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Holiday Stalemate Grips U.S. Senate Impeachment Trial; Boeing CEO Ousted; China Denies Allegations of Forced Prison Labor; Racist Abuse Mars Football Match. Aired 2-2:30a ET

Aired December 24, 2019 - 02:00   ET

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

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause, live from Studio 7 at CNN World Headquarters.

Congressional Democrats argue that the president could face more articles of impeachment even as the Senate trial for the first one remains in limbo.

The man who was the public face of the grounded 737 MAX is out.

A mockery of justice: death sentences from a Saudi court for the man who killed Khashoggi while the man who ordered for the hit, was not investigated nor indicted.

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VAUSE: House Democrats have raised impeaching President Trump for a second time. The argument was made in a court filing on Monday, part of the Democrats' brief to force the former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify in Congress.

They also want access to that evidence from the Robert Mueller investigation. The grand jury evidence could be relevant to the stalled impeachment trial over the Ukraine scandal.

Mitch McConnell made it clear he wants a quick trial. He is demanding that Nancy Pelosi sent the impeachment articles to the upper house.

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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: We're at an impasse. We can't do anything until the Speaker sends the papers over. So everybody enjoy the holidays.

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VAUSE: Meantime, the president is spending his holidays in Florida. He has more on his mind than just impeachment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump hitting the links at his West Palm Beach golf club Monday and hitting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Twitter, still angry over impeachment, calling the process unfair and suggesting Pelosi will lose the House for Democrats in 2020.

The next election and his support among evangelicals also top of mind for Trump, on the heels of a scathing call for his removal from office in "Christianity Today," a centrist evangelical magazine founded by the late Reverend Billy Graham.

The Trump campaign launching the Evangelicals for Trump Coalition, scheduling a rally specifically for Christian supporters next week in Miami, as 200 evangelical leaders rush to Trump's defense, signing a letter bashing the magazine, calling their op-ed offensive.

One of those leaders, Jerry Falwell Jr., tweeting a controversial defense of Trump, writing, quote, "The impeachment by the Democrats was their Pearl Harbor. I predict that 2020 election will be Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the Dems."

Over the weekend, Trump also railed during a speech to a group of conservative students ranting about a frequent but unusual target, windmills.

TRUMP: I never understood wind -- you know, I know windmills very much. I've studied it better than anybody.

SANCHEZ: Falsely claiming they create pollution.

TRUMP: Tremendous fumes, gases, are spewing into the atmosphere.

SANCHEZ: Saying they cripple property values without any proof.

TRUMP: And if you are a house within vision of some of these monsters, your house is worth 50 percent of the price.

SANCHEZ: And that's not all.

TRUMP: A windmill will kill many bald eagles. It's true.

SANCHEZ: Even though there is no proof that is true, the president took his claim even further.

TRUMP: They're noisy. They kill the birds. You want to see a bird graveyard. Just go and take a look.

SANCHEZ: In response to the criticism, "Christianity Today" has come out and said they stand by their op-ed. The editor-in-chief saying they hope this starts a national dialogue among evangelicals about President Trump's actions in office -- Boris Sanchez, CNN, traveling with the president in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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VAUSE: Investors seemed to approve of Boeing's decision to fire CEO Dennis Muilenburg. Shares jumped nearly 3 percent Monday. CNN's Clare Sebastian reports he was forced out amidst of a growing crisis over the 737 MAX. The fleet has been grounded because of design concerns after two fatal crashes.

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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the last nine months, Dennis Muilenburg has been the public face of the 737 MAX crisis, publicly apologizing.

DENNIS MUILENBURG, BOEING CEO: We at Boeing are sorry for the lives lost in the recent 737 MAX accidents.

SEBASTIAN: Facing anger in Congress...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is going to be held accountable?

Fully accountable?

I know you fired one person.

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MUILENBURG: Mr. Chairman, my company and I are responsible, responsible for our airplanes.

SEBASTIAN: -- and until just this month, repeatedly expressing hope that the plane would be ready to fly again this year. A deadline that proved to be impossible.

Two days before Christmas Boeing confirmed David Calhoun, the chairman after Muilenburg was stripped of the role in October will take over as CEO on January 13th. Calhoun has been on the board for a decade.

Boeing said the change was necessary to, quote, "restore confidence in the company," and It would operate with a renewed commitment to full transparency, including effective and proactive communication with the FAA.

That's critical. A source familiar with the decision told CNN that it was Dennis Muilenburg's communication with the FAA, which is the regulator tasked with recertifying the MAX, that raised doubts about his future.

The board discussed last weekend how Muilenburg pushed the FAA to accelerate the timeline to approve the MAX.

The FAA said it hopes, quote, "Boeing will be transparent in its relationship as it works toward returning the plan to service."

As for the incoming CEO, he takes over right in the middle of this, just as Boeing prepares to suspend production of the MAX for an indefinite period. As while it waits for regulators in the U.S. and around the world to approve its software fix, review pilot training and only then can work begin to painstakingly return each plane to service -- Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The trial was held in secret with the names of defendants never made public. State prosecutor's evidence remains a mystery. What's being described as typical Saudi justice. The court in Riyadh sentenced five men to death for "Washington Post" columnist Jamal Khashoggi's death. They claimed they found the killing was not pre- meditated. The decision was taken at the spur of the moment, effectively clearing crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and two of his closest advisers of any involvement.

In an interview with CBS News earlier this year, MBS denied the order to murder Khashoggi.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you order the murder of Khashoggi?

MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, SAUDI CROWN PRINCE (through translator): Absolutely not. This was a heinous crime. I take full responsibility as a leader of Saudi Arabia. Especially because it was committed by individuals working for the Saudi government.

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VAUSE: But an investigation by the CIA, another by the U.N. found enough evidence to implicate the crown prince. The verdict has been met with widespread outrage with the U.N. lead investigator tweeting, "The hit men are guilty sentenced to death. The masterminds will not only walk free, they've barely been touched by the investigation and the trial. That is the antithesis of justice. It is a mockery."

Khashoggi was a prominent critic of the Saudi royal family. He was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year, where it is believed that he was dismembered by a Saudi death squad.

China, Japan and South Korea are reaffirming their commitment to remove nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula. At a leaders' meeting a few hours ago, they agreed to advance stalled nuclear negotiations between the United States and Pyongyang.

When we come back, the Christmas card greeting with a very disturbing personalized message.

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FLORENCE WIDDICOMBE, FOUND MESSAGE: At the seventh or eighth Christmas card, I found that somebody wrote in it.

VAUSE (voice-over): Why a desperate plea for help is now raising concerns about human rights in China.

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VAUSE: China has denied foreign prisoners are being used as forced labor claiming a story about inmates in a Shanghai prison making Christmas cards was a fabrication and a farce. This started with a desperate plea for help written inside a greeting card and read a world away by a little girl. CNN's David Culver picks up the story.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Inside Qingpu prison, new allegations of foreigners being forced into labor. China's foreign ministry calling the claims fabricated, adding, no foreign prisoner has been put into forced labor in Qingpu prison at all.

The call for help, handwritten a Christmas greeting card sold by the British supermarket Tesco to benefit charity. It was 6-year old Florence Widdicombe who discovered the message at her home inside of London.

WIDDICOMBE: I was sitting at the table opening my Christmas cards and I was writing in them to my friend. And at the seventh or eighth Christmas card, I found that somebody wrote in it.

CULVER (voice-over): The message reading, "We are foreign prisoners in a Shanghai prison force to work against our will. Please help us and notify human rights organizations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If anyone were in a position where they needed to essentially smuggle a note out, saying they had grave human rights concerns, then, of course, that is a real worry, isn't it.

CULVER (voice-over): Florence's dad said the card as the reader to get in touch with British journalist Peter Humphrey, so he did. Humphrey, a former fraud investigator was jailed for two years on what he calls bogus charges at Qingpu prison in 2013.

PAUL HUMPHREY, FORMER FRAUD INVESTIGATOR: What they are doing is assembling the cards, a mix of cards, and then putting them into the packaging, sealing it and then packing these into shipping boxes. And this is being done without Tesco knowing about it.

CULVER (voice-over): In 2013, CNN reported on a similar incident, a woman in the U.S. bought Halloween decorations and found a letter claiming to be from a Chinese labor camp inmate.

The author, pleading for someone to contact human rights organizations. But in this Christmas card cry for help, Tesco responded quickly, a spokesperson saying the company was shocked, adding, quote, "We abhor the use of prison labor and would never allow it in our supply chain."

The supermarket chain severing ties with the Chinese print company that provided the cards. Tesco said the supplier was audited as recently last month and was found to be in compliance.

CNN called that supplier and a representative said, quote, "We have never been involved in such activities that the media reported," adding, quote, "We think someone is smearing us."

It is a sentiment echoed by China's foreign ministry, which claims Humphrey is behind it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is a farce made up by Mr. Peter Humphrey.

CULVER (voice-over): David Culver, CNN, Hong Kong.

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VAUSE: Yaqiu Wang is a China researcher from Human Rights Watch, she joins us from New York.

We just heard from a foreign ministry spokesperson in Beijing, calling this is a farce and he said it was all made up by the foreign journalist, Peter Humphrey.

I want you to listen to Peter Humphrey's response to that allegation.

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HUMPHREY: That is pretty farcical in itself, I think, I mean, really, that answer is the sort of stock answered that they give every time a journalist raises a human rights issue with them. It is the same with the Xinxiang camps, it is the same with forced televised confessions, with disappearances and the arrest of all those Chinese defense lawyers a few years ago. This is the stock answer that they give.

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VAUSE: So when it comes to the truth of the matter or it comes to foreigners being forced into prison labor or forced labor, where is the evidence here?

Does it support Humphrey or is it a farce made up by him as the foreign ministry alleges?

YAQIU WANG, HRW: First of all, just to be clear, the Chinese law stipulates that all prisoners have to work as long as they have the ability to work so, forced labor in prison is a given.

VAUSE: And does it differentiate between foreigners and Chinese citizens, right?

WANG: No.

VAUSE: So if you're foreigner and you're in jail, chances are you're going to be forced to work.

WANG: Correct.

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VAUSE: Tesco, the company in question, had no idea, it's said, that prison labor was being used in the production of their Christmas cards. Other retailers like H&M are now checking their supply lines to make sure there is no connection to Chinese prison labor.

How difficult, though, is this?

Because quite often you have this web of contractors and outsourcing and there are third party suppliers and the company which is specifically set up for the use of inmates look like ordinary, everyday businesses.

So how hard is it?

And what is the level of due diligence that the big retailers like Tesco should go through?

WANG: To a certain extent it is difficult and there is a lot of coverup involved but from my experience and following the research we have, foreign companies often just send some contractors to China to check their factories.

And it is more about an exercise of ticking the boxes rather than really making an effort to get to the bottom of the issue, whether -- to see, whether they're using really forced labor.

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So I think there is definitely a space to improve the due diligence.

VAUSE: I didn't mean to interrupt but I guess for a lot of the retailers of the other companies doing business, it is a level of deniability, like we do it through the system and we don't know that this was going on?

WANG: Correct. I think for them it is more of, they want to tick the boxes and say we did all of what we are supposed to do.

VAUSE: Just overall, we talked about the fact that labor in a Chinese prison is part of the system and there is more than 2 million inmates in China, it has the second largest prison population in the world.

And it's illegal to export products made by prison labor. But last, year the "Financial Times" reported that forced labor is becoming more prevalent as a result of higher wages in China and the decline in the working age population.

Manufacturers are under increasing pressure to stay competitive with Bangladesh and Vietnam.

Made in China, whatever it might be, it might seem incredibly cheap when you buy it but often the hidden cost is higher.

WANG: Yes, I, mean forced labor does not only just exist in prison, it exists in detention centers, the extrajudiciary facilities and also they are done by a lot of private actors so, this is not only a prison issue.

VAUSE: What about some of the conditions in those factories?

You simply don't get any kind of inspections or oversight and they have appalling conditions where people sleep in 10 to a room, they work very long hours and get very low pay.

WANG: The Chinese law stipulates working conditions, you can only work 40 hours a week, if you work extra hours you should get paid extra money. But those laws are not effectively enforced because, as you mentioned, there is a need, Chinese companies need to stay competitive to export cheap goods.

VAUSE: And the conditions in these prisons are pretty horrific. A former inmate told "The Independent" that, "At times whippings were so commonplace that the cell floor would be stained with the blood of inmates. They whipped people with the Christmas light cords."

He also talked about bedsores, because he says, you had to remain meek and stay on the floor all day long, otherwise the bosses might beat you and you're living and working in such a confined space. Eventually, inmates develop these sores all over their bodies.

And that is just a glimpse of what the conditions are like, right?

WANG: Yes, this is prevalent, we have done research on the conditions in prisons and we have heard a lot of similar stories from ex- prisoners and usually, foreign prisoners are treated better than Chinese prisoners.

VAUSE: OK, so, what are the chances if a product is made in China at some point it will have some connection either direct or indirect to forced labor?

WANG: I, mean we don't actually know the extent of prison labor because it -- the Chinese, system, the judicial system is not transparent and the government denies it, so we don't know the extent of the situation.

VAUSE: What are the responsibilities here?

We talked about responsibilities of corporations.

What are the responsibilities here of consumers?

WANG: I think for, consumers this family which found the Christmas card has done a fantastic job to expose this issue. And generally speaking I think consumers should make an effort to check the stuff they are buying from companies that pledge to comply with international human rights standards.

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VAUSE: Yaqiu, thank you for being with us. That cheap stuff from China it ain't so cheap. Good to see you, thanks for being with us.

WANG: Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: One arrest has been made by British police and officials have warned football fans of allegations a player was racially abused during Sunday's match between Chelsea and Tottenham. A number of players report monkey sounds came from the stadium. Now the British government is warning unless sporting authorities enforce better behavior by fans then it will. More news now from CNN's Anna Stewart.

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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the second reported incident of racism in a Premier League match this month. Antonio Rudiger, a Chelsea player, reported during the match that he could hear abusive chants.

Three announcements were made warning people about abuse behavior. That fulfills step one of UEFA's three-step protocol. But today, plenty of questions being asked as to whether the sport is doing enough to stamp out this behavior. The Hotspur manager spoke in a press conference today, said he is looking beyond football for support.

JOSE MOURINHO, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR MANAGER: I think society needs help. Then football is a micro society, if you can call it.

Do we need help?

Yes. But society needs help. We need to eradicate this. We need to eradicate any form of discrimination. In this case, we are speaking about racism. And, yes, football needs help. But society needs help.

STEWART: The PFA says it wants to see a government inquiry into this issue. Meanwhile, the government says the football authorities need to do more to tackle the issue. They will be monitoring them through the season to see how they implement their plans. That leaves the door open for potential government intervention.

Plenty of people in the industry are saying that talking at authority or at a government level may not be not. Perhaps the players themselves on and off the pitch need to do and say more.

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VAUSE: A powerful storm is heading towards the Philippines. When and how bad the damage will be coming up.

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VAUSE: In her annual Christmas message, Britain's Queen Elizabeth has described 2019 as "feeling quite bumpy." Buckingham Palace released a preview of Her Majesty's annual televised address and after years of division over Brexit, she will speak of the need for reconciliation. Here's what she says in part.

"The path, of course, is not always smooth and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy. But small steps can make a world of difference."

This has been a rocky year for the royal family. The queen was drawn into the controversy over suspension of Parliament by prime minister Boris Johnson. Her son, Prince Andrew, was forced to withdraw from public life over a sex scandal.

And her grandson, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan Markle, were forced to endure hurtful and baseless allegations from the unforgiving tabloid press. Despite all of that, ups and downs of 2019, the royal couple released this Christmas card on Twitter and there, front and center, baby Archie, quite happy.

A typhoon is expected to hit the Philippines on Christmas Eve.

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VAUSE: Along with any Christmas gift from North Korea, NORAD will be tracking Santa Claus as he makes his annual journey around the world. Right now the North American Aerospace Defense is monitoring preparations before the magical flight when Santa is in a toy meeting right now.

The reindeer should be airborne in about 4.5 hours from now, first stop somewhere in Eastern Russia. You can follow Santa's journey at the official NORAD website or you could try Google's Santa Tracker.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'll check the headlines right after this.

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