Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

British Airways Cancels Flights Amid Pilot Strike; Death Toll Up to 45 in Bahamas, Search Efforts Continue; Four Missing After Cargo Ship Capsizes, Catches Fire; War in Afghanistan; The Trump White House; Border Wall Battle; Air Force Responds to Controversy; Netanyahu Attacks the Media; Dorian's Aftermath; British Airlines on Strike; President Trump Called Off Peace Talks; Food and Other Aid Supplies Distributed to Bahamas; Four Cargo Ship Crews Still Unaccounted For; A bad Week for Boris Johnson; Japan and South Korea is Widening its Gap. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 09, 2019 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: The political backlash over the Trump's administration's plan meeting with the Taliban at Camp David, a peace plan now in limbo.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Aid groups are getting a sense of the devastation across parts of the Bahamas as they work to help tens of thousands of people left homeless by Hurricane Dorian.

HOWELL: Plus, the ongoing effort to rescue four crew members from a capsized cargo ship off of the coast of the U.S. State of Georgia. We'll have more on that for you ahead.

Live from CNN headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm George Howell.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church at CNN world headquarters here in Atlanta. CNN Newsroom starts right now.

HOWELL: We'll have those stories for you in a moment. But first, breaking news that we're following in the state. If you plan on flying British Airways today or tomorrow, check your flight status.

CHURCH: Absolutely. The airline says it has canceled almost all of its flights as pilots begin a 48-hour strike, the first ever by B.A. pilots. B.A. says the biggest impact will be felt at its Heathrow hub but flights worldwide will also be affected.

The British Pilots Association is calling on the airlines to share more of its profits with its pilots. B.A. has counted that a pay increase that's been offered was fair. And you can stay with CNN for more on this in the hours ahead. We'll keep you updated.

HOWELL: It will affect a lot of people for sure. CHURCH: Yes, it certainly will.

So, we'll continue on. Afghan peace talks are on hold. But both the U.S. and the Taliban indicate they are willing to keep working. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the militant group will have to meet conditions before talks resume, including reducing violence and meeting with Afghan leaders.

HOWELL: And this comes after a secret meeting the president said that he was planning at Camp David with the Taliban that fell apart.

CNN's Boris Sanchez reports the president was pushing hard to fulfill a campaign promise.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The decision by the White House to invite Taliban leaders and the Afghan president to Camp David to finalize a deal that would end America's longest war, was made roughly about a week ago.

Sources indicate that President Trump had become frustrated that peace talks were not moving along faster. And he was putting pressure on aides to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, something that he promised during the 2016 campaign. A promise that he's apparently intends on fulfilling going into 2020.

Sources indicate that President Trump told aides that he felt that he would have a more positive outcome in these talks if he were engaged to negotiations with the Taliban himself. And speaking with him directly, of course that meeting scrapped following Thursday's bombing in Afghanistan. But there is still hope from this administration that a deal will get done.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on State of the Union with Jake Tapper on Sunday. Here's some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The American people assured that we're going to defend American national interest, we're going to be tough in making sure that we put pressure on all the powers all the rest not just the Taliban but ISIS that's there in Afghanistan, as well.

President Trump will always protect Americans and the American interests. And one of the ways we tried to do this to take down the violence levels in Afghanistan so that we can rebalance. We've got challenges from terrorism not just in Afghanistan, Jake, as you well know.

We have to make sure we have the right force levels, the right force postures, the right people each and every place so that we're protecting America's national security everywhere not just in Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: We should point out there's some skeptics who do not believe

the Taliban will hold up their end of any kind of peace agreement including Senator Lindsey Graham. Another Republican critic of this meeting was Representative Adam Kinzinger. He takes offense to the idea that these Taliban leaders would enter the United States at all.

Here's what he tweeted, writing quote, "Never should a leader of a terrorist organization that hasn't renounced 9/11 and continues in evil be allowed in our great country. Never. Full stop."

To be clear, the leaders never actually entered the United State. In a statement, they said that ending these peace talks would only harm Americans.

Boris Sanchez, CNN, at the White House.

HOWELL: Boris, thank you.

And critics of a U.S./Taliban peace deal, they say that it would offer the Taliban too many concessions, while giving the U.S. too little in return.

CHURCH: CNN traveled to Taliban-controlled territory in February and spent 36 hours with the militant group. And here's part of chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward's report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We start out by asking about the Taliban's brutal tactics and the U.S. concern that they could offer safe haven to terrorists.

[03:05:01]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (throughout translator): Whether it's the Americans or ISIS, no foreign forces will be allowed in the country once we start ruling Afghanistan.

WARD: Are there real efforts being made to stop killing civilians?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (throughout translator): Those responsible for civilian casualties are the ones who came with their aircrafts, artillery, B-52 and heavy weaponry.

WARD: In reality, the Taliban is responsible for thousands of civilian deaths in the last three years alone.

And what about these suicide bombings at polling stations, for example, this kill many civilians?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (throughout translator): We deny this. This accusation is not acceptable to us.

WARD: There are small signs that the Taliban is moving with the times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (throughout translator): I listen to the radio, also Facebook and other media.

WARD: You're on Facebook?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (throughout translator): Yes.

WARD: But it's clear that the fundamental ideology has not changed.

So, if somebody is found guilty of stealing, you cut off their hand?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (throughout translator): Yes, we implement the Sharia, we follow Sharia instruction.

WARD: And if somebody is found guilty of adultery, you will stone them to death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (throughout translator): Yes. The Sharia allows stoning to death.

WARD: As we're leaving the interview, the military commander for the district arrives and a dispute breaks out about us.

"They should have brought a man," one of them says.

WARD: So, the issue is right now is that, they don't want us to walk outside with the governor because I'm a woman. They think it's inappropriate. We agree to follow the men at a distance, something I've never had to do in my career.

Do you want to see peace between the Taliban and America?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (throughout translator): It would be better if this question was put to the spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate.

WARD: Do you feel like the Taliban is winning the war?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (throughout translator): God willing, we are hopeful. We are supported by God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The Taliban now control more territory than at any time since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan almost 18 years ago.

For more on the suspended talks, CNN's Nathan Hodge joins us from Moscow. So, bring us up to date on this situation.

NATHAN HODGE, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Rosemary, for the past several months Zalmay Khalilzad, that's President Trump's special envoy to Afghanistan, has been conducting talks with the Taliban representatives in the Gulf Emirate of Qatar.

Last week, Khalilzad announced that they had come to a basic agreement on what the terms of a U.S. withdrawal or withdrawal of a U.S. contingent would be but that's still left open the larger question of what a broader Afghan peace deal would look like. This was a withdrawal agreement and this would have been the thing

that would have announced I think and would have been hashed out at Camp David.

So, certainly, there's been a lot of consternation in the Afghan capital and within the Afghan government about what exactly this peace deal would actually mean. The Afghan government was in fact sidelined from the talks in Doha.

So, there's been a lot of concern about what this means and whether the process could be rebooted or will move forward after they were put on holds by President Trump.

Here's what Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesman for the Afghan president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEDIQ SEDIQQI, AFGHAN PRESIDENT'S SPOKESMAN: Any talk or any talks that does not guarantee and end to Taliban violence will be meaningless to continue.

So, our position has been very strong and firm on that. The president has been very clear in the past so many months to see how we can actually end this violence.

So if the Taliban are not committed, if there is contradiction in what they say and what they do in Afghanistan, so we would not only doubt to that process but we will raise concerns about that process. Like, the people have already done that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HODGE: So, Rosemary, this is a violence that's been going on now for four decades inside of Afghanistan. And the peace talks that have been ongoing between the representatives of the Taliban and the U.S. government are just one part of carving out or finding a path forward to a broader peace settlement that could end the violence in Afghanistan.

But that still seems elusive, especially after President Trump put the Camp David talks on hold. And many questions remain about what the path forward will be in the coming days and weeks, and whether or not those parties can return to the table. Rosemary?

[03:10:02]

CHURCH: Nathan Hodge, thanks for the details on that. I appreciate it.

HOWELL: Turning to the Bahamas now. The death toll continues to rise there.

CHURCH: Officials say 45 people are now dead. But with hundreds still missing, they expect that number to rise dramatically. HOWELL: And rescue teams have a great deal of work ahead of them.

They are digging through debris fields. They're searching for survivors who may be trapped under that debris. But it is slow going getting through so much devastation there. In the worst-hit areas the relief teams are delivering aid to about 70,000 people who are left homeless.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK GREEN, ADMINISTRATOR, USAID: I had a chance earlier today to tour the damage from the air in Abaco. And what I was struck by was the focused nature of the devastation.

So, there are parts of Abaco and the Bahamas that don't show a great deal of damage. And then there are clusters and communities that were devastated. Almost as though nuclear bombs were dropped on them. That's how great the suffering is and the devastation is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Wow.

CHURCH: And CNN's Paula Newton is in the Bahamas. She has more on the relief effort.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We knew the numbers would be staggering. And think of it, 70,000 people now made homeless in the Bahamas. By certain estimates that's a full quarter of the population of Bahamas. So how do you deal with this?

We're here in Nassau where a lot of the aid has been prepositioned. But it's more than just food and shelter on a temporary basis. You could be dealing with people needing these kinds of things for months, perhaps even years.

Some of the infrastructure and some of these places has been taken down to absolutely nothing. At issue as well is of course that death toll. The government has warned us that of course it will rise dramatically.

We've seen for ourselves the temporary morgues, we've also seen the search and recovery teams, many from the United States that are in there that will now have to systematically look through areas through that devastation.

Loved ones, though, that saw their family members completely swept away by the storm surge, worry that their loved ones will never be found. And then there's the issue as well of identifying people. The Bahamian government is quite blunt that this is painstaking work and will continue to take some time.

Paula Newton, CNN, Nassau, Bahamas.

HOWELL: Paula, thank you.

The U.S. Coast Guard is trying to rescue four South Koreans on board a cargo ship. That cargo ship that overturned and caught fire off the coast of Georgia on Sunday. Twenty other crew members including other South Korean and Filipino nationals have been rescued so far.

CHURCH: And this dramatic footage shows some of them being lifted to safety by a coast guard helicopter crew. And here's more from the rescue effort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're communicating via personal radio. They're trying to find a way off right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy. Any injuries?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are injuries reported within the ship's hull.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The port authority just called there's (Inaudible) advisory 22 souls on board and they're carrying cars and heavy equipment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And about 4,000 cars are packed inside that ship, which was bound for the U.S. State of Maryland before it capsized. The vessel has not released pollutants so far. But crews are to respond if needed. The cause of this incident remains under investigation.

Well, with an October 31st deadline looming and no E.U. deal in sight? Britain's prime minister has his hands full. We will take a look at what's next in the U.K.'s long journey to leave the E.U.

We're back in a moment.

[03:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is meeting with Ireland's leader, Leo Varadkar on Monday. And they are set to discuss whether they can make a breakthrough on the Irish backstop issue that might form the basis of a Brexit deal.

HOWELL: And that's not all. Britain's parliament is having a busy day on Monday. The new law blocking government from enacting a no-deal Brexit is set to take effect. And the prime minister's team is trying to push through a vote on a snap election but his opponents have vowed to quash it.

Let's get the very latest on what's happening. Our Anna Stewart is live in London. The prime minister's own brother has resigned over this. Amber Rudd resigned, as well. And it looks to be a tough week ahead for Boris Johnson.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Amber Rudd resigned. And she accused the government is not doing enough to try and get a deal with the E.U. She had some pretty strong comments about it. She said it was an assault on decency and democracy and an act of political vandalism.

So, another resignation, another defeat. And today, yes, that blocking of no-deal Brexit, that legislation that becomes law once it gets more lucent today. So not a great day for the prime minister. He is of course in Dublin speaking with his Irish counterpart today.

But the big, the big sort of set piece for today really is this issue of a snap election. Once again, the government is going to try and get that vote through. They need a two-thirds majority. But it does not look like they can get it, George.

HOWELL: All right. And the other question here, as far as Labour is concerned with the idea of a snap election, what is the outlook there?

STEWART: So, this is the question that we all want to really know the answer to, is when will the general election be? We know there will be one. All sides, all parties want one. But Labour so far have said, they don't want to dance the tune of Boris Johnson, they don't want to hold an election before he has been forced to go to the E.U. and ask for that extension to Brexit from the E.U.

Something that the prime minister says he will not do even though he could be legally bound or he'll find some sort of work around, perhaps. So, Labour's take on this so far has been that yes, they want a general election but they want to see the prime minister ask that extension first then elect -- agree to an election.

But that will be of course much nearer this Brexit deadline, which could be avoided if they are successful with the blocking of a no-deal Brexit. It might not be successful if Boris Johnson indeed has found some sort of a workaround, whatever that may be. George?

HOWELL: Anna, and just one other question. The British prime minister could consider the nuclear option, calling a vote of no confidence in himself?

[03:10:59]

STEWART: Yes. Let's add to the confusion here. So, parliament is still sitting today. And we know it will get prorogued, that's suspended sometime between now and Thursday. Now today is that vote on snap election that needs a two-thirds majority.

There's are two potential other options here that we could see if parliament is still sitting. One, a one-line bill from the government that will literally say we can have an election on a specific date. That would need a simple majority.

Or, as you mentioned, a no-confidence motion on the government itself. It would have to vote on itself saying it has no confidence in itself. And the opposition to defeat that, they would have to vote to say that they do have confidence in the government. So, literally, welcome to upside-down world. George?

HOWELL: Outside the U.K., I have to say it's interesting to watch the mother of all parliaments and the government really head-to-head here. We'll see how this plays out. Anna Stewart for us. Thank you.

CHURCH: And we go to Japan now and the cabinet there could be in for a shakeup. Local media report that foreign minister, Taro Kono is poised to become the country's new defense minister.

No, this would come at a time when Tokyo finds itself at odds with South Korea over wartime issues impacting trade. It's also looking to strengthen its role when it comes to security issues, especially with North Korea.

And CNN's Kristie Lu Stout spoke with Japan's foreign minister. She joins us now from Hong Kong with more. Good to see you, Kristie. So, what all did the foreign minister have to say about this and of course, the significance of the timing?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Also, the significance of the relationship between Japan and South Korea and just how fraught it has become. These two critical U.S. allies in Asia locked in a growing trade and diplomatic dispute. And it has been brewing since last October. That's when South Korea's Supreme Court ruled that Korean victims of forced labor could sue Japanese companies for individual compensation.

Now later on Japan decided to remove South Korea from a list of preferred trading partners. And then in August, South Korea decided to withdraw from a bilateral intelligence sharing agreement.

Now, earlier, I spoke with Japan's foreign minister about the fractured relationship and what it's going to take to mend it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TARO KONO, JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: I think it's important to keep the people to people exchange when the government is having problems. Unfortunately, the Korean visitors to Japan, the number is going down. But we hope to keep this strong people-to-people exchange.

LU STOUT: Yes. It's difficult to when you have points of tension, for example, you have organizers of Japan's 2020 Olympic Games. Saying that they will not ban the controversial rising sun flag. You know, this is a flag that stirs up very negative emotions among people in South Korea. Would you ask the Olympic organizing committee in Japan to reconsider that?

KONO: No. It's the official flag for the Japan's maritime self- defense force. And it's widely recognized. Many places or many countries like the State of Arizona in the United States, or the country like North Macedonia use similar flags.

There are certain people in South Korea who try to make some anti- Japan sentiment. But the flag itself is widely recognized flag. And there's nothing wrong with it.

LU STOUT: Do you think nationalism is going to get in the way of any sort of solution here? KONO: The important thing is, there's a healthy nationalism. But

there are those who wanted to exploit nationalism for other purpose. Bilateral relationship between Japan and South Korea is very important. Not just about the security or not just about the business.

So, I think it's our job as a politician to create a bridge between South Korea and Japan, even though if there is unhealthy nationalism. I think we need to overcome that.

LU STOUT: Now we have -- we know that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe he will soon reshuffle his cabinet and there's word that you may become the next defense minister. Having you in that role, would it repair relations between Japan and South Korea and the trilateral alliance with the United States?

KONO: Well, I have not heard about anything so I cannot answer that. Bilateral relationship between Japan and South Korea has been always high on my political agenda. So, I will be, whatever I will be doing, I will be working hard to create better relationship between Japan and South Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:25:03]

LU STOUT: Now, I also asked the Japanese foreign minister about what the ongoing spat means for North Korea. Now Mr. Kono says that whenever North Korea test-fires a missile, something they've been doing a lot recently, the intelligence can now only be shared via the United States.

Now he said that they need to restore shared intelligence at agreement and they need to act together. Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Kristie, how much appetite is there for dialogue on either side?

LU STOUT: Well, there seemed to be an opening about in August, a little over a month ago when the South Korean President, Moon Jae-in he gave this speech. He offered a very conciliatory tone, revealing openness to dialogue. He says, if Japan chooses the path of dialogue and cooperation, we would gladly join hands.

So, I posed that to the Japanese foreign minister for his response and he says, it's not about dialogue, it's about this verdict. The South Korean Supreme Court verdict that was made in October of last year.

This is again, when it ruled the Japanese companies that used Koreans as force laborers during World War II were obliged to pay compensation. Japan maintains that all such claims were settled by a treaty struck back in 1965. So, basically, no dialogue until you handle that verdict. Back to you.

CHURCH: All right. Many thanks to you. Kristie Lu Stout bringing us that report from Hong Kong. I appreciate it. Well, Rafael Nadal is the U.S. Open men's single champion. The 33- year-old Spaniard faced off against Russian Daniil Medvedev in an epic five-out match. It was a drawn-out emotional fight between the tennis stars with Nadal collapsing on the court enjoy after his win. Some great pictures from that, too.

HOWELL: Absolutely. He is thrilled about that.

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: Look at that one.

HOWELL: The victory gives Nadal his 19th career Grand Slam title. He trails only Roger Federer's 20 majors for the most ever men's Grand Slam single titles.

CHURCH: Well done. Well, for our international viewers, thank you so much for your company. Culinary Journeys is just ahead.

HOWELL: And for our viewers in the United States, CNN Newsroom continues. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

HOWELL: Good early Monday from the West Coast to the U.S. to the East. You're watching "CNN Newsroom." I'm George Howell.

CHURCH: I'm Rosemary Church. We want to check the headlines for you this hour. British Airways says it has cancelled almost all of its flights as pilots begin a 48-hour strike. B.A. says the biggest impact will be felt at its Heathrow hub, but flights worldwide will also be affected.

The British Pilots Association is calling on the airline to share more of its profits with its pilots. B.A. has countered that a pay increase that has been offered was fair.

HOWELL: We continue to follow the devastation in the Bahamas. Take a look at this. We now know the death toll from Hurricane Dorian has climbed. Forty-five people lost their lives. We know that number could rise over the weeks and months to come.

Hundreds of people are still missing. Seventy thousand people in the hardest hit areas, they are now homeless. Many of those people are trying to leave.

CHURCH: Rescue crews are searching for four South Koreans on board a cargo ship that overturned off the coast of Georgia on Sunday. Twenty other crew members, including other South Koreans and Filipino nationals, have been rescued. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

HOWELL: The peace deal that fell apart. The U.S. secretary of state says the U.S. still wants a peace deal with the Taliban. But those talks won't move ahead until the Taliban deliver on a number of commitments, one of them reducing the violence.

President Trump says he cancelled a secret meeting with Taliban leaders at Camp David in the U.S. after the militants took credit for a bombing, a bombing that killed a U.S. soldier.

CHURCH: Jessica Levinson joins me now from Los Angeles. She is a law professor at Loyola Law School. It is always great to have you with us.

JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: Good to be with you.

CHURCH: So President Trump just cancelled a secret meeting at Camp David with Taliban leaders after they claimed responsibility for bombing that killed a U.S. soldier.

Critics, many of them Republicans, are asking why Taliban leaders were ever scheduled to meet on U.S. soil just days before the 9/11 anniversary, particularly when they recently released a video reiterating their support for the 9/11 attack on this country. What was the president thinking?

LEVINSON: Well, I think the president was thinking that he is a master dealmaker and that he could make the deal with the Taliban. I think he was thinking that he could announce that we are going to draw down troops. You know he is famous for that. He thinks it is absurd and that there is no reason that there are all those U.S. troops there.

I think, you know, at least he could get in there. He could use the negotiation skills that he claims he has. He could talk to the Taliban and say that they needed to reduce their violent attacks, which of course they've only actually ramped up recently. And he could announce, you know, I made this huge deal on the world stage.

Now, of course, as you said in the introduction, optics of this is horrible. It is September 8th. We're coming up on the anniversary in 72 hours of September 11th.

The idea that you would invite the leaders of the Taliban, that members of this administration have called the terrorist Taliban to Camp David, I think it's done something that President Trump really hasn't been able to do for much of his presidency, which is unite both Republicans and Democrats in their criticism of this decision.

CHURCH: Yeah, it has many scratching their heads for sure. And, of course, with Congress poised to reconvene after their August break, what progress, if any, will likely be made on gun control legislation, particularly in the wake of multiple deadly mass shootings in this country?

LEVINSON: Yeah, I mean, I think that the real answer is no progress. This time for the first time when I started my semester, we talked about the fact with my undergraduate students that people are advertising backpacks that are bullet-proof backpacks. We talked about what type of country we are living in now. And I think the response is that the people -- our behavior is changing. We're sending kindergartners who are coming home from school talking about shelter in place drills. We're sending middle schoolers who are talking about lockdown drills. And yet our representatives really -- I think it's almost guaranteed will not act on this issue.

Mitch McConnell has been very clear that he will take President Trump's lead on this issue. I think President Trump has shown absolutely no appetite, although he has waffled at times, but really no appetite for gun control.

[03:34:57]

LEVINSON: I think this will continue to be an issue in the 2020 election, and I think it is one much those issues that could really motivate voters because it hits a lot of people where it matters. It hits them at home. It affects their daily lives.

CHURCH: Yeah, all this when the majority of Americans want to see some sort of progress on gun control legislation. I also want to ask you this because with the House Judiciary Committee preparing to vote to define a Trump impeachment inquiry, some Democrats feel such a move will only embolden the president politically, while liberal Democrats say it has to be done, it has to be done now. Where is this all going and where will it likely land, do you think?

LEVINSON: Yeah, I think that both are true. So, I think that critics of President Trump will say we absolutely need to go forward with impeachment. This is our job. This is our constitutional duty. Robert Mueller wrote us basically a letter saying, "Congress, I don't have a role here. I just have an investigatory role. It's up to you."

I think that supporters of President Trump will say I cannot believe the Democrats can't just go to work for the American people. They keep beating this dead horse. And, you know, why are they such sore losers? Where is it going?

I think we really have to look to the leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi, very careful about wanting to start and initiate impeachment proceedings. I think she's going to have a talk with the caucus to see who is vulnerable in 2020.

I think largely this will be not just a moral calculation, but of course it will be a political calculation to determine whether or not it is palpable to go forward.

CHURCH: We'll see where that goes. I did want to just very quickly ask you, former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has announced he plans to challenge President Trump for the republican nomination next year along with two other Republicans.

But given Mr. Trump enjoys what, about 90 percent approval rating within his own party, what's the point of doing this and what impact might it have?

LEVINSON: I think the impact is very little. I feel like this has been the answer that I've had to all your questions, which is nothing is going to happen. The impact will be little. I think it's largely true. Mark Sanford is not a strong candidate. He's not a strong candidate against this president who, as you said, enjoys large support in the Republican Party.

This challenge is going nowhere. I think largely it is either just a vanity exercise or it's for people who want to set up a run for 2024. But if you look at the primary states, if you look at how energized the republican primary voters are, I don't think this is going anywhere.

CHURCH: All right. Jessica Levinson, always a pleasure to chat with you. Many thanks.

LEVINSON: Thank you.

HOWELL: One of the president's big campaign promises was to make Mexico pay for a border wall along the southern U.S. border.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to build a great border wall.

And who's going to pay for the wall?

CROWD: Mexico!

TRUMP: Who is going to pay for the wall?

CROWD: Mexico!

TRUMP: Who?

CROWD: Mexico!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: But despite that promise, he made so many times as a candidate, Mexico still isn't paying for the wall. Instead, the Pentagon is diverting about $3.6 billion in military construction funds to help build that wall. It's sparking bipartisan anger from lawmakers and others. CNN's Alex Marquardt has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Norfolk, Virginia is home to the U.S. Navy's Atlantic fleet and the largest naval base in the world.

The area's central and vital role, the military operations and national security, hasn't stopped the Trump administrations from naming four different military projects here, whose almost $80 million in funding will be diverted to pay for the border wall.

REP. BOBBY SCOTT (D-VA): All of these projects are being lost for a wall that makes no sense and everybody knows it.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott has represented the district for almost three decades and says President Trump's decision is costing his constituents jobs.

SCOTT: It means that the jobs that could have come to the area won't come to the area. Tens of millions of dollars-worth of construction. That's a lot of economic impact to this area that we're going to lose for a wall that is not needed.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): In all, $3.6 billion in military funds are being taken to help pay for the wall, 127 projects, from firing ranges to aircraft hangers to child care, both at home and abroad, whose budgets are being gutted.

In Virginia, the four that are losing $77 million in funding are: A naval ship maintenance facility, two hazardous materials warehouse projects, and cyber operations facility. In a place with such a historic and important military heritage, where 40 percent of the economy is related to military funding, that hurts both financially and emotionally.

[03:40:04]

BRUCE STURK, RETIRED COLONEL, FEDERAL FACILITIES SUPPORT: Our community is the fabric built on military veterans and very healthy military population here in Hamptons region, so I think there's a general sense of disappointment.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Bruce Sturk retired from the Air Force as a colonel, last serving at Langley Air Force Base, which is now being stripped of $10 million for that cyber operations and training facility, at a time when cyberattacks are one of the greatest threats to national security, along with others that will now be ignored, says Democratic Congresswoman Elaine Luria, a retired naval commander whose district is also affected.

REP. ELAINE LURIA (D-VA): I know firsthand from having spoken to the commanders at the bases where this impact is going to happen that is going to impact our mission and our security.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Not just the security of the nation but those serving it, whose priorities now may not be addressed.

LURIA: It's like your husband, it's your neighbor, it's your wife who is going on a deployment and you don't want to think that their ship wasn't maintained properly or they didn't have the right tools that they needed to do their jobs. So, it hits home a lot in a community like this where everyone is so tied to the military.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: The Pentagon is pushing back on this idea that these projects have been defunded. They say they have just been deferred for now, that they will get their funding back at a later date. But this $3.6 billion had been specifically appropriated by Congress for these projects and so it is getting political.

Democrats say this is exactly why you have congressional approval. And now, to get those projects refunded, the money needs to be reapproved by Congress, which is far from certain.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: We will take a short break. Still to come, a controversial layover by U.S. Service members is raising ethics questions. How the Air Force is responding after crew members booked to stay at a Trump resort. We will be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

HOWELL: Welcome back. The United States Air Force has ordered a review of its international travel accommodations after crew members were criticized for staying at a Trump golf resort. This happened in Scotland.

CHURCH: And it happened during a re-fueling stop in March. The incident has raised ethics questions. But the Air Force says the stop was not unusual. CNN's Nic Robertson has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: One instance back in March earlier this year. The Air Force is saying this is not unusual, that the seven National guardsmen air crew on the C-17 military transport aircraft what was re-fueling at Prestwick Airport in Scotland on the way to the mission in Kuwait was not unusual.

The Service members were having their tickets booked through the Defense Department ticketing agency, that there was nothing untoward, that they were below the threshold requirements of the per diem level, that they were staying in a hotel that was proximate to the air field itself.

So, according to the Air Force, nothing is wrong here. But further investigation has revealed that since President Trump came to office, since October 2017, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of re-fueling stops at Prestwick Airport, a relatively small airfield in Scotland, one that is not doing well commercially, 629 re-fueling missions there since October 2017.

It is not clear how large each air crew was on that mission, but taken in totality, that number could be in the thousands. Eleven million dollars spent on fuel at Prestwick Airport. So, of course, this is raising many questions of appropriate behavior of the Air Force members and appropriate spending across the board, whether at the airfield or whether at President Trump's Turnberry golf resort there on the coast of Scotland.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Nic Robertson with that report. So, just like Donald Trump, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who shares a particular disdain for the media.

HOWELL: That's right. But the Israeli leader is not taking that rhetoric even further, accusing journalists of terrorism. Our Oren Liebermann explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They share a style of billboard and now it seems a campaign strategy.

TRUMP: That is a lot of fake news back there.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): President Donald Trump has made attacking the media a central theme of his election at his presidency.

TRUMP: If you look at the newscast, I call it fake news.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): And now, his friend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a tough re-election bid, is doing the same.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: (INAUDIBLE) fake news.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Ignoring traditional media outlets, the longest serving leader in Israel history has gone to Facebook live to rail against what he calls a secret quartet of media owners, planning to tilt the result of the upcoming election.

NETANYAHU (through translator): The media court-martials us. They lie. They cheat. They distort on an enormous scale. And when we give our reaction, they say this is terrible, this is awful, this is incitement.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): In a week when Hezbollah militants fired anti-tech missiles at Israel, Netanyahu said it was the media that was planning what he called a terror attack.

NETANYAHU (through translator): You're carrying out a terror attack against the truth and against democracy. We will not vow down to your hypocritical double standards. We know it's all a bluff.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Netanyahu and his Likud party declined to comment to CNN. But political analysts here say they have never seen anything like this.

CHEMI SHALEV, HAARETZ JOURNALIST: In Israel, to call a journalist a terrorist, which is like the worst moniker that you can attach to anyone, and to declare that they are trying to undermine democracy is very dangerous. It's a new stage.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Channel 12's Guy Pellick (ph) now has a security team for his own safety. He says he has received threats. But Netanyahu in another echo of Trump's language call them "fake security guards."

As Netanyahu faces possible charges of bribery and breach of trust in ongoing corruption investigations, he has accused the media of carrying out a witch hunt in an effort to unseat him. Even though it is in attorney general he appointed, who is in charge with the cases, Netanyahu has insisted he is innocent.

SHALEV: I think now he truly believes that he is being persecuted, victimized by a vast left wing cabal run by the media. I think it is very worrying if he is indeed living in such a delusional state.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIEBERMANN: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also beginning to warn his voter base of election fraud. He says one of the Arab parties stole the victory from him last April when he failed the former government after the elections, and he warns it is happening again.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu's rival, former Chief of Staff Bennie Gantz, says Netanyahu is just trying to lay the groundwork to reject the results of an election, an important democratic process, he says.

[03:50:04]

Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back. We continue to cover the devastation in the Bahamas. People will take all of the help they can get. There's so much work to be done there.

CHURCH: Yeah. There have been many incredible stories of survival and heroism, including this one, employees at an animal shelter who risked their own lives to save hundreds of dogs and cats. CNN's Gustavo Valdes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a face of a lucky dog, one of the survivors of the hell unleashed by Hurricane Dorian as it battered the Bahamas.

FELICIA TELFORT, SHELTER SUPERVISOR, HUMANE SOCIETY OF GRAND BAHAMA: About 300 and some animals are here at the moment.

VALDES (voice-over): Felicia is the shelter supervisor, who along with five colleagues, tried to keep safe 300 dogs and a hundred cats, most of them waiting to be adopted, but some already had families who had been forced to evacuate.

ELIZABETH BURROWS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HUMANE SOCIETY OF GRAND BAHAMA: The government-run shelters will not allow pets.

VALDES (voice-over): Elizabeth Burrows, executive director of the Humane Society of Grand Bahama, trusted this building, built in 2008 with some elevation to avoid floods.

[03:54:58]

BURROWS: And since we didn't flood in the other storms, we really felt like -- we felt we might get some water but we had no idea we would get the flood that we did.

VALDES (voice-over): But the water from the storm surged unexpectedly, threatening the lives of the animals. And in spite of the danger to themselves, the workers desperately tried to save the dogs by keeping the crates above the rising waters.

TELFORT: The water was about this high when we were doing this.

VALDES (voice-over): With the water now chest-high and their building flooding, they sought shelter.

TELFORT: Making sure that everything would be safe, to try and put them up high and leave them up in the manhole because the water started to come up so high.

VALDES (voice-over): The manhole is the access to the attic, which had no stairs, so they had to pull each other up.

TELFORT: The kennel dogs were still howling and crying. We experienced all of that until they were not even crying anymore.

VAlDES (voice-over): That silence represented the death of more than 220 dogs and 50 cats.

BURROWS: I felt devastated. I am. We couldn't have predicted this. But I feel so responsible. My heart is broken for the shelter animals that we lost. I feel so bad for the people who entrusted their animals to us and ultimately we couldn't protect them.

VALDES (voice-over): Dorian also destroyed their medical equipment, food, medicine and vehicles. Despite of their near-death experience, Felicia says she doesn't regret risking her life.

TELFORT: It wasn't about us being heroes. It was about us caring about the animals just as much as we care about ourselves.

VALDES (voice-over): Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Freeport, the Bahamas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: It is an important angle to consider there. When you think about so many people, you know, that went through the storm, the amount of debris there, and these rescue crews are still going through the rubble looking for survivors.

CHURCH: Yeah, so missing at this point.

HOWELL: Right. Of course, if you would like to help, you can go to CNN.com to get information about how to help the people there.

CHURCH: And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. The news continues here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END