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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) Officially Endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders; Senate Majority Leader Sat His Republican Colleagues Down This Week And Told Them To Prepare For An Extended Trial; Hillary Clinton Citing Tulsi Gabbard As Russian Asset; U.S. Officials: U.S.-Brokered Ceasefire Is Not Holding; Trump's Plan To Use His Doral Resort For G-7 Summit Alarms Watchdog Groups; Duchess Of Sussex Holds Back Tears In Rare TV Moment; We Asked A Hacker To Try To Steal A CNN Tech Reporter's Data. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 19, 2019 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:06]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You are live inn the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

Republican lawmakers are gathering at Camp David today meeting with the man whose stunning admission on Ukraine blew up the Trump administration's strategy for defending against impeachment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK MULVANEY, ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Did he also mention to me in past that the corruption related to the DNC server? Absolutely. No question about that. But that's it. That's why we held up the money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just described as a quid pro quo. Funding will not flow unless the investigation into the democratic server happened, as well.

MULVANEY: We do that all the time with foreign policy. I have news for everybody, get over it. There is going to be political influence in foreign policy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney now wants us to believe he never said what he said about the President, Ukraine and the quid pro quo. But unless he has a time machine and can erase the footage of him telling the country to get over it, the damage is done.

Add to that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell sat his colleagues down and warned them to prepare for an extended impeachment trial. "The New York Times" saying quote "according to people who were there he came equipped with a PowerPoint presentation complete with quotes from the constitution, as he schooled fellow senators on the intricacies of a process he portrayed as all but inevitable."

We will have much more on the impeachment fight in a moment. But, first, we want to take you back to Queens, New York, where crowd's packed. You can see Queens bridge park right now to see Bernie Sanders officially receiving a much sought after endorsement from New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This all happening since last than three weeks since the 78-year-old suffered a heart attack.

Now this endorsement could hep cement his standing with a key part of the Democratic base. Just a few moments ago he spoke to the rally there saying how the freshman congresswoman has transformed American politics. But, first he had to hail the crowd size.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me begin by making an apology. We got a permit for 20,000 people and we had to close the doors. And I look at this huge crowd. Brothers and sisters, I have no doubt that the political revolution is going to sweep this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: CNN's Ryan Nobles is there to see Sanders soaking in this big moment with this endorsement with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Ryan, what did we hear from the congresswoman?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, first, let me comment on the size of the crowd. It is absolutely massive. This is no doubt the biggest crowd we have seen out at a Sanders rally in his campaign at any point of his campaign, and that included his massive launch at the beginning of the year.

But to your point about the endorsement of Alexandria, Ocasio-Cortez. This is important because she represents the very powerful and growing part of the Democratic party, the progressive left, the young progressive left and she talked about her own likely rise to Congress. How just a year ago she was working as a waitress. And she said it was of all people Bernie Sanders who inspired her to get involved. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D), NEW YORK: When I was a waitress and when it was time for me to graduate college with student debt, Bernie Sanders was one of the only ones that said no person should be graduating with life-crushing debt at the start of their lives. Bernie Sanders did not do these things because they were popular. And that's what we need to remember. He did this and he thought for these ends when they came at the highest political cost in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: Now the other important point that Sanders is making here today is that he feels a lot better after suffering that heart attack a little more than two weeks ago. And he also made it clear that he is up for the challenge of running this campaign. He is ready to move past the heart attack. And he said -- he made it

very clear just a few minutes ago, that he is prepared and ready to be President of the United States and that this campaign is back. He made it very clear, I'm back. Those were his exact words -- Ana.

CABRERA: OK. Ryan Nobles, we know you will bring us any more highlights from today's event.

In the meantime, let's bring in CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for "the Atlantic" Ron Brownstein and CNN Political Commentator and Senior Columnist at "The Daily Beast," Matt Lewis.

So Ron, Sanders was sidelined a while for his heart attack. The latest Quinnipiac poll has him at just 11 percent. His numbers are going down, not up. He is well behind Warren and Joe Biden. Why do you think AOC ultimately made this decision, I'll go with Sanders instead of maybe Warren who has a similar policy platform?

[15:05:24]

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well first, to echo Ryan, Bernie Sanders looks incredibly good and healthy for a 78-year- old that had a heart attack three weeks ago. Same as the debate. It was kind of remarkable to see how well he has recovered.

But for AOC, look, Bernie Sanders, she embodies the portion of the Democratic constituency who is drawn to Sanders because he is the, you know, kind of point of the spear and kind of revolutionary progressivism. I mean, the problem -- and she is a dynamic figure who is going to exert more influence in the party overtime. And she is a skilled politician. There is now question about it.

I mean, the problem Sanders has is that he is playing at the moment on the short side of the field. I mean, this is an endorsement that will more deepen than broaden his potential support. It helps him where he is already strong with young, the most liberal, young elements of the party.

His problem is that his support falls off dramatically both as you move to a more centrist voters and towards older voters, interestingly despite his own age he really struggles with Democrats over 50. And Democrats, you know, 45 and older are 65 percent of all the voters. So this helps him where he is already strong. I'm not sure it solves the biggest problems that he faces as a candidate.

CABRERA: And on the note there that Ron brought up, Matt, as much as Warren was said to have also Ocasio-Cortez, do you think there are some on her team maybe feel better off because member of the squad are polarizing?

MATT LEWIS, SENIOR COLUMNIST, THE DAILY BEAST: Yes, look, I think they would have taken the endorsement if AOC had endorsed her then the message would have been Bernie is gone. Elizabeth is the progressive candidate and they would have been happy with the endorsement. They didn't get it. And now you hang a lantern on your problem and you spin it differently. I think Elizabeth Warren can say, that's right. I am the main stream

candidate and a general election, AOC would have actually been a negative. Now, I can go into Michigan and Pennsylvania and talk about I'm not the radical candidate. I'm that working class, progressive, populist but main stream Democrat who still believes in capitalism. I'm not a socialist.

So that's how they can spin it. And I think we will see if it works out that way. But that's pretty much what you have to do when you don't get the endorsement.

CABRERA: Here's the other thing here. Sanders supporters have never lacked in enthusiasm. And he is leading in the money race with more than $33 million cash on hand right now.

So, Matt, let me come back to you. In general, how much will voters even care or even pay attention to an endorsement like this?

LEWIS: I don't think it matters that much as Ron was saying. I don't think this brings a lot of new voters that Bernie doesn't already have. I think what it does do is it keeps him in the game. He had a heart attack. He ended up having a very good debate.

I think good in terms of showing that he was resilient that he still has energy. Now, immediately, he has this endorsement, which is going to be exciting which we are talking about right now.

It keeps him in the game. He has enough money to stay in indefinitely and that potentially could keep Elizabeth Warren from galvanizing the left behind her candidacy. And that actually could have ramifications in the nomination.

BROWNSTEIN: Can I add to that point, Ana, real quick?

CABRERA: Sure.

BROWNSTEIN: I mean, Sanders does have a white working class constituency that may cut into voters that might otherwise end up with Biden. But Matt's point is right. I mean, the bulk of his audience are younger progressives. And you see the kind of crowd he could turn out.

CABRERA: But let me ask you on that, though, Ron. Given his current constituency, could he actually broaden his base supporters in terms of diversity, ethnic diversity for example, with Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and that's where he has struggled in some cases.

BROWNSTEIN: Right. I mean, if you go back to 2016, he was very competitive with African-American voters under 30. And then really fell off the table for older voters. I suspect we will see something similar in 2020.

And as kind of as Matt was saying the real impact of all of this is it makes it harder to imagine Elizabeth Warren completely sweeping him from the field. Given all the money he has, given his own perception of himself as an outsider who is always kind of being, you know, schemed against by powerful forces. It is hard to imagine him getting out of the race.

And in the end, even though there are some of his voters who might gravitate towards Biden, that is more of a problem for Warren than it is for the more centrist candidate. I think this endorsement like the money and like his recovery from the heart attack all point to him staying in the race much like say a Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988.

Even if he has no chance of winning the nomination after the first few states, he will have a sustain constituency and there is no reason that he I think he is going to g o anywhere.

[15:10:12]

CABRERA: There has been a strange standoff happening elsewhere in the race involving congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Hillary Clinton. Clinton suggesting that Russians are grooming Gabbard to be a third party candidate. Clinton didn't say Gabbard's name, but Gabbard's showed Clinton was targeting her. Here's both of them, first Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not making any predictions, but I think they have got their eye who is currently in the Democratic primary and grooming her to be a third-party candidate. She's a favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far. And that's assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not because she is also a Russian asset. Yes, she is a Russian asset. I mean, totally.

REP. TULSI GABBARD (D). PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She is doing this because it is very clear to her that she knows she can't control me. That if I'm elected President, then she will not be able to come in and try to influence or manipulate me or the policies that I will lead forward for our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Matt, why did Clinton go there? And what do you make of Gabbard's response?

LEWIS: Such a weird story. Number one, be careful what you see on podcasts because here we are talking about it.

Look, I do think, let's go through it sort of step by step. Would a third party campaign help Donald Trump? Maybe that's the only way he can win if he is at like 40 percent popularity. 45 percent. He can't get more than 50 percent of the vote. So maybe Democrats should be worried about a third party candidate.

Tulsi Gabbard says she isn't going to run as a third party candidate, though. I think the big mistake Hillary makes is talking about Russians grooming her. I think that's where Hillary crossed the line. Now, would Russians like to maybe support Tulsi? Does she actually parrot some Russian talking points? Yes, she does. But that could be entirely organic. But I think Hillary gave the impression that she is somehow an asset and that is not, there's no evidence, of course, of that.

CABRERA: Right.

And Ron, Democrats constantly slam Republicans for indulging in conspiracy theories. Has Clinton conceded the moral high ground on that point?

BROWNSTEIN: You know, look, a lot of Democrats who are very suspicious of what Tulsi Gabbard's motivations are in this race. I mean, there has been a lot of, as you know, a lot of kind of questioning about the online activity that has supported what she has done and, in fact and whether in fact, some of that is supported by Russian bots.

And her language as a candidate saying that the process was rigged against her. Rigged to keep her from getting from, you know, two percent to three percent. I mean, what is the rigging? You know, kind of echo.

They can kind of see her heading down a track where, you know, regardless of whether she is, you know, a Russian asset, she does not, there are a lot of Democrats who are skeptical that her goal was ultimately to elect a Democrat in 2020.

So, you know, look, again, like Matt said. I mean, that is quite a charge to put out there, you know, without specifics to back it up. But I think there is lots of reasons -- representative Gabbard has given reason to suspect or have questions about exactly what her motivations are. And by the way, she is facing a primary challenge in her home district if in fact, she does run for reelection after this.

So I think, you know, Clinton sort of framed it in a very stark way without full evidence to support what she is saying. But she reflected, I think, what the concern and the unease that a lot of Democrats have about the trajectory that representative Gabbard seems to be on.

CABRERA: OK. Guys, stay with me. We are also following some breaking news this afternoon. Turkey has broken a ceasefire the President Trump touted as an incredible outcome. What does this mean for U.S.'s allies, the Kurds?

Polus, more GOP cracks over impeachment including the top senate Republican now saying a trial is inevitable.

I'm Ana Cabrera. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:54]

CABRERA: An update now on the fast-moving impeachment inquiry that Mitch McConnell apparently believes will lead to an impeachment trial in the Senate. We have learned that the Senate majority leader sat his Republican colleagues down this week and told them to prepare for an extended trial.

According to "New York Times" his warning was so serious he even had a PowerPoint presentation prepared to help walk Republicans through the process. This comes as acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney huddles with Republicans at camp David this weekend. You will recall just a few days ago Mulvaney completely blew up the GOP's defense that there was no quid pro quo with Ukraine when he admitted that, in fact, there was. Mulvaney has since tried to walk that back.

Ron Brownstein and Matt Lewis are back with me.

Ron, what do you think is going on at camp David right now? How tense are those conversations?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, the President is putting congressional Republicans in an extremely difficult position. First of all, you know, we saw in Gallup polling this week support for impeachment and removal reach 52 percent. It never got remotely that high in Gallup polling during the entire Bill Clinton impeachment saga. Never got above a third of the country. And in Nixon impeachment only reached the level that it did for Donald Trump last week once in the very final poll before he resigned in August 1974.

So you know, Republicans in any kind of competitive district are dealing with a reality that now you have a substantial portion of the country who believes that the President has committed acts that deserve not only an impeachment inquiry but his ultimate removal from office.

The Trump card that the President has is that the numbers are not moving very much among Republicans. Even in Gallup, only six percent of Republicans said he should be removes. He believes he has them in effect over a barrel.

And tome, what is fascinating, Ana, about kind of the last couple days is look at what he has done. He's taken a foreign policy in Syria that he knows is deeply offensive to virtually every Republican in Congress. He has awarded himself the G-7 meeting. Really kind of putting them in a very difficult position of having to defend an indefensible use of government power to kind of direct, you know, money towards his own assets. And he is doing all of this while he needs them to defend him which says to me he believes that he has them under his thumb.

[15:20:12]

CABRERA: That's what I just don't understand, Matt. Why would the President be, you know, making this move on Syria, which is getting Republicans very angry. And, in fact, really causing bit of a turn even among those like Mitch McConnell. He also made this announcement that he is going to hold the G-7 summit at his own resort. That upset a lot of Republicans. Why go there at a time when he needs the most? What is the calculus?

LEWIS: Well, he thinks he has them under his thumb or he just chaotic and tempting fate and guilty of self-inflicted wound that actually could come back to haunt him.

CABRERA: So like when it's coming down hill maybe just throw the whole boat along with it and then maybe it won't be so bad. Does that make sense?

LEWIS: Exactly. So, I do think there is one interesting question here and that is Republicans have finally. And Mitch McConnell is a really good op-ed in the "Washington Post" where he clearly criticizes what Donald Trump did in Syria. And I think, you know, it's very eloquent. And I think he is actually right.

So, Republicans are starting to feel comfortable attacking Donald Trump and criticizing Donald Trump. But it's not clear to me is that a sign that you can get away with criticizing Donald that his bark is worse than his bite or does this actually backfire in the sense that it creates almost a permission structure where Republicans can vote against impeachment and still get to say, but I'm not for Donald Trump. I criticized him publicly, but this is not worthy of impeachment. That, to me, is one of the big questions we don't know the answer to yet.

CABRERA: We have heard some Republicans say they're open to an impeachment inquiry and allowing them to play out. We are also starting to hear some Republicans go even further. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are saying at this point you are not ruling out the possibility that this is an impeachable offense for the President?

REP. FRANCIS ROONE (R), FLORIDA: I don't think you could rule anything out until you know all the facts.

JOHN KASICH (R), FORMER OHIO GOVERNOR: If you are asking me if I was sitting in the House of Representatives today and you were to ask me, how do I feel? Do I think impeachment should go forward and ask for a full examination and trial in the United States Senate, my vote would be yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Here's the thing, though. Kasich is no longer governor. And, guess what, Rooney formally confirmed this today on FOX News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we put up a list of the Republicans who have said they're not going to run again in 2020, do we add your picture there?

ROONEY: Yes, you do. Yes. I have done what I came to do. And I want to be a model for term limits. You know, I'm the guy that came up with a term limits bill that doesn't require a constitutional amendment. People need to realize this is, as you said, Leon, public service, not public life. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So, Ron, are we actually seeing cracks form here? Are we just hearing Republicans who have nothing to lose say what other Republicans may actually be thinking.

BROWNSTEIN: I think it's more the latter at this point. But, you know, this is a dynamic situation. And you can't rule out something happening in the Senate. I think there are going to be very few House Republicans who vote for impeachment. There are only three House Republicans left in districts that Donald Trump didn't win. He is pretty popular among a lot of their constituents.

I mean, this is the paradox or kind of the conundrum that Donald Trump is creating for the Republican party. He is extremely popular in small town, exurban, blue collar, evangelical communities. But the price of that has been to drive away support, undermine support for the Republican party really in the big, diverse, info age, metro areas, everywhere across the country. Not only New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Chicago but now Houston and Dallas and Atlanta. And what that means, Ana, is the people most would be most inclined to break from him, they are gone. They lost. And what's left are people in Trump country.

The problem, you know, for the party is that that hold prevents them from kind of shifting their gyroscope in a way that allows them to broaden their base. So given all that, it may be in the Senate the retirees rather than the swing state members who are more likely to break from him.

CABRERA: I want to get to this, but a quick answer if you will, Matt. The Trump administration is now fund-raising off of Mulvaney's get over it line. The line where he was responding to you are saying it is a quid pro quo and then try to walk that back. I mean, where does that leave us? What is their story now?

LEWIS: Well, look, there's no shame any more. And if something is out there, I think you try to exploit it. You can't take it back. You make money off of it. That is going to come back. This one, I think, will come back to haunt them because that line, get over it, I could see people. That is going to become a meme and whenever something bad happens, get over it, it will haunt them.

CABRERA: All right, Matt Lewis, Ron Brownstein, good to have both of you with us. Thanks so much.

LEWIS: Thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: We are following breaking news out of Syria this afternoon. Two U.S. officials are telling CNN the ceasefire is not holding just days after it was announced. We will have a live report next live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:29:00]

CABRERA: The ceasefire in Syria this weekend appears to be in name only, according to at least two U.S. officials. One saying Turkish- backed forces broke the agreement on Friday the first day of what was supposed to be a five-day pause in Turkey's offensive against Kurds inside the Syrian border. A U.S. official telling CNN those Turkish- backed forces either acted on their own or the Turkish government simply didn't care.

Both sides claim the other is violating the deal, but either way, U.S. officials now say the ceasefire is not holding. Consider that when you hear President Trump and vice President Pence each trying to sell this deal just 48 hours ago. Pence spoke in Turkey right after the meeting with Turkey's leader, President Erdogan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Trump sent us here to achieve an immediate ceasefire. And thanks to the agreement that we negotiated today and the strong stand that President Trump took in the proceeding days, we have achieved that.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Kurds were great. Great day for the Kurds. Really a great day for civilization. It's a great day for civilization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:30:07]

CABRERA: Our Nick Paton Walsh is gathering some of that new reporting. He's in Irbil, Iraq.

Nick, what can you tell us about this cease-fire not holding?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a U.S. official is saying the rebels, the Syrian rebels, backed by Turkey, doing a lot of fighting on the ground, are still pushing to control all of the town of Ras al-Ayn, on the border where there are still some Syrian Kurds holding out.

Now, a humanitarian convoy seemed to have got in to get some of the civilians and wouldn't out.

The U.S. official says the Syrian Kurds were stopping operations initially. They came under attack. And, as you mentioned, there's concern amongst how much Turkey is in control of what they have been doing here.

I should point out, a Turkish senior official is dismissing the idea that they're not doing all they can to maintain the cease-fire. Say, look, in their version of it and how they read it, we got everything we possibly wanted, why would we violate that.

Still, here on the scene, I should point out some of the distressing of what the Syrian Kurds said were the first violations of the cease- fire early yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Two decades vanished in a week. With the U.S.'s rapid withdrawal from northeastern Syria, the rules from the region are rewritten.

U.S. forces leaving so fast and perilously, they blew up their own base, something they've not done since fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan, and abandoned their key ally against ISIS, the Syrian Kurds, who died in their thousands fighting the terror group.

(EXPLOSIONS)

PATON WALSH: Where the U.S. flag once flew at this outpost near Kabani just days ago, Russia now stands tall. The Kremlin surely cannot believe how easy extending their influence has been.

TRUMP: Syria may have some help with Russia and that's fine. That's a lot of sand.

PATON WALSH: President Trump campaigned on leaving what he called endless wars. And has tried to put that into action.

(EXPLOSION)

PATON WALSH: He also said he had 100 percent defeated ISIS. But his first bid to leave Syria last year came just at the critical moment the group still had territory so it was delayed.

The U.S. departure from Syria was inevitable, some say, as was the Syrian Kurds needing to find new allies. But the speed and the chaos of the withdrawal, announced before the troops got the order to leave, imperiled not only the Kurds and the Americans. We saw a U.S. convoy bussed here by a Turkish jet, but America standing as an ally globally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jet. Jet.

PATON WALSH: America's other allies may be reeling. Saudi Arabia's gas oil fields were hit, U.S. officials say, by Iranian missiles. When Iran said it would fight back if attacked --

JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: An all-out war.

WALSH: -- Trump dropped his big stick.

TRUMP: I don't want war with anybody.

WALSH: It was no coincidence the Saudis, who expected U.S. protection, met another president weeks later.

He's also been keeping close to another traditional U.S. ally.

(GUNFIRE) PATON WALSH: The last two decades of U.S. involvement in the Middle East have been exhausting in blood and treasure but led to alliances that endured as U.S. troops came home.

(GUNFIRE)

PATON WALSH: This week's hasty shambolic route in Syria and the lives it cost not only expose the president unwilling to restrain his whimsical urges to keep troops and allies safe, it also rearranged the alliances in the world's bloodiest region. That risks more mayhem as a new order emerges to reset the rules of the game.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PATON WALSH: So, we are just learning, in fact, that General Mazloum Abdi, who is the commander of Syrian Kurdish forces, may travel to D.C. at some time in the imminent future. That is according to sources outside of the Trump administration. That would suggest possibly some sort of work on Capitol Hill potentially to bring him to D.C.

It's not clear if he'll go or what he does when he gets there but that will be deeply embarrassing to the Trump administration. And I'm sure he is not coming with message of glowing endorsements of their actions over the past weeks.

But this cease-fire, as you saw there, eroding. I have to say, to be honest with you, not as violent as it has been since the offensive began. There's been a drop in violence.

But the fact that both sides are not adhering to their differing versions of this cease-fire suggests we're in for a very rocky time before this vital meeting in Sochi between President Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. That's where the real deal might get made. Have to see what happens before then.

Back to you.

CABRERA: With these lives hanging in the balance.

Nick Paton Walsh, thank you for that report.

[15:34:35]

Now as the president insists he cares about corruption in Ukraine, the White House announces a major world summit at a resort with a familiar name on the sign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: The wait is over. We now know the location of next year's G-7 summit. And out of all the places in the United States, the president has deemed it prudent to hold it at his very own resort in Doral, Florida.

The president has awarded this no-bid contract to himself and that foreign governments will be putting money directly into Trump's family business.

CNN's Brian Todd has more on this decision that has watchdog groups alarmed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: We're going to deal with a lot of people for the country.

BRIAN TODD, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a historical first. The president of the United States using his office to bring a contract for a major event to one of his own properties.

In announcing that the Trump National Doral Golf Club near Miami will host next year's G-7 summit, acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, said it is not a conflict of interest.

MICK MULVANEY, ACTING CHIEF OF STAFF: There's limitations in other places. We thought of the 12 places we looked at -- and you'd recognize the names of them if we told you what they were -- butt this was by far and away the best choice.

TODD: But watchdogs say the White House claim that the president is he's not breaking ethics rules is laughable.

[15:40:00]

LARRY NOBLE, FINANCIAL & POLITICAL ETHICS EXPERT: Just the general principle that you're not supposed to profit off of government work. You're not supposed to make any private profit. There's a second reason, which is that the president cannot profit from foreign nationals. And this is the very definition of it.

TODD: Trump has been promoting Doral as a possible site for the G-7 at least since August.

TRUMP: With Doral, we have a series of magnificent buildings -- we call them bungalows. They each hold from 50 to 70 very luxurious rooms with magnificent views. We have incredible conference rooms and incredible restaurants. Each country can have their own villa or their own bungalow.

TODD: Among those endorsing Doral, Trump said, at the time, were Secret Service officials.

Anthony Chapa, a former assistant Secret Service director, who planned security for inaugurations, says securing such an enormous location is a serious challenge for the Secret Service.

ANTHONY CHAPA, FORMER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, SECRET SERVICE: Some of the unique problems in a place like that is access. Who has access? How do you control access? How close can people come to the event?

TODD: And questions keep coming back to whether the president is trying to save a struggling Trump brand.

This spring, financial records obtained by "Washington Post" showed net operating income at Doral, which Trump bought in 2004 and restored, fell by 69 percent from 2015 to 2017, when Trump became president. One of several indications that his presidency may have taken the shine off his gold-covered portfolio.

MARC FISHER, AUTHOR: Whether it's his golf courses, his resorts or his showcase building in New York's Fifth Avenue, in each case, we see that there's been an impact where people do not want to do business in a place that carries the name of someone they vehemently disagree with.

TODD: Still, the dignitaries keep coming. More than 110 officials from nearly 60 foreign governments have been spotted at Trump hotels, golf courses and other properties since 2017, according to the "New York Times."

But Mulvaney and Trump have both denied that the president will make a profit from hosting the G-7 at Doral.

TRUMP: I'm not going to make any money. I don't want to make money. I don't care about making money.

TODD (on camera): Ethics and security experts say it is possible that Trump won't make a profit from hosting the G-7 at Doral since, in order to secure the event, guests already there may be asked to leave and others they be asked to stay away.

But they say it's also that Trump will profit from it if upgrades to Doral are made for the G-7 and the government is billed for them.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Coming up, the duchess of Sussex gets personal in a rare TV moment. The question that almost brought her to tears.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS GLOBAL MARKETS EDITOR: On this edition of "GLOBAL ENERGY CHALLENGE," Atom Power, in North Carolina, has redesigned the electric circuit breaker. Invented more than 100 years ago as a safety fear, it's now ready for the digital age.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A solid circuit opens the circuit about 3,000 times faster than circuit breakers do today.

DEFTERIOS: These features are key to multiple source energy distribution. The consequences of power faults can be catastrophic and costly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you put something like solar on to the same source as say your utility, they have to sync up. Which means, if you don't, you could have a fire. It will blow up.

What a circuit breaker could do is you could bring any number of renewables or feeds into the same source. John Defterios, CNN, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[15:47:54]

CABRERA: Welcome back. We take you to London now. Where close to a million protesters marched through the streets calling for a second referendum on Brexit.

Today, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a bruising setback. U.K. lawmakers withheld approval of his Brexit deal just as Johnson appeared on the brink of an extraordinary political triumph.

The U.K. has been bitterly divided, as you know, over how it should separate from the European Union ever since voting to leave the E.U. back in 2016.

Meghan, the duchess of Sussex, getting emotional in a new interview and revealing that being a new mom in the public eye isn't easy. Meghan was giving a rare look into her life for a documentary, "Harry and Meghan and African Journey," which airs on TV in the U.K. tomorrow. And with tears in her eyes, she answered the question, "How are you doing."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGHAN, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: Look, any woman, especially when they're pregnant, you're really vulnerable. And so that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It's a long time ago, but I remember, yes.

MEGHAN, DUCHESS OF SUCCESS: And especially as a woman, it's a lot. So, you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed -- yes, well, also thank you for asking, because not many people asked if I'm OK. But it's a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Now, as this video was made public, the #weloveyouMeghan again trending on Twitter, with hundreds of thousands of people sending their support to the duchess.

Now proof that one man can make a big dent in cleaning our oceans. Eight million tons of plastic ends up in the world's oceans every year. This week's "CNN Hero" took it upon himself to tackle this global problem by first recruiting a neighbor to help him clean his childhood beach. Then word spread on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED CNN HERO: The beach was covered in plastic. For the first time in my life, I didn't want to go in the water because the garbage was like five and a half feet. The pollution created by us.

[15:50:08]

And with this in my mind, I decided to clean the beach. And I told myself it would be difficult for a single man to do it, so I said, why not take this journey to others.

If this huge ocean is a problem, we'll have to rise up in numbers. When you have a complicated problem, sometimes solutions are simple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: To see how the first beach he began cleaning looks now, go to CNNheroes.com.

We'll be right back.

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CABRERA: Post, and you might pay a painful price. Much of what we reveal about ourselves online is voluntary. We type it in without a second thought, address, phone number, birth date, credit card. In the wrong hands, it can have serious consequences.

CNN's Tech Reporter, Donie O'Sullivan, allowed himself to be hacked to show how vulnerable we are online. As you're about to see, an ethical hacker was able to disrupt his life simply using the information he posted on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED ETHICAL HACKER: You want to assume that everything you put on social media is public. Information that can be found in places like this can be used to authenticate you with different companies.

I called it like pretty much every business that he ever listed that he used on his Twitter or Instagram. I got your current address. I got your birthday. That's how I also got your phone number.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN TECH REPORTER: They gave you my phone number?

[15:55:02]

UNIDENTIFIED ETHICAL HACKER: So I'm going to be doing these phone calls. I'm going to be live hacking. So when I call --

(PHONE RINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED ETHICAL HACKER: -- your phone number is going to display on their caller I.D.

This is Donie O'Sullivan. I can tell you my address, date of birth, phone number, whatever you need to verify that's really me.

I'm on the road right now and I'm having trouble getting access to my Internet. But I need to transfer points to my friend for a bridal shower. Hopefully, you can help me over the phone. I have all the information.

I have 90,000. Is that correct?

Oh, they've been transferred? OK, fantastic.

Are your points gone?

O'SULLIVAN: They're gone.

As you know, I've played even Vegas.

(PHONE RINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED ETHICAL HACKER: I'm trying to do this personal essay thing. Can you move me to a middle seat, kind of in the back of the plane? I know you probably don't get that request a lot.

You're in the back of the plane, middle seat.

O'SULLIVAN: I had an exit aisle.

UNIDENTIFIED ETHICAL HACKER: Until these companies learn to change their authentication protocols, there are certain things you can do to help protect yourself. Remove your geolocation tagging. Products you buy, services you use, help that you try to get online, like on Twitter, that you probably want to do privately.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: New cracks are emerging in President Trump's wall of support, with Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, warning Republicans to get ready for an impeachment trial.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[16:00:04]

CABRERA: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for being here. I'm Ana Cabrera, in New York.

The Republican resistance to impeaching President Trump is showing small cracks.