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Health Experts Warns to Brace for Ramifications; President Trump Commutes Sentences of 11 Criminals; U.S. Designate Chinese Media as Communist Operatives; Harvey Weinstein's Trial Now Rolling in New York Courts; Mexico Reached an Alarming Crime Level; Royal Title Scraped Off. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired February 19, 2020 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hundreds of people are finally walking off a quarantined cruise ship even though they could be taking the novel coronavirus back to their communities.

Hours after the U.S. president went on a blitz of pardons and commuted the prison sentence of Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor is back home.

And Beijing is slamming the United States after it designated China's official media as operatives of the communist state. We will have a live report with reaction.

Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. And this is CNN Newsroom.

Well in Japan, passengers have started to disembark from a cruise ship which has been quarantined because of the coronavirus. Right now, some of those who have tested negative for the disease are being allowed to leave but others will have to stay put even though they've already spent more than two weeks under quarantine.

So far, more than 540 passengers and crew members have tested positive for the virus.

Well, CNN's Will Ripley joins us now live from Yokohama in Japan where that ship is docked. good to see you, Will. So, the big concern of course, as these passengers head out to their various communities across the globe, they could be taking the coronavirus with them even if they just tested negative. What could be the consequences of all this?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The problem here, Rosemary, stems from a simple truth that is being acknowledge by the United States and Australia and Canada and all the other countries that are repatriating their citizens, getting them off the ship and putting them right into a 14-day quarantine. Why are they doing that? Because the Diamond Princess was not a quarantine. It was an isolation but people keep getting infected.

The number of cases continues to grow. And these are not necessarily, you know, infections that, you know, were existing the whole time. These were new infections because cruise ships are known to be a breeding ground for infection when you have crew members going from cabin to cabin and whatnot.

And yet, the Japanese government does not acknowledge that this was a failed quarantine. They are giving everybody who's walking off that ship a letter saying that they pose zero risk of infection, that they've tested negative for coronavirus and now they're free to go back on public transportation, buses, crowded trains, back to school, back to work, back to their communities with no monitoring, no quarantine period once they get back home.

And that, according to a Kobe University professor who visited the ship yesterday is a frightening and dangerous development. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENTARO IWATA, PROFESSOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, KOBE UNIVERSITY: Inside Princess Diamond, I was so scared. I was so scared of getting COVID-19 because there was no way to tell where the virus is. No green zone, no red zone. Everywhere could have the virus and everybody was not careful about it.

There was no single professional infection control person inside the ship. And there was nobody in charge of infection prevention as a professional. The bureaucrats were in charge of everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: So, what he is essentially saying is that people are walking from an incubator type situation, or a petri dish, whatever you want to call it. He says they could even pick up the infection by touching a surface as they walk out. Because he says there is no way to know which part of the ship is contaminated in which part is not.

And now, they are free to go to the airport, they are free to go wherever they want. And he says the reason for this happening is because instead of infectious disease specialist running the show, you know, it's bureaucrats who are beholden to political aspects, like the fact that Japan really wants to button this up because Tokyo 2020 is coming.

And the fact that they are treating more than 500 cases here in the country is not good news when you have an international sporting event months away, and millions of people from around the world are expected to come here.

In fact, when we reached out to the Japanese health ministry, which is basically the agency that kick Professor Iwata off the ship yesterday, their response was that this is his opinion and they have no comment.

Well, obviously, that's not good enough, and we continue to ask questions of the prime minister's office and others, trying to get answers about what is exactly is Japan's plan if they learn that these people are leaving the ship and then later, they turn out to have coronavirus.

[03:05:03]

CHURCH: Yes. The ramifications are immense. Our Will Ripley, keeping a very close eye on all those details. Many thanks for that live report.

The global death toll from the outbreak has now crossed 2,000, with more than 75,000 cases confirmed. The vast majority have come China's Hubei province, where the virus was first detected of course.

But Chinese health officials say about 14,000 people have recovered from and being discharged from hospital. China estimates more than 2 percent of those infected have died so far. That is a rate higher than influenza, but much lower than SARSA and MERS. Medical experts say that rate could drop as milder cases are confirmed.

Well, U.S. President Donald Trump is wielding his powers of clemency for nearly a dozen white collar criminals. Among them is former Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, who arrived back in his home in Chicago just a short time ago.

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FMR. GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH (D), ILLINOIS: I want to express my most profound and everlasting gratitude to President Trump. He's got obviously a big fan of me. And if you are asking me what my party affiliation is, I'm a Trumpocrat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Kaitlan Collins has details of the president's pardons.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yes, we have commuted the sentence of Rod Blagojevich.

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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The former governor of Illinois was serving 14 years after he was convicted of essentially trying to sell President Barack Obama's open Senate seat for personal gain.

He once appeared on "The Apprentice," but was fired by Trump on the show.

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TRUMP: But, Rod, you are fired.

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COLLINS: Though, lately, Trump has paid attention to efforts by his family to get him out of prison.

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PATRICIA BLAGOJEVICH, ROD BLAGOJEVICH'S WIFE: I know the president has a lot on his hands.

TRUMP: I watch his wife on television. I don't know him very well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Trump came close to commuting Blagojevich's sentence last summer, before being talked out of it by Illinois Republicans who warned him about the blowback, he'd face for intervening in what many saw as the pay-to-play scheme he campaigned against.

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TRUMP: It was a prosecution by the same people. Comey, Fitzpatrick, the same group.

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COLLINS: Today, the president also pardoned former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who was found guilty of eight felonies, including tax fraud and lying to White House officials.

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TRUMP: Yes, I just pardoned Bernie Kerik.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

TRUMP: A man who had many recommendations from a lot of good people.

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COLLINS: The president has also watched Kerik on Fox News, where he appeared last night. Kerik was also heavily involved in the case of Eddie Gallagher, the navy SEAL accused of war crimes whom Trump also recently cleared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNARD KERIK, FORMER NYPD COMMISSIONER: This was a retaliatory measure by the admiral. An admiral that has overseen this entire, corrupt, unethical and criminal investigation and should be booted from the navy SEALS.

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COLLINS: Trump did not stop there. He also pardons the former owner of the San Francisco 49ers, Eddie DeBartolo, who was found guilty of attempting to conceal an extortion attempt, and Michael Milken, the 1980s investment banker known as the junk bond king who sought to wipe clean his securities fraud conviction for decades.

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TRUMP: He paid a big price. He paid a very tough price. But he has done an incredible job.

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COLLINS: Despite all of that, the president wouldn't say if he is considering leniency for his longtime friend, Roger Stone, who is set to be sentenced in just two days.

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TRUMP: I haven't given it any thought.

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COLLINS: Sources say that's not true, and that Trump has weighed pardoning Stone in recent weeks, as Stone's allies have lobbied the president to do so.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm actually I guess the chief law enforcement officer of the country.

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COLLINS: Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

CHURCH: As President Trump pushes the boundaries of his executive power and declares himself the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, U.S. Attorney General, William Barr maybe pushed to breaking point.

The attorney general has told people he is considering resigning over Donald Trump's interference with Justice Department matters. That is according to a source close to the situation.

Last week, Barr also said the president made it impossible for him to do his job. The Justice Department says Barr has no plans to resign.

In U.S. politics, the focus is on Nevada, where candidates could be facing a turning point. Saturday's caucuses will bring results from a diverse electorate for the first time in the primary contests.

Front runner Bernie Sanders, along with Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar offered their messages to voters at CNN's town halls on Tuesday.

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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Maybe --

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: -- you know, maybe I am dreaming here, a little bit, and asking, you know, a little too much. But as president, this is my message to the world.

[03:10:02]

That instead of spending $1.8 trillion a year on weapons of destruction designed to kill each other, let's pool our resources and fight our common enemy, which is climate change. That is my message.

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PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you belong to a Christian tradition, or any moral or religious tradition that emphasizes making yourself useful to the oppressed and standing with and identifying with the prisoner welcoming the stranger.

The stranger is another word for immigrant. Yes, that has implications in public life. And I won't be afraid to talk about how my positions are informed by my faith.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Economic issues for women and men are key. Getting an increase to the minimum wage, the federal minimum wage that has not happened for literally nearly a decade would be really important for a lot of women workers. Getting child care, universal child care, would be so key for so many workers.

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CHURCH: The U.S. will treat five media outlets from China as an extension of the Chinese government. They will now need U.S. approval to buy or lease office space and will have to register employee changes with the State Department. A U.S. official is calling them a part of Chinese propaganda machine.

CNN's Steven Jiang joins me now from Beijing with more. Good to see you, Steven. So how is China reacting to this move, and of course how might it retaliate?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: That's right, Rosemary. Now surprisingly the Chinese have responded very angry -- angrily to this news. In the last hour at the regular Chinese foreign ministry daily press briefing, I asked about this and a spokesman said the Chinese government deplores and rejects this wrong decision by the U.S. government.

And he goes on to say, "The U.S. takes great pride in its press freedom. However, it is wantonly restricting and thwarting Chinese media outlets' normal operation there. This is unjustified and unacceptable."

Now he did say Chinese, the Chinese government reserves its right to take further actions, although he wouldn't specify what these actions may be. But from the U.S. government perspective though this is a move long overdue, because as you said the U.S. government considers these outlets part and parcel of the Chinese propaganda machine, and they are right about this.

Because these outlets including the Xinhua news agency, CCTV which is the parent of CGTN and People's Daily, they are formally part of the ruling communist party in the Chinese government power structure. These are ministry level agencies and the heads of these organizations have the rank of a minister. And many did go on to become Chinese officials in charge of the party in the states the propaganda department.

So, this is not a secret by any means. But I think what prompted Washington to finally take action is the fact that these organizations have been increasingly aggressive in their international expansion in recent years.

The Chinese government has earmarked billions of dollars for them to basically propagate the government message on the global stage to change minds and hearts and to shape international public opinion as China becomes more influential on the global stage and especially, of course, Rosemary, you know, they are very active and very prolific on the U.S. social media platforms. Often obscure their true identities and this pf course is a major concern especially in an election year. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Absolutely. Steven Jiang, many thanks to you bringing us up to date from Beijing.

We'll take a short break here. Still to come, jury deliberations have begun at the rape trial of disgraced Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein. We will have the latest from New York and take a look at the testimony jurors are considering.

Plus, women are being murdered at the highest rate Mexico has seen in decades and the public outrage. More on that when we come back.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Well, jury deliberations begun Tuesday at the Harvey Weinstein raped trial in New York. The disgraced Hollywood producer stands accused of first degree criminal sexual act, two counts of rape, and two counts of predatory sexual assault. The jurors apparently are finding it tough to sort through the charges and asked the court for clarification on a number of points.

CNN's Jean Casarez has been following the trial and has more of the testimony the jury is considering.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Defendant and disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has said virtually in silence for four weeks, as jury selection followed by 28 prosecution witnesses and seven witnesses for the defense testified before a diverse jury of seven men and five women.

The looming issue in this trial, did Weinstein commit rape and sexual assault or were the encounters consensual? But at the heart of the prosecution's case are six female accusers of the former Hollywood giant who took the stand one by one to point the finger at Weinstein.

Prosecutors are using testimony from three accusers to try to show Weinstein's pattern of conduct. They hope testimony by actress Annabella Sciorra will help him gain a conviction of predatory sexual assault.

But Weinstein's indictment stems from the allegations of just two women, Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann. The statute of limitations has already run out on the other women's allegations.

Haley testified while Harvey was mentoring her during her work as a production assistant on one of his shows, she was asked to go to his New York City apartment in summer of 2006. After arriving, she testified, Weinstein lunged, trying to kiss her.

I walk backward because he was pushing with his body until I got to the bed. And I fell backward onto the bed, and I tried to get up and he pushed me down."

Next, she described a vicious, sexual, assault. "I just checked out and decided to endure it that it was the safest thing to do at that point." The defense argue that Haley willingly maintain contact with Weinstein including accepting the gift of a free trip to Los Angeles.

And Haley testified she did have sex with the movie mogul about two weeks after the allege assault. "You are not claiming Mr. Weinstein forced you to have sex at the Tribeca Grand, are you?" "No."

Haley, however, testified for the prosecution that her sexual relationship with Weinstein was not consensual.

Jessica Mann has a similar story telling the court she had a relationship with her mentor Weinstein, but that she too was assaulted by him in a New York City hotel room.

"Were you able to get out of the room? "No." "What did you do next?" "I gave up at that point and I undressed and he stood over me until I was completely naked, then he told me lay on the bed." Mann then testified Weinstein violently raped her.

The defense brought before the jury dozens of e-mails that could imply a consensual relationship and bond between the two. Mann's testimony was insistent saying, "I know the history of my relationship with him. I know it is complicated and different, but it does change the fact that he raped me."

Weinstein pleaded not guilty to all five counts including rape and predatory sexual assault. Now the case is in the hands of the jury.

CHURCH: Jean Casarez with that report. And Weinstein also faces charges of sexual assault and rape in separate incidents in Los Angeles.

[03:19:57]

We want to turn to Mexico now which has seen a national outpouring of grief and outrage after the brutal murder of a seven-year-old girl. Mourners say she is one of the latest victims in a wave of violence targeting women.

And as CNN's Cyril Vanier reports there's growing frustration with the response from the government.

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are crying out for justice, justice for Fatima. A seven-year-old murdered last week in Mexico.

Here family and friends from Fatima's San Sebastian neighborhood gathered to honor her memory as her remains were returned home days after they were discovered in a bag near Mexico City.

Fatima went missing last Tuesday, this CCTV footage allegedly shows Fatima on the day she disappeared being led by an unidentified woman who is now the focus of a police search. Authorities have not said whether the woman is a suspect.

Fatima's murder has angered people here, they took to the streets on Monday demanding quick action to find those responsible.

This is a spokesperson for the Mexico City prosecutor's office offering two million pesos, a little over $100,000 for information. But this has done little to appease people. Some say they are angry because the killing is just the latest in a series of murders of women in this country.

There were several protests across Mexico City last weekend over the killing of 25-year-old Ingrid Escamilla whose partner is being held for her murder.

Dozens gathered in front of the presidential palace last Friday and splashed blood red paint on one of the gates. Angry that the government is not doing enough to address violence against women.

Among the protesters was this woman whose daughter was also a murder victim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It fills us with rage and anger and that's why we're here because they are murdering us and this government and the last one are not interested in us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: Official government data shows that an average of 10 women were killed per day in Mexico in 2018. One of the highest murder rates of women in the country in three decades.

On Monday, President Andres Lopez Obrador described the violent crimes against the women of Mexico as a social illness fueled by hate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, PRESIDENT OF MEXICO (through translator): This is the rotten fruit of selfishness, an amassing of wealth in the hands of a few while leaving behind the great majority of our people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: In the meantime, anger is growing and protesters here see a crisis that they say the government is slow in addressing.

Cyril Vanier, CNN.

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CHURCH: Welcome back.

Well, the duke and duchess of Sussex may not be able to hang on to the term royal for much longer. Use of the word in their branding is under review.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle planned on generating income through their Sussex royal brand as they work to become financially independent.

And CNN's Anna Stewart joins us now from London with more on all of this. Good to see you, Anna. So, what impact is this likely to have on Harry and Meghan's future branding plans? And what might this review signal, do you think?

[03:25:00]

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, it suggests they may need to have a re-brand just weeks into their new independent lives.

I want to show you the Daily Mail newspaper, which is running the story as a lead, saying the queen bans Harry and Meghan from using Sussex royal brand.

From our royal sources, we are getting a much more measured response, saying the use of the word royal is under review. That is what royal sources told us. Now what does this mean?

Well, in terms of how they currently use the word royal, it's in their Instagram page, at Sussex royal, is also of course something they have been trying to globally trademark since their new independent lives began. They're trying to trademark Sussex royal.

They are also trying to trademark their foundation, the new one that they're trying to set up. Sussex royal, the foundation of the duke and duchess of Sussex. Their web site, the Sussex royal web site that was just launched a few weeks ago.

So, if they are unable to use the word royal in terms of any of their future branding because they want to be able to be more independent, because they want to be able to earn their own money, then that will be a big rebrand for them across the board. It will mean more trademarks need to be applied for, a new website, a new Instagram handled perhaps.

Why can they not use the word royal? Well, the why is under review. It's the fact that they have decided to step back as working members of the royal family altogether. They are no longer going to be HRH, his and her royal highness from the spring when this big change will really take effect.

So that would mean perhaps mean they can't use this well. But currently, we're now expecting a statement from the palace immediately. At least it's discussion still, and still as I said, under review according to sources that CNN are speaking to. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Just very quickly, how are their plans for financial independence progressing at this time?

STEWART: I'd like to know. I think you have to be behind closed doors for that one. There are lots of media reports about, for instance, Prince Harry was reportedly seen giving a speech to J.P. Morgan, an investment bank in Miami several days or weeks ago.

He has got discussions underway with Goldman Sachs although we believe that is an unpaid sort of interview concept that he was already working on before all this change took place.

I don't think we'll know if and when they decide to take unpaid work, at least until they are really set up with their new foundation underway. We don't need to know. This is the fantastic thing about their new independent lives. They can keep what they like to themselves, Rosemary.

CHURCH: That was the whole reason behind it, right? And of course, they never going to have to worry about money anyway, right?

STEWART: I don't think they have to worry like the rest of us. That's for sure.

CHURCH: No, not at all. Anna Stewart, many thanks to you bringing us up to date from London. I appreciate it.

And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. Talk Asia is up next. But first, I'll be back with a check of the headlines. You are watching CNN. Do stick around.

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