" right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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