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How the U.S. Presidential Election Could Go Wrong; Xinjiang Denies Forced Sterilization of Uyghur Women; Iran Calls U.S. Move to Reimpose Sanctions "Void and Illegal"; People Pay Tribute Outside the Supreme Court; Hybrid Emmy Awards Had Winners Accept Trophies at Home; President Donald Trump Says He Will Nominate A Woman This Week To Replace Ginsburg; Bill Clinton Recalls His 1993 Appointment; Battle Looms As Trump Announcement Could Be Near; CDC: Virus Can Spread Through Particles In Air; Australia's Victoria State Sees Fewest New Cases In Months. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 21, 2020 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes and coming up here on CNN Newsroom Republican leaders forge ahead with plans to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as quickly as possible.

Some good news for Australia's Coronavirus hotspot Victoria reporting its lowest case numbers in months. And the Emmy's pull off an all virtual award ceremony.

Welcome everyone. Just 6 weeks before the U.S. Election and an intense fight heating up in Washington over how and when does Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg seat on Supreme Court? Ginsburg of course passed away on Friday and her seat on the bench now draped in black as is tradition.

Donald Trump says he will have a nominee to replace her as early as this week Democrats of course want to wait until after the election. Presidential Nominee Joe Biden had a message for Senators on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Don't vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and Senator McConnell have created. Don't go there. Uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience. Let the people speak, cool the flames that have been in engulfing our country. We can't keep rewriting history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: It would take just a few Republican Senators to break ranks to block a nominee from moving forward. Meanwhile we might be getting an idea of the front runner to replace Ginsburg. CNN's Manu Raju looks at where things stand?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump is moving quickly to name a Supreme Court nominee to fill the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. According to sources familiar with the process 3 female appeals court judges appeared to be among front runners.

Amy Coney Barrett, Barbara Lagoa and Allison Jones Rushing but he has little margin for air to get his nomination confirm to the bench before the November election. Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can only afford to lose the support of 3 Republican Senators in order to get 51 votes to get a nominee confirmed.

But already two Republicans have said that the nomination should wait until after the elections the latest Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the lone Republican to vote against the Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the court in 2018.

On Sunday Murkowski said I did not support taking up a nomination 8 months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justin Scalia we're now even closer to the 2020 election less than 2 months out and I believe the same standard must apply.

But Murkowski wouldn't comment on Sunday about whether she would oppose Trump's nominee in a lame duck session of Congress which will occur after the November elections and conclude in January.

Similarly Senator Susan Collins of Maine fighting to keep her seat has said the vote should wait until after the election but her office hasn't responded to CNN's questions about whether she would vote against a Trump nominee in a lean duck session.

Former Vice President Joe Biden wins in November the battle over the nomination comes amid a furious fight for control over the Senate in November and it has put some Republicans like Cory Gardner of Colorado in a difficult spot as he campaigns to keep his seat.

In 2016 when Republicans refused to move on Barack Obama's abomination of Merrick Garland to the court they argued it was too close to the election. Gardner said at the time the American people deserve a role in this process but on Saturday Gardner refused to say if he would stick to that same position now that there is a Republican President and just 44 days before the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CORY GARDNER (R-CO): There's time for debate, there is this time for politics but the time for now is to pray for the family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Several veteran Republicans Senators including Chuck Crassly of Iowa have also declined to say if they think the nomination should wait and the party's 2012 nominee Senator Mitt Romney has so far declined to comment. Several Republicans in difficult races are aligning with Trump. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've voted for several hundred conservative judges including two on the Supreme Court and another one on the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Tillis sung a different tune 4 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Forget and let the American people speak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Republicans say times have changed because they now control both the White House and the Senate unlike 2016.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): It's a question of checks and balances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But 4 years ago Cruz said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: This is for the people to decide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell have spoken multiple times through the course of the weekend and I'm told one person has come up in those conversations that are appeals Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

[01:05:00]

RAJU: She is someone the Democrats - oppose conservatives have been trying to get her on the high court for years. She said what Mitch McConnell said Republicans know well, they'd be comfortable with her nomination and Donald Trump is seriously considering putting her forward.

Also we expect this to move pretty quickly once the nomination comes as early as this week Republicans will try to see whether or not they have the votes to move ahead? If they don't they're going to pundit till later but expect this fight to just intensify on Monday once Senators get back into town and start to process their monumental developments. Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

HOLMES: Democrats have raised the prospect of expanding the Supreme Court if a Trump nominee is approved. Listen to what the Senate's top Democrat said about that on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the president's pick is approved, and Biden is elected should he have more Supreme Court justices?

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Well, it will be a decision that comes to the Senate we first have to win that majority for that to happen but once we win the majority God willing everything is on the table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Former President Bill Clinton of course nominated Ginsburg to the court back in 1993. He says 40 candidates were considered then narrowed down to 5. But after talking with Ginsburg for 10 minutes he said he knew he should appoint her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, 42ND U.S. PRESIDENT: She was a force for equality, for men as well as women, for example. She was consistent, and she did it in a way that was levelheaded and on the level and respectful of different opinions and other judges on the court.

So she was highly respected, because she bent over backwards to work with the other judges when she could and she set up, it was counted when she couldn't. And of course along the way she became kind of a cultural icon, which surprised even me I think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Joining me now to discuss all of this is CNN's Chief Legal Analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. He's also a Staff Writer at "The New York" magazine and the Author of "True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The investigation of Donald Trump".

Jeff great to see you, I wanted to sort of look at the court and the process. Do you think the court, which has long enjoyed the trust of the people would be sort of facing a crisis of confidence because of the very process in which these justices are picked and how political that's become? It's supposed to be above the fray, it's a system above the fray?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: You know Michael this has been coming for a long time. I don't think many Americans at this point think that the Supreme Court is divorced from politics.

Remember 20 years ago we had the decision of Bush V. Gore in the exquisitely close election of 2000 when the court effectively decided that George W. Bush instead of Al Gore should be president in a very politically charged case.

They have continued to do cases like citizens united involving, unlimited campaign contributions. They struck down the Voting Rights Act. This is a deeply political court. I don't blame them for that.

I think their mission is inherently, involves them in political issues, but it is also certainly true that the political furor around the court is about as great as it has ever been. HOLMES: Of course Chief Justice Roberts said there are no Obama Judges, no Trump Judges and so on and so forth. So there's that professed independence but the perception has to be and the reality in many ways whichever party is lucky enough to get the opportunity to appoint judges gets a decision that fits that party's ideology but does that hurt the credibility of the court when it comes to decisions it hands down?

TOOBIN: Well, you know one of my favorite justices was a Justice named Robert Jackson in the 40s and 50s and he said something that I think rings true even today. He said about the Supreme Court we are not final because we are infallible, we are infallible because we're final.

Somebody has to have the last word and in our system it's the Supreme Court. Now many of those decisions have great political implications, but there really is no appeal literally and figuratively in the Supreme Court so even though the Supreme Court may not be regarded as independent of politics, it's all we have to resolve these cases.

[01:10:00]

TOOBIN: And I think that the public has learned to accept that if not embrace it.

HOLMES: There are some who believe and we were talking to Max about this last night that there are some that believe that the public is going to be fed up with things like this. I mean Donald Trump has appointed two perhaps three Supreme Court Judges. He lost the vote but Justices were approved by Republican Senators who represent 15 million of fewer Americans than the Democratic colleagues.

Do Americans have the right to think that the makeup of the court might now necessarily represent their will when it comes to issues like abortion and health care? As I say there are some that think that people might rise up at some point.

TOOBIN: Well, color me skeptical that there will be rising up about the Supreme Court. I think it's too far from the everyday concerns of most Americans. Donald Trump may feel the country rising up, both the benefit and the problem of the Supreme Court is that it is insulated from public scrutiny.

The justices are not accountable to the public in any meaningful way and I think that they are well insulated from the public's displeasure and it's also worth remembering that there are a great many people who are very happy to see the court move in a more conservative direction.

So I think that the politicians have reason to fear that the country will rise up against them but I think the Supreme Court is pretty safe for all intents and purposes.

HOLMES: I guess the majority of Americans want to keep abortion rights, they certainly like their health care and those things are radically changed by a court they think is an representative then it might be different. I wanted to ask you though about the sort of structural issues. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was 87; Steven Brayer is in his 80s a couple of others in their 70s. You seem to be criteria for nomination, the idea being longevity of course.

Yet the constitution doesn't say lifetime, it just says shall hold office given good behavior I think it is. Why there isn't a retirement age like there is with most other jobs or term limits or perhaps the suggestion of rotating justices from a bigger pool I know it was suggested. Why is it the way it is? Why aren't there term limits?

TOOBIN: Well, the reason it is the way that it is, is because that's at the framers of the constitution set it up. But remember the constitution was written in the 18th century, and in those days just to be blunt about it, people didn't live as long as they do now.

So the idea of appointing a distinguished judge in his and it was only his in those days in his 40s could maybe expect to live another 10, maybe 20 years, and that was the rule for many years. Now fortunately we all live a great deal longer than we used to.

And the court is perceived as much more of a political body than it was in the post World War II years, the 40s, 50s even into the 60s. So these Supreme Court appointment fights have become proxies for all the political divisions we face.

And as a result presidents seek to put a stamp on the court for as long as possible, so the days of appointing justices in their 60s which used to be fairly common and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was 60 years old when she was appointed.

But those days are long gone and it's quite clear that President Trump is only considering people in their 40s and early 50s.

HOLMES: Jeffrey Toobin I wish we had longer we do not. Thanks so much.

TOOBIN: Okay Michael.

HOLMES: Quick break now, the Coronavirus death toll in the U.S. approaching another staggering number and Democrats say the president is the one to blame. Also Australia's Victoria making progress against the virus, we will talk about the next steps in easing the lockdown in that state when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:15:00]

HOLMES: For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention is acknowledging that COVID- 19 can be commonly spread through viral particles in the air.

Now the agency's new guidance says those aerosols are produced of course when a person talks or sings or coughs or sneezes even just breathes. And it is believed the particles can then hang in the air. Then breathe in by others. The CDC had previously said the virus was thought to be mainly spread through respiratory droplets between people within 6 feet of one another, so it's not great news. The new update reinforcing why masks are so crucial?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERT: What it means for folks is number one those masks are critically important. They are the most important way to stop those aerosols from coming out of our mouths and noses and then getting into other people's mouths and noses.

So everybody should wear masks as we've been saying for some time now. But also people should pay attention to what they do indoors. The reason indoors is so important is because those aerosols tend to just hang out there for some time indoors particularly in poorly ventilated indoor areas.

And so when you're thinking about whether or not maybe you are going to eat indoors in a restaurant or God forbid go to the movies. You really should think twice and then lastly as folks should have been doing this entire time, just ask yourself it's that's worth it.

All of us know it's the full number of things that we want to get out and be doing. Beautiful weather but asks you if it's worth it? In every given think that you are choosing ask yourself if it's worth the potential risk?

[01:20:00]

DR. SAYED: And if I'm going to get into the how can I keep my family and myself safe? Put on that mask and try and stay outdoors as much as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now the guidance comes as the U.S. of course approaches nearly 200,000 deaths from the virus by far the highest death total in the world not even close. On Sunday the victims were honored on the nation's capital.

Bells at the National Cathedral tolling 200,000 times once for every thousand lives lost during this pandemic. Meanwhile outside the White House Democrats are blaming the crisis squarely on the president they lit up that display that you can see there, Trump lied, 200,000 died. As CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro reports the death toll of course still going to rise.

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Projections now show that in the next day or so America will cross a grim milestone in this pandemic. 200,000 confirmed deaths from complications from Coronavirus to put that number and prospective let's go back to March 29th when President Trump addressed the idea of 20,000 deaths.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If we can hold that down as we're saying to 100,000 it's a horrible number. Maybe even less, but 200,000 so we have between hundred and 200,000 we all together have done a pretty good job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: That 200,000 number comes even as places like New York City where I am standing are seeing their viral numbers come way down. But this country is still in the groups of this thing.

The pandemic is wreaking havoc on the American economy, education, and of course people's lives. And there is really no end in sight. Over the weekend Admiral Brett Giroir a member of the president's Coronavirus Task Force told CNN he has no real timeline for when a safe and effective vaccine will become widely available here. Evan McMorris-Santoro CNN, New York.

HOLMES: Meanwhile New Zealand lifting some of its Coronavirus restrictions after reporting zero new cases on Sunday. Officials dropping social distancing measures for most of the country, except Auckland, where a cluster of infections emerged last month that said he will still have to limit social gatherings to hundred people and all residents required to wear masks on public transport.

The Prime Minister says the country is making progress and could possibly eliminate the virus by the end of the month handling it well there. And strict containment measures appeared to be paying off in one of Australia's most populous states, health officials in Victoria recording just 11 new cases on Sunday.

That's the lowest daily increase since mid June, the City of Melbourne seeing some success too and said to begin reopening in the coming days. To fill is on the details Angus Watson joins me from Sydney. Good news for Victorians. I've been following it down there they've been doing it tough.

ANGUS WATSON, JOURNALIST: Absolutely Michael it's nice to be able to stand here and give you a little bit of good news regarding Victoria, because as you said it's been a very, very difficult winter down there for them a brutal 2nd wave hitting in July and taking the lives of hundreds of people and sickening thousands more.

But it was only about a month ago that cases each day were in the 700, 700 or so new cases each day today just 11 so people in Victoria are extremely pleased about that and it looks as if, if that trajectory remains that they might be able to start reduce restrictions that are in place in Victoria now that lockdown that has allowed numbers to be depressed. So on Sunday we might see the curfew, the night time curfew that's in effect there dropped Michael.

HOLMES: It's a big country as you and I both know. I mean, how are things looking in the rest of Australia?

WATSON: Well Michael, I can say that a lot of people around the country are very grateful for the way that people in Melbourne have really stuck to that lockdown and that social distancing and stemmed the tide of that second wave getting out of Victoria and into the rest of the country.

Here in Sydney where I am now is just one case from community transmission today so very small numbers here. In the northern territory and South Australia for example, there are actually zero active cases so the government there is celebrating the fact that they've actually eradicated COVID-19 Michael.

HOLMES: You didn't mention my home State Western Australia I think they're doing very well as well. Angus I'll forgive you. Angus Watson there in Sydney I appreciate it.

[01:25:00]

HOLMES: A group of experts and thinkers warning us about some of the scenarios that could play out in the aftermath of the upcoming U.S. Presidential Election why things could get really ugly if President Trump loses? We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: 43 days until the U.S. Presidential Election and there are fears President Trump and his supporters might not accept a loss. Well, a bipartisan group says that unless he loses to Democratic rival Joe Biden, by an absolute landslide, the potential fallout could be nightmarish.

The transition integrity project, what they did was they conducted a series of so-called war games for Election Day and its aftermath and they came up with a lot of hypothetical scenarios. Some of them quite worrying claims of massive voter fraud, months of uncertainty and investigation, conspiracy theories are bounding online and even violent clashes nationwide.

Now the group behind these some of them doomsday and yet all too possible outcomes is made up of political advisers former campaign officials and former government officials as well as experts in polling, tech, social media and journalism.

[01:29:44]

Joining me now is former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm. She's a member of the Transition Integrity Project and a CNN senior political commentator.

And it's great to have you back on to talk about this, Governor because this Transition Integrity Project gamed out possible scenarios for the election. What was the most concerning result of that?

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, let me just that the possible outcomes of this -- there were a hundred people that was bipartisan and you can imagine there were teams that represented the Trump team, teams that represented the Democrats, the Biden teams, teams that represented the media. Everybody had a role to play. And you try to imagine the worst-case scenario. So the possible outcomes were scary, including the speed at which it might escalate in a chaotic, postelection environment, if the results are unclear on election night.

But this was done, Michael, I want to say about six weeks to two months ago. And the results of this particular gaming exercise now have gotten people thinking, especially secretaries of state, governors, attorneys general. What if there is a seizing of -- you can imagine the most outlandish reactions.

What if Team Trump, you know, seizes ballot boxes on election night because the mail ballots are coming in slow? You know, we try to game out a whole spate options from ridiculous to, you know, more likely. And the bottom line is now, as a result of these games, I think people feel a lot more confident that they are prepared.

HOLMES: Yes. I guess, you know, you've already had the president say he would put down any post-election protest. I think a lot of people are starting to get worried. And also I think a lot of people, and people I talked to, they feel helpless as this sort of all evolves --

GRANHOLM: yes.

HOLMES: -- and the potential for chaos. Can Americans right now be assured that the results of this election will be free and fair? And that the results can be trusted to be accurate? And what can ordinary Americans do to avoid the possibilities your team raised?

GRANHOLM: Yes. This is a really great question. The United States has always held elections and upheld the results even in times of great crisis. We held successful presidential elections under the Civil War, the Great Depression, even both World Wars.

So, we feel very strongly that it is our turn to prove that nothing -- not a pandemic, not wild actions on the part of the president -- will stand in the way of our democratic commitment to voting.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed. If there is, for example, the stoking of violence, then these governors and attorneys general, they've got (INAUDIBLE) team in advance. How do you de-escalate the situation? Some of these previous mayors, for example, were caught off guard by some of the protests. People coming in and fomenting violence.

I'm telling you, people feel now that they have a handle on the potential. So the killer is here. Trump is losing the election, and the only way he can stay in power is to cast doubt on the voting process and to get people not to vote.

So we have to express extreme confidence that this voter will be not just (AUDIO GAP) but over a series of days, perhaps an election week. But the voting process is sacred, we have done it before and it will be upheld.

HOLMES: Yes. I don't think ever you have heard a president literally say the only way I can lose this election is if it is rigged. And that sort of really does cast a doubt from the beginning.

Dan Coats was the director of National Intelligence in the Trump administration 2017 to I think '19. He suggested in a "New York Times" op-ed that, in his words, a supremely high-level bipartisan, nonpartisan commission should be put together to oversee the election.

I mean is that feasible? What would that look like? Do you think it's a good idea?

GRANHOLM: Well, I do -- you know, these elections are all held state by state. These local election officials are all considering doing that very kind of thing. A non-partisan respected group that will (INAUDIBLE) on the temperature, instill confidence.

[01:34:40]

GRANHOLM: The best answer to any sort of question of this election is that we have to join with people from (AUDIO GAP) in record numbers. That every single vote is counted. Let the people speak loudly with one voice that our democracy will not be disrupted.

And so whatever they can do to put into place including monitors that's trusted at the state level will be necessary to ensure that people have confidence.

HOLMES: Yes. I urge people to read this Transition Integrity Project report. I mean it's worrying but not contemplating what you all did is perhaps even more dangerous.

Jennifer Granholm, a pleasure --

GRANHOLM: Yes.

HOLMES: -- thank you so much.

GRANHOLM: You bet Michael. Thank you.

HOLMES: Protesters in Belarus are keeping up the pressure on President Alexander Lukashenko to resign. Thousands of people marched through Minsk on Sunday in the sixth weekend of anti government demonstrations. Many wearing red and white -- the colors of the opposition.

Security forces dragged off several protesters, as they have done for days now. Anonymous hackers leaked the personal data of more than 2,000 police officers in retaliation for a crackdown, in which thousands of protesters were detained. Many detainees said they were beaten or tortured. The government denies that.

In Bangkok, anti government protesters installed a plaque near the Grand Palace with a message saying, Thailand belongs to the people, not the king. And they declared victory Sunday after handing a list of demands for reform of the monarchy to authorities.

No comment from the royal palace on all of this. Thousands of demonstrators, gathered for rallies in the capital over the weekend. They're all part of a movement that has been gaining momentum over recent months.

Iran says it won't give in to U.S. pressure and bullying. The international community speaking out after Washington moves to unilaterally reimposed sanctions on Iran.

Also, the Xinjiang government is pushing back against CNN reporting that the region is forcibly sterilizing Uyghur women. We'll have full details on that story, as well, when we come back.

[01:36:58]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back.

The government of China's Xinjiang region is denying allegations of forced sterilizations imposed on ethnic Uyghurs. The response comes weeks after a CNN report broadcast on July 31st, documenting a campaign of abuse against women from Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, a region where the authorities have been accused of putting hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs into internment camps.

As our Ivan Watson reports, the Xinjiang government confirmed CNN reporting that there has been a clear recent drop in birth rates in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Weeks after CNN broadcaster reports on July 31st detailing a pattern of abuse against Uyghur women in Xinjiang, the Xinjiang regional government sent CNN this six-page response.

It does not challenge nor deny Chinese government statistics published by CNN which document a recent surge in sterilization procedures, and IUD implantations.

Instead, the Xinjiang government confirms that the region's birth rate suddenly dropped by a third in the span of one year from 2017 to 2018. The government calls this a remarkable result of better enforcement of the country's family planning policies claiming that quote, "the number of people who voluntarily choose to receive free tubal ligation and intrauterine device has largely increased".

The government says in 2018 the number of newborns decreased by approximately 120,000 compared with 2017. The Xinjiang government attacked academic Adrian Zenz who first revealed the sudden surge in sterilization procedures in Xinjiang using Chinese government statistics.

The government claims all of those sterilizations were voluntary and accuses Zenz of fabricating lies. Zenz says the government is resorting to personal attacks because it cannot dispute his research.

The Xinjiang government also attacked the testimony of Zumrat Dawut, an ethnic Uyghur from Xinjiang, who told CNN she was forced to undergo a tubal ligation. The Xinjiang government says the sterilization procedure was voluntary, adding that she signed a consent form.

But Dawut says Chinese officials threatened to confiscate her passport and revoke her Pakistani husband's visa to China, if she did not submit to the sterilization procedure.

Finally, the Xinjiang government confirmed CNN's report that Gulbahar Jalilova a citizen of Kazakhstan was detained on suspicion of aiding terrorist activities for more than 15 months before being released without explanation.

The government denies Jalilova's claims she was tortured, and sexually assaulted. Jalilova stands by her claims and is calling on the Chinese government to release surveillance footage revealing conditions she endured in detention. An ordeal that she says left her with sores across her body months after her release.

The Xinjiang government also repeated the argument Chinese officials have used to justify the plummeting birth rate in the region. For decades, they argue, ethnic minorities such as the Uyghurs were allowed to have more children than China's Hahn majority under the country's strict quota system which changed in 2016.

This imbalance is now being fixed, the Xinjiang government says, as it, quote, "implements the family planning policy in accordance with the law". But critics say, the surge in sterilizations and IUD placements could meet a United Nations definition of genocide which includes imposing measures intended to prevent births that target a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, an accusation, the Xinjiang government strenuously denies.

Ivan Watson, CNN -- Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: A U.S. judge has temporarily blocked President Trump's order banning downloads of WeChat. The judge said a group of U.S. users of the Chinese-owned on messaging app had raised serious questions about the ban threatening their First Amendment rights. The U.S. Commerce Department cited national security concerns in blocking the app from U.S. App stores. WeChat, used by millions of Chinese students, Americans living in China, and Americans with business, or personal relations in China.

[01:44:57]

HOLMES: The Iranian president Hassan Rouhani says his country will never yield to U.S. bullying. He made that comment on Sunday, addressing the U.S. move to reimpose sanctions on Iran despite having no legal footing to do so. As a result, Iran's currency hit a record low against the U.S. dollar on Sunday.

CNN's John Defterios is following the story from Abu Dhabi.

I mean it's a major push, John, by the Trump, but the thing is, no one is listening. No support in the U.S. Security Council for the snap back sanctions. The U.S. on its own on this. JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS, EDITOR: Yes. And this is unusual

Michael because it has, as you're suggesting, no backing within the Security Council. But it also pulled out of the agreement, that 2015 agreement three years ago, as you suggested, 13 of 15 Security Council members are not giving the support to the United States.

And I think even more importantly, normal U.S. allies like Britain, France and Germany -- original signatories of the deal, that remain into the agreement, say this is legally void.

So As President Trump takes aim at Iran, President Rouhani was suggesting not going to be bullied but also that the U.S. is isolated in this effort. But there's another twist to this from the U.S. standpoint. They are saying, as an original signatory to the agreement with the P5 plus One, they have the right to call for U.N. snap back sanctions because they suggest, and later surveys, that Iran has enriched uranium at higher levels.

There is also the twist here as well, that there are several reports that the U.S. likes to use the unilateral path, if you will, and they'll will announce a long list of unilateral sanctions for companies that have been supporting Iran during the sanctions relief, which is legal under the P5 plus One for those who remained in the agreement.

HOLMES: Which the U.S. didn't, you know. Is this a hollow threat? Does the U.S. have means to punish U.N. members? I mean it's odd that they can say we are doing this because of the agreement that they left?

DEFTERIOS: Yes. We have to keep in mind, Michael, this is what just over 40 days before the U.S. election so many are accusing the U.S. of kind of drumming or beating the drums before the elections.

So what the U.S. has done in the past, for example, with the pipeline going from Russia to Germany, it applied third-party sanctions to stop the construction of that pipeline. They could do the same here with European companies that have provided the sanctions relief even though the signatories say, that is not legal.

The second thing here is that Mike Pompeo, even Sunday put out a statement and said he want to force the hands of the Europeans to come to the table. But his counterpart in Iran, Mohammed Javid Zarif that he hasn't read the documentation.

This is not legally binding. And Iran doesn't plan to change its. But we have to keep in mind this his week after this strategy. We have to keep in mind, just a week after the signing of the Abraham Accords between the U.A.E., Bahrain and Israel.

This is not to start the region 1 is to have the tensions, ranched it up -- ratchet ahead of the election. Pretty dangerous stuff, in terms of the languages that we see from the United States so far.

HOLMES: It is indeed. They are whistling the wind on their own on this one. But the thing is, what could they do unilaterally to try to, you know, quote/unquote, "Enforce sanctions". That's going to be interesting.

Good to have you there keeping an eye on it, John. John Defterios in Abu Dhabi, appreciate it. Good to see you.

DEFTERIOS: Great.

HOLMES: Well, Sundays Emmy Awards celebrated the biggest names in television from hazmat suits to the virtual acceptance speeches, this show was one to remember.

[01:48:37]

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

Amid all the political wrangling over filling the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat, American's are paying their respects and honoring Ginsburg's legacy.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean this is -- she was revolutionary. For human rights and rights under every body especially for women's rights.

And she was a perfect role model for everybody. All the minorities, and she just -- for the Jewish community, and for the women's rights, it is -- it's just and inspiration to be here --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is important to me that my daughters understand the impact that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made on women across the country, and the country itself. And I wanted them to experience this and have the opportunity to remember this for years to come.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was like a hero without a cape, just a long robe.

She was a hero, and how she helps further a woman's rights -- everyone's rights, and a lot of people found her a hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN's justice correspondent Jessica Schneider now has more on the tributes outside the court.

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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: People have flocked to the Supreme Court for three nights in a row now, and it is not just all the flowers and the candles that people are laying out here, but the memorials have also turned inventive.

You can see on the sidewalk, the chalk drawings. They say everything from "thank you RBG", to "rest in power". It is really amazing. These chalk tributes. They range all around the perimeter of the Supreme Court itself.

Now outside the Supreme Court tonight, the crowds have actually thinned out, a lot sooner than last night's vibrant tribute and vigil. But you can see here, the flowers are still lining the sidewalk in front of the steps of the Supreme Court. People have been coming out here for three nights now to leave the flowers and to delight these candles.

And the tributes aren't just outside. We've learned that inside the Supreme Court, even though it's been closed since March, they have kept to tradition in that they have put a black wool crepe over Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's bench chair, and the bench in front of her. They've also hung a draping over the courtroom entrance. That is something that has been done since the 1800s.

So a lot of tributes out here. We are still waiting to hear what the final memorial plans are for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Jessica Schneider, CNN -- Washington.

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[01:55:04]

HOLMES: India's famed monument to love won't be so lonely anymore. The Taj Mahal is reopening Monday after being closed for six months because of, yes, the pandemic. Officials say it will now welcome a maximum of 5,000 visitors a day. That is down from the usual 20,000. And obviously, all social distancing measures must be followed.

India has the second highest number of coronavirus infections in the world but authorities hope opening some of the country's famous sites will help boost the economy.

The 72nd Emmy awards on Sunday was the first major Hollywood award show since the coronavirus began. Host Jimmy Kimmel joined by presenters in an empty auditorium, while representatives, you see there, in hazmat tuxedos were sent to winners homes and stood there waited for the results to come out and then gave the winner their Emmys. The losers got nothing and these guys left.

Big winners of the night were the cast of "Schitt's Creek" (ph), who swept all four comedic acting categories. If you haven't seen the series, do. HBO's "Succession" won outstanding drama series. Watch that as well, it is terrific.

And 24-year-old Zendaya, who took home the award for outstanding leading actress in a drama, (INAUDIBLE) as well. Now winners and presenters like actress, Regina King wore outfits with the names of Breonna Taylor and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Along with remembering Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, winners urged the public to register to vote in November's election, and then vote.

Thanks for your company and spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. There is more CNN newsroom coming up after the

quick break with Kim Brunhuber. You'll enjoy that.

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