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Erdogan: 80,000 Syrians are Fleeing Idlib and Heading to Turkey; Indian Prime Minister Tries to Calm Anger Over Citizenship Law; Schumer Calls for White House Official to Testify in Impeachment Trial After Newly Released Documents; How Senate Impeachment Trials Work; U.K. Workers Put New Spin On Secret Santa Tradition; New E-mail Released About Withholding Aid for Ukraine; Polling Showing Trump Rating Stable Because of Strong Economy; U.S. Tensions with North Korea; Oil Spill on the Galapagos Island; Dozens of Bushfires Rages in Australia; Virginia Highway Multiple Car Pile Up; Racism in English Premier Football Match. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired December 23, 2019 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN HOST: Live from CNN World headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Natalie Allen and this is "CNN Newsroom."
Next this hour, a twist in the battle over the upcoming impeachment trial, newly released e-mail shed light on exactly when aid to Ukraine was frozen -- one top Democrat calling them explosive.
Bush fires continue to rage across Australia. Hear from residents who are defending their homes from fire.
Also, a familiar face declares victory in Afghanistan's presidential election. What another term for Ashraf Ghani could mean for the war and peace talks with the Taliban?
Two a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you so much for joining us. Our top story, the U.S. Senate Democratic leader is again pushing for White House officials to testify in the impeachment trial of President Trump.
This comes after newly released documents show that White House official Mike Duffey e-mailed other officials to freeze aid to Ukraine just 90 minutes after Mr. Trump's July phone call with Ukraine's leader. Chuck Schumer says the e-mail demonstrates why administration officials need to testify.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Until we hear from the witnesses, until we get the documents, the American people will correctly assume that those blocking their testimony were aiding and abetting a cover up, plain and simple. So, I will close by saying this. President Trump, release the e-mails. Let the witnesses testify. What are you are afraid of?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: For more on this development, Jeremy Herb is in Washington for us.
JEREMY HERB, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Newly released e-mails reveal that the White House has ordered to freeze Ukraine aid came roughly 90 minutes after President Trump's call with President Zelensky on July 25th.
The e-mails provide new detail to our understanding of how exactly the White House held up the aid. In the July 25th e-mail, White House budget official, Michael Duffey ordered the Pentagon to hold aid and signal the decision could be politically explosive.
Duffey wrote, "Given the sensitive nature of the request I appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know to execute direction."
And Office of Management and Budget spokeswoman said that it would be reckless to tie the withholding of the Ukraine aid to the president's call, pointing out that OMB had previously notified the agency the aid would be withheld.
The e-mails area being released only now because the judge ordered them turned over to the Senate for public integrity in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
We already knew the broad timeline of the withholding of the aid. The security system was first ordered held in early July and agencies were notified on July 18th. Then the aid order was formally sent on July 25th, the day of the president's call.
What we've learned from the new e-mail is that the two actions occurred roughly 90 minutes apart. The president got off the phone with Zelensky at 9:33 and Duffey sent the e-mail ordering the aid to be held at 11:04.
Now, the greater context of Duffey's e-mail is unknown because he defied a subpoena during the House's impeachment inquiries. The question will now be forced into the Senate as to whether to pursue Duffey's testimony as Democrats have demanded.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not signaled he will accept any witnesses the Democrats are pushing for, but the key number is 51, that's how many senator are needed to approve any witnesses for the trial. Jeremy Herb, CNN, Washington.
ALLEN: Well, President Trump is spending the holiday at his resort in Florida. While he is there he is also expected to continue preparing for the impeachment trial in the Senate. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more on what the president expects from the process.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ultimately, it's not going to be up to the president even if he would like it to be. It's going to be up to the senators what exactly this trial looks like. And when we really break it down, it's going to be up to those Republican senators.
You know, we have heard Mitch McConnell say time and time again that he's working in lockstep with the White House. But we also know that Mitchell McConnell has a different idea of what he would like this trial to look like than the president.
President Trump had expressed behind closed doors that he wanted to have a big trial. He believes that his would exonerate him. He wanted to have a lot of witnesses. And Mitch McConnell and other Republican senators have really tried to steer the president in a different direction.
[02:05:00]
Essentially saying that the more that witnesses there are, the more likelihood there could be problems for President Trump. Now, we did hear from the vice president's chief of staff, Marc Short, who said that the president is actually looking forward to a Senate trial. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARC SHORT, CHIEF OF STAFF to U.S. VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: He's frustrated with what he finds to be a completely unreasonable impeachment. So sure, he's frustrated by that. But he's also anxious to get not just acquitted but exonerated in the Senate. So, he's looking forward to his opportunity to have a fair trial in the Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, while Short says that he is looking forward to this Senate trial, if you looked to the president's twitter feed, you may not believe that. He spent the day tweeting at Nancy Pelosi calling her crazy, slamming Democrats, bashing the process overall.
But when it comes down to -- this is where we are. You have Senate Republicans and Democrats and really overall Democrats and Republicans who have really dug in their heels on this process.
Democrats again wanting to have witnesses, Republicans not wanting a long trial, and now we have a Congress that's not back in session until early January.
ALLEN: Here's a question for you. Has impeachment hurt President Trump? Has it cost him supporters? Are republican voters turning their backs on him? Well, according to this weekend's polls no and no.
Take a look at the numbers. According to the polling group 538, an average polls shows the president this week saw his highest approval rating in more than two and a half years just shy of 45 percent. And that happened on the day he was impeached.
Looking at the president's entire term in office, public opinion has held steady despite many scandals and his impeachment. Analysts say the reason for that, the strong economy.
Now the election, the latest CNN poll shows the president still trailing Joe Biden but by a narrowing margin. Look at last week compared to two months ago, the president also closing the gap when it comes to a couple of other democratic challengers, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Keep in mind that this poll was done before the House impeached the president.
And again, we said the strong economy is the likely reason for President Trump's steady numbers. That new CNN poll shows 76 percent of Americans think the economy is good. We haven't seen that number that high in a poll in 18 years.
Well, CNN's Martin Savidge went to the key battleground state of Pennsylvania to see what voters there think about the impeachment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Blair County, Pennsylvania, the impeachment of Donald Trump isn't hurting the president.
BONNIE PFEFFER, TRUMP SUPPORTER: No, I love him.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Supporters say it's helping him.
PFEFFER: I think what they're doing is completely wrong and I will vote for him in the coming election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We could help him get re-elected actually.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Voters here pre-dominantly white, working class, strong in their conservative beliefs.
What do you think this will do for Democrats?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they just put a nail in their coffin.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Trump won more than 70 percent of the vote in this blue collar county about two hours east of Pittsburgh, significantly outperforming Mitt Romney in 2012.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To make America greta again.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): But the Republican county chair says had I asked him a year ago if Trump could repeat his success in 2020, he would have said unlikely. Now --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it will turn out that percent and more.
SAVIDGE (on camera): He'll do as good as that, maybe even better?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe even better.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): How is that possible? Two reasons. Trump voters we talked to here like the economy and loathe impeachment. They credit Trump with the former and blame Democrats for the latter.
(on camera): And how would you say the economy here is in Altoona?
PHILIP DEVORRIS: It's good. You know, it's not people celebrating boom days, but it feels like the kind of long term steady growth.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): At Blair Image Elements, they make signs all of us see. But what critics see is clear evidence of presidential abuse of power, CEO Philip Devorris sees it's just the same old polarized Washington politics that moved him vote for Trump in the first place.
DEVORRIS: If it did anything it would make you want to support him more.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): It's pretty much the same story down in the farms.
PHIL KULP, KULP FAMILY DAIRY: This location, there's about 1,500 cows being milked.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Milk from Kulp Family Dairy goes into Hershey chocolate and (inaudible) likes butter. Colt's (ph) business is improving but his attitude towards impeachment is not. He doesn't follow it much.
KULP: Now, I worked too many hours to pay close attention.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): The way Colt (ph) see it, voters should elect more like Trump to Congress.
Is the impeachment process in any way going to change your outlook or support of this president in 2020?
KULP: No. You know, it just makes me I guess more convinced that we need more outsiders in Washington.
SAVIDGE (on camera): Not all the Republicans I spoke to here say they support the president, some object to him they say because of his personal faults.
[02:09:59UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
And that they'll likely do in 2020 what they did in 2016, which is simply not vote. Because unlike other Trump strongholds where I've asked, if there are any Democrats they might consider, everyone here was unanimous, no. Martin Savidge, CNN, Altoona, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Another boost to President Trump's re-election would be to reign in North Korea's nuclear ambitions. It was one of his 2016 campaign promises, but that could now be in jeopardy as satellite images show activity at a site linked with the country's long range missile program.
And Pyongyang has promised the so-called Christmas gift to the United States. But this hour, Will Ripley reports from the region, Pyongyang may have something else in mind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Despite all the activity we've seen as of late my sources tell me the chances of a North Korean missile launch around Christmas are actually very low.
And that the Christmas gift is more likely to be Kim Jong-un announcing a new hard line stance when dealing with the United States and his intention to consolidate North Korea's position as a nuclear state.
So, why do we see things like the engine test and this uptick in activity at a known missile production facility or at least a facility tied to the missile program? And then of course meetings over the weekend with North Korean military leaders.
Well, it's all designed to get us, the western media talking, and they continue to put pressure on United States as we approach the end of the year that began much differently.
(voice-over): 2019 began with so much promise, U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, brimming with confidence in February, their second face-to-face meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Their first summit in Singapore eight months earlier ended with a vaguely worded pledge and zero progress on two key issues, denuclearization and sanctions.
The collapse of working level talks did not seem to faze President Trump --
TRUMP: I think we'll have a very tremendous summit.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Or Chairman Kim.
KIM JONG-UN, SUPREME LEADER OF NORTH KOREA: If I'm not willing to do that I would not be here right now.
TRUMP: Is that it? That might be the best answer you've ever heard.
RIPLEY (voice-over): The White House even promised a joint agreement, but instead of walking away with a deal, Trump walked out.
TRUMP: This wasn't a walk away like you get up and walk out. No, this is very friendly.
RIPLEY (voice-over): The North Koreans didn't think it was friendly. A source told CNN, Kim was blindsided.
Spring began with a flurry of weapons test. The U.S. and South Korea assessed them to be short range launches and as he did throughout the year, President Trump seemed to shrug them off.
Sanctions temporarily eased in June. Trump and Kim called this historic. They claimed impromptu meeting at the Korean demilitarized zone. Their pledge to begin working level talks within weeks yes another broken vow. Nearly six months after that DMZ photo-op, another launch and the return of this infamous insult.
TRUMP: He really likes sending rockets up, doesn't he? That's why I call him rocket man.
RIPLEY (voice-over): North Korea returned the rhetorical fire calling Trump's comments the dotage of a dotard which means old senile lunatic. That kicked off a busy December.
North Korea cryptically promised a Christmas gift for the U.S. if the year ended without a diplomatic breakthrough. They published photos of Kim riding a white horse on Mount Paektu, the place he is known to visit before making big decisions.
Not one, but two apparent engine test at this known launch site, sparking speculation of a bigger test to come. On the week before Christmas, this appeal to Pyongyang from President Trump's point man on North Korea.
STEPHEN BIEGUN, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR NORTH KOREA: Let's get this done. We are here and you know how to reach us.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Last-ditch diplomacy hitting an all too familiar dead end.
RIPLEY (on camera): A source also telling me that denuclearization is off the table for now and the North Korean say the bar is much higher to return to talks with the United States.
As for dealing directly with the Trump administration, I'm told that Kim is taking a wait and see approach given the impeachment and given the fact that President Trump is moving into a very sensitive and complex election year and the North Koreans feel he might not even have the political capital right now to implement any agreement that they might reach. Will Ripley, CNN, Hongkong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Next here, destruction and devastation, thousands of firefighters are left fighting deadly bush fires across the continent of Australia. Ahead of the holidays, is relief in sight? We'll have Pedram Javaheri with us to talk about it.
Plus, a highly anticipated England Premiere football match is stalled.
[02:15:00]
Coming up, the events that left one team vowing to take a strong action against racism.
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ALLEN: Welcome back to "Newsroom." Emergency teams are trying to contain an oil spill on the Galapagos Islands. This video shows the moment a cargo vessel overturned in San Cristobal on Sunday as it was being loaded with containers.
You can see the crew members jumping off the ship as it flips over -- traumatic video there. Local media report no one was injured. The Galapagos Islands are about 1000 kilometers west of Ecuador. They are regarded as one of the most ecologically important places on Earth.
Firefighters in Australia are struggling to control dozens of deadly wildfires with nearly 100 fires still active. In New South Wales, hundreds of people are left without a home this holiday.
Mylee Hogan with affiliate Seven News there is in Blackheath, that's to the west of Sydney. She shows us the latest efforts to quash these out of control front infernos.
[02:20:05]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MYLEE HOGAN, REPORTER, SEVEN NEWS: This is what firefighters faced in Blackheath last night, staring down a wall of flames as it explodes from the Grose Valley. Crews forced to retreat as the inferno quickly reaches the house.
In nearby Bilpin, similar scenes, a whirlwind of flames and thick smoke making visibility so poor, a firefighter was hit by a car. He was rushed back to his truck by colleagues.
The Gospers Mountain mega blaze showing no mercy taking Bilpin's Tutti Frutti Cafe. By morning, it was a smoldering mess. Crews on the ground calling this the black mountains -- fears 20 homes are lost.
(on camra): This is one home they not stand a chance against yesterday's flames. Recovery crews are now moving through the fire affected communities, but it could still be days before they know the full extent of the damage. But many more are still standing.
RICHARD HALL, RESIDENT: The roar was coming over the hill just like a freight train. And the roar -- the flames and the smoke, you just couldn't see a thing. You just can't thank them enough, you know.
HOGAN (voice-over): Others defended their own homes.
HELEN ATTARD, RESIDENT: The smoke was horrific. My eyes were burning. My sons were just wetting the house down
HOGAN (voice-over): In Dargan overnight, rows of homes burnt to the ground. One man was feared dead, but this morning he was found alive in an evacuation center. Experienced crews still shocked by the conditions they faced.
JIM MURPHIE, ACTING INSPECTOR, FIRE & RESCUE NEW SOUTH WALES: It's pretty horrendous actually. I've had 39 years experience bush firefighting and that would probably go down as worst day that I've ever seen. HOGAN (voice-over): Now, communities throughout the mountains face a
rebuilding operation, from homes to infrastructure, but the threat is far from over as the blaze continues to rage. Blackheath once again in the firing line today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have crown fire behind the houses, the situation is critical. Serious concerns for property loss over.
HOGAN (voice-over): A reality the community will have to deal with for months. In Blackheath, Mylee Hogan, Seven News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Our meteorologist and my colleague Pedram Javaheri join us now. You know, what that firefighter said, Pedram, that he's never seen anything like this in 39 years, that speaks volumes of what they're up against.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes and you know Natalie, of course it's not just an event here that's taken place over a matter of couple of days. We're talking several weeks, several months, and of course, the drought situations are worse over several years in the works here.
And you take a look, temperatures even at this hour into the middle 40's across portions of interior Australia while up towards the coastline as you approach New South Wales and enter areas near the coast, temperatures into the middle 20's.
Certainly some relief is there in the current hours. We do expect some improving conditions in the forecast as well. And some of the images coming out of Sydney points back towards the west for the significant fires currently in place in much of eastern New South Wales and kind of breaking down the number of how much land has burned with the memorable fires in 2019 across our planet.
You recall we spent quite a bit of time talking about the Amazon fires, about 1 million hectares of land consumed. The California fires going back to last year consumed almost 2 million hectares of land. And you notice the New South Wales fires coming with nearly 3 million hectares of land consumed and of course still ongoing.
But officials across New South Wales releasing some of the numbers, saying, hey, a lot of land has been consumed but keep in mind, they've done an incredible job and a lot of efforts put in place here because about 14,000 plus properties and are homes here have been saved because the firefighting efforts across this region.
Now, what we need is the storm system to bring in some rainfall -- clouds on the horizon -- some moisture as well in the horizon. Storm system we expect on Christmas Eve to be parked in somewhere around the northern tier of New South Wales.
Also, southern Queenland and the rain showers also expected to come in as well. So around Christmas Day, some of these fires come down -- some of the rainfall comes down on top of fires so, beneficial rain in the forecast as least in the immediate future there, Natalie.
ALLEN: Okay. Well, we'll take what they can get at this point, right.
JAVAHERI: Yes.
ALLEN: Okay, Pedram, thank you.
JAVAHERI: Thank you.
ALLEN: Well here in the United States, dangerous chain reaction led to a nearly 70-car pileup in the U.S. state of Virginia Sunday. State police say at least 50 people injured, some are critical. Both sides of the highway were closed as you can imagine, for hours.
Some cars were so mangled; authorities had to step from car to car to pull people out. Police say the cause of the crashes under investigation but heavy fog and icy road conditions played a role.
In sports, in the English Premier League, racist allegations are making another ugly appearance. This time at Sundays match between London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham.
[02:25:03]
The game was briefly suspended after Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger was allegedly targeted with racist abuse from the crowd. CNN Sport's Patrick Snell has more on the match.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: It's once again the ugly stain of alleged racist abuse that's overshadowing Sunday's high profile Tottenham-Chelsea match in the Premier League. The issues (inaudible) have been well-documented in recent months but there's no question England's top flight has its own problems to deal with.
We saw that as recently as the Manchester derby earlier in December. Tensions were already high on Sunday when the home team, Tottenham, where two nil down, then Spurs fans seeing South Korean star, Son Heung-min, and his own (inaudible) that saw sent off after a raised boot on Chelsea's German defender, Antonio Rudiger.
And that was just past the hour mark in that game. Just a couple of minutes later, its Rudiger who appears to be gesticulating he received racist abuse from somewhere inside that north London ground.
Nest, Chelsea's Spanish captain, Cesar Azpilicueta in dialog here with the referee, Anthony Taylor. The match official also having to stop the match in the second half after an object was tossed onto the field of play towards the blues keeper Kepa.
And all of this against the backdrop of not one but three announcement from the stadium's (inaudible) system warning supporters in the ground that racist behavior is interfering with the game. Well, after the match Chelsea's captain spoke with reporters about yet another match tarnished by the ugly stain of alleged racism in football.
CEZAR AZPILICUETA, CHEKSEA CAPTAIN: It's very clear every time we have meetings in the Premier League and with the referees before the game, we have been told to report if any incident with racism happens straightaway to report to the ref.
So, Tony came to me and told me that he was listening some racism songs toward him. So, I just reported to a referee immediately and, you know, I left to the ref to do his job because we are very concerned or very aware of this behavior, and altogether we need to stop.
SNELL: Well, after the match, Spurs releasing a statement which read in part, "Any form of racism in completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our stadium. We take any such allegations extremely seriously and shall take the strongest possible action against any individual found to be behaving in such a way, including stadium bans."
Spurs have also said they will conduct a thorough investigation. By the way, far overshadowed by the situation, Chelsea won the match on Sunday by two goals to nil. Patrick Snell, CNN, Atlanta.
ALLEN: Absolutely abhorrent behavior from those fans and it goes on and on. Well, as U.S. Senators prepare for the impeachment trial of the president, a moderate Democrat is voicing doubts about the matter. Why he feels there are gaps in the case. That's coming up.
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[02:30:00]
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen. And here are our top stories.
Turkey's president says about 80,000 Syrian refugees, 80,000, escaping the violence in Idlib province are headed to the Turkish border. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly says his country cannot handle this fresh wave of people. He blamed Syrian and Russian attacks on the province for the refugees coming his way. He's sending a delegation to Moscow on Monday to discuss the situation.
India's prime minister is accusing opposition parties of misleading the public about a controversial citizenship law. And he's trying to convince Muslims they will not face discrimination. But there were more protests Sunday. The law makes it easier for non-Muslim religious minorities for neighboring countries to become Indian citizens.
The U.S. Senate minority leader is again calling for White House official Mike Duffy to testify in the impeachment trial. Democrat Chuck Schumer cites newly released documents that show efforts to freeze aid to Ukraine began 90 minutes after U.S. President Trump spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart back in July. Shortly after that call, Duffy sent an e-mail telling officials, hold off, sending aid.
A Democratic senator says he believes there are gaps in the impeachment case against the President. Doug Jones, one of the more Moderate members of his party, says those gaps were caused by Mr. Trump's refusal to let officials testify. Jones says he's keeping an open mind when the impeachment trial begins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DOUG JONES (D-AL): I think these are really serious allegations. They're trying to see if the dots get connected. If that is the case, then I think it's a serious matter, I think it's an impeachable matter. But if those dots aren't connected and there are other explanations, and I think are consistent with innocence, I will go that way too. What I really want to see, though, is to fill in the gaps. There are gaps.
Now, people can make up their mind with gaps and testimony. But I would like to see a full and complete picture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: In less than six weeks, the first major contest of the U.S. presidential election will begin. It is the Iowa caucus. And it's considered a big indicator of where voters stand. Several Democratic presidential candidates toured the state this weekend, making their pitches to voters. Among them, former Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke about the impeachment process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact is that it's really hard in the country, the impeachment. There's nothing -- there's nothing to celebrate about it. There's nothing to celebrate about when the nation goes through an impeachment process. It really is a reflection of at least the concern or thought of failure in our system. And the rest of the world looks at us and wonders what's going on.
But in this case, but don't get me wrong, Donald Trump has brought this on himself. He indicted himself in the White House lawn. He said, we're left with no choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: The Iowa caucus will take place February 3rd. We turn now to Afghanistan.
[02:35:10]
The disputed vote there is prompting accusations of fraud, long delayed initial results put President Ashraf Ghani on track to win a second term but it's not that simple. CNN's Nathan Hodge reports from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATHAN HODGE, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Preliminary results in Afghanistan's presidential election show a clear lead for the incumbent, President Ashraf Ghani over his chief rival, Abdullah Abdullah. According to results released Sunday by the country's independent Electoral Commission, Ghani received 900,000 votes to Abdullah's 700,000.
But Abdullah has also raised questions about what he sees is widespread and systematic fraud in September's votes, raising concerns in Afghanistan about a reprise of the protracted political crisis seen after the 2014 presidential election.
That crisis was only resolved with the intervention of the international community and the U.S. as well as by then Secretary of State, John Kerry, who helped broker a power-sharing deal. The election results also come as the U.S. seeks an exit from Afghanistan.
Approximately 12,000 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan. And President Donald Trump has made clear that he would like to see further withdrawal of U.S. troops. Nathan Hodge, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: The Taliban claimed responsibility for killing a U.S. service member on Monday. A Taliban spokesman says U.S. and Afghan government forces were targeted with IEDs while conducting a raid in the northern province of Kunduz. The U.S. military said earlier a service member was killed in action on Monday.
Hong Kong protesters continue to risk arrests as they fight for more democratic freedom. Ahead, I speak with a prominent activist about why protesters refuse to give in.
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[02:40:08]
ALLEN: Demonstrators in Lebanon flooded the streets in Beirut Sunday to keep pressure on its government. It comes as days after Hezbollah- backed Hassan Diab was named as the next prime minister. Since October, protesters have been clashing with police over corruption and government mismanagement as Lebanon faces an economic crisis.
Now to the protest in Hong Kong, which had been raging for more than six months. Ever since the unrest began in June, more than 6,000 demonstrators have been arrested. Many are students, who have risked everything for democracy, including their freedom. CNN's Anna Coren looks at how their arrest are impacting the city's overburden judicial system.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On a Sunday afternoon back in October, thousands of Hong Kong protesters take to the streets, shouting their demands in the pouring rain. Among the crowd is Matthew, it's not his real name, he has asked us to hide his identity.
MATTHEW, FRONTLINE PROTESTER: We are now here to fight for our freedom and most importantly to fight for our future.
COREN: It's the sense of duty that's driving the protest movement. And for months, he's been on the frontline clashing with police.
Are you scared about getting arrested?
MATTHEW: Yes, of course. I don't want violence to happen but the government just don't listen to us so what are we supposed to do? There is only one single option for us and that is a revolution.
COREN: But a week later, Matthew's fight comes to an abrupt end. Undercover police dressed as protesters arrested him. He's charged with possession of offensive weapons, a crime that carries a three- year prison sentence. Out on bail, Matthew agrees to talk to us again. We meet at his friend's cramped apartment. Protest posters cover the walls.
The enormity of the situation has sunk in but he has no regrets about his involvement.
MATTHEW: No, none at all. The only regret I have is not being careful enough.
COREN: So, this soft-spoken career professional, he knows the seriousness of his alleged crime, means he may end up with a criminal record. But says that's a sacrifice he's willing to make for what he believes is a greater cause.
MATTHEW: I believe Hong Kong will have fundamental change and my future is becoming insignificant compared to what will happen in Hong Kong.
COREN: Over the past six months, more than 6,000 protesters have been arrested of which more than 40 percent of them are students. And while only a small portion of them have actually being charged, pro- democracy lawmakers and activists fear that Hong Kong will lose a generation of future leaders.
TED HUI, LEGISLATIVE & DISTRICT COUNCILOR, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: When people with the heart, with the ideals and really values what they believe, these are people with quality. They are the future of Hong Kong and Hong Kong government is treating them, damaging them, putting them into ruins.
COREN: Almost 1,000 protesters have been charged with offenses ranging from unlawful assembly to the most serious crimes of writing assault and arson. A third of them are students. Legal experts believe the court system is not equipped to handle the sheer volume of trials. The first schedule to start early next year.
And if the majority of protesters are convicted, there's concern the prison system will be overloaded. The Hong Kong police tell CNN they want to see further prosecutions and say the only thing holding them up is the slow speed of the courts.
JOHANNES CHAN, CHAIR PROFESSOR AT LAW, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: At the moment, we don't know how many more will be charged and or what offenses they will be charged. This is not just the court that even the police and the prosecutions are not ready. But it just shows this is not only the strains on this judiciary. But the prosecution and the police are not even prepared to handle all this mess.
COREN: We catch up with Matthew just before his court appearance. He's feeling nervous. But while he and hundreds of front liners like him may end up behind bars, he is confident the fight for Hong Kong will continue in his absence.
MATTHEW: After six months, we have already given so much on the protests. So many people got arrested. So many people got beaten up and lives have been sacrificed. We just cannot stop right now.
COREN: Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, it could look like just about everyone, of course, feasts and celebrates Christmas, but what about families who go hungry? Well, in Britain, some Santas have a plan for that, next.
[02:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: More now on the pending impeachment trial of President Trump in the U.S. Senate. But before that happens, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has to send over the articles of impeachment, which she says she won't do, until a clear and fair path forward is presented.
So, how does impeachment work in the Senate? CNN's Victor Blackwell, explains.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: House Democrats and White House officials is spending the holidays prepping for the president's Senate trial. Here is how it will all work.
The rules are written for Andrew Johnson's trial in 1868, everything is minutely choreographed. The sergeant-at-arms kick things off and you'll be seeing a lot of him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here he, here he, here he. All persons are commanded to keep silent on pain of imprisonment, while the Senate of the United States, is sitting for the trial of the articles of impeachment, exhibited by the House of Representatives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Well, then, senators take an oath of impartial justice in weighing the arguments presented in the trial.
[02:50:04]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws? So help me God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: At least two Republican, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have declared that they are not impartial jurors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I am not trying to pretend to be a fair jury here.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I wasn't in any doubt at this point.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): I'm not an impartial juror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts presides. Now, he has got the power to compel the Senate to vote, and he has the power to decide things like the rules of evidence. But, he can be overruled.
If a senator disagrees with him, he or she can ask for the full body to vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want the whistleblower who put in a false report to testify.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Yes, you know by now, the President Trump has talked about calling witnesses like Hunter Biden, Adam Schiff, the whistleblower, but he'll need 51 senators to agree.
The witnesses cannot just be called it will buy the prosecution or defense. And if a senator wants to question a witness, they have to put that in writing and give it to Chief Justice Roberts. So don't expect much of the showboating we've seen so far.
Then we get to the vote. It takes 34 senators to acquit. There are 54 Republicans, so let's do the math. That means that 20 of them, would have to side with the Democrats and two Independents, assuming that all of those members, will vote to remove him from office. Now, all 100 senators then stand at their seat to cast their decision as either guilty or not guilty. That sounds easy enough, but it isn't always so cut and dry. Senator Arlen Specter confused clerks in the final moment of the Clinton impeachment by saying, not prove, therefore, not guilty.
He decided the bar are line from Scottish law, and he was making the point that he didn't necessarily think Clinton was innocent, just that it had not been proved. But it didn't make much of a difference. His vote was still counted in the not guilty column.
ALLEN: All right. Let's take a pause from impeachment now to think about the holidays. How about that one?
Some workers in Britain are putting a new spin on the secret Santa tradition. Instead of giving gifts to colleagues, they're making sure vulnerable families aren't left with nothing on their Christmas table.
CNN's Scott McLean has our story from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It all started with a letter to Santa from a 7-year-old girl in England, who wish for a house, a doll, and something to eat. A heartbreaking message went viral.
ALEX ALDER, MANAGEMENT TRAINER, GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY: She wasn't asking for much, and you know, a bit of food on the table.
MCLEAN: Alex Alder, reposted the letter on a social media page for his company, Great Western Railway.
His Christmas wish, instead of secret Santa were giving gifts to colleagues, he asked rail workers to donate to food banks.
ALDER: The response has been amazing, overwhelming. What started off is a small thing in one office, has nice went across the network.
MCLEAN: Now, thousands of workers in 30 depots along these tracks have donated to help children facing hunger.
ABBY JITENDRA, POLICY AND RESEARCH MANAGER, TRUSSELL TRUST: We see that around a third of people referred to food banks are children. So, it's a huge number of families and children that are having to live in what -- you know, we would all consider to be unacceptable, destitution in poverty.
So, it's something which becomes even more clear at Christmas time, because that's really the time we expect families to be -- you know, happy. And being top presents, but often, that's exactly the time when families feel the pinch the most.
MCLEAN: The Trussell Trust, an organization that aims to end hunger in the U.K., says most people who need food banks survive on an income of just 50 pounds or $65 a week after paying for housing. The need increases in winter when family struggle to pay higher heating bills and children stop receiving free school lunches over the holidays.
JITENDRA: It's so important to be able to give people more than just- food. It's really important to be able to give people hope and support during this time, and help get them back on their feet.
MCLEAN: The organization recommends calling your local food bank, to see what items they need most this Christmas, or donating money to pay for food deliveries and support services.
ALDER: (INAUDIBLE) -- you know, a bag of fancy flavored crisps, who knows what? It will make a small difference in a way you are still secret Santa. You just won't know the person who you're giving if the food too.
MCLEAN: Scott McLean, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Well, CNN asked the U.K. government why thousands of families are relying on food banks this Christmas? A spokesman for the government said this.
"The reasons for people using food banks are complex. We spend over 95 billion pounds." That's $123 billion "a year on welfare and have simplified the benefits system through Universal Credit. People can get paid urgently if they need it and 95 percent of payments are made in full and on time."
[02:55:13]
ALLEN: The artist Banksy is again turning head with his latest work of art. It is called the Scar of Bethlehem. And features the nativity seeing with baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. But behind them are concrete barriers with a bullet hole representing the Christmas star.
Those barriers represent the ones separating Israel and the West Bank. The art is on display at the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem, which itself overlooks the barrier.
Thanks for watching this hour, I'm Natalie Allen. Please stay with us, I have another hour of CNN NEWSROOM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:59:57]
ALLEN: Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Natalie Allen, and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Next here, a twist in the battle over the upcoming impeachment trial. Newly released e-mails shed light on exactly when aid to Ukraine was frozen. One top Democrat called this e-mails explosive.
END
