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President Trump on Defense Mode for Pulling Out Troops in Syria; Mega Donor in Hot Seat Over Ukraine Scandal; Prime Minister Boris Johnson Wants U.S. Diplomat's Wife to Face Liability; Banning of Face Masks Angered Protesters; NBA Getting Backlash Over a Tweet. Aired 3-3:30a ET
Aired October 08, 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)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around world. It's 10 a.m. in Ankara, 3 p.m. in Beijing from the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Rosemary Church. This is CNN Newsroom.
U.S. President Donald Trump finds himself defending his surprising choice to pull American troops out of Syria to Democrats and many Republicans.
A Republican mega donor finds himself embroiled in the Ukraine scandal and he's hours away from testifying in front of U.S. lawmakers as part of the impeachment inquiry.
Plus. A tale so incredible you think it was a movie. How a homeless opera singer is hitting all the high notes once again.
U.S. President Donald Trump is facing a flood of criticism over his decision to pull troops from northern Syria. They've been helping protect Kurdish fighters along the Turkey-Syria border. The Kurds have long been a reliable partner in the fight against ISIS. But Turkey considers them terrorists.
Without U.S. protection, Turkey plans to push them away from the border so it can reset refugees there. Kurdish officials say the U.S. president's move will likely destabilize the region.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDULKARIM OMAR, KURDISH HEAD OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (through translator): This move or green light that Trump gave to Erdogan will actually complicate the crisis in the region and will provide the Islamic state with an opportunity to regenerate and control areas such as Raqqa and Deir ez-Zur.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Despite this major shift in U.S. foreign policy President Trump still insists he is not abandoning an ally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm not siding with anybody. We've been in Syria for many years. You know, Syria was supposed to be a short-term hit, just a very short term hit and were supposed to be in an out. That was many, many years ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, Mr. Trump's decision to pull these troops has been met with fierce backlash. This, despite the president saying he consulted with everybody on the decision. Even staunch supporters like Senator Lindsey Graham called the move irresponsible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): This impulsive decision by the president has undone all the gains we made, thrown the region into further chaos. Iran is licking their chops. And if I'm an ISIS fighter I've got a second lease on life. So, to those who think ISIS has been defeated you will soon see.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator --
GRAHAM: I hope I'm making myself clear how shortsighted and irresponsible this decision is in my view.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley tweeted her criticism. She says leaving the Kurds to die is a big mistake. And she added the hash tag Turkey is not our friend.
Earlier, I asked retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton how he would advise President Trump in this same situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I would tell him to reverse course immediately because it's a vacuum that he's creating in northern Syria, a nature of course a vacuum as we've often said, and you know, it's also true that geopolitics is a disciple that abhor a vacuum as well.
And given that fact it's very dangerous for the Turks to be given a free hand in this area and it's particularly dangerous with regards to the Kurdish forces, specifically the Syrian Democratic Forces which are primarily composed of these Turkish YPG forces.
These are great allies of the United States and not only in the Kurdish areas of Syria but throughout the Middle East and throughout the world. It is extremely important that the United States be seen as a reliable partner.
The minute or the second that the United States is not seen as a reliable partner we lose a lot of leverage and we lose the ability to influence events. That's precisely what our rivals want and it's precisely what we should not have happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton there. And in apparent attempt to ease the criticism President Trump tweeted this. "If Turkey does anything that I and my and great and unmatched wisdom considered to be off limits I will totally destroy and obliterate the economy of Turkey. I've done it before."
Our Nick Paton Walsh is following the story from Istanbul, he joins us now live. Good to see you, Nick.
[03:04:59]
So, reaction to President Trump's surprise plan to pull U.S. troops from northern Syria has been swift with backlash even within his own Republican ranks, and yet he stands defiant.
What will be the likely ramifications of this decision in that region?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's important to note at this point that he is right in saying that a handful of U.S. troops have moved back from their border positions and we haven't seen an awful lot of change actually physically on the ground yet as a result of that White House statement.
In fact, you heard him kind of playing the impact of the departure of those troops from their border positions and we do also know from U.S. special ops as of last night that the air space over northeastern Syria which is essentially where any potential confrontation may occur is still controlled by the United States.
So, if the Turkish military did move in, they would be doing so under the air cover of a government that disagrees with their military operations that's potentially quite complicated for them.
So, a lot of elements still moving around here but nothing can be taken away from the extraordinary symbolism of what Donald Trump actually said.
Now Trump's (Inaudible) on that phone call with the Turkish President Erdogan. There was also U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. So certainly, he possibly had expert device around to tell him this was going to go down badly but it's extraordinary how within 24 hours we have seen this barrage of almost universal condemnation.
The Syrian Kurds though a reality check here must have seen this moment coming. Donald Trump tried it once late last year where he said he was going to pull troops out and was then persuaded by his security adviser and that was a very bad idea.
But the Syrian Kurds, clearly, as I say, knowing the Americans won't going to be there forever, the American forces had been trying to instigate in the past week a kind of security system would, knowing the Turkish across the border had their eyes on moving inside.
Remember, the Turkish forces considers the Syrian Kurds are like terrorist who they are fighting as well. But still, tense days ahead as Turkey consider this next step and a body blow frankly, for the notion of U.S. reliability in the Middle East. Rosemary?
CHURCH: And just very quickly. That tweet from President Trump, how would that be received by Turkey?
WALSH: Like impossible to know. You know, if you are President Erdogan on the phone with Donald Trump and he says, it's OK, do what you like. Whether or not you really believe Donald Trump fully understands what he's saying when he says that. And then subsequently says if you do something, I consider to be too much I'll obliterate your economy including the phrase in my great and unmatched wisdom.
I don't really know how rationally you would accept that as a geopolitical signal. It's extraordinary dangerous times we're in. Because frankly, every major player in the Middle East is messing around in that particular Syrian Kurdish area or potentially, can gain from many changes in the dynamic there.
So very volatile times ahead. The question really is whether Ankara whether Turkey feels that it has something to gain by forcibly taking what it wants in the days ahead or whether it a has slower strategy for weeks and months moving forward.
CHURCH: And we will watch that very carefully. Nick Paton Walsh bringing us the very latest there from Istanbul. Many thanks to you.
Well, now to another ongoing controversy facing President Trump, Ukraine. There are now growing calls to protect the original whistleblower at the heart of the House Democrats impeachment inquiry.
And we are learning extreme measures being considered to safeguard their identity including potential disguises for if and when they speak to lawmakers.
A second whistleblower has also come forward supposedly with firsthand knowledge backing the claims made by the initial whistleblower. And Democrats are expanding their probe issuing subpoenas to the Pentagon and the Office Management and Budget.
Well, lawmakers also want to hear from President Trump's ambassador to the E.U., Gordon Sondland. He is set to testify in the coming hours.
CNN's Alex Marquardt reports he will likely face tough questions about his text messages related to Ukraine.
ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A wealthy donor, given a large but uncontrollable role in the Trump administration has been thrust into one of the biggest scandals to grip the White House.
Gordon Sondland, Ambassador to the European Union is testifying to Congress on Tuesday. Now a key player in the impeachment inquiry because of his high-level dealings with Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now considering your title, you're the U.S. ambassador to the E.U. but you've been spending a great deal of time in Kiev. Why is that?
GORDON SONDLAND, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE E.U.: Well, President Trump has not only honored me with the job of being ambassador with the E.U. but he's also given me other special assignments including Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: Overseeing that relationship meant carrying Trump's message to the Ukrainian president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SONDLAND: I had a wonderful hourlong meeting with President Zelensky that followed on the heels of his telephone call yesterday with President Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: Text messages released by the House intelligence committee show that Sondland was well aware that for the president, the U.S.- Ukraine relationship was deeply intertwined with the president's desire for Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son.
[03:10:10]
The group messages Sondland is on are full of references to Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, a sign to pushing a Biden conspiracy theories that has zero supporting evidence.
On September 1st, the ambassador to Ukraine asked Sondland if hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance were conditioned on investigations. Sondland responded, " call me."
A week later, the ambassador told Sondland I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign. Sondland denied it was, saying President Trump has been crystal clear that no quid pro quos of any kind. The president is trying to evaluate whether Ukraine is truly going to adopt the transparency and reforms.
Sondland has ended up in the hot seat in Washington after a career in business. Like President Trump building hotels across the country and making a lot of money.
In the 2016 campaign, the longtime Republican donor first supported Jeb Bush. He slammed Trump for going after the gold star Kahn family who lost a son in Iraq but his tune soon changed. Once the election was over Sondland donated a million dollars to Trump's inauguration and secured his E.U. ambassadorship.
Once there, he linked up with Energy Secretary Rick Perry and now former special envoy Kurt Volker in managing the Ukraine relationship, calling themselves the three amigos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SONDLAND: And we've been tasked with sort of overseeing the Ukraine- U.S. relationship between our contacts at the highest levels of the U.S. government and now the highest levels of the Ukrainian government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: There's one more part of that trove of text messages that we need to highlight. A message in which Sondland says that he thinks that President Trump really wants what he calls the deliverable. That deliverable we understand from the other messages is a public statement from the Ukrainian president that Joe Biden and his son will be investigated.
Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: To Britain now. And Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he will go straight to the White House if necessary, to seek justice in a car crash that killed a British teenager on a motorcycle.
Mr. Johnson says the collision involved the wide of a U.S. diplomat who left the United Kingdom.
CNN's Anna Stewart reports she is now claiming diplomatic immunity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLOTTE CHARLES, HARRY DUNN'S MOTHER: He was a really, really good lad, fun loving and a big heart. At the age of seven had his first motorbike. That was his main passion. He's a very, very accomplished rider.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: On the evening of August 27th the lives of this family change forever. Nineteen-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 airbase run by the U.S. Air Force.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES: The hospital would come to Harry they were doing their best to keep him alive. They got him stable as they possibly could and took him to the hospital where we lost him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: The police identified the wife of the U.S. diplomat as the suspect. They say engaged fully with their inquiry before, without notice, leaving the country under the protection of diplomatic immunity. She is now being named by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I hope that Anne Sacoolas will come back and will engage properly with the processes of laws that carried out in this country. If we can't resolve it then of course I will be raising myself personally with the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: Dunn's family said they are delighted the prime minister has committed to help them and urge them to do whatever it takes to get Sacoolas back on British soil.
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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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 -- but our justice system as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: The U.S. State Department have expressed their condolences but said, "Any questions regarding a waiver of immunity with regard to our diplomats and their family members overseas in a case like this received intense attention at senior levels and are considered carefully given a 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 set up to support the campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
[03:15:09]
STEWART: But no amount of money can buy a waiver of diplomatic immunity or put an end to their grief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES: I just want to say that everyone in America that's come forward to support us so far through social media and at the channels have been amazing. It meant a lot to us. We don't feel like we're on our own. (END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: Anna Stewart, Northamptonshire, U.K.
CHURCH: Impossible situation without family.
We will take a short break here. Still to come, Hong Kong's embattled leader is searching for solutions to the escalating unrest. Up next, why Carrie Lam says her government is still calling the shots not Beijing.
And why the National Basketball Association is facing growing backlash from both Chinese and U.S. leaders for two very different reasons. It all boils down to one tweet.
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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Hong Kong embattled leaders say it's still early to say whether her new anti-mask law is a failure. The escalating unrest became even more violent after Carrie Lam banned face masks at public gatherings.
Lam spoke with reporters shortly after China's garrison had a direct confrontation with protesters raising a flag warning them against targeting the barracks with lasers like the ones they regularly point at police.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is in Hong Kong, she joins us now live. Good to see you again, Kristie. What is the latest on these rising tensions and of course, those lingering questions about whether China would eventually intervene and take control of the situation?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of that was brought up in a press conference that took place in the building behind me just a few hours ago.
The Hong Kong chief executive, Carrie Lam held her first press conference since the announcement of that controversial ban on face masks in public gatherings. So, she insists that that emergency measure is not a failure, it just needs more time, she says, to be effective.
It follows more scenes of protest and a lot of chaos in the city at the weekend. Tens of thousands of protesters turned out in defiance of that ban on face masks. We saw hardline protesters set up barricades blocking roads and attacking subway stations.
At one point, the entire or mass transport system here in Hong Kong was shut down. Now this is a subway system that services up to five million commuters a day.
We also saw over the weekend businesses, shops, restaurants, even entire shopping centers forced to close down or close down early.
Now given the ongoing scenes of unrest I raised the question to the chief executive, what is it going to take, how bad is it going to get in Hong Kong before she feels compelled to call on Beijing to come in and to help restore order. Listen carefully to her response.
[03:20:01]
CARRIE LAM, HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE: At this point in time, I still strongly feel that we should find the solutions ourselves. That is also the position of the central government that Hong Kong should tackle the problem on their own.
But if the situation become so bad, then no options could be ruled out. If we want Hong Kong to at least to have another chance.
But at this moment, I and my team, we are still very committed to making sure that we can use our own instruments, legal instrument, political instruments like continuing dialogue, policy instruments like addressing some of the deep-seated problems on the livelihood and the economy side to try to restore calm and order in Hong Kong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam there saying that Hong Kong is insisting on handling the situation on her own and that Beijing agrees with that position. This, after more than four months of massive and highly disruptive protests, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Many thanks to you, Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong with the very latest from there.
Well, the National Basketball Association or NBA is now facing backlash from U.S. lawmakers for its reaction to this tweet by the Houston Rockets general manager backing pro- democracy protests in Hong Kong.
The NBA which makes millions of dollars in the Chinese market has sided with Beijing, calling Daryl Morey's tweet regrettable.
Now despite his apology, several Chinese businesses are suspending times with the Houston Rockets over that tweet. But the NBA's response is raising questions over the linked business in the United States will go to in order to cater to China.
And it's drawing bipartisan criticism from U.S. politicians who say the league is vowing to pressure from Beijing.
Joining me now to discuss the backlash, CNN world sport anchor Alex Thomas, inside Saitama, Japan. Good to see you again, Alex.
So, this is of course a very delicate situation to navigate. The NBA commissioner will be speaking very soon or certainly in the coming hours. Profit versus freedom of expression, what's he likely to say and what's the latest on the controversy?
ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I have no idea what he's going to say, Rosemary, but he's got a hell of a task on his hands. He's going to have to be far more politician than sports administrator.
Here we are in Saitama, we're outside the super arena on the outskirts of Tokyo, about an hours' drive at a town and this should be a feel- good story for the NBA. You can see how many Japanese fans are queuing up outside the stadium behind me ahead of this preseason game between the Houston Rockets, a hugely popular and well-known team playing out of Texas, obviously back in the NBA against the reigning NBA champs the Toronto Raptors.
And it's the first time we've have any NBA games here in Japan since 2003, 16 years ago. This was the first country they ever played regular season games outside of the United States and they are back here because of a new commercial deal a couple of years ago just to support that backer.
Instead, this new round involving China and the Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey's tweet last Friday, well, it's turning like a real storm it's gathering momentum in pace over the last three or four days.
I want to play you what James Harden said, he's the guy with the big beard and one of the stars of the Rockets, appearing in front of the media alongside Russell Westbrook, one of their new signings back in July. The two old friends and we're going to talk about how they are going to play together now they've been reunited back on the court for the coming season.
Instead, he was asked about this route and ended up saying sorry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES HARDEN, HOUSTON ROCKETS GUARD: We apologize, you know. We love China. We love playing here. I know for both of us individually we go there, you know, once or twice a year and they show us the most important love. So, we appreciate them as a fan base and we love everything they're about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS: Harden apologizing as has the Rockets G.M. Morey as well taking back to social media to say sorry. The NBA are trying to thread the line between protecting business interests in China versus the rights of all their players and staff in the NBA to have free speech.
The latest switch, Rosemary, coming through in the last few minutes from CCTV, the state broadcaster in China, unhappy at Silver's bid to try and protect free speech because he's trying to implicate opponents at home and abroad and saying that actually the remarks that challenge national sovereignty and social stability do not belong to the category of free speech as far as CCTV are concern.
And that means they're not going to broadcast any NBA preseason games at all. There are two games in China right now who are due to play later this week.
[03:25:00]
CHURCH: All right. Alex Thomas, many thanks to you. We shall see what is said is and what happens next with nest. All right. We'll take a short break. Back in just a moment.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
There are now five fewer royals on Swedish taxpayers' accounts. The king stripped five of his grandchildren of their royal highness status. The children will keep their titles of prince and princess or duke and duchess but they won't be expected to perform royal duties.
Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl Philip welcome the news saying it would give their children more freedom in their private lives.
And thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. Inside Africa is up next. But first, I'll be back with the check of the headlines. You're watching CNN. Do stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Hello, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN news now.
[03:29:55]
U.S. President Donald Trump is getting nearly universal backlash over his decision to pull troops out of northern Syria. It essentially opens the door for Turks to attack on Kurds in the region. Those forces helped the U.S. defeat ISIS. Though Turkey -
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