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NATO Milestone; Typhoon Kammuri Makes Landfall; Aid Released; Impeachment Hearings; Prince Andrew Accuser Speaks Out; London Bridge Attack; Iran Protests; President Trump Renews Tariff Threat on Brazil and Argentina; Malta Crisis. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired December 03, 2019 - 03:00   ET

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

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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us all around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Coming up on "CNN Newsroom," NATO turned 70. The military alliance marks a milestone while dealing with internal pressure from a number of nations.

A powerful typhoon slams into the Philippines, bringing flooding and landslides to many across the country.

And later, rights groups say the violent crackdown on protesters in Iran has killed at least 208 people. They warn that the real number could be much higher.

At this hour, world leaders are going to meet in London as NATO marks its 70th anniversary. It's going to be a watered down version of the usual NATO summit. In fact, it is not even being called a summit but rather a leaders' meeting, and that means world leaders won't have to issue a joint communique at the end.

U.S. President Donald Trump is there. He is attending. This morning, he will have breakfast with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. It will be followed by one-on-one talks with the French President Emmanuel Macron. That will be a very interesting moment to witness.

CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now from outside Winfield House. That is the residence of the U.S. ambassador in London. Nic, again, this is not a summit. We also know there is no bilateral meeting between Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. Emmanuel Macron ahead of this meeting called NATO brain dead. How awkward is this going to be?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think it is going to be awkward on several levels. One, President Macron of France believes that NATO is no longer quite fit for purpose. He believes that some of the things President Trump has been saying about NATO indicate really the sort of direction of travel for the United States rather than an admiration at this particular U.S. president's interpretation of how he feels about NATO. The French president feels that the Europeans should be looking to themselves more alone for European defense force outside of NATO. That is (INAUDIBLE) to President Trump at the moment.

But, you know, that room today where the pair will be meeting, you would like to be a fly on the wall there because not only you'll hear all these differences about NATO but the United States is threatening to put 100 percent tariffs on $2.4 billion worth of French goods because of judicial services tax, unfair taxes that the U.S. administration is putting on such companies as Google, Amazon, et cetera.

So, there will be a lot to talk about when they have the bilateral meeting. But I think the mood music here is being created by the U.N. -- by the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, announcing a few days ago that the NATO nations now contribute $130 billion more to defense spending than they did in 2016.

This, of course, has been a key demand of President Trump. The pair will be having breakfast together in about an hour and a half. The White House has called the president's tactics to get more money out of NATO allies spectacularly successful.

So, there you can never really get this underway on an easier and good footing. But again, that meeting with President Macron and other meetings President Trump is going to have here, anything can happen. That is the expectation.

STOUT: Yeah, anything could happen. There could be fireworks ahead. Nic Robertson is reporting live. Thank you.

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in the Philippines as typhoon Kammuri batters the county. This powerful storm slammed into Luzon. That is the most populous island there with winds near 215 kilometers an hour. Their fear is that the heavy rains could lead to dangerous flooding as well as the mudslides. More than 100 flights were cancelled after the authorities shut down the largest airport in Manila.

Our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is tracking the typhoon, and he joins us now.

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STOUT: Pedram?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Kristie, good seeing you. Yes, this was a menacing feature here over the past few hours, as much as a Category Four equivalent when it moved to shore about six hours ago. Take a look. What is left of it here is 160 kilometer per hour winds moving just south of Manila.

So that are where the impacts are largest at this hour. We expect the system to quickly move over the open waters and finally see some improving conditions across that region. But when you look at the western Pacific, yes, it has been active season, in line with what you expect, over 25 storms across the region. And, of course, typhoons right up in line with what you expect, around 15 or so. And super typhoons in line with average there, around four so far into this particular season.

But when you see kind of the position of this particular storm, you know the rainfall is going to be significant and, of course, the dense population in the region there in Manila is also going to be severely impacted as well.

Notice what happens here. As it moves over the South China Sea over the next couple of days, a dramatic turn here towards the south and that is honestly the best case scenario. You got quite a bit of land masses to its north and to its west. And storm system like this, this is the best case scenario to see what happens here.

We have a ridge of high pressure to the north. Very cool air coming off of the mainland China region and kind of being entrained into this storm system weakens it significantly. Also, some wind shear that also breaks the storm system apart. So, once it moves over water, we think, not going to have any direct impact to land and beyond that. It is same quite a bit considering this was a Category Four just a few hours ago.

But rainfall amounts are much of a quarter of a meter in some areas and certainly going to lead to significant flooding in a place like Manila that is very susceptible to it. Signal three has been issued and this essentially means winds up to 170 or so kilometers per hour possible. Advise the people to seek shelter in strong buildings and stay away from low lying areas, which is obviously common sense for folks across this region and are very much in tune with storms as such.

Notice climatology, this really peaks in the month of, say, June, July, August. It is not necessarily in, say, November, December or as we approach the first few months of the year. So this is essentially the wind down period. But in recent years, we've seen quite a bit of large scale tropical systems.

In fact, you break it down and you might recall some of these names, Washi, Hagupit, and Bopha. A couple of these storms have taken with them over 1,000 lives, all of this happening in recent December. So it is generally a quiet time of year but hasn't been the case in recent years.

Of course, significant damage has been left behind not only momentarily where in some cases we've seen over a billion dollars in losses across the Philippines, for example with Bopha, Kristie, but also of course mass fatalities as well. So, we've really seen a rough go across this region of the Philippines with tropical systems (ph).

STOUT: Yeah, Pedram, I remember all those storms. Philippines is sadly no stranger to major storm systems. We are hoping that the people there are ready for this latest typhoon. Pedram Javeheri, thank you so much.

The Trump administration has finally released $105 million military aid package to Lebanon. A senior State Department official gave no explanation why the aid had been held up for months or why it was suddenly released. U.S. officials and national security experts say that the aid is crucial for maintaining stability in the country and pushing back against Iran. The Trump administration has not commented on the matter.

One of the key figures of the U.S. impeachment saga is speaking out. Ukrainian President Zelensky says that he never talked to President Trump about U.S. military aid from the position of a quid pro quo. In fact, he told Time magazine this. "I don't want us to look like beggars. But you have to understand. We're at war. If you're our strategic partner, then you can't go blocking anything for us. I think that's just about fairness. It's not about a quid pro quo."

Meantime, the impeachment process is picking up steam on Capitol Hill. The House Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing on Wednesday. President Trump and his attorneys have chosen not to participate. And as Lauren Fox reports, the House Intelligence Committee is wrapping up its report on the inquiry.

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LAUREN FOX, CNN POLITICS CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: On Monday, Republicans and Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee had their very first opportunity to get a sneak peek about what's inside that House Intelligence Committee report.

This is a significant report because it basically tells the story of exactly what the president did in relationship to that July 25th phone call between President Trump and President Zelensky, and the withholding of nearly $400 million in U.S. military aid.

The committee of intelligence will vote on Tuesday night to release that report to the House Judiciary Committee. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee will have their very first public hearing. They are going to have four constitutional law experts telling the story of how the articles of impeachment could actually be written.

Of course, that's the committee that will write those articles and we expect that the Democrats are hoping to vote as soon as before Christmas on the articles of impeachment.

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FOX: Now, the president's lawyers are not going to be participating in that Wednesday hearing, but we will know by Friday whether or not they are going to be participating in the rest of the process. For CNN, Lauren Fox, Capitol Hill.

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STOUT: Republicans didn't wait for the committee to release its report before refuting it. In their own 123-page rebuttal, they say this. "The evidence doesn't prove the Democrats' allegations of bribery, extortion, high crimes and misdemeanors." They say President Trump did not pressure Ukraine President Zelensky. His skepticism towards Ukraine is legitimate because of its history of pervasive corruption.

Republicans said that Ukraine ultimately received the military aid without announcing or launching any investigations.

The House Intelligence chairman, Adam Schiff, says, "Republicans' rebuttal is intended for an audience of one. He says it ignores voluminous evidence that the president used the power of his office to pressure Ukraine into investigating his political rival by withholding military aid and a White House meeting the president of Ukraine desperately sought. In so doing, the president undermined our national security and the integrity of our elections."

You are watching "CNN Newsroom." Still ahead, new revelations in the sex scandal involving Britain's Prince Andrew. One of the Duke of Europe's accusers has given her first interview to a British TV network. We'll find out what she said.

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STOUT: Explosive new developments in the sex scandal facing Britain's Prince Andrew. A lawyer for the woman accusing him of sex abuse tells the BBC that they plan to serve subpoenas to force the Duke of York to testify. One of the accusers is Virginia Giuffre. She says that she was only 17 when she was trafficked by Epstein, a convicted sex offender. She says that she was forced to have sex with Epstein's friends, including the Duke of York.

For more, CNN's Hadas Gold joins us live from London. Hadas, the pressure continues to mount on Prince Andrew. What more have we learned from this BBC interview?

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA AND GLOBAL BUSINESS REPORTER: So, this was the first interview with a British television network, the BBC, from Virginia Roberts Giuffre. I should note it was actually filmed before that explosive interview that Prince Andrew had with the BBC, what has been deemed the car crash interview that pretty much led to him stepping back from public life.

But in this interview with the BBC, Virginia Roberts Giuffre went into more detail with her allegations surrounding the evenings that she claims she spent with Prince Andrew, including dancing at a nightclub. She said she calls what she said B.S. on his claims that he never met her or knew her. Take a listen to some of what she had to say.

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VIRGINIA GIUFFRE, ACCUSER OF PRINCE ANDREW: He got up and he said thanks. He walked out. And I sat there in bed, just horrified and ashamed and felt dirty.

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GIUFFRE: And I had to get up and have a shower. The next day, Ghislaine tells me I did a really good job. She pats me on the back and said you made him really happy. It was a wicked time in my life. It was a really scary time in my life. I had just been abused by a member of the royal family.

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GOLD: Now, Prince Andrew has vehemently denied all these allegations. In his own BBC interview, he said he doesn't even recall meeting Virginia Roberts Giuffre despite the fact that there does appear to be a photo of the two together in 2001.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said, "It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation."

But, of course, the fallout for Prince Andrew has been swift because after that BBC interview, where he did not seem to show enough sympathy for Jeffrey Epstein's victims and seemed to justify why he continued associating with Jeffrey Epstein, has caused him to pretty much be essentially fired from royal duties.

He has stepped back from royal duties. Obviously, you cannot be fired from your own family, but this is about as close as you can get. He has also been dropped from a lot of charities. He himself has stepped back. But the fallout, as you noted, does seem to continue. There is, of course, now the possibility that he could be subpoenaed if he steps foot in the United States, Kristie.

STOUT: The fallout has been swift. Will he be forced to testify?

GOLD: It's not clear quite now. In the interview with BBC, Prince Andrew said that he would be willing to potentially speak to investigators if that is what his lawyers advised him to do. But a lawyer for five of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers has said that they are preparing subpoenas. That would pretty much mean that he would have to testify if he stepped foot in the United States.

It's not clear yet if those have actually been submitted or what will happen if they are because that is civil case, not a criminal case, and Prince Andrew seems to indicate that he would be happy to participate with investigators in some sort of criminal case. Of course, this goes to show you that the story despite Prince Andrew stepping back from a royal life, the story is not ending for him anytime soon.

STOUT: Absolutely not. Hadas Gold is reporting live. Thank you. You're watching "CNN Newsroom." Still to come, the voice of the opposition grows louder in Iran as new images emerge of the alleged brutality by government forces against protesters.

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STOUT: Emotional vigils were held Monday for the victims of Friday's terrorist attack near London Bridge. At the University of Cambridge, a large crowd pay their respects to Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones. Both were Cambridge graduates. Merritt and Jones were stabbed to death by a convicted terrorist who was freed from prison last year. He was attending an event on prisoner rehabilitation that Merritt and Jones were hosting in London. The city's mayor had this to say about the tragedy.

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SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: We come together this morning in condolences but also in a spirit of defiance to say that London would never be cowed or intimidated by terrorism.

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KHAN: And also to commit to honoring the memory of Saskia and Jack by dedicating our future to one not defined by hatred but one defined by hope, by unity, and by love.

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STOUT: Three other people were wounded in a knife attack. They shot and killed the attacker after he was tackled by bystanders on London Bridge. He was wearing a suicide vest that turned out to be fake.

Despite the widespread internet block, new images are emerging from Iran showing the government's alleged violent crackdown on protesters, initially angered over steep hike in fuel prices. Critics accused Iran's leaders of trying to keep the news of these protests under wraps, hidden from the outside world. Prominent figures are speaking out for opposition.

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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iranian parliamentarians grab and throttle back decent from one of their own.

Muhammad Gomordei (ph) who comes from Iran's south had sought to publicize allegations of the mass killing of demonstrators there. He was silenced in Iran's national assembly by politicians anxious to suppress news about what may be the worst violence and demonstrations in decades.

The internet has been cut for most of the last two weeks, but images of alleged brutality by the security forces have begun to emerge. Here, a demonstrator traces a plainclothes officer, who shoots him in the leg. Human rights groups have said that there have been hundreds of deaths across Iran since demonstrations began against the sudden 50 percent fuel price hike last month.

The government has said that demonstrators, who they call vandals and thugs, have burned 70 gas stations, more than 700 banks, and even dozens of ambulances as Iran's crisis has deepened. Sanctions imposed by the U.S. have hobbled Iran. The IMF is saying, this year, its economy will shrink by almost 10 percent.

Ten years ago, a reform movement was violently crashed. Today, there is more of a revolutionary drive with opposition leader saying that Iran's supreme leader is worse than the shot, the Islamic revolution deposed in 1979.

Opposition politician Mirhossein Mousavi, who is under house arrest, issued a statement that said, the killers in 1978 represented a non- religious regime. The agents and snipers of November 2019 are the representatives of a religious government. At that time, the commander-in-chief was the Shah. Today, it is the supreme leader with absolute authority.

The language, too, is shifting from demands for reform to an end to the regime altogether. But with no leadership or plan, reaching that goal is a distant prospect.

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KILEY: And Perhaps, a dangerous dream.

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STOUT: Thanks to Sam Kiley for that report. Brazil and Argentina are the latest targets of the U.S. president's tariff war. Donald Trump announced on Monday that the U.S. will restore steel and aluminum tariffs on both of those countries which have been exempted last year. He cited a massive devaluation of their currencies as a reason.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Brazil has really discounted. If you take a look at what has happened with their currency, they devalued their currency very substantially by 10 percent, Argentina also, and I gave them a big break in tariffs. But now I'm taking that break off because it's very unfair to our manufacturers and very unfair to our farmers. Our steel companies will be very happy and our farmers will be very happy.

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STOUT: Brazil and Argentina have benefited from the U.S.-China trade war, emerging as ultimate suppliers of soybeans and farm products to China. Clare Sebastian has more from New York.

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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Trump's sudden Twitter announcement jolted the markets Monday, revealing he still views tariffs as a way of dealing with issues other than trade, in this case, currency.

The background here is that last year, when President Trump imposed tariffs on all steel and aluminum, Brazil and Argentina were among those that secured an exemption. Now, Trump says the tariffs will go into effect because he believes Argentina and Brazil have, quote, "presided over a massive devaluation of their currencies, which is not good for our farmers."

But it's true. Brazil and Argentina have both seen their currencies full this year. Brazil's Real is full in some eight percent against the dollar, hitting a record low last week. And Argentina's Peso has plummeted 37 percent amid a deepening economic crisis.

But most experts agree this is because of market forces, not government intervention. In fact, in both cases, the central banks have stepped in to prop up the currencies. The president said this has hit U.S. farmers and a weakened currency does make the country's exports more competitive.

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SEBASTIAN: The president is likely aware that both Brazil and Argentina have to some degree benefited from the U.S.-China trade war. Brazil in particular taking demand from China for its soybeans as China cut its purchases from the U.S.

All this came as the U.S. is still working to put pen to paper on a phase one trade deal with China, and it is not looking certain by any means. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Monday the U.S. could still increase tariffs on China if no agreement is reached before the next wave of tariffs is set to go into force on December 15th.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.

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STOUT: Malta's prime minister says he will resign next month after the public slammed his response to a murder investigation. Protesters said that he tried to protect members of his inner circle from an inquiry into a killed journalist. CNN's Melissa Bell has more.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two years after her murder, the question of who killed journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia gripped Malta, bringing thousands on to the streets and tipping this small island nation into a political crisis.

A car bomb killed Caruana Galizia near her home in October of 2017. A prominent reporter, she was known for investigating alleged corruption in business and government. Some believe that her murder was an attempt to silence her. And as the investigation has dragged on, many in Malta are angry that those responsible have not yet seen justice.

Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has been under intense pressure in recent weeks. The prime minister's former chief of staff was arrested last week and later released without charge. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Police charged one of Malta's most prominent businessmen, Yorgen Fenech, with complicity to murder on Saturday. He has pleaded not guilty and has not asked for bail. These arrests were possible only because of our willingness to seek justice for the shocking murder, said Muscat.

Protesters and Caruana Galizia's family have accused Muscat of trying to shield members of his inner circle from the investigation. He denies this. But he says that some decisions could have been better. "All my decisions have been based on what I believe to be just," he said in a statement. "Justice is being done. And I will see that justice is for everyone. Investigations are not complete. No one is above justice."

Hours after crowds demanded he quit on Sunday, Muscat announced he would step down next month.

HERMAN GRECH, EDITOR, THE TIMES OF MALTA: I think he had no choice. There are thousands in the street protesting every day. People are angry. People are going out there and protesting in the street and saying the prime minister has to step down because there is a conflict of interest here. And his right-hand man has now been questioning connection with the murder. So there is clearly -- the office of the prime minister, people are saying, is tainted.

BELL (voice-over): The question now is whether the prime minister's resignation will help bring all of the perpetrators of this crime to justice.

Melissa Bell, CNN.

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STOUT: Thank you for joining us. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. "Inside Africa" is up next. But I'll be back with the check of the headlines. You're watching CNN.

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