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Trump Allies Seek To Defend President, Change Subject; Four People Fatally Shot Inside Kansas Bar; Prince Harry's Feud With British Tabloids Is Personal; A Second Whistleblower Surfaces; Turkey to Begin Military Operations in Northeast Syria; U.S. Embassy Not Naming Diplomat's Wife Involved in Fatal Collision; Face Mask Ban Imposed in Hong Kong; China Angry Over Message of Support for Hong Kong From an NBA Executive; Drone Video Showing Muslim Prisoners in Western China. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired October 07, 2019 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: A corroborating whistleblower, a second individual has come forward, this one claiming to have firsthand knowledge of the Ukraine scandal involving the U.S. president.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: This woman says a diplomat's wife killed her son in a car crash. Now, this grieving mother is demanding justice.
CHURCH: Plus, drone video out of China appears to show abusive treatment of Uyghur Muslims at the hands of the Chinese government. Hello and welcome to her viewers joining us here and the United States and from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
HOWELL: In Studio 7 here in CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, I'm George Howell. "Newsroom" starts now.
There is a new whistleblower d the Ukraine scandal facing the U.S. President Donald Trump. A lawyer for the first whistleblower says his team represents the second client who works in the intelligence community and has firsthand knowledge backing up claims of the first whistleblower.
CHURCH: Mr. Trump insist he did nothing wrong by asking Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden after withholding military aid, but he has already been lashing out on twitter over the second whistleblower and he's launching baseless accusations at two of the top Democrats in the House accusing them of high crimes, misdemeanors and treason. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more now from Washington.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: We now know that there are two whistleblowers from within the intelligence committee who have raised concerns about President Trump's call with the president of Ukraine. Attorneys for the first whistleblower now say that they are also
representing at least a second whistleblower from within the intelligence community. And this whistleblower claims to have firsthand information about many of the instances raised in that first whistleblower's complaint.
That has of course been a key Republican talking point in the discrediting that first whistleblower, the fact that many of the allegations that were made, the whistleblower obtained secondhand. Now, as far as the White House reaction to the second whistleblower, they are essentially saying there is nothing to see here folks.
Here is the statement from the White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham. She says, "It doesn't matter how many people decide to call themselves whistleblowers about the same telephone call -- call the president has already made public -- it doesn't change the fact that he has done nothing wrong."
Now, of course, despite that, we have seen the president repeatedly attacking the whistleblower on twitter this weekend, also attacking Democrats, the media and even one Republican who dared to come out and publicly criticize the president's request that China and Ukraine investigate his political rival Joe Biden.
Senator Mitt Romney, the former nominee came out and called President Trump's requests appalling and wrong. President Trump has now fired back calling for Senator Romney's impeachment.
Of course senators can't be impeached but the message from the president here was clear to any Republicans who would come out, out of line and speak out against him. This is what could come. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.
CHURCH: Well, many of Mr. Trump's allies have attacked both whistleblowers but a group of around 90 former National Security and diplomatic officials are praising the work of the original whistleblower. The officials who served for both Republicans and Democrats wrote an open letter. They include a former defense secretary, CIA director and National Intelligence director under former President Barack Obama.
HOWELL: I want to read you part of what the group wrote. It says, "Whatever one's view on the matter discussed in the whistleblower's complaint, all Americans should be united in demanding that all branches of our government and all outlets of our media protect this whistleblower and his or her identity."
It goes on to say, "Simply put, he or she has done what our law demands and now he or she deserves our protection."
CHURCH: And for more, we are joined from England by Natasha Lindstaedt. She is a professor of government at the University of Essex. Good to have you with us.
NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Thanks for having me. CHURCH: So, as we have been reporting, the second whistleblower has
come forward this time with firsthand knowledge of the phone conversation between President Trump and his Ukraine counterpart, backing the claims of the first whistleblower. How significant do you think all this is and what could it potentially mean for the impeachment inquiry into the U.S. president?
[02:05:01]
LINDSTAEDT: Well, when Trump first heard about this whistleblower report, his first attack was to say it was all secondhand knowledge and then he tried to undermine the credibility of the whistleblower by saying this which is a partisan hack and he wanted to meet his accuser and he was generally fairly aggressive towards the whistleblower.
Then he pivoted and started to talk about involving other countries like China in investigating his political opponents and he seem to double down and basically try to convey there is nothing to see here, I haven't done anything wrong.
But corruption is so bad and particularly the corrupt acts of alleged corrupt acts of Biden and his son that he should involve other countries and investigate. And that seems to be what the main Republican talking point is of those that are willing to speak out or to speak in favor of Trump.
That there isn't anything that's going to change now that we have this second whistleblower, but for Democrats, of course, and for anyone in the House or in the Senate that just wasn't sure about how they feel about this, now, we could get more information from the second whistleblower.
And they could also just at least corroborate what the first whistleblower had set out. So, this doesn't look good for Trump really in any shape or form, though I think we can already predict what his response is going to be. This doesn't matter. I've already put everything already out there and this really what you do about nothing.
CHURCH: All right. And as Mr. Trump faces increased pressure over his attempt to get Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden, he is now defending his actions, calling them apolitical and solely motivated by his desire to root out corruption.
Will anyone likely buy his new anti-corruption defense now popping up in his tweets, campaign commercials and of course, in recent chats with reporters? Can he change the narrative on this? We have seen him do it before.
LINDSTAEDT: Anyone that is not part of his base is not going to buy this because he doesn't have any history of investigating corruption of any individuals and I think a reporter had asked him this -- is there anyone else that you want to investigate that is not your political opponent regarding these corrupt activities, and he didn't have an answer for that. He doesn't have a history of going after corruption. In fact, that is
what he has been accused of. That is what he has been surrounded by and his campaign chair, his ex-campaign chair is in prison for corrupt activities.
His former lawyer is in prison for corrupt activities, so, he is more been an individual who's been accused of corruption than been someone who has been on the attack. But we see that the base isn't moving. I mean, that's one thing that -- we look at the polls throughout his presidency, the base hasn't moved much one way or the other.
They are completely convinced that he is the best president to resolve all their problems and they are willing to look the other way and be diverted when he chooses to.
CHURCH: Wow. And of course, it's worth pointing out only a few Republicans have spoken out against the president's actions in the Ukraine scandal. One of the president's biggest Republican critics, Mitt Romney was attacked by President Trump and numerous angry tweets over the weekend calling for Romney's impeachment, that's not possible of course.
But are other Republicans too scared to speak out for fear of this type of retribution or do you think they do support Mr. Trump's Ukraine call and his actions associated with it?
LINDSTAEDT: I can't imagine that Republicans actually support Trump soliciting help from a foreign country to investigate a political opponent. That would be crazy, but what I think they are is very scared as to what happens when they speak out.
You see what happened with Mitt Romney -- he got a personal attack -- and how their constituencies might respond. So, for Republicans that are in very red states that we have the public that really, really supports Trump, they may be very cautious to speak out at this point in time.
Then you have a lot of other Republicans that are just sort of trying to wait and see, but they're going to have to be careful here because in 2020, there are four senatorial seats that could swing towards the Democrats and that would be enough for the Democrats to get a majority in the Senate.
CHURCH: Natasha Lindstaedt, we appreciate your analysis and perspective, many thanks.
LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.
HOWELL: Now, to tell you about a major policy shift, the White House now says that Turkey will soon move forward with its long planned military operation into northern Syria.
CHURCH: If the U.S. will not be involved and will be pulling away from the area where they have been deployed and supporting Kurdish-led forces, the move came after a phone call between President Trump and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday. [02:10:05]
It goes against efforts by senior U.S. officials to dissuade Turkey from carrying out this operation.
HOWELL: The White House did not specify its statement, if the move now constitutes a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, but Turkey will now be responsible for all of the captured ISIS fighters who are currently being held by Kurdish forces in northern Syria. We will have more on this developing story and a live report in the next hour.
CHURCH: Well, the U.S. embassy says it will not reveal the identity of the diplomat's wife involved in a fatal car crash. A spokesperson from the embassy told CNN out of privacy and security concerns, the embassy will not comment on the identity of the driver.
HOWELL: 19-year-old Harry Dunn was hit and killed in that crash. Police say that the woman who has diplomatic immunity was driving on the wrong side of the road. Dunn's family is not giving up on this fight.
CHURCH: Our Anna Stewart spoke with the crash victim's mother. She is prepared to go all the way to Washington to have her voice heard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charlotte Charles' grief is raw, talking about her son in the past tense, a new terrible reality.
CHARLOTTE CHARLES, HARRY DUNN'S MOTHER: He was a really, really good lad, fun loving, big heart and lots of love for not only his family but for lots of friends as well. And from the age of 7 had his first motorbike -- it was his main passion. He's a very, very accomplished rider. He knew exactly what he was doing.
STEWART (voice-over): On the evening of August 27, the lives of this family changed forever. 19-year-old Harry Dunn was riding his motorbike to visit his father when he collided with a car driving on the wrong side of the road near this exit of an RAF air base run by the U.S. Air Force.
CHARLES: Howie was on the side of the road. The hospital had come to Harry. They were doing their best to keep him alive. He spoke to a witness on the side of the road. He told the witness that the female driver was on his side of the road.
The female driver admitted to a different witness that she was on the wrong side of the road. She hit Harry head on. They got him as stable as they possibly could. And then they took him to the hospital where we lost him.
STEWART (voice-over): The police identified a 42-year-old American woman as a suspect in their investigation. They say she engaged fully with their inquiry before without notice leaving the country. As a spouse of a U.S. diplomat, she's protected under diplomatic immunity. And unless the U.S. government chooses to waive this protection, she can't be ordered to attend the U.K. to face justice.
CHARLES: It can't be right that somebody, a diplomat or the family can come over to the U.K or any other country, kill somebody and intentionally or not and just go away and ignore what's happened.
STEWART (on camera): If you could speak to the wife of the diplomat, the suspect in this case, if she was listening to this right now, what would you say to her?
CHARLES: I do not understand how as a mom you could get on a plane, go back to your own country and completely avoid not only the family that she's broken.
STEWART (voice-over): The U.S. State Department have expressed their condolences that said, "Any questions regarding a waiver of immunity with regard to our diplomats and their family members overseas in a case like this receive intense attention at senior levels and are considered carefully given the global impact such decisions carry; immunity is rarely waived."
Harry's family are hoping an exception will be made in this case and they're looking to the British government for support. This week, they'll meet with the U.K. foreign secretary, Dominic Raab and they won't stop there. A funding page has been setup to support the campaign.
CHARLES: We will use that money to go to Washington. We will do our best to talk to President Trump. We will do everything we possibly can do.
STEWART (voice-over): But no amount of money can buy a waiver of diplomatic immunity or put an end to their grief.
CHARLES: I just wanted to say that everyone in America that's come forward to support us so far through social media and other channels has been amazing. This meant a lot to us. We don't feel like we're on our own.
STEWART (voice-over): Anna Stewart, Northamptonshire, U.K.
CHURCH: Heartbreaking situation for that family.
HOWELL: It is indeed.
CHURCH: We'll take a short break here. Still to come, the NBA gets caught up in the Hong Kong protest debate and now China is lashing out against a team that's quite popular with Chinese fans. We'll have that when we come back.
[02:15:01]
(COMMECIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: In Hong Kong, police are condemning the violent protest this weekend, the 18th straight weekend that we've seen people on the streets like this. Tensions ran high again after the government announced an emergency ban on face masks at public gatherings.
In defiance, many of the protesters, they decided to hide their faces anyway, testing the resolve of police. Police did use tear gas in some instances. At least 13 people were arrested, partially for that reason.
CHURCH: And this situation is now getting attention from the NBA. China's basketball association says it has severed ties with the Houston Rockets team after their general manager, Daryl Morey, tweeted support for the protesters on Friday.
The Rockets are one of the most popular NBA teams in China and China's Yao Ming's spent years playing for the Rockets. Morey has since deleted the tweet and both he and the league have apologized.
HOWELL: The reaction from China, let's go live to Beijing with our David Culver on this story. And David, this comes down to that valued American principle of free speech versus the NBA's relationship with China for its bottom line.
[02:20:03]
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And incorporates into that, George, hundreds of millions possible fans here in China. We're on one of the public courts that have gotten a lot of teams coming in today. This is the end of a national holiday which in of itself is important because it was a week long national holiday celebrating 70-years of communist rule here in China.
So, it's an important day and an important week, and so add to that what we saw come out this weekend with that tweet, it's enhancing the insults here from the party perspective. But when we go and look at that tweet and we look at the subsequent fallout, many things are falling into place right now and causing a lot of outrage.
For one, you've got the tweets initially going out on Friday in which Morey said, essentially posted a picture that said, fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong, of course alluding to the democracy protest which have been really a thorn in the side of China's government, something that they have been very embarrassed of, something that they've tried to stay out of publicly.
But really, want those 18 plus weeks of protests to come to an end. And then you have the subsequent deleting of that tweet by Morey and an apology go out, and that in of itself has brought more backlash from even U.S lawmakers so, it has created quite the storm.
And here in China, the reaction is seemingly mixed by some. I mean, you've got some folks on social media who are clearly very upset with what the Rockets put out and seem to support what has come down from the government for one.
And I say that in kind of three parts if you will because you've got state media saying that -- HOWELL: I think we lost David Culver there, but again, David pointing out that the reaction coming from all corners given this comment. We'll continue to follow the story for you of course.
CHURCH: Yes. And another story related to China, a leaked drone video is sparking new concerns that China is harshly targeting ethnic Muslims. The footage appears to show hundreds of detainees in western China bound and blindfolded. CNN's Matt Rivers spoke with two former detainees who described the abuses they say they faced in similar camps.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Row by row there are hundreds of them, seated on the ground, head shaved, blindfolded, their hands are bound behind their backs as dozens of guards hover and SWAT uniforms.
It is unclear who these prisoners are but western intelligence sources tell CNN they believe the video is authentic, that it shows Muslim ethnic minorities and that the video was shot in Xinjiang, China.
Xinjiang is the western Chinese region where the government has detained hundreds of thousands of Muslims over the past several years according to the United States. Detainees are almost exclusively ethnic minorities including Uyghurs who have lived in the region for generations, now, housed in a massive camps like this one that we saw firsthand on a trip to Xinjiang in March.
We were followed by police every moment of our 6-day journey. Multiple ex-detainees and a former camp employee have told CNN that torture and political indoctrination are ramping inside the camps.
Critics say Beijing has rounded up minorities arbitrarily and in mass in a blatant attempt to destroy their cultures and wipeout Islam within its borders.
Beijing has repeatedly denied that saying the camps are merely "vocational training centers designed to counter extremism in Xinjiang, which has seen terrorist attacks in the past."
A western intelligence source tells CNN their analysis of the video posted online anonymously last month shows detainees transferred by train. Analysis by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute suggests the video was shot in the city of Korla in August 2018.
In response, the Xinjiang government said in a statement to CNN, "Cracking down on crimes in accordance with law is the common practice of all countries. Xinjiang's crackdown of crimes has never been linked to ethnicities or religion, transporting inmates by judicial authorities belongs to normal judicial activities."
But two men, one in the Netherlands and one in Kazakhstan said the activity is anything but normal and that the video is terrifyingly familiar because they lived through something similar. Amanzhan Seiit, a Muslim ethnic Kazakh says he was detained in China
in 2018, never told what for. Held in his first camp for several weeks, he says he was transferred to another exactly as shown in the video. We were made to sit just like that he says. They put cuffs on our hands and legs and masks over our heads. Lots of police were there with guns.
He was released after several months and now lives in Kazakhstan, a country on China's western border. While detained, he says the fear of what might happen was the worst.
[02:25:00]
Watching the video I'm still scared because I know what the prisoners are thinking. They don't know where they are being taken or if there will be shot dead. It's terrifying. There are no publicly known instances of shooting deaths inside the camps.
More than 3,000 miles away, Omerbek Bikali, another Muslim Kazakh knows how it feels to be scared in custody. He lives in the Netherlands now after being detained in a Chinese camp four months in 2017. He claims he was tortured regularly and describes the camps as hell.
I think the reason they want to torture us is firstly to make us physically week so that you cannot resist. Bikali says though he was transferred between camps by car, he too had a bag placed over his head and his hand shackled. Watching the drone video, he's overcome with emotion. I feel so sad he says, that used to be me. I cannot forget that. It's criminal.
Beijing did not respond to questions about the allegations from both men. CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of this video or the date it was shot. Prisoners in China are regularly transported wearing blindfolds and it's unclear whether the men are being held for criminal offenses or for other reasons.
But this drone video does not exist in a vacuum, rather, it is a singular piece of a swiftly mounting body of evidence including firsthand accounts that shows China is persecuting people in Xinjiang simply because they are Muslim, committing human rights abuses in the process. Matt Rivers, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Disturbing video to say the least. Still ahead here on "Newsroom," defending and deflecting, the U.S. president's allies try to put their best spin on the Ukraine scandal as the impeachment inquiry into President Trump continues to grow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:00]
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good early morning in the USA and around the world. To our viewers on CNN International, welcome back to NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And I'm Rosemary Church. It is time to check the main headlines for you this hour.
In a major policy shift, the White House says Turkey will soon move forward with its long-planned military operation into northern Syria. The U.S. will not be involved and will pull troops from the area where they have been deployed and supporting Kurdish-led forces. A senior U.S. officials have tried for some time to dissuade Turkey from carrying out this operation.
HOWELL: Those protests in Hong Kong continued. Police there arrested, at least, 13 protesters over the weekend in part for wearing masks to hide their faces which is now against the law there. The 18th straight weekend of these anti-government protests which turned once again violent.
In the meantime, the NBA is apologizing to China after the Houston Rockets general manager tweeted, then deleted support to the Hong Kong protesters.
CHURCH: Another whistleblower has come forward in the Ukraine scandal facing U.S. President Donald Trump. The lawyer representing the first whistleblower, says his team also represents this second one.
He says the client works in the intelligence community and has first- hand knowledge backing the first whistleblower's claims.
HOWELL: And the scandal now grows to -- beyond Ukraine, I should say. On Thursday, Mr. Trump also publicly asked China to investigate the Bidens.
CHURCH: The president's allies tried to defend him on the Sunday talk shows and they're also hoping to change the subject.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, CHIEF ANCHOR, ABC NEWS: Do you think it's appropriate for President Trump to ask China and Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden?
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): George, you really think he was serious about thinking that China is going to investigate the Biden family? I mean --
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: He said it right there in public.
JORDAN: I think -- I think -- I think, he is getting -- I think, Senator Rubio said a couple of days ago -- I think he's getting the press all spun up about this.
The same guy who's been tougher on China now thinks, oh, China is going to investigate the Biden. He was just making a statement to just underscore how wrong it is -- (CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: If --
JORDAN: -- what took place here with Hunter Biden getting these deals that he got, that's all he's doing.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So, the president asked China to investigate. We're not supposed to take the president at his word?
JORDAN: I -- again, I think -- I think, Senator Rubio said it best. This is -- this is the president. You guys would think after 3-1/2 years, you would -- with the campaign -- everything else, you'd figure out some of the ways that this guy is --
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: Yet he said in public -- to say exact same thing he said in private to the Ukrainian president.
JORDAN: I wish there would be the same outrage for this -- for what the president said about China, the same outrage that there was when, when we saw what -- when, when the Clinton campaign and the Democrat National Committee hired a foreigner who worked with Russians to dig up dirt on the president.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Should I conclude from that, that you don't think it would be appropriate for the president to ask China to investigate the Bidens?
JORDAN: I think he's just making this. I'm just telling you what the statement is. You asked me about this statement, I'm saying I don't think he's really -- I don't think any on America really believes, except people maybe in the press, and some Democrats in Congress really believe that the president the United States thinks China is going to investigate. He is making a statement.
STEPHANOPOULOS: The president -- well, he's asking for it, and the president hasn't said he's joking. He said a very direct statement. He wasn't smiling there, he wasn't laughing -- it wasn't a joke.
Why can't you answer yes or no, do you think it's appropriate?
JORDAN: I don't -- because I don't think that's what he did. I don't think that's what he did.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So, but it was right there on camera.
I have my third letter into the inspector general of intelligence community --
(CROSSTALK)
CHUCK TODD, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NBC NEWS: All right, Senator -- SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Asking to just confirm -- just confirm, are
you investigating those leaks to Peter Strzok talked about in that text on Lisa Page?
TODD: I have no idea why --
JOHNSON: So, again, no, that's a setup, it is entirely irrelevant to this point.
TODD: Why, why a Fox -- why a Fox News conspiracy propaganda stuff is popping up on here. I have no idea. I have no idea why we're going here.
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNSON: Here it is -- it is not that is -- that is -- that is exact -- that is -- that is --
TODD: Senator, I'm asking about -- I'm asking --
JOHNSON: Because this underlying exactly why President Trump is upset and why his supporters are upset at the news media.
TODD: All right. OK, this is not about the media. Senator Johnson --
JOHNSON: You know, you're trying -- here's the deal -- here is the deal. The bias news media (INAUDIBLE).
TODD: Senator Johnson, please!
JOHNSON: Go ahead.
TODD: Can we please answer the question that I asked you, instead of trying to make Donald Trump feel better here that you're not criticizing him.
JOHNSON: I'm not -- I'm not. I'm trying to weigh the ground word of your very biased opening.
TODD: I'm just trying to ask you a simple question of what made you -- what made you wins?
What is -- but I'm asking a simple question about you clearly were upset that somehow there was an implication that military aid was being frozen.
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNSON: Yes. I was -- I was -- I was -- yes.
TODD: Because the president wanted an investigation. Why did you wins?
JOHNSON: Right. But you -- because I didn't want those connected. And I wanted -- I was supporting the aid as is Senator Murphy, as is everybody that went to that initial inauguration.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:35:07]
CHURCH: Now, if the House does vote to impeach President Trump, it will ultimately be up to the Senate to decide if he will be removed from office.
HOWELL: That's right. And some Senate Democrats who are also running for president are weighing in on that prospect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you see enough evidence to convict yourself?
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you would vote right now to removing that president?
WARREN: Look, I think the evidence is clear. When Donald Trump released the transcript in which he solicited a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 elections, he broke the law.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Do you think it's irresponsible for senators who will be essentially jurors to say right now that they would vote to convict? Is that irresponsible?
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think people will say different things. I, personally as a former prosecutor, liked to look at all the evidence because you might convict on a number of counts and not another one.
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am a juror and I want to look at what the articles of impeachment are. I want to look at all the evidence. But I'm going to tell you as just as an American, this is not just offensive. I think its grounds for impeachment.
And so, I'm looking forward to the fullness of this coming out the House has to go through a process. They will develop articles of impeachment, they will pass them perhaps on the -- on the floor before it even gets to the Senate where there will be a trial.
But if you just want to ask me is somebody looking at what our president -- but the president of the United States is doing, it is contrary to the framers of our Constitution.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Well, the word from the White House, it is dismissing reports of a second whistleblower and what it could mean for the impeachment inquiry.
CHURCH: And while whistleblowers pose an obvious threat to those in power, they also face serious personal consequences for their actions. Randi Kaye looks at prominent whistleblowers in recent U.S. history.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You tell me what you know and I'll confirm. I'll keep you in the right direction if I can but that's all. Yes, follow the money.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is perhaps the most famous whistleblower in history, known simply as Deep Throat. In the 1970s, he helped take down President Richard Nixon by divulging critical information about the Watergate break-in to Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Woodward, Bernstein, you fold on the story (INAUDIBLE).
KAYE: Deep Throat would set up secret meetings with Woodward by drawing a clock with a specific time usually late at night on page 20 of Woodward's copy of the New York Times. They would then meet at that time inside an underground parking garage.
MARK FELT, FORMER ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: No, no, I'm not deep throat.
KAYE: In fact, he was. The mystery ended in 2005 when Mark Felt, the number two in command at the FBI in the early 70s revealed he was Deep Throat.
Also in the 1970s, military analyst Daniel Ellsherg earned a reputation as the most dangerous man in America for leaking a top- secret government study about the Vietnam War, known as the Pentagon Papers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The name is now come out as the possible source of the Time's Pentagon documents. It is out of Daniel Ellsherg --
KAYE: The Pentagon Papers showed the government had mismanaged the Vietnam War and lied about it. Ellsherg was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 with theft and conspiracy. But the charges were later dropped due to government misconduct. Ellsherg's disclosures as a whistleblower are credited with helping end the war.
RICHARD NIXON, 37th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I couldn't care less about the punk, I wanted to discredit that kind of activity.
KAYE: Decades later in 2013, former U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning was convicted after sharing nearly 750,000 military and diplomatic documents with WikiLeaks, related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
CHELSEA MANNING, FORMER UNITED STATES ARMY SOLDIER: I stopped seeing just statistics and information, and I started seeing people.
KAYE: Included in the leaked material, a video of Iraqi civilians and journalists being killed by a U.S. helicopter in 2007.
She was convicted and sentenced to 35 years for the leak, but President Barack Obama commuted her sentence in 2017.
The same year Manning was convicted, whistleblower Edward Snowden began leaking classified government material to the media and a documentary filmmaker.
EDWARD SNOWDEN, WHISTLEBLOWER TO NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY: The more you're ignored, the more you're told it's not a problem. Until eventually, you realize that these things need to be determined by the public.
KAYE: Snowden, a former CIA employee and NSA contractor, shared documents from the National Security Agency about far-reaching surveillance programs.
LT. GEN. JAMES CLAPPER, (RET.), CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: People's lives are at risk here because of data that Mr. Snowden purloined.
KAYE: Among other things, Snowden was charged with giving national defense information to someone without a security clearance, and revealing classified information. He's living in exile in Russia.
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:40:08]
CHURCH: Well, police in the U.S. State of Kansas are searching for a man who opened fire in a bar, killing four people. His companion was taken into custody on Sunday. The suspects have been identified as 29-year-old Hugo Villanueva-Morales and 23-year-old Javier Alatorre. They each face four counts of first-degree murder.
HOWELL: Officials say two of their victims were Mexican citizens. They believe the shooting was triggered by a dispute inside the bar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS TOMASIC, SPOKESMAN, KANSAS CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: We do not believe this is random. We do believe that this was an isolated incident, I guess, you would call it. We don't feel that these suspects are going to go out and do this again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: And at the time of the shooting, about 40 people were inside that bar.
CHURCH: Well, just days after testifying in the murder trial of a police officer, a key witness is gunned down. Coming up, what connection if any, the two murders share? We're back with that in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, the U.S. Supreme Court convenes for a new term Monday and justices will confront a number of politically explosive cases.
HOWELL: It will be a challenge for the chief justice to keep the high court out of the spotlight when the rulings will emerge during an election year.
Ariane de Vogue has details for you.
ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: A momentous term is set to begin. The justices will tackle an array of hot-button issues: LGBT rights, gun rights, immigration, and just last week, the court agreed to hear an abortion case.
All these opinions are going to come down in the heat of the next election. They'll be heard by President Trump's two nominees, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. And on Sunday, protesters gathered at the court to mark Kavanaugh's one-year anniversary.
They are furious that he was confirmed despite allegations of sexual misconduct that came out during his confirmation process. Kavanaugh has always denied the allegations
But liberals are worried about the direction of the court because Kavanaugh took the seat of Anthony Kennedy, who was largely seen as a swing vote for some of these issues. And all eyes will be on Chief Justice John Roberts, he's been trying to keep the court out of the political fray, but many of these cases will come down as the election gears up.
Ariane de Vogue, CNN, Washington.
[02:45:34]
HOWELL: Ariane, thank you. In the state of Texas, a $100,000 reward is being offered for any information on Joshua Brown's murder.
CHURCH: Now, Brown was a key witness in the murder trial of a former Dallas police officer who was sentenced to jail last week for killing her neighbor.
Here is CNN's Polo Sandoval with the details.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Dallas police have not said anything to suggest that Joshua Brown's murder could in any way shape or form be directly tied to the high profile murder trial of Amber Guyger.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSHUA BROWN, KEY WITNESS, AMBER GUYGER TRIAL: This will be --
SANDOVAL: Before his murder on Friday, Joshua Brown made headline as a key witness to the trial of Dallas officer Amber Guyger.
BROWN: So, my apartment is right here. I could reach over, you know. Both apartments are probably like directly across from one another.
SANDOVAL: Last week, Guyger was convicted of killing Botham Jean after walking into his apartment in 2018. She claimed to have mistaken his apartment for hers and thought he was an intruder.
On the witness stand, 10 days before his own shooting death outside his home, Brown testified he heard the shots and saw Guyger outside his apartment. Brown got emotional recounting hearing his neighbor's voice from time to time.
Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney representing the Jean family, said on social media, "Brown lived in constant fear of gun violence," and that his death, "underscores the reality of the black experience in America."
Merritt also said Brown deserves the same justice that he sought to ensure for the Jean family. Investigators have released few details on Brown's death, only that witnesses heard gunshots and that they observed a silver four-door sedan speeding away from the scene. Police have not said if the murder is, in any way, connected to the Guyger proceedings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: Now, police continue to investigate this murder in Dallas. They are hoping that any witness who saw something will eventually reach out to them. Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.
CHURCH: And we'll take a short break here. Still, to come, Britain's Prince Harry says he is terrified of history repeating itself. Why he's accusing the British tabloids of making that fear a possibility? That's ahead. Stay with us.
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[02:51:40]
HOWELL: That was drummer Ginger Baker and Cream from their 2005 reunion tour. World of rock and roll is celebrating Baker's life after he died Sunday in England, he was 80 years old.
CHURCH: Unbelievable, and Baker was the star in his own, right, before forming Cream, one of Rock's first supergroups. Artists like Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, and others shared their memories of Baker on social media. They remember him as innovative, fiery, and one of the greatest drummers of all time.
HOWELL: Absolutely.
CHURCH: Amazing. Well, the British royal family has a (INAUDIBLE) relationship with tabloid media, to say the least.
HOWELL: That's right. Now, the duke and duchess of Sussex are preparing to enter legal battles with the tabloids. Our Max Foster reports it's deeply personal for Prince Harry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The British royal family is no stranger to media attention. Not least, the duke and duchess of Sussex, who returned last week from their tour of Africa, a well- received trip meticulously documented by the global media.
Now, however, the royal couple are preparing to enter a legal battle with the British tabloids. Harry and Meghan have accused the Mail on Sunday of unlawfully publishing a letter from her to a father, and deliberately editing it to change its meaning.
The papers responded denying the charge, now, adding a quote from Meghan's father, saying, he was the one who only wanted parts of the letter released because other parts was so painful.
Elsewhere, the dukes badly advised decision to sue the owners of the Mirror and the Sun over phone hacking was taken up by the Telegraph as part of a discussion around Harry's war against the tabloid media.
BONNIE GREER, CNN COMMENTATOR: He's calling time, he's blowing the whistle, and he's saying, if you intrude on our lives, we're coming for you.
FOSTER: And it's personal. And he's showing no signs of pulling back on this one. "I lost my mother," he explained at last week's statement calling out the U.K. tabloids. "And now I watched my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."
Back in 2017, he told a documentary team that he blamed the paparazzi for his mother's death. "Those people that caused the accident instead of helping they were taking photographs in the backseat and then those photographs made their way back to news desks."
He also lamented the media intrusion he suffered growing up in the shadows of his mother's superstardom. He sees parallels with that in the negative coverage Meghan has received in recent months, and he saw that coming too.
Before he met Meghan during a tour of the Caribbean in 2012, he questioned whether he would ever find someone willing to take on a long term relationship with him because of his public role.
And whilst the world watched on as Harry retraced the footsteps of his mother in Angola recently. The emotional statement released shortly after by the duke revealed his deepest fear of history repeating itself. Warning against his wife being commoditized to the point that she's no longer treated or seen as a real person.
GREER: I think Harry and Meghan are going to do something new. I think they're going to teach us, they're going to train us in the fact that they have a public life that they will pursue until the end, and then they have a private life.
[02:55:01]
FOSTER: That's what's driving this legal challenge against the U.K. tabloids and he's unlikely to back down until he's seen justice serve for his wife. But also for his mother.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: All right, Max, thank you.
And now to end with an uplifting story to tell you about, a homeless singer who performed Italian operas on a subway platform is now singing on a very different stage. Take a look.
CHURCH: Amazing. Emily Zamourka was invited to serenade audiences at this Little Italy celebration in Los Angeles on Saturday. She performed the same song she used to sing for metro riders.
HOWELL: As you might recall, one of Emily's subway performances was captured in this video. It was tweeted by the Los Angeles Police Department turning her into an Internet sensation.
CHURCH: And since then, several GoFundMe campaigns have been set up to help her get back on her feet. They've raised more than $100,000. What a gift she has there. And she played the violin as well, but someone stole the violin.
HOWELL: I didn't know that.
CHURCH: Yes, yes.
HOWELL: Incredible.
CHURCH: So, hopefully, and someone was l offering to buy her a violin to replace that so, it's ended well.
HOWELL: Yes, it has ended well. And we thank you for being with us this hour as we end this show for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.
CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. We'll be back with another hour of news in just a moment. You're watching CNN.
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