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Buckingham Palace Silent on Explosive Allegations; Fourth Former Staffer Accuses Cuomo of Inappropriate Behavior; Jury Selection Begins in Chauvin Trial; Georgia Advances Voting Access Bill; Iowa Governor Signs Bill on Voting Access; China Responsible for Uyghur Genocide. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired March 09, 2021 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pressure. The speculation around the documentary and the rumors and innuendo, particularly, of course, from the British press.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER (voice over): This morning the royal family in crisis. That according to the British tabloids. With headlines like, so sad it's come to this, worst royal crisis in 85 years, and, palace in turmoil over Meghan's racism claims.

OPRAH WINFREY: Did you leave the country because of racism?

PRINCE HARRY: It was a large part of it.

FOSTER: The Duchess of Sussex's estranged father, Thomas Markle, dismissing his daughter's allegations of racism, saying in a television interview this morning he does not think the royal family is racist.

THOMAS MARKLE, MEGHAN MARKLE'S FATHER: I don't think the British royal family are racist at all. I don't think the British are racist.

FOSTER: As the fallout continues after Prince Harry and Meghan, duchess of Sussex, level bombshell allegations against two of Britain's most recognized institutions, the royal family and the press. A deluge of stories focused on Meghan revealing she's had thoughts of suicide and their allegations of dysfunction and racism in the palace.

MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: I just didn't want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought.

FOSTER: One paper calls the interview self-serving. Another nicknames the couple's rift with the royal family Megxile. While some American outlets often appeared somewhat sympathetic, some U.K. tabloids seem to be venting their anger. And on television, reactions ranged from shock to dismay. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a two-hour trash-a-thon of our royal

family, of the monarchy.

FOSTER: Many rushing to the couple's defense, calling out the U.K. tabloids, including Hillary Clinton.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: The fact she did not get more support, that the -- that the -- the reaction was, you know, let's just paper it over and pretend that it didn't happen or it will go away, just keep your head down. Well, you know, this young woman was not about to keep her head down.

FOSTER: The U.S., largely more empathetic, with even a show of support from the White House.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: And for anyone to come forward and speak about their own struggles with mental health and tell their own personal story, that takes courage. And that's certainly something the president believes.

FOSTER: But the insidious undercurrent of racism, perhaps the most damning claim in the most explosive interview to rock the royal family since his mother's interview with Martin Bashir.

PRINCE HARRY: And what I was seeing was history repeating itself, but more perhaps or definitely far more dangerous because then you add race in.

FOSTER: One of the most jaw-dropping accounts in the royal, emotional interview with Oprah Winfrey, that unnamed members of the royal family were worried about the skin color that Harry and Meghan's son. The couple saying had they only felt they had the family's support, they would have gladly stayed. The very tabloids that Harry and Meghan say drove their mental health to the brink, swift to get the splashy headlines. "The Daily Mail," Harry twists the knife, and, what have they done?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, Max, we see the headlines there in the tabloid press. Any sense yet of what the British public, now that the interview has aired over there, what they think of this?

FOSTER: Well, I think there's definitely a divide between the U.S. and the U.K.. I think that there's much more support and -- behind the Sussex's in the U.S. than there is in the U.K. People more cynical about their reasons for doing this and the performance, as they see in it. That's being reflected in the snap polls already.

The British papers, a very mixed view, as we were showing there. Others are just really focused on the palace crisis, the turmoil behind the palace walls as they try and figure things out.

But I have to say, you know, I don't know how they're getting those stories because the palace just aren't briefing anything on this. It's just this impression that they not -- will not be bounced into a response. But that does suggest, at the same time, that they will be responding in some way.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Max, I remember when Harry and Meghan got engaged. And I went over there and had this wonderful assignment and got to report on the optimism, the feeling in Britain that this would usher in a new era, that they were going to modernize the monarchy. And, I mean, were we hallucinating? Was that just all in the media's imagination? Because it seems like it fell apart so quickly. I mean now hearing their side, it seems like within moments, you know, before and after their marriage, that that just was never the plan.

FOSTER: I think if you take everything away, all of the detail that we've been talking about over the last week really, that's the tragedy here, isn't it? That was a genuinely hopeful moment. Everyone was on side on that. It was a very exciting moment with the entire royal family was signed up to it, the British public, the entire commonwealth, the U.S.

[06:35:01]

You know, it was a huge, amazing moment. And it was positive all around because the duchess was so brilliant at her job, but also she brought in a whole new audience really for the monarchy.

So this is a castle. It's 1,000 years old. The British monarchy is 1,000 years old. The queen is currently in it. That's 1,000 year story. And this was a massive update to that story. It became relevant to many more people, of course.

I think what's going to be very interesting today, if I'm honest, is the diaries, as far as I'm aware, haven't been cancelled here. There are engagements in place. Prince Charles and Camilla have engagements today. I can't give you details about them because there are security implications about that, but it's going to be interesting, I think a big test to see whether or not we see Charles and Camilla out today. They are very much the focus of the storm right now. They're be huge amounts of media there, I'm sure. Will they say anything? Probably not. But I think the optics of them going about their business continuing despite this storm around the Oprah interview will be very telling.

BERMAN: Look, if they don't say anything, just pretending nothing's happening, that in itself speaks volumes and that may illustrate the problem here, if, in fact, you think there is a problem.

Max, you've been doing terrific reporting. I know how hard it is when there's no information is coming outs, but you keep working it. So, thank you.

So, one of the former aides accusing Governor Cuomo of inappropriate behavior speaking out on camera for the first time. What she has to say. The brand new interview, next.

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[06:40:28]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANA LISS, FORMER AIDE TO GOVERNOR CUOMO: I started to crumble as -- I -- I really hated myself. I believed that I was a loser because I couldn't hack it there. I believed that I had been given a shot and I, you know, couldn't survive. And I -- I didn't want to be alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That's Ana Liss. She's a former staffer to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and she tells CNN affiliate WHAM that Cuomo asked her if she had a boyfriend, called her sweetheart and kissed her hand when she got up from her desk.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz joins us now with more.

What else is happening, Shimon?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alisyn, she's one of five women that have so far come forward to claim of either inappropriate behavior by the governor. She also claims that there was a toxic, retaliatory-type of workplace there in the governor's office and that she is coming forward because she wants to stand with the women who have so far come forward. She also says that she wants to encourage other women to share their story.

Take a listen to what else she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there more women out there?

ANA LISS, FORMER AIDE TO GOVERNOR CUOMO: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you know?

LISS: We talk to each other. And I decided that I would fall on the sword. I'm not going to speak for any other women's experiences. I just know that there were -- there were activities that happened that if the public knew about it, they would -- they would be really shocked and appalled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PROKUPECZ: And, Alisyn, when she first came forward over the weekend to "The Wall Street Journal," the governor did respond. He said that he'd meant -- he did not -- he never meant to make anyone feel unwelcome in any way.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Well, let's talk about the investigation.

So, New York's attorney general has now named these two lawyers to lead the investigation into the governor's behavior. So what do we know about these lawyers? PROKUPECZ: Right. So these are two lawyers very well-known here in New

York. One of them is Anne Clark. Now, she is an expert in employment law. She also has represented people in sexual harassment cases. Very well-known and respected.

The other individual is a man by the name of Joon Kim. He also is very well-known here in New York. He was a former U.S. attorney, actually, in the Southern District of New York here in Manhattan. He replaced Preet Bharara, who was fired -- ultimately fired by the former president. Also, interestingly, Alisyn, is that Joon Kim was once involved in a different investigation involving the governor, which went nowhere. But what happened was the Southern District of New York was looking into a disbanded anti-corruption commission that the governor put together and then suddenly disbanded it. That investigation went nowhere. So, certainly, Joon Kim has some familiarity with the people in the governor's office. So that is going to be interesting.

Now, keep in mind, this commission, this team that the attorney general here, the state attorney general, Letitia James, put together is going to have subpoena power. They're going to be able to bring people in. And they're going to look at all of this. At the end of their investigation, it's expected that they're going to file a report.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Shimon, thank you very much for the latest.

So, jury selection in the Derek Chauvin murder trial begins this morning. We have a live report of what all this means from Minneapolis, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:08]

BERMAN: After a day's delay, jury selection expected to begin this morning in the trial of the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the death of George Floyd.

CNN's Omar Jimenez live at the courthouse in Minneapolis.

Omar, what can we expect?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, after what was supposed to be a full day one of jury selection, it's now actually supposed to get underway later this morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Basically this all centers on whether a third degree murder charge should be reinstated or not. It was filed in the initial criminal complaint last June. Then, in October, Judge Peter Cahill, in this case, dropped that third degree murder charge. Then, this past Friday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the district court here should at the very least reconsider reinstating it based on a recent case precedent. And so we haven't made any progress on that front.

But the reason that translates to jury selection is because prosecutors don't want to move forward with the process until that matter is resolved. So they went back to the court of appeals yesterday asking to delay jury selection until there's a decision made on that third degree murder charge.

So, moving forward, where we are basically is Judge Peter Cahill, in this district case, says, well, we're going to move forward anyway until we hear from the court of appeals. So that's why there was this big delay.

Now, as a reminder, what Derek Chauvin is actually charged with right now is second degree unintentional murder and second degree manslaughter, both of which he's pleaded not guilty to, but the first of which carries a maximum penalty of up to 40 years in prison. And it's unclear how this day one delay of sorts might throw off the entire timeline. And, of course, we'll still keep an eye on the appeals process. But, for now, jury selection, when it's supposed to begin later this morning, is supposed to go until up to March 26th, with opening statements beginning no earlier than March 29th.

[06:50:05]

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Omar, thank you very much for explaining all of that.

So Republicans in the critical swing state of Georgia passing sweeping legislation to restrict voter access, including a crackdown on who is eligible to vote by mail.

CNN's Martin Savidge is live in Atlanta with more.

So what happened, Martin?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

We started talking about Senate Bill 241 yesterday, as you remember. It has been passed now by the senate. And essentially here's what it does. It does away with what's called no-excuse absentee ballot voting in Georgia. In the 2020 presidential election, just about anybody who wanted to get an absentee ballot could, presuming you're of voting age, and a lot of people did. About a quarter of the votes that were cast in 2020 were actually by absentee.

Now the restrictions are much more severe under this legislation. You'd have to be 65 or older, have to have some kind of physical disability, or you're simply going to be out of town when the election is held. On top of that you have to provide an ID now in order to get or to get your absentee ballot. And, finally, there are a number of other changes requiring a court order to extend polling hours. And, get this, the legislature would have the authority to temporarily block emergency voting rules changes. That would mean they could have the power to overrule the secretary of state in Georgia, which normally oversees elections. So, those are the big changes here. It goes to the house now and still

has to move through the process there. That's Georgia.

CAMEROTA: OK. Tell us about Iowa because the governor there also signed a bill yesterday. What does that do?

SAVIDGE: Right. Significant changes there.

Beginning with early voting, for instance, there used to be -- you could have 29 days of early voting in Iowa. Not anymore. Been reduced now to 20. The number of hours that the polls will be open on Election Day in Iowa have been cut by one. The polls used to close at 9:00 p.m. Now they will close at 8:00 p.m.

In addition, there are two -- there have been changes tightening up the restrictions when it comes to absentee ballots and it also means that authorities and officials here can't just mass mail out the absentee bail request. People would actually have to request an absentee ballot form. And it would require that these ballots be returned by the close of polling day. There had been a grace period where absentee ballots would have several days after that point.

And as you point out here, Alisyn, in both cases it is Republicans that are driving these changes, they are saying they need to reinstall the integrity of the system. Democrats say that there was no issues of fraud in either state of any significant amount. They simply say it's Republicans changing the rules because they didn't like the outcome of 2020. And those most impacted likely to be voters of color.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thank you for this reporting. We need to keep an eye on it every day because so many states are trying to do the very same thing and we appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

Martin, thank you.

SAVIDGE: You're welcome.

CAMEROTA: A new report blames China for an ongoing genocide against the Uyghur people. China rejects the claims. So we have a live report for you, next.

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[06:57:21]

BERMAN: CNN has obtained exclusive access to an independent report that holds China responsible for genocide against Muslim majority Uighurs. The report by dozen human rights experts cites evidence of Beijing's intent to destroy the Uyghur people.

CNN's Ivan Watson live in Hong Kong.

Ivan, this genocide that the world in some ways watching. IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and this is

a report that we got advanced copy from, from the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, a Washington think tank. More than 40 scholars, legal experts, lawyers who have looked at statements from the Chinese government, reports from news organizations like CNN and eyewitness testimonies and they've come to the conclusion that this adds up to the fact that Chinese-state policy in Xinjiang meets the definitions of genocide laid out by the United Nations 1948 Convention.

And they highlight in the report these state policies. They say, government mandated home stays, that's where more than 1 million communist party officials have been put in the homes of Uighurs and other ethnic minorities without any choice from them. The mass internment, a roundup of what the State Department says is up to 2 million members of ethnic minorities in internment camps, mass birth prevention policy, the forcible transfer of Uyghur children to state- run facilities, the eradication of Uyghur identity, such as destroying Uyghur cemeteries, and the selective targeting of intellectuals and community leaders.

A lot of this we've already been hearing. I personally heard from survives of some of these policies.

Now, the Chinese government, it insists its programs there are aimed at eradicating terrorism and poverty alleviation. They insist there are no human rights abuses whatsoever in the entire province.

Listen to the foreign minister of China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANG YI, CHINESE STATE FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The claim that there is genocide in Xinjiang could not be more preposterous. It is just a rumor, fabricated with ulterior motives and a thorough lie. Over the past four decades and more the Uyghur population in Xinjiang has more than doubled from 5.5 million to over 12 million.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: That's right, more than -- the population has grown, but look at the birthrate over the three years when the peak of the mass internment program. It has plunged by almost half. And we've gotten reporting that says, yes, there were 80,000 fewer babies in 2017 -- this is from the Xinjiang government -- because of their family planning policies.

[07:00:00]

There are two very contrasting narratives here and one of them sounds very, very sinister.

John. Alisyn.

BERMAN: Yes, you know, look, China bears responsibility. The question for the world is, will they be.