Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
White House Reeling from "The Atlantic" Report; Trump Touting "Law and Order" Message ahead of Election; Harris Won't Trust Trump's Word Alone on a Vaccine; Spain's COVID-19 Response; Several Stabbed in Birmingham, England; Businesses Struggle on Labor Day Weekend; American Tricked into Helping Russian Disinformation Campaign; "Hotel Rwanda" Hero Charged with Terror Offenses; Memorial Service for Chadwick Boseman. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired September 06, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): New developments in the row over Trump's reported crass comments over fallen service members. Now apparently he made demeaning remarks about Vietnam soldiers.
Also deserted streets when normally there would be crowds and profits, the city of Atlanta is one of many around the globe counting the economic cost of the coronavirus. Also
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's embarrassing right?
I vote for a foreign government when I had no idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A dupe in an apparent Russian plot. An unsuspecting journalist tells us how he was hired in an attempt to meddle in the U.S. presidential election.
Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world I'm Michael Holmes and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HOLMES: Let's start with a story that has triggered outrage from U.S. military veterans and a spate of angry denials from the White House. A former senior Trump administration official confirming to CNN the accusations in "The Atlantic" magazine. That's the president Donald Trump insulted war dead during a trip to France in 2018 other outlets including FOX News and "The New York Times" also corroborating parts of this report.
But the president and others in his orbit still denying it strongly. Still and now there's a new wrinkle involving Vietnam. CNN's Jeremy Diamond with the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: While the White House is still reeling from this report in "The Atlantic" magazine that President Trump referred to American soldiers who lost lives in a critical battle in World War I as losers and suckers as he was deciding not to attend a ceremony at a cemetery where some of those war dead were buried.
And now, a former senior administration official is confirming to my colleague, Jim Acosta, that the president did indeed refer those American war dead in crude and derogatory terms.
Now, of course, President Trump and the White House have vehemently denied the story insisting that the president has the utmost respect for veterans and service members. And the president even said what kind of animal would refer to a dead American service members in such a fashion?
But nonetheless, a former senior administration official confirms to CNN that the president did indeed make those comments. And another source familiar with his remarks has now told CNN that the president has also repeatedly questioned why Vietnam war veterans would've served in that war, suggesting that those service members did not know how to get out of the draft, how to work the system, much in the way that the president himself.
We know that president Trump received multiple educational deferments to avoid serving in the Vietnam War and he ultimately received a medical deferment after he got a doctor's note claiming that the president had bone spurs, making him ineligible for military service -- Jeremy Diamond CNN, the. White House
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Mr. Trump has also publicly disparaged other veterans, of course, like the late senator John McCain, who was tortured during his years as a prisoner of war in the Vietnam War. CNN national security analyst James Clapper, who is a retired Air Force 3 star general, weighed in on "The Atlantic" article.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CLAPPER, FORMER U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: If this is true, it's really reprehensible. And the problem is, you know, it is believable, given the president's past behavior and the statements he has made, most notably about Senator McCain.
And the other instances, his insults with the Gold Star family who lost a child in Iraq. There have been similar incidents like that, where you get the impression that he doesn't really respect or appreciate military. So for me, both personally and institutionally, it's deeply, deeply troublesome.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Clapper was also Director of National Intelligence under President Obama and has been critical of Trump in the past.
[02:05:00]
HOLMES: He's also been attacked by the president on Twitter.
Now 2 months before the election, U.S. protests on racial justice show no signs of letting. Up groups denouncing the police killing of Breonna Taylor peacefully marched and rallied in Louisville, Kentucky, on Derby Saturday. And as Jason Carroll reports, they felt their voices were heard.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the demonstration ended where it began, at a park had just about a mile away from Churchill Downs. At one point their numbers were in the thousands. As they got to Churchill Downs, marched around the perimeter. And then just as the race got underway, they stood and they shouted and they voiced all of their concerns. They voiced their message, which is trying to get justice for Breonna Taylor.
There were some concerns about whether or not this protest would be peaceful, whether or not it would be nonviolent. We spoke to one of the organizers, who said this was a protest that went off just the way it should have.
TIMOTHY FINDLEY JR., PROTEST ORGANIZER: Me talking to you right now was a part of our plan. We wanted the world to see, we wanted everyone to see and understand that we are not happy, we are not satisfied with what the attorney general is doing, what the mayor is doing.
We want justice for Breonna Taylor. While that race was going on, people were forced to pay attention to what was going on outside of Churchill Downs. We did so nonviolently but we're going to continue to do. This
CARROLL: The Derby ran without fans so you didn't have the thousands upon thousands of fans who would normally be at the Derby as they were leaving. But no matter to the demonstrators who are out here today.
They feel as though their point still got across, which is to make sure that they are not going to let up on the demonstrations until they see justice for Breonna Taylor -- Jason Carroll, CNN, Louisville, Kentucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Police are once again declaring a riot in Portland, Oregon, on this the 100th night of anti racism system protests. They say demonstrators are throwing Molotov cocktails at them and, quote, "engaging into tumultuous and violent conduct."
Portland has been a flash point in the summer-long protests. The situation on the street is frequently turned violent there. On Friday, authorities declaring an unlawful assembly outside the police building where the crowd scuffled with officers.
Now the New York attorney general says her office will empanel a grand jury to investigate the death of Daniel Prude. Prude, a Black man, died after he was arrested by police in Rochester, New York.
Now for the fourth night in a row, interactions between protesters and police there have been tense. CNN's Polo Sandoval with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was a fourth night of protests here in Rochester, New York. Peaceful demonstrators returning here to the very neighborhood where Daniel Prude encountered police in late March with their message demanding justice and word spreading very quickly among the community here about the attorneys general's announcement that she will be empanelling a grand jury.
That could potentially mean criminal charges as part of this investigation. Speaking to many members of the community here, who believe that this is a step in the right direction but they also hope that this is just a. Start
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's absolutely a step in the right direction. I think it's what the community wants. Me, from my own personal perspective, I think it's unambiguously murder that happened. So I'm beyond excited to hear that. This is going to be expedited, that she's taken a lead role on this and that we're going to have justice behind. This
SANDOVAL: Local officials also reacting to yesterday's announcement, including one of the county officials who took to Twitter, writing, "We have all been left with too many questions and not enough answers."
And the attorney general announced she will move to empanel a grand jury is an important first step in getting those answers for Mr. Prude's family and our community rightfully deserve.
As for the seven Rochester, police officers they remain suspended by the City of Rochester -- Polo Sandoval, CNN, Rochester, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Joining me now is Rick Perlstein. He's a journalist and a historian. He is also the author of "Reaganland: America's Right Turn 1976 to 1980."
Rick, thanks so much for joining us. Extraordinary times. I just want to start off with a quote from Donald Trump back in 2016. He said this.
"We will also be a country of law and order. The crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon -- and I mean very soon -- come to an. end." That was at the Republican National Convention 2016.
Does a quote like that haunt him in 2020, given his law and order messaging?
RICK PERLSTEIN, HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR: Well, I think that it's already baked in. You have 40 percent of the country that thinks he walks on water and an increasing part of the country that would not vote for him for any reason. That seems to be pretty much a rigid division.
If he was interested in law and order he could've started in his own White House, which is full of convictions.
[02:10:00]
PERLSTEIN: But this is obviously just demagogic political rhetoric.
HOLMES: You've written about how Richard Nixon exploited the fears of white Americans over street violence to get elected. But you've also said you're tired of historical parallels and, a major difference, Nixon was running for office, not trying to be reelected at the time.
But if there's anything you can pull from history that does have parallels with the racial situation now and how politicized it? Is
PERLSTEIN: Sure. Well, of course, in 1964, there was an enormous amount of racial violence, including violence in cities after police abuse in a bunch of cities that we saw. The violence in the South over civil rights.
The candidate of racial backlash, Barry Goldwater, lost in a landslide. Of course Richard Nixon won in 1968 but he was able to make the case that all this disorder was happening after an enormous period of legislation against poverty for civil rights, expansion of the government's role in improving African Americans' conditions.
And it was very easy for conservatives to point to that and say look at what happened, we just got rioting in response. Of course Donald Trump can make no such argument. He was the one in charge, he was the one superintending the country when all this violence and division was happening.
So it's much harder for him to make the case that somehow the Democrats have anything to do with this, especially since the people on the Right committing the violence are, of course, waving Donald Trump flags and wearing Donald Trump hats; whereas the folks who are discharging rounds from the Left probably consider the Democratic Party anathema to their politics.
HOLMES: It's interesting; Donald Trump ended office with 45 percent approval, I think it is now above 43 percent. Basically, as you said, it has not. budget.
How do you think the scenes of violence in some cities -- and we have to really make the point, too, 90 percent of the protests are peaceful. But how do you think the violence that is playing out in some places,
resonates or not with the average American?
Polling would suggest not that much but Democrats are getting concerned that the issue is getting away from. Biden
PERLSTEIN: Yes I think that concern is pretty mistaken if you actually look at the granularity of the polls.
In a place like Wisconsin, where, when people are asked who is handling or would handle the violence better, Donald Trump or Joe Biden, Joe Biden wins that issue by a considerable margin. So whatever people's concerns about violence in the streets, they are clearly not tying it to the Democratic Party, despite Donald Trump's best. Efforts
HOLMES: Do you think that this race in general, the violence that we have seen, the race in general, law and order do you think it's a wedge issue or is there any substantive political will?
And I have to say on both sides to do something genuine and impact the systemic nature of what causes? it
PERLSTEIN: Well, I mean Joe Biden clearly has a plan for addressing the racial disorder in the country and the racial disparity in the country. And Donald Trump seems to be much more interested in increasing the tension in the streets.
That's why he goes to a place like Kenosha. And his policies would probably be disastrous for African Americans. So if it's a question of policy, clearly we give points to Joe Biden on that one.
HOLMES: And just quickly, does he need to go on the attack more aggressively now?
It's been criticized by some that it's been a do no harm approach so. Far
PERLSTEIN: I'm looking at the headline in the "Chicago Tribune" from Tuesday morning. It says Biden, Trump stoking violence. So that doesn't seem like a do nothing campaign. It seems like he's taking the fight to his adversary and getting the message out. There
HOLMES: Great to chat with you, Rick Perlstein, journalist and historian. Thank you so much.
PERLSTEIN: Thank you so much. Mike
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Elementary schools around the world are trying to adapt to a world with COVID-19. But that often requires resources that public schools simply don't have. We'll show you why this matters when we come back.
And also why women are facing dwindling work opportunities as the pandemic drags on and on. We'll be right back. (MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:15:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HOLMES: Welcome back. The CDC has been telling states in the U.S. to get ready to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine by the end of October. And president Donald Trump is saying we could probably have it then. That's what he said.
Now medical experts are skeptical. And so is Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris. She shared some of her concerns with Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN SR. U.S. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you trust that, in the situation we're in now, that the public health experts and the scientists will get the last word on the efficacy of a vaccine?
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If past is prologue that they will not, they will be muzzled. They'll be suppressed, they will be sidelined because he is looking at an election coming up in less than 60 days. And he's grasping for whatever he can get, to pretend that he has been a leader on this issue when he has not.
BASH: Let's just say there is a vaccine that is approved and even distributed before the election.
Would you get? It
HARRIS: Well, I think that's going to be an issue for all of us. I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump. And it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he's talking about. I will not take his word for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And you can see more of Dana Bash's interview with Kamala Harris on "STATE OF THE UNION." That's 9 am New York, 2 pm in London, 9 pm in Hong Kong.
[02:20:00]
HOLMES: Now there is also some concerning coronavirus data coming out of Mexico. The health ministry there now adding more than 120,000 COVID-19 deaths to its reporting. Now that might mean the virus' true impact on Mexico could be far, far higher than previously thought.
And even now, Brazil is reporting more than 4 million cases. There may be signs that that country's situation is improving.
That's not the case in the U.K. Their officials reported on Friday the highest number of cases since May the 30th.
And in Spain, schools are having to adapt to this new reality. Not only is coronavirus putting them at risk but, as we are about to show you, it's also highlighting the many inequalities between state and private education. Atika Shubert with the story for. Us
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The British Council School of Madrid is hammering out new facilities to meet COVID -19 guidelines for the start of a new school year like no other.
Head of school Mercedes Hernandez shows us the breezy new cafeteria extension. Indoor-outdoor areas for smaller classes with better ventilation. And the playground is now a rainbow colored labyrinth of dividers to keep classes in their bubbles, to prevent the virus from spreading.
She's also ordered 6 mobile classrooms like this to arrive before school starts.
TMERCEDES HERNANDEZ, BRITISH COUNCIL SCHOOL, MADRID: Technology and the large campus and the beautiful Spanish weather gives us the option of learning in many different spaces and in different ways.
Margo (ph) is our head nurse.
SHUBERT (voice-over): The school has already hired more teachers, school minders and nurses. But there is a stark difference between Madrid's private schools, that have the means to deliver safe classrooms, and the bleak public schools across town.
The virus is spreading fastest in the poorest areas of Madrid. But public schools here simply do not have the resources to add more space, more classes or more teachers. Now the government has finally promised to fast-track more funds. Even so, little of that is going to be ready before schools start in just a few days. Time.
At the end of August, the Madrid government finally earmarked 370 million euros for COVID-19 measures, promising to hire 11,000 new teachers.
(INAUDIBLE) Maria said the national parents association is angry that it took so long. She has 4 kids of her own and one computer that they all fought over at the peak of the pandemic. She says her school needs 4 more teachers, whose budget has yet to be approved.
She's worried that if the classes can't open safely, public schools will go back online, lagging far behind their wealthy. peers
"What is absolutely necessary," she says, "is financial investment. Teachers need to be hired now. From day one, not after weeks and weeks of waiting. And," she adds, "a screen does not substitute for school."
Two schools, worlds apart. For Spain's youngest, COVID-19-19 threatens to widen that gap even more -- Atika Shubert, CNN, Madrid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: When schools began to shut down around the world, many women were forced to leave their jobs to stay home with children. Now with job opportunities drying up in sectors like the service industry and sales, some women are finding it hard to get back to work as this pandemic drags on. Isa Soares with that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like many others, Alpana Chakravarti's career hit the wrong note in 2020. Jolted by lockdown and the financial whiplash of COVID-19.
ALPANA CHAKRAVARTI, FURLOUGHED WORKER: We were working from home for just under a month and then furloughed to the end of July and then, yes, of course, got very scared.
SOARES (voice-over): But furlough came and went and now the single mother of 2 has been made redundant, with no income and bills that just keep piling up.
CHAKRAVARTI: My rental bill is just going up and up, doesn't matter what I'm trying to do. Everywhere else is going up. So I'm fighting a losing. Battle
SOARES (voice-over): She's not fighting it alone. According to the International Labour Organization, women have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. With almost 510 million of all employed women worldwide working in the four most affected sectors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now there is a real risk of a two-tier (ph) return to work so you're going to see large numbers of women not able to return to work because the sectors that they are working in are not ready financially viable.
CHAKRAVARTI: That's great but so typical what (ph).
SOARES (voice-over): For Alpana, this has meant 6 months of single parenting, cooking, cleaning, home schooling and entertaining.
[02:25:00]
CHAKRAVARTI: (INAUDIBLE)? It should be (ph).
SHUBERT (voice-over): Ultimately, less time focusing on getting her career and her finances back on track.
CHAKRAVARTI: I'm very worried. I'm still trying. The more agencies I talk to the more worried I get. SOARES: How emotional has this whole experience been for you?
Have you had moments of self doubt?
CHAKRAVARTI: I've been wavering. I've been wavering. I've been trying to put on a brave, face. I always have done that for my kids. However, that's probably not teaching them true life. But it's OK to see Mom humble at times.
SOARES (voice-over): The damage from COVID-19 will be felt by future generations of women, with the IMF warning gender gaps are widening despite 30 years of progress
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's actually made things worse. So it's not just that it's shone a light on those pre-existing inequalities, it's actually exacerbating them. So prior to the pandemic, women in the U.K. were more likely to be low paid and there was a significant gender pay gap.
They were more likely to be in insecure employment or zero hours contract and so on. And they were more likely to take home the majority of unpaid work. What the pandemic has done has increased. That
SOARES (voice-over): A disheartening message for Alpana, her 11-year- old daughter and all women, who have to finally chip away at that impenetrable glass ceiling -- Isa Soares, CNN, Berkshire, Southeast England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now Labor Day in the U.S. often means travel, restaurants and sporting events. But because of the virus, businesses that usually thrive this holiday weekend are having to make some tough choices. We'll have that after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
[02:30:00]
HOLMES: We are following some breaking news out of the United Kingdom. We're getting reports that several people have been stabbed in the city of Birmingham. Police have reportedly declared it a major incident. Details are very scarce at the moment.
Police aren't saying very much. The British media, though, reporting a number of people have been wounded. We don't know how many or how serious the injuries are. Emergency services are on the scene and, as we say, police are saying very little about this at the moment except for declaring it a major. Incident
We will bring you more details as they become available. India has now reached a disturbing milestone in the coronavirus
pandemic. More than 4 million confirmed cases. Saturday marked the third consecutive day in which India reported more than 80,000 new coronavirus infections. Vedika Sud has more on this grim surge from New Delhi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Congested streets, crowded markets. India's exponential increase in COVID-19 numbers has done little to deter people from venturing out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People thought that once the numbers started to go down, this was it. They had won the war and everybody was out. And everybody was out there without wearing a mask, without any social distancing, without any sanitizing, basically just game ended.
SUD (voice-over): While it took India 5 and a half months to surpass 1 million cases, it's taken the country just 50 days to add more than 3 million infections. Medical experts say one of the reasons for the big surge is aggressive testing. India would soon cross 50 million tests, reaching more than 1 million a day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) we achieved that target much more (INAUDIBLE).
SUD (voice-over): A significant increase in caseload has been reported from rural areas where the public health care system remains extremely poor and lean (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pandemic is spreading in the rural area. it is mainly affecting the 7 states of this country which are responsible for almost 75 percent of the. Cases
SUD (voice-over): India's health ministry has often courted low fatality and high recovery rates to explain these numbers. The medical experts say this has made people complacent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's because of the mixed messaging that we are putting out. we are not telling people exactly what is going on. We are giving them half of (INAUDIBLE) but not telling the exact gravity of the situation.
SUD (voice-over): Forced repeated lockdowns, economic compulsions (ph) have led the government to relax the restrictions with most restaurants and temples already reopened, subway trains will be back on track for Monday. Another possible hazard in the times of COVID.
With the fastest growing caseload in the world, India is on track to surpass Brazil's numbers and could soon be second only to U.S. in COVID cases -- Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: It is now Labor Day weekend in the U.S. which has public health officials pretty worried. That is because previous holiday weekends this year have led to, yes, more coronavirus infections.
So as people take precautions, many businesses that usually thrive at this time of year are facing some pretty serious challenges. CNN's Natasha Chen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARRIE BURNS, ATLANTA MOVIE TOURS: This entire Walton Street (ph) is just a hotbed of film.
NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On Labor Day weekend Carrie Burns (ph) would usually be booked. Solid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
CHEN (voice-over): Giving tours of iconic spots in Atlanta, where magic blockbusters and TV shows were. Filmed
BURNS: Right behind us is the tank scene from "The Walking Dead."
CHEN (voice-over): The post-apocalyptic Atlanta of "The Walking Dead" may be a thing of fiction but the reality of 2020 can be bleak. Nearly 6,000 people in Georgia have died, about 280,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus and businesses like Atlanta Movie Tours closed. For good
BURNS: It is emotional but I think you come to a point where you know that you made the right decision.
CHEN (voice-over): The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau says this Labor Day weekend would've seen nearly a quarter of 1 million visitors and businesses would've made more than $151 million just off of Dragon Con and two college football kickoff games at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Instead, Dragon Con is virtual. The Atlanta Black Pride Festival is still happening in person but the annual PGA tour championship at East Lake Golf Club is being played to no fans. The two kick off games plus a third one next weekend were canceled.
[02:35:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're talking about $100 million over the three games and $7.5 million of that would've translated back into tax revenue into the city of Atlanta. So certainly the hotels, restaurants, the bars, the city itself is losing a great economic impact.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you see when you walk, when you guys came in, there's nobody on the streets. There's no businessman, there's no lawyers in the offices or the high-rises.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Entre vous.
CHEN (voice-over): The Red Phone Booth, a speakeasy in downtown Atlanta, opened exactly 5 years ago with the Dragon Con Cigar Club as their first guests.
CHEN: And so this would be packed during Labor Day weekend?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. Absolutely. They're all dressed up, some in steampunk, some in the 1920s theme with Charlie Chaplin stuff.
CHEN (voice-over): Instead, they will still have local supporters coming by this weekend at a reduced capacity per state rules. More than half of the company's furloughed staff are back but business has not recovered enough to bring back all of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been many sleepless nights.
CHEN (voice-over): And he knows some businesses, like his friend, Carrie Burns, Atlanta Movie Tours, will not make it on the other side of this pandemic.
BURNS: I think that we could have done better to stop this or slow this early on with some -- between mask wearing and physical distancing early, early stages. When we got to the point where we were just a little too late.
CHEN (voice-over): All the owners of businesses that are emptier this weekend know that the sooner the virus is stopped, the sooner they can see friendly faces again. That requires people not to gather en masse this holiday weekend.
GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): I understand that many, many of us are tired and ready to move on but we have to hunker down and keep chopping against COVID-19.
CHEN (voice-over): Natasha Chen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Tens of millions of people in California are feeling the heat right now as temperatures in many spots soar well past 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: He lost his job because the coronavirus pandemic but you won't believe where he ended up working. How an American man says he was tricked into helping a Russian campaign of lies. You will see it only on CNN. After the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HOLMES: Now a CNN exclusive. Heading into the U.S. election, the intelligence community warns that Russia is again embarking on a disinformation campaign. But they've apparently had help from some Americans who didn't even realize they were helping. Donie O'Sullivan has one man's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACK DELANEY, FREELANCE WRITER: I mean, this is not the way I wanted to be getting media attention or getting notoriety, this -- I mean, it's embarrassing, right, like it's -- I wrote for a foreign government when I had no idea.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jack Delaney is an 26 year old aspiring writer who lost his day job at a restaurant because of COVID-19. So he was delighted when someone calling himself Alex Lacusta messaged him on Twitter offering him a job writing for Peace Data, a left-wing news website.
DELANEY: The message was, you know, saying we like your work, would you like to write for us?
Would you like to be part of our publication?
We can offer you about $200-$250 per article and, at that time, I was like, this sounds like a good opportunity for me, I can make money, get my work published.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Everything seemed to look normal to Delaney.
DELANEY: I looked at all the editors or a few of the editors. Saw that there was LinkedIn accounts matched to their names, their pictures were popping up on Google Image searches. So at a glance, it looked legitimate.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): But Lacusta wasn't who he said he was. In fact, he didn't exist at all and Peace Data wasn't an independent left wing site. It is, according to Facebook acting on a tip from the FBI, a Russian influence operation. Peace Data says the accusations are baseless. The Russian government has not. Commented
DELANEY: I'm obviously no fan of Putin or the Russian government. So it was concerning. Obviously I don't want to have any association with an authoritarian regime so, it was -- it was -- I mean, I can't put it in any other words.
[02:45:00]
DELANEY: But it was like one of the strangest experiences of my life.
O'SULLIVAN: It must be quite surreal to hear about this and say, oh, my God, I'm -- am I part of a Russian disinformation campaign?
DELANEY: Totally surreal. I was completely unwittingly doing it. I had no idea that they were linked to the Kremlin or anything. Obviously, if I had known, I wouldn't have done that. It seemed like -- it seemed legitimate from what I saw.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): The whole thing apparently a Russian con, even the profile picture of Delaney's editor not a picture of a real person but an image of a face generated by a computer through artificial intelligence.
O'SULLIVAN: You know, I was looking at that picture and there is no way that I could've told that there was anything off about it, that it was a fake image. It looks so. Real
DELANEY: It looks like a head shot, looks like a standard head shot of an editor I've seen in other places. Didn't tip me off as being a fake image, obviously. I had no way to tell.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): And Jack was not alone. CNN spoke to 3 other Americans who were also co-opted, all paid online and it was all done by people linked to the Internet Research Agency, according to Facebook. That's the same Russian troll group that interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
DELANEY: I'm more mad at myself for letting this happen than at Vladimir Putin or Russia or. Anything I should have my guard up a little bit more.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And that was CNN's Donie O'Sullivan reporting there.
Well, it looks like the Trump tell-all section at the bookstore might need another shelf. The president's former attorney, Michael Cohen's memoir, "Disloyal," is coming out on Tuesday. Now in it we already know that he already goes into great detail about Trump's fixation on President Obama, writing, Trump was so obsessed that he hired a fake Obama for a video, where Trump, quote, "ritualistically belittled the first Black president and then fired him 'Apprentice' style."
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. Now Cohen, you may remember, pled guilty in 2018 to numerous federal crimes, including tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign tax violations.
There is going to be more on that in the days ahead.
Now the real life hero in "Hotel Rwanda" has been arrested and charged with terror offenses in his home country and his family wants to know why. As CNN's David McKenzie explains, it's not even clear what he was doing in Africa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The real life hero behind the movie "Hotel Rwanda," Paul Rusesabagina, who saved 1,200 of his fellow Rwandans at the hotel he managed during the worst of the '94 genocide, handcuffed and paraded in front of cameras in Rwanda's capital, Kigali.
TRESOR RUSESABAGINA, PAUL'S SON: I thought my father was in San Antonio, Texas, enjoying a nice cup of coffee. No, he's in Rwanda. He's been arrested, all of a sudden out of nowhere we haven't gotten to talk to him. That's all I know literally. MCKENZIE (voice-over): His disappearance a shock to family and
friends back in the United States. A senior UAE government official told CNN that, a week ago, Rusesabagina arrived in Dubai from Chicago on a commercial flight. Five hours later he would leave the UAE on a private jet headed to Rwanda.
Rwanda's investigation bureau announced his arrest on Monday, saying it was in connection with terror-related offenses. Why he got on that private jet is still a mystery. Rusesabagina would have known if he set foot in president Paul Kagame's Rwanda, he was bound to be locked up.
Idolized by Hollywood for his acts of bravery during the genocide, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in Washington and, over the years, he became Kagame's staunchest critic, calling Rwanda's powerful president an autocrat, accusing the rebel group that Kagame lead to liberate Rwandans from the genocide of violent abuses.
Deeply taboo in Rwanda, the country and with a president that brooks little dissent. And frequently jails opponents, including one politician who wanted to run against him in 2017.
MCKENZIE: What do you make of those allegations?
RUSESABAGINA: So I have to be careful what I say because, when you're not careful, what you say, then these things happen to my father. So I will be careful. Having a thought is a crime in some places. Being your own man is a crime in some places. My father is guilty of having the guts to speak up.
[02:50:00]
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Rwanda says his arrests have nothing to do with politics. He's they say that he is suspected to be the founder, leader, sponsor and member of violent armed extremist terror outfits.
They say he was directly involved in two specific acts of terror in 2018 and will bring more evidence at trial. His family fears that, however he got to Rwanda, Rusesabagina's fate is already. Sealed -- David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. We will be right back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HOLMES: All right now. CNN's Martin Savidge with how the hometown of actor Chadwick Boseman is remembering him one week after he passed away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): International action hero Chadwick Boseman was an inspiration to many.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SAVIDGE (voice-over): And now his life and legacy are celebrated at a memorial service in his hometown of Anderson, South Carolina.
DEWANNA BROWN-THOMAS, JAMES BROWN'S DAUGHTER: It's a blessing to be honored and he will be honored all over the world.
[02:55:00]
BROWN-THOMAS: When your home honors, you it's a different feeling.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): To Dewanna Brown-Thomas, daughter of the legendary James Brown, spoke at the service and reflects on the phenomenal performance Boseman did portraying her father in "Get on Up."
BROWN-THOMAS: He made us proud and he did an awesome job. We are very thankful that it was Chadwick Boseman who did James Brown.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Although he's known globally, it's his humble small-town roots that many residents are most proud of.
SAMUEL NEELY, WELFARE BAPTIST CHURCH: He had a spiritual connection with his God and it was a part of his life. He was in church all of his life. Even after he left, he stayed there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I'm here for is the memories of someone who is a legend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been really hard because I love Chadwick. I'm here to be with my community and celebrate him and be here for each other
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Like many, Anderson's mayor remembers Boseman for his enormous talent personifying the historical figures in roles he. Immortalized
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously made an impact as a young man and what people saw in him that he had a special talent. Nobody was really surprised of his career.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): It was his pivotal role as Black Panther that instilled pride and ushered an awakening for Boseman as a superhero for everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just love Chad. He was just so good with the kids. He helped out with kids going to see "Black Panther." We wish we had more Chad Bosemans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's been very inspirational to not only people of color but people worldwide. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When someone as great as Chadwick is taken away at
such an untimely fashion, that's a huge loss. But it's really nice to see the hometown, the community come out and show some love and honor him in his passing.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): A hometown hero that Anderson will always cherish -- Martin Savidge, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And thanks for spending your time of the day with me. CNN NEWSROOM continues in just a moment with Kim Brunhuber in the anchor. Chair you will enjoy it. Stay with us.
[03:00:00]
