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House Democrats to Hold Public Hearings in Impeachment Inquiry; Trump's Ex-Adviser John Bolton Has Struck Book Deal; Michael Bloomberg to Run in Alabama Democratic Primary; Four Protesters Killed in Baghdad Protest; Japan's Imperial Couple Greeted by Thousands; Swing Voters Speak Out on Impeachment; Trump's "First Step" Pardoned Inmate Accused of Murder; Singles' Day Shopping Event Kicks Off. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired November 10, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Republicans issue their wish list for impeachment testimony. We explain why they probably won't get what they want.
Bush fires in Australia lead to a warning of catastrophic danger.
And the royal treatment: Japan's new emperor and empress parade through the streets of Tokyo. We will take you live for a sense of the reception they received.
Welcome to the viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Natalie Allen. NEWSROOM starts right now.
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ALLEN: Thank you for joining us early at 4:00 am here in the United States.
Our top story: the message to U.S. Republican lawmakers is clear. Their latest request regarding the impeachment inquiry is pretty much a nonstarter. CNN's Jeremy Diamond looks at what they want and how the Democrat leading the investigation is responding.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: House Republicans on Saturday putting forward a list of witnesses they would like to see come forward as the House impeachment inquiry moves into its public phase.
The list of witnesses seems mostly an attempt by Republicans to divert attention from the allegations that President Trump is facing over his handling of policy toward Ukraine as well as to bolster his case as he announces his defense in the face of impeachment.
The list includes Hunter Biden, the former vice president's son, as well as that anonymous intelligence whistleblower that Republicans have been clamoring for. The House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff would need to approve any of the witnesses to have them come forward. He has said he will give due consideration to the Republican list.
But he also says this inquiry is not and will not serve, however, as a vehicle to under take the same sham investigations into the Bidens over 2016 that the president pressed Ukraine to conduct for his personal political benefit or to facilitate the president's effort to threaten, intimidate and retaliate against the whistleblower, who courageously raised the initial alarm.
That seems like a pretty clear message from the chairman of the Intelligence Committee that Hunter Biden and the whistleblower will not be brought forward during this impeachment investigation.
Meanwhile, the president is saying he will release the transcript of another call he had with the Ukrainian president, the first call he had with Zelensky after he was elected in April.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Now they want to have a transcript of the other call, the second call. And I'm willing to provide that. We will probably give it to you on Tuesday, Monday being a holiday, we will probably give it to you on Tuesday. But we have another transcript coming out, which is very important. They asked for it and I gladly give it.
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DIAMOND: While he is positioning this as an act of transparency, his decision to release a second rough transcript of a call with the Ukrainian president comes after a week when the White House has directed numerous White House and administration officials not to comply with the House impeachment inquiry.
Mick Mulvaney, White House chief of staff, and several other officials, not appearing despite the threat of congressional subpoenas this past week -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Let's talk about these developments with Scott Lucas, professor of international politics at the University of Birmingham and founder and editor of "EA WorldView."
Good morning, Scott.
SCOTT LUCAS, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM: Great morning to you, Natalie.
ALLEN: House Republicans submitted their list of witnesses, including the whistleblower and Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.
Really no surprise with that request, is it?
LUCAS: No. But we need to define it for what it is. They don't want you folks in the media talking about the evidence, which comes from emails, texts, phone calls, more than a dozen current and former officials, about the extent of the alleged Trump campaign with his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to get a Ukrainian investigation of Joe Biden and of the Democrats.
They don't want you talking about other witnesses, who could come forward, such as the former national security adviser John Bolton.
Instead, this is a look over their attempt. Let's talk about the identity of the whistleblower rather than all the corroborating evidence that has stood up his formal complaint that launched this inquiry.
They want you to talk about the unsupported allegations against Hunter Biden, which are unsupported allegations behind the Trump-Giuliani campaign since last November to get the Ukrainian investigations.
[04:05:00]
LUCAS: Now some of the witnesses on the list, like the former U.S. envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker, former high-level officials and high- level national security officials like Tim Morrison, will come forward. David Hale will probably come forward.
However, it is those other names on the list, the Hunter Bidens, the whistleblower that they want you to focus on rather than considering the public hearings as they occur next week.
ALLEN: And Schiff pushed back, he said the whistleblower will not be testifying, citing his or her personal safety and the testimony would be redundant and unnecessary. That is a dramatic shift since the inquiry began. Democrats say they don't need the whistleblower at this point.
LUCAS: I'm not so sure it's dramatic, Natalie. I think it is actually fairly practical. That is, look, if all they had was the whistleblower's complaint in that July 25th phone call with the Ukraine president Zelensky, they would say, oh, gosh, maybe we have to have him testify. We haven't got anything else.
But when you have -- and let's remember who they are, senior officials, such as the current charge d'affaires in Ukraine, William Taylor; such as the top NSC official, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman; the former NSC official, Fiona Hill; the senior State Department officials who have come forward, such as George Kent.
When you have all of these people who give dramatic evidence, not only the Trump-Giuliani campaign from the investigations but also of alleged threats against American diplomats, such as the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.
When you have all that, you don't need the whistleblower to bring what is in effect an indictment, the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.
ALLEN: Republicans are pushing back; in a letter to chairman Schiff, the top House Republican Devin Nunes, bashed what he called a sham impeachment process. He said we are trying to be transparent here in an otherwise opaque and unfair process. That is a claim they made from the start.
It sounds like we are in for a rough and tumble public hearing when it starts this week, doesn't it?
LUCAS: Yes. But keep your eye on the ball, Natalie. Keep your eye on the tactics as they occur. That is when you can't confront the evidence or when you are concerned about the evidence, that's when you shout sham, witch hunt. You don't shout that if you think you are going to win on the basis of the facts. When you face such a serious allegation of abuse of power, you trying to turn Trump from the suspect into the victim.
We saw this during the Trump-Russia inquiry. We saw Devin Nunes have to be replaced as chair on the House Intelligence Committee because he was secretly receiving information from the White House.
The problem for Devin Nunes and for Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani is that the Trump Ukraine evidence is now probably even more of a serious threat than that of Trump-Russia links that occupied us for more than two years.
ALLEN: Scott Lucas, thank you for your input on that. Stick around because I you're your thoughts on another developing story.
Next week former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton was just one of the witnesses who failed to appear before depositions last week in the impeachment inquiry. But Bolton's attorney said he has a lot to say about the Ukraine scandal, including inside information that isn't yet public. Now we are learning he's writing a book. CNN's Brian Stelter has that.
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BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: We have confirmed that he is working on a new book. Two sources with knowledge of the matter confirming to me today that Bolton has struck a deal with Simon & Schuster, one of the country's biggest book publishers.
This untitled book will come out next year, sometime in 2020, before Election Day. This just adds to the intrigue about whether Bolton will publicly break from Trump and what he knows about the Ukraine scandal at the heart of the impeachment inquiry.
Bolton's lawyer recently wrote to the Democrats, saying, hey, my client knows a lot, he has a lot to share. Right now he is refusing to testify until a federal judge reaches a decision in this ongoing legal fight over claims of immunity for White House officials.
It seems Bolton only wants to speak a certain way, in a time and place of his choosing. But this book deal adds more intrigue to all of that. The different kinds of books in the Trump age, there have been tell-all the positive, someone like Sean Spicer who had a memoir. Then there have been true tell-alls by numerous White House officials, former officials, who decided to leave and then speak out against President Trump.
We will see what kind of book he is planning on writing. My suspicion, given that Trump soured on him in the latter months of his tenure as national security adviser, it could be highly explosive. But again, many months before it will come out.
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STELTER: I'm told it will come out sometime before Election Day in 2020.
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ALLEN: All right. How about that one?
Let's go back to Scott Lucas now.
Democrats want Bolton to testify. We don't know if that will happen. Bolton is writing a book.
Do you sense he is going to spell trouble for his former boss, Donald Trump?
LUCAS: With respect, my concern is not with Bolton's book. It may come out before the election or afterwards. My concern is whether he appears during the impeachment hearings or during the impeachment trial in the Senate.
That is because John Bolton, we have heard from other highly placed witnesses, was furious about the Trump-Giuliani campaign for the investigations against Ukraine. He called it a "drug deal," with which he didn't want to be associated.
Now if Bolton was to confirm that before the House or the Senate, it would seriously damage Trump. Look, Natalie, flashback -- well, we're going back 45 years to a White House official John Dean.
When he came forward and talked about the secret tapes that established Richard Nixon's cover-up of the Watergate scandal, that sent Nixon into resignation. John Bolton is well placed enough that he could do that to Donald Trump but he wants legal protection.
He wants a court ruling that there will be no retribution against him if he appears before the House committee.
ALLEN: All right. We appreciate your insights, Scott, Scott Lucas in Birmingham, England. Thank you. And good morning.
LUCAS: Thank you.
ALLEN: Well, President Trump spent Saturday afternoon far away from Washington at a college football game in Alabama. He got a decidedly warmer reception than we have seen at other recent sporting events he's attended.
Mr. Trump has a large and loyal base of supporters across the U.S. South. You can hear the roar of approval as they were introduced to 100,000 people.
Republican congressman Bradley Byrne is running in the Alabama Republican primary for U.S. Senate against Trump's former U.S. attorney general Jeff Sessions. Read into that what you will. Alabama lost the game, by the way, to LSU. Big rival there.
Far away from the stadium, look at this. Not everyone was cheering Mr. Trump's visit. Protesters had brought in the Baby Trump balloon. It appeared all over the world in places where it usually does where Mr. Trump has visited.
But Mr. Trump has a loyal base, as we said there, and someone apparently took offense at the floating parody and a man with a knife ran up and slashed the balloon before running off. A local news outlet reports an arrest was made.
Billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg is shaking up the 2020 race for the White House. The former New York City mayor has filed the necessary paperwork to get on the Democratic ballot in one state and planning to file in at least one more.
To be clear, Bloomberg has not formally declared his candidacy. CNN's Ryan Nobles looks at how one of the leading candidates is reacting.
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RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's no doubt there are a lot of Democrats paying attention to the news of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to possibly jump into this Democratic race for president.
And among those is Bernie Sanders, who has already been in this race for some time. Sanders has been very critical of the role that the very wealthy have had in politics in general and the idea that billionaires can buy their way into races. He's already been critical of Tom Steyer, the other billionaire in this race. This is what Sanders had to say.
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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I talk about this country moving toward an oligarchy, we're talking a handful of billionaires who exercise enormous power over the economic and political life of the country.
Now if he or she decided to run for president, nobody would give a damn. But because he's worth $50 billion and is capable of buying the media in a state like California, everyone's oh, my goodness, how important. How monumental that he's running for president.
Well, I happen to be old-fashioned. I believe in democracy: one person, one vote and I really do resent the idea that billionaires, whether it's Bloomberg or anybody else, thinks that they have the right -- by the way, they will skip Iowa. They will skip New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada. We have had five town meetings and events just since last weekend
here. But you don't have to do that. Take out his wallet, spend a billion in California, he thinks he can buy the election. Frankly, I don't think that's where the American people are right now. I think they are sick and tired of the power of billionaires. I suspect his venture will not succeed.
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NOBLES: The other part of this is that Sanders is very concerned about Bloomberg skipping the early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, maybe even Nevada, all the way to Super Tuesday in that big state of California.
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NOBLES: The reason being, there is a distinct advantage for someone with deep pockets to wait that long and bypass the early states, where the field is often weeded out a bit. If Bloomberg were to do this, it would be monumental. No presidential candidate has ever been able to bypass the early states and be successful.
Nonetheless, the fact that Bloomberg is in the race, certainly has a lot of people asking about the field in general and what Democratic voters are thanking as we get closer and closer to the first votes being cast here in Iowa -- Ryan Nobles, CNN, Des Moines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Well, voting is now under way in Spain as the country heads to the polls for the fourth time in four years. The general election is the second one this year after the Socialist Party of acting prime minister Pedro Sanchez failed to secure enough support to form a government in April.
The pro independence protesters clashed with police in Barcelona after Spain's supreme court jailed nine Catalan separatist leaders. The move sparked violent protests in the region.
As if fire conditions in southeastern Australia weren't dangerous enough, officials now warning, things are about to become even more dangerous. We will have that story for you with Ivan Cabrera next.
Plus a historic day for Japan and its new emperor.
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ALLEN: The sound of gunshots ringing out in the Iraqi capital Saturday. Security forces clashed with anti-government protesters. Activists say at least four people were killed in Baghdad. Security forces used live ammunition and tear gas and burned several tents at a sit-in.
Iraq's independent High Commissioner for Human Rights said more than 300 people have been killed since the protests began last month.
Eastern India took a direct strike from tropical cyclone Matmo, packing winds of 90 mph or 145 kilometers that came ashore in the Indian state of West Bengal Saturday night. Authorities in Bangladesh said a half million people were evacuated before the storm hit. The threat of strong winds and flooding is expected to diminish.
Bush fires continue to burn in Eastern Australia and authorities warning the worst is still to come. It's hard for firefighters to keep the flames away from a house. Thanks to what official call tinder-box like conditions, it just takes one spark to start a fire that could bun for days.
More than 70 fires are active in National Weather Service and 50 more in neighboring Queensland. Three people have been killed. We have learned two firefighters were injured.
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ALLEN: All right. Well, people in Japan got an up-close and personal look at their new emperor a few hours ago when he took a short road trip to meet them.
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ALLEN (voice-over): This is the enthronement parade in Tokyo for Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako. He was enthroned last month but this parade was delayed until now as Japan recovered from a typhoon.
Thousands of flag-waving spectators turned out to see the imperial couple. The 59-year-old emperor ascended to the throne after his elderly father, Akihito, stepped down in April.
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ALLEN: For more, let's turn to CNN's Will Ripley life in Hong Kong. He covered Japan extensively for us.
Hello to you, Will.
This is a significant change for Japan, is it not?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. You transition into the new era, the name of the era of the new emperor. This is the final of these five different ceremonies that we've seen. The most recent ceremony was October 22nd.
It was on that day that this parade was supposed to take place. They had hundreds of dignitaries from all over the world. Prince Charles was one of them.
However, because of that supertyphoon that you mentioned, they felt that holding the parade would not be appropriate, given 80 people died and hundreds more are still recovering, thousands displaced.
So they postponed the parade to today. It went off without a hitch; 30 minutes through basically the heart of Tokyo, from the imperial palace, past the Japanese legislative building known as the diet to the Akasaka residence. This is where they have lived as a married couple since 1993.
Hundreds of thousands were estimated to line the parade route. This is their chance to welcome the new imperial couple. A lot of ceremonies were held inside the palace, behind the walls and behind the gates, viewable really only on television for most Japanese.
For people in Tokyo, who wanted to see the imperial couple up close, their first major parade since they got married back in 1993. They had 190,000 people watching them back then. They were driving in a Rolls-Royce.
This time around, it's an open top customized Toyota Century Royale, specially equipped to give the back seat a couple extra inches so they can be seen by those huge crowds.
It says a lot about Japan's safety, Natalie. They feel comfortable having them in an open top vehicle like that. Keep in mind, they had 26,000 police officers lining the route. That is essentially one officer for every four spectators.
But also it is a country that does not have gun violence. Even a minor shooting makes national news. With all that security in place, they were able to confidently parade the new emperor and empress through the streets of one of the most crowded cities in the world.
And in true Japanese fashion, it went off according to plan, down to the minute. It was supposed to last 30 minutes and that's exactly what happened.
ALLEN: They've got that part down, don't they?
RIPLEY: Yes.
ALLEN: A new life for the imperial couple.
CNN speaks with several people in key swing districts get their opinion on Donald Trump.
How much of an impact of the impeachment inquiry had on them?
You won't want to miss their answers.
How a program to help nonviolent offenders may have led to the death of a Rhode Island man and what his family says needs to happen next.
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ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and all around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen. Here are our top stories.
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ALLEN: Polls show Americans are split on whether to impeach and remove President Trump from the White House.
CNN's Alisyn Camerota recently sat down with six voters from swing districts in Pennsylvania. Those are areas key to winning or losing the battleground state in 2020. She got their take on the impeachment inquiry as Americans struggle with this difficult issue.
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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: How many of you -- show of hands -- support the impeachment investigation that is beginning?
Four of you support that?
Gaylynn?
GAYLYNN BLASKI, PENNSYLVANIA SWING VOTER: Well, for the simple fact it's never, ever, ever going to pass through the Senate. Congress isn't doing anything but inquiries and hearings and inquiries and hearings.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
CAMEROTA: What they would say is that there's new information and that's the Ukraine call.
ALISON GREEN, PENNSYLVANIA SWING VOTER: Oh yes, there's consistently evolving information.
ANDREA CAPWILL, PENNSYLVANIA SWING VOTER: Yes.
CAMEROTA: And so how many of you are comfortable with what President Trump asked for in terms of withholding military aid for an investigation of the Bidens?
MARIAN TAYLOR, PENNSYLVANIA SWING VOTER: Well, as a business owner, I wouldn't give up that kind of money if I thought something was going on. He -- I think he had every right to ask that.
BLASKI: Because it was a new president.
Why are we giving Ukraine so much money anyway when we have homeless veterans on the streets? [04:35:00]
BLASKI: Like, really?
Go to San Diego, go to Los Angeles and you'll see them and it's pitiful. Those people are --
CRYSTAL ARLINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA SWING VOTER: That's where Congress should be working.
BLASKI: Exactly.
ARLINGTON: That's where they should be working.
BLASKI: Yes, thank you.
CAMEROTA: Just so I'm clear on that, so you're comfortable with withholding military aid to Ukraine -- they're fighting Russia -- because you don't like the idea that those -- that that money goes there anyway.
BLASKI: Well, I don't know why it's going there. But I'm saying if they have money to keep giving to everybody, why not help our own people first?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.
CAMEROTA: Are you comfortable -- show of hands -- with asking a foreign entity for help with dirt on a political opponent?
Nobody is comfortable with that?
BLASKI: No.
ARLINGTON: I am.
CAMEROTA: You are comfortable with it, Crystal? Why are you -- why do you think it's OK to ask a foreign power?
ARLINGTON: He's the president of the United States. He should be allowed to ask for military information.
CAMEROTA: Well, this is political information.
ARLINGTON: Oh, even political information.
CAMEROTA: Does that bother you?
ARLINGTON: Didn't every other president do it?
CAMEROTA: I can't speak for any other president, but I know that --
ARLINGTON: They all do it.
CAMEROTA: I don't know that to be true.
ARLINGTON: I don't know that to be true, either.
CAMEROTA: So why are you resting -- hanging your hat on it?
ARLINGTON: I'm just saying -- I'm just saying. I mean --
CAMEROTA: But you're comfortable with it because that's how you think it works?
ARLINGTON: I --
TAYLOR: As a business owner.
ARLINGTON: As a business owner, yes, it's --
CAMEROTA: So you just see this as a business transaction.
ARLINGTON: It is.
GREEN: His business is this country, so getting dirt to benefit him does not benefit this country. That benefits him.
CAPWILL: Yes.
GREEN: He's not a business leader.
LISA MARIE HALECKY, PENNSYLVANIA SWING VOTER: Yes, there's no accountability. And no matter what business you're in or what you're doing, you need accountability. You just --
BLASKI: Yes.
HALECKY: It's bad practice.
CAMEROTA: Show of hands -- how many would like the identity of the whistleblower to be revealed and think it should be?
GREEN: That's not how it's supposed to work. The whole point is it's supposed to be one of those checks and balances where you can come forward and say this is going on and people don't know and it's wrong.
BLASKI: It's like going to your human resources department. That's supposed to be confidential.
GREEN: Exactly. That's what it's supposed to be. It's supposed to be a confidential thing.
CAMEROTA: What's your response Andrea?
CAPWILL: I don't think that it should be revealed right now. I think that for, like, historical purposes that yes, it would be nice for the American people to know what happened. Who saw this? Like --
CAMEROTA: You're curious?
CAPWILL: Yes.
CAMEROTA: You're saying you're curious.
BLASKI: Yes, but that could get that person shot.
CAMEROTA: The point of the whistleblower is anonymity, so are you uncomfortable that President Trump calls for their identity to be unmasked?
TAYLOR: I don't think it should be unmasked publicly.
CAMEROTA: But what if President Trump knows about it?
BLASKI: Then it would be public.
GREEN: That's wrong.
BLASKI: It'll be public. I mean, it'll be on Twitter, I assume, like in five minutes.
CAMEROTA: How many people think the impeachment process will hurt President Trump?
GREEN: I think it's going to hurt everyone.
CAMEROTA: OK, so you think it will hurt President Trump. Is that to say that the other five of you think it will hurt the Democrats?
GREEN: I think it's going to hurt everyone.
HALECKY: Yes.
BLASKI: Yes.
GREEN: I think when you splash mud it hits everyone.
BLASKI: Yes. And again, they're not going to get nothing done because they're doing all this -- worried about these hearings and impeachment.
CAMEROTA: To be fair, 490 bills have been passed by the House.
BLASKI: And, Senate?
CAMEROTA: Sixty-five pieces of legislation.
BLASKI: How many are sitting in the Senate?
GREEN: Sixty-five.
CAMEROTA: So, 65 pieces of legislation have come --
GREEN: I say because a lot of things are coming out of the House and then dying in the Senate.
CAMEROTA: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. BLASKI: Because they won't work together.
GREEN: There's literally no compromising.
BLAKSI: Yes.
TAYLOR: Right.
CAMEROTA: Do you guys want compromise?
EVERYONE: Yes.
GREEN: No one's supposed to win all the time.
BLASKI: Right.
GREEN: Everyone -- from a business perspective, you compromise. You don't walk away every time.
TAYLOR: Why -- most of us are mothers and we want everyone to work together.
GREEN: Yes.
BLASKI: Yes.
ARLINGTON: Yes.
GREEN: Absolutely.
CAMEROTA: You're tired of the divisiveness.
ARLINGTON: We are.
BLAKSI: Yes, absolutely.
ARLINGTON: We are.
TAYLOR: I think most people in the country are.
BLASKI: Yes.
CAMEROTA: Do you think that President Trump plays any role in that divisiveness?
HALECKY: No.
ARLINGTON: No.
GREEN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CAMEROTA: Do you think he's being helpful?
ARLINGTON: I think he's being helpful, yes. CAMEROTA: How?
How is he bringing the country together?
ARLINGTON: I'm not sure how he's bringing the Democrats and Republicans together. However, I do think he's trying to get stuff done.
CAMEROTA: Let's go around and one word for these past three years -- how you would describe the Trump presidency.
Go ahead, Alison.
GREEN: Uh, divisive.
BLASKI: Entertaining. You never know what you're going to get every day.
HALECKY: One long one -- one of a kind. One of a kind, definitely.
TAYLOR: I believe he's for the people.
CAMEROTA: So you believe the Trump presidency -- for the people means selfless?
TAYLOR: No.
CAMEROTA: Just for the people.
TAYLOR: He's making a change.
CAPWILL: Embarrassing.
BLASKI: Oh, that's a good one.
GREEN: That is a good one.
ARLINGTON: Fantabulous.
CAMEROTA: And so, Crystal, is there anything that he could do or anything that could happen that would make you not vote for him?
ARLINGTON: No.
CAMEROTA: If he shot someone on Fifth Avenue would you vote for him?
HALECKY: Well, you'd have to know why he shot them.
ARLINGTON: Yes, why did he shoot 'em?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Well, there you have it.
An overhaul of the U.S. criminal justice system is raising concerns about public safety. Just ahead here, the family of a murder victim says the program needs more oversight.
[04:40:00]
ALLEN: Plus, Monday is Singles' Day, a shopping holiday that brings in more money than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. We'll talk about it and why it is called Singles' Day coming up here.
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ALLEN: In 2018, many U.S. prison inmates received a second chance. That's when President Trump signed into law a measure that overhauled the federal criminal justice system. It is called the First Step Act.
Since its passage, it led to the release of thousands of inmates. But for one Rhode Island family, the program has had devastating consequences. CNN's Jason Carroll has their story.
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JAY CHATTELLE, VICTIM'S NEPHEW: It doesn't feel real. It just doesn't. Nothing -- it feels like a bad movie right now.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jay Chattelle and his family are devastated. They're mourning the loss of Troy Pine, Chattelle's uncle, who was stabbed to death the night of October 2nd.
It happened at this popular lounge in Providence, Rhode Island. The motive still unclear. The suspect, 41-year-old Joel Francisco, now behind bars.
CHATTELLE: My family wants answers. My cousins want answers.
CARROLL: This past February, Francisco was released from federal prison. He had served 14 years of a life sentence for selling drugs like crack cocaine, but his sentence was reduced to time served and he was let out.
Why? Francisco was released under the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill signed into law by President Trump last December.
Many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling the act a way to address those nonviolent offenders serving unduly harsh penalties.
According to the Department of Justice, more than 4,700 federal inmates have been released early since the First Step Act was ushered in late last year.
[04:45:00]
CARROLL (voice-over): Federal officials say it appears Francisco's case is the first example of someone released under the act going on to be accused of murder.
CHATTELLE: It's a flawed system. It's a beautiful program to get people to come home that don't need to be dying in jail. There's got to be more steps. Some people have to be held accountable.
CARROLL: Nearly three months before Pine's murder, police in Providence had a run-in with Francisco. This police report shows he was arrested and charged with domestic violence and attempted breaking and entering.
This, after police say Francisco, armed with a knife, attempted to break into his ex-girlfriend's home.
An attorney representing Francisco in that case has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
(on camera): Francisco's ex-girlfriend says she has concerns about her safety and did not want to speak on camera. She went on to say that Francisco should not have been released. And she says that anyone who's been incarcerated and then released should then have to check in with mental health experts.
(voice-over): Francisco was scheduled for a court appearance on October 15th regarding that incident involving his ex-girlfriend. Nearly two weeks before that date, Pine was killed.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton, an outspoken critic of the First Step Act, said this case is upsetting, but it's not a surprise, letting violent felons out of prison early as the First Step Act did, leads to more crime and more victims.
But other lawmakers who helped pass the law stood by it in the wake of Pine's death.
REP. KAREN BASS (D-CA): The bill doesn't attempt to address all the ills within our system.
CARROLL: Congresswoman Karen Bass cited the Pine case during an oversight hearing on the new law.
BASS: I hope this does not detract from the need in our country to really examine our criminal justice system.
CARROLL: Rhode Island State Senator Sam Bell, who represents the district where Pine was killed, says the problem is not with the new law but a failure to reintegrate Francisco.
(on camera): Was it a failure to reintegrate him into society, or was it a failure in terms of he never should have been out in society?
STATE SEN. SAM BELL (D-RI): Look, I mean, once you've served your time and served for a fair period of time, we should give people second chances.
CHATTELLE: Look at that smile. That's him. CARROLL (voice-over): Jay Chattelle says, despite all that's happened, he still supports the idea behind the First Step Act, but he also says more steps should have been taken to stop the man who is charged with the murder of his uncle -- Jason Carroll, CNN, Providence, Rhode Island.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: And coming next here, it is a 24-hour online shopping extravaganza full of celebrities, spectacle, discounts on thousands of name brands. Next, everything you need to know about Singles' Day.
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[04:50:00]
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ALLEN: We are nine hours away from the biggest shopping day you might not even know about. It is Singles' Day. It's China's global shopping festival and anti-Valentine's Day. It was set up for people who are single to buy something for themselves.
For 24 hours online shoppers will rack up huge discounts for clothes, cosmetics and electronics and anything else you can think of. Last year it raked in nearly $31 billion. Black Friday and Cyber Monday only brought in a combined $14 billion.
And Amazon's Prime Day made just $4 billion. Singles' Day became a huge shopping phenomenon, thanks to Alibaba, the online retail giant and its founder, Jack Ma. It kicks off with a star-studded celebration that included James Bond himself, Daniel Craig. Taylor Swift will be there this year.
Duncan Clark joins us from Alibaba's headquarters in China. He's chairman of BDA China.
Thanks for joining us. We are getting a kick out of this story, Duncan. Last year it brought in $31 billion.
What might it bring in this year?
Are there expectations?
DUNCAN CLARK, BDA CHINA: The only way is up. There are a lot of expectations from this event. Every day more people come online in China and buy more stuff in China. We have a slowing economy. But the online sales is the very robust and attractive part. So big expectations tonight.
ALLEN: We can see all the celebration, the entertainment that surrounds it. That's a unique way to launch a sale. How did it suddenly become the biggest shopping day in the world?
CLARK: The idea of a Singles' Day is a genius idea. There are more single people than happily married or coupled people. If you're single, retail therapy is a great way to handle that.
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CLARK: -- buying for themselves but now they buy for friends, family and there's group purchases as well. So over the last decade, it has become this massive event, which now defines retail for the whole year. We have brands tonight that have been preparing for this all year.
ALLEN: Yes.
Is it also to bring more international and American brands to Chinese consumers?
CLARK: Absolutely. Chinese customers not only where I am here in the coastal areas, but also inland, they have more disposable income, more reliable products are in demand. Very much U.S. products, despite what we hear about the U.S.-China trade tensions, the Chinese want to buy the best from around the world. We will see that.
ALLEN: Glad you brought that up. There are reports that some Chinese shoppers may boycott American products because of the trade war.
You don't really expect that to be a factor?
CLARK: Some nationalists will knock themselves out but some just want a good deal. I'm half Scottish, so I'd for go the good deal. But that's just me.
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ALLEN: Yes, that's probably what people will end up doing.
[04:55:00]
ALLEN: The Singles' Day launch has featured some big name celebrities in the past, Mariah Carey, Scarlett Johansson, Daniel Craig, even David Beckham; this year Taylor swift. Organizers are probably trying to outdo themselves every year.
There is no other sale like this when you consider all the hoopla that surrounds it, is it?
CLARK: Absolutely right. Both the stadium in Shanghai in the run-up to midnight and the tills are open for 24 hours. A lot of preorders already setting records. A lot of livestreaming as well.
Last weekend Kim Kardashian West had a line that sold out in minutes, a fragrance. We have a lot of livestream specialists in this building who can do 13 million people watching a session. So we see a very large amount of anticipation for the concert and shopping day tomorrow.
ALLEN: And we are seeing Jack Ma there with the celebrities.
How much is his celebrity helping this?
CLARK: He formally retired a few months ago as chairman. So there is a new team in place. He has been to Ukraine, he's heading to Africa next week. He is in Bill Gates mode right now, philanthropy and looking at other things. I don't think he will be here and that will be the first time to show there is a new team running the show. We'll see. There's always surprises at Alibaba.
ALLEN: That's true. All right. We appreciate it. Fun story. Duncan Clark, thanks for talking with us.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen. Please don't go anywhere. I'll be back with another hour of news for you right after this.
