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Outrage Grows in Spain Following Calls to Step Down its Football Federation head; Ukrainians Enjoy Life in the Beach of Odessa at the Shadows of War; Italy Now Experiencing Surge in Migrant Arrivals; U.S. Commerce Secretary Holds Talks with Chinese Counterparts to Boost Business Ties; U.S. District Judge to Rule on Mark Meadows' Election Interference Case Move from State to Federal Court; Haiti Alarmed on the Growing Gang Violence after last Weekend's Church Violence. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired August 29, 2023 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You're watching "CNN Newsroom" and I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, the circle of support around Spanish soccer chief Luis Rubiales seems to be shrinking by the day as calls for his resignation grow louder following that unwanted World Cup kiss. We'll have a live report from Madrid.
Life during wartime, Ukrainians looking for some normalcy are flocking to the beach, but the specter of war is never far away.
And we're tracking tropical storm Idalia now churning towards Florida's Gulf Coast after lashing Cuba with heavy rain and strong winds.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Well, the president of Spain's National Football Federation is facing mounting pressure to step down. And it remains to be seen whether he can survive the growing cause for his resignation.
The scandal still growing strong more than a week after the Spanish women's team won the World Cup and Luis Rubiales kissed a player on the mouth during victory celebrations. He has insisted the kiss was euphoric and mutual, but Jenny Ermoso says at no point did she consent and that she felt disrespected and vulnerable.
Regional soccer chiefs emerged after hours of emergency talks and said Rubiales needs to go because his behavior has seriously harmed the image of Spanish football. He's already been suspended for 90 days by FIFA and Spanish prosecutors are looking at whether to pursue sexual aggression charges.
So let's go to Atika Shubert who is following this from Madrid. So, Atika, what is the latest on this developing story?
ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST: Well, we're waiting to see if this pressure is going to shift Rubiales' position or not. The Federation met late into the night in the building behind me here, trying to find a way out of this crisis. And it's clear that he's already lost a lot of the support of the Federation members. They have insisted that he resign, but they cannot force him out. So the pressure is simply building, Rosemary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT (voice-over): On the streets of Madrid tonight, demands for Spain's soccer president Luis Rubiales to get a so-called red card and face criminal prosecution for the infamous unwanted kiss the head of Spanish football planted on striker Jenny Hermoso after Spain won the Women's World Cup.
A kiss, she says, that was not consensual, drawing support from her colleagues and much of the country.
PALOMA TORRES: I mean I think we are all very angry at this because all women have suffered some kind of abuse. We, like the moment we saw the images, we automatically thought about our bosses, our professors, our teachers in the school.
SHUBERT (voice-over): Both sides are digging in, but now, days after FIFA provisionally suspended Rubiales from all football-related activities at national and international levels, Spanish prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into a possible instance of quote "sexual aggression."
As protesters rallied in the streets, the Royal Spanish Football Federation called on Rubiales to resign after an emergency meeting desperate to steer away out of the crisis and prevent it from affecting Spain's vaunted football teams from playing in international games.
In his hometown of Motril, Rubiales' family rallied at church, his mother apparently on hunger strike to support her son.
I think this massive lynching of an honest and loyal person is shameful, his cousin said. I know him perfectly well, and what he is going through is unfair.
The incident has become more than a national scandal. It is now a rallying cry, both for supporters of women's rights and for those who feel threatened by their demands.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT (on-camera): So a lot of people are asking, why can't Rubiales be sacked? I think we have to remember he is and remains still quite a powerful person, particularly in the Spanish world of football. [03:05:05]
You know, he had a storied career, really building the profits of Spanish football here. We saw a World Cup victory for the women, for example. So far, his career had really been growing and doing well. It was really up until this moment that it all fell apart. So he still had quite a lot of support, specifically within the Federation, but in the last few days and hours we've seen that support fall away. And it's now clear that the momentum is there to try and push him out, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Atika Shubert, many thanks for that report.
Ukraine says it has broken through the first line of Russian defenses in the Zaporizhzhya region on the critical southern front lines. They say they've fully liberated the village of Robotyne and that's bringing them and their artillery closer to a strategic transport hub where Russian forces lie in wait.
Ukrainian military officials say it may not seem like a huge victory, but recapturing the village took incredible work. One soldier says Russian forces have set up elaborate fortifications, thick minefields and anti-tank obstacles, and are using guided aerial bombs to destroy Ukrainian equipment. Despite the challenges, Ukraine's defense minister insists they're on the right track.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLEKSII REZNIKOV, UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): We are moving forward and are counter offensive. There are certain changes which are not as quick as everyone wanted. It's not like in a movie, you go today and finish tomorrow, but we are moving without stopping in accordance with the plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The Ukrainian city of Odessa on the Black Sea has been hit hard in the past few weeks. Russian missiles have targeted the vital port, which was home to two-thirds of Ukraine's imports and exports before the war. The city was also a thriving holiday destination, and Ukrainians are flocking to its beaches this summer to recover from the trauma and wounds of war.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): In the waning days of a second summer at war under the blazing black sea sun, you find, well, people at the beach. It's actually the first time some of this Odessa coastline has been open for business since the Russian invasion. And while Olga has brought her family for a change of scenery, there is no getting away from it.
(on-camera): Here, can you forget the war for a little bit? OLGA, LOCAL TOURIST (through translator): Sirens at night don't let
you forget. No we don't forget. At least I don't. But I hope my kids and parents get distracted a little bit.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): Still, those who can make the most of it. Life goes on even in wartime. And here at the Kalaton Beach Club, it's somehow comforting to watch parents slap protective gear onto their infants as if sunburn is the worst that can happen.
But of course it's not.
(on-camera): So does that mean orthopedics or anything.
(voice-over): 15 minutes away in the center of town is a modern, private recovery and rehabilitation unit, one of 10 set up around the country by a Ukrainian philanthropist.
Here, in a full-body sling, 41-year-old Vitaly tells us that he volunteered for the front as a D-miner until he was blown up by an anti-personnel mine eight months ago in Kherson.
The first wave hit my face because I was bending down, he says, and shrapnel entered my eye, another bit hit my finger and three of my toes were blown off.
On the rehab bed next to him, 43-year-old Ruslan's injury is less dramatic, spine and back problems from suddenly having to haul heavy gear around.
(on-camera): Do you need to get into better shape?
(voice-over): If I was 20, he tells me, it would be different. But I'm 43 and so it's difficult. But he wants to go back to the front like Vitaly does, just as soon as they're patched up. Still motivated, still sure of victory. But then the talk suddenly turns.
(on-camera): Vitaly, what do you think you need?
(voice-over): Immobilized and prone, he's crystal clear. We need more weapons and jets to close the sky from the Russian missiles, he says. When a soldier is fighting there and his family is here unprotected, what do you think goes through our minds?
Andri tells me his psychological trauma is worse than the shrapnel to his hand, because he, like all of them, want to be back at the front with their comrades to fight for their country and their family.
[03:10:00]
I have a mother, a father, a wife and a cat, he tells me.
Back at the seaside, Sergei, a 59-year-old conscript based in Croissant, defends his beach time break.
(on-camera): In the middle of war, you don't feel strange?
SERGEI, CONSCRIPT: Yes, it's a little bit strange, but you need some relaxant.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): He'll be back under arms after his 15-day furlough, and he insists their counteroffensive is going according to plan.
Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Odessa, Ukraine
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And Christiane anchors her show from Ukraine all week. Tune in at 6pm in London for special reporting and coverage.
And we have newly-released video showing Paul Whelan, an American who has been detained in Russia since 2018. In the video shot by Russian state media last May, you can see Whelan in prison wearing a prison uniform and eating in a cafeteria. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia on an espionage charge that he denies.
And CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following all the developments from London. She joins us now. Good morning to you, Salma. So why are we seeing this video now given it was shot back in May? What's the likely significance of the timing of this and what it contains?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think that's the question that the U.S. State Department is trying to answer right now Rosemary as they pour over this material that as you mentioned was shot by Russian state-controlled media Russia Today where you can see Paul Whelan again just in various areas of this remote prison camp of course wearing the prison uniform seen in the cafeteria in the yard at various points. You can see him sewing.
I assume that's a prison activity as well. Now we've silenced the material, Rosemary, because that Russian state reporter is speaking over most of it, but there is a brief portion I want to play you where you actually hear Paul Whelan speak. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL WHELAN, AMERICAN IMPRISONED IN RUSSIA: So you understand when I say that I can't do an interview, which means I can't answer any questions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: Now, there's two reasons I played that for you. I know it's a very brief clip, but first of all, it gives you an indication of the well-being of Paul Whelan. David, his brother, says that this is the first time he's really been able to see Paul since 2020. So there is some relief among his family members to be able to see him looking relatively healthy, relatively well.
But I also played that clip for you, Rosemary, because it indicates how uncomfortable Paul was with this interview. And again, his brother David says that this TV crew showed up in May at the prison and retaliated against Paul when he refused to participate in the filming. A reminder, of course, for everyone of who Paul Whelan is, in 2018 he
was detained in a hotel in Moscow, charged with espionage charges, rather something that he permanently denies. The U.S. considers him wrongfully detained.
And earlier this month, around August 16th, I think it was mid-month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was able to hold a phone conversation with Paul Whelan where he told him to keep the faith. I'm paraphrasing here, but he essentially said, we're not going to leave you behind. We're going to work on getting you out.
But the other thing to remember is he is not, Paul Whelan is not the only American that the U.S. considers wrongfully detained in Russia. You also have a Wall Street Journal reporter, Ivan Gershkovich, who is also being held in Russia and the U.S. continues to work to secure his release as well.
In the case of Paul Whelan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that there's been an offer, a proposal by the U.S., a very serious proposal, the U.S. says, that's been on the table now for months. Russia has yet to respond to this request. And now, of course, the timing of this video makes you wonder, what are the next steps here diplomatically for U.S.?
CHURCH: Certainly the big question. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is joining us live from London with that report. I Appreciate it.
More than 8,000 people evacuated coastal areas in western Cuba, according to state TV, ahead of tropical storm Idalia. It has lashed that part of the island nation with heavy rain and strong winds. Floodwaters rushed into homes in at least one fishing village.
Idalia is now moving north and is forecast to rapidly intensify before slamming into Florida as a category three hurricane. Storm surge and hurricane warnings are in effect along the state's Gulf Coast and at least 10 counties have issued evacuation orders.
Here's a look at where the storm is located right now and it's expected to gain strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall on Wednesday.
[03:15:01]
And CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis is monitoring the storm. She joins us now. So Karen, what are you saying this hour?
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, a lot of interesting developments. As far is this tropical storm is concerned. It's still at tropical storm intensity, but a little less than two hours from now we'll get another update from the National Hurricane Center.
I want to put this in motion and this is kind of a forecast of what the precipitation will be. There's a clearly defined eye there. There you can see some of that moisture moving back on shore along that west coast, the beautiful gulf coast of west Florida, and this is going to be having a big impact. We could still see that storm surge, significant storm surge, maybe
something less than 2 meters, but not just there. It's going to be all across this North-Central Coast of Florida as well, and will pick up that precipitation also in coastal sections of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Perhaps is a tropical storm.
The warm water here in the Gulf of Mexico is running about 30 to 35 degrees or so. Typically it's around 32 or 33 degrees Celsius, so it's very warm. But as it approaches the coast, the water temperatures there have been very warm for this year, so that's going to cause it to mushroom and the computer models are in pretty good agreement as to what's going to happen.
Watch this, all those models just all together, but look what happens over here. Hopefully I'm not standing in the way. There are some suggestions that as this curves around across the mid Atlantic, may actually come back around again. Now that's way in the future, but still the suggestion of those spaghetti models say, yeah, we may not be done with it once it moves off the coast.
Alright, when will it make landfall? It appears to be about midday on Wednesday. What happens on Tuesday? It gathers strength. What happens to the west coast of Florida? Storm surge, heavy rainfall. Some of this rainfall across the northern reaches of the Big Bend area could be about 100 to 200 millimeters, heavier amounts. So we'll keep you updated. Rosemary?
CHURCH: We know you shall and we appreciate it. Karen Maginnis, many thanks.
Turning to Greece now, where firefighters in the north are battling a massive fire burning for a second week. It's just one of hundreds of wildfires that broke last week as strong winds and high temperatures complicate efforts to fight the flames.
Officials say the fire which began in the Evros region is still raging out of control and spreading. At last check, the wildfire was said to have burned more than 77,000 hectares of land, or 190,000 acres. A number of nations have sent firefighting forces to assist Greece. Lawmakers are expected to discuss the impact of these fires in parliament on Thursday.
And still to come, a record number of migrants are arriving daily in Italy. Now the Italian government is cracking down on charities trying to help them.
Plus, Donald Trump's former White House Chief of Staff spent Monday on the witness stand while he thinks his election interference case in Georgia should be moved to federal court. We'll have that and more after the break.
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[03:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: The tragedy has struck off the coast of Greece.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
Two boats carrying migrants capsized on Monday, and you can hear their cries for help as rescuers throw them life preservers. Many of those on the boat were rescued, but four children and one woman died in separate incidents. Greece is one of the European Union's main entry points for people fleeing poverty and conflict in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. According to the U.N.'s Refugee Agency, more than 15,000 migrants have arrived in Greece this year.
Meantime, more than 4,000 migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa this past weekend. A record for migrant arrivals by boat in a single weekend, according to the Red Cross. CNN's Barbie Nadeau has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): It's the height of the Mediterranean summer and this tiny island is overwhelmed with the arrival of thousands of migrants and refugees. More than 4,000 people arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa in hundreds of small boats over the weekend. Among them pregnant women, babies and unaccompanied minors. It's the highest number of arrivals in a weekend this island has ever seen.
More than 113,000 people have arrived in Italy by boat this year. That's more than the total number that arrived in all of 2022. There may be more migrant and refugee boats at sea, but there are fewer NGOs to rescue them.
At the moment, the Italian government has sequestered three NGO ships for allegedly breaking a law set by Italy's right-wing government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that mandates how many rescues a charity ship can carry out. Each of the sequestered ships will be docked for 20 days and fined up to 10,000 euro.
Fifty-six organizations have signed a petition against the government, accusing them of obstructing civilian search and rescue, and warning that it will lead to more deaths. But the Italian government says without the rest of Europe helping, they cannot manage the influx.
ADOLFO URSO, ITALIAN MINISTER OF ENTERPRISE (through translator): Italy can't be left alone facing this extraordinary phenomenon. Italy is the gateway to Europe. Europe must intervene with us.
NADEAU (voice-over): Meloni will lead crisis talks this week after the government reconvenes on the agenda, ways to help people migrate legally and ways to deport them faster. In the meantime, the boats keep coming and coming and coming.
Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Joining us now from Lampedusa is Francesca Basile. She is the head of the migration unit for the Italian Red Cross. Thank you so much for joining us.
FRANCESCA BASILE, HEAD OF MIGRATION UNIT, ITALIAN RED CROSS: You're welcome, it's a pleasure.
CHURCH: So with this record number of migrants arriving on Italian shores every single day, what is your organization doing right now to help shelter and feed these desperate people and of course their children?
BASILE: Yeah, our role is to manage the reception center in Lampedusa, the so-called hotspot. And from the beginning of our action here, we assist on the 1st of June, we assisted more than 48,000 people that arrived on the island on more than 1000 different landing and certain rescue event.
Our role is to assist them from the very beginning to offer them the possibility to receive foods and clothes and non-food items, to have the possibility to be treated in case of health problems. We have psychologists to listen to them, cultural mediator, and also restoring family link service. These are -- these all are services that we offer from the very beginning to them.
CHURCH: And Francesca, the Italian government is now cracking down on charities and the help being offered by humanitarian organizations like yours. The Italian Red Cross calling for more international efforts against the migration chaos on Monday. Have you had any response to that call and what impact is all this having on Red Cross efforts in Italy?
[03:25:12]
BASILE: Well, regarding the role of Red Cross, our role now is concentrated to Lampedusa to give this first assistance in a very structured response because we are a part of the emergency response system in Italy. And our action also continues in other places, not only landing places in Italy, but also reception and second assistance places in Italy.
CHURCH: And what other challenges face your organization as you try to take care of this record number of migrants arriving in Italy and more specifically on the island of Lampedusa where thousands are being sheltered in a place that's only equipped to help hundreds of people, isn't it?
BASILE: Yeah, the place could host a number that is lower than the actual one, but obviously when people come, we need to give them first a system, no matter how many they should be, because also during this complex day, we supported them as better as we can.
Of course, the system should work, this mechanism should work, so it's very important that the young transferred in a very short time in order to warn us to re-prepare in case of other events but also to allow them to move a step further in terms of assistance and reception in other regions of Italy.
CHURCH: Right, and what will Italy likely decide to do with all these migrants if this decision has been made to cut help from charities? I mean, what might that signal if they're cutting that help?
BASILE: Well, it's very important that when people move to -- from here, they find reception in other places. This is a very first reception place. So what we can offer here is a first shelter and first information on what happens later. It's very important that also on the following step, that this chain and mechanism works.
CHURCH: And how much do you worry what will happen to these migrants and the children?
BASILE: I cannot say I am worried, but for sure as a technician and as a humanitarian actor, it's very important to play our role and to have the possibility to focus on vulnerabilities from the very beginning. You mentioned women, children, families, and it's very important that from the very beginning they are assisted and this follow-up continues also later.
CHURCH: Francesca Basile, thank you so much for talking with us. I Appreciate it.
BASILE: Thank you. Bye bye.
CHURCH: And still to come, the U.S. and China agree to improve trade ties between the world's two biggest economies, the latest on the U.S. Commerce Secretary's visit to Beijing.
Plus anger in Libya following a controversial meeting between the foreign ministers of Israel and Libya. We'll have details on that just ahead.
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[03:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everyone. As trade tensions rise between the U.S. and China, both sides have agreed to exchange information on how they enforce export controls. It comes on the second day of the U.S. Commerce Secretary's visit to Beijing. She says it will help reduce misunderstandings of U.S. national security policies.
CNN's Steven Jiang joins us now from Beijing. So Steven, what does this actually mean? And how are these talks progressing?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah, Rosemary, this is basically a new platform that will allow U.S. officials to explain to their Chinese counterparts the U.S. export control decisions.
Now, the first such meeting using this mechanism actually taking place today at the Chinese Commerce Ministry, but this meeting pointing to the contradictory nature of Raimondo's mission actually during her visit, because on one hand, obviously, she's here to stabilize this economic relationship to promote U.S. business interests.
But on the other hand, her own agency, the Commerce Department, has been imposing a growing number of export controls targeting China, especially in the fields of advanced computing and semiconductors.
And that, of course, has greatly angered the Beijing leadership, including President Xi Jinping himself. And Raimondo, of course, has been trying to tell her Chinese counterparts that the export controls out of national security concerns account for only 1 percent of America's export to China. So there is still a lot of room for cooperation for growth.
But that kind of arguments may not be very convincing to Chinese officials who simply don't see much difference between de-risking as American officials have been emphasizing and decoupling.
Now, Raimondo, of course, still trying to focus on a positive, meeting more senior Chinese officials today, including the tourism minister, obviously, in a bid to revive the once booming industry of outbound travel from China to the United States.
But ironically, the one thing that's been helping her mission is the Chinese economy itself, facing its strongest headwinds in decades. The post-COVID rebound doing not nearly as well as officials had hoped for. So they, in a way, have been compelled to put on a more business and investor-friendly face, at least outwardly.
So in that sense, they have more wiggle room to work with her to stabilize this very important economic relationship. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Steven Jiang for that report.
Libya has suspended its foreign minister after she met with her Israeli counterpart last week. The Libyan Foreign ministry says the meeting was unprepared and rejected reports that it was officially sanctioned. However, Israel is calling it historic and a first step as both countries don't have official diplomatic relations.
The meeting also set off protests in several cities across Libya. CNN's Hadas Gold has more on the fallout.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The announcement of this meeting between these two foreign ministers has sparked a dramatic diplomatic crisis and has led to the dismissal of Libya's foreign minister. Now what happened on Sunday evening was that the Israeli foreign ministry sent out a statement to reporters hailing what they called a historic first ever meeting between Libya's foreign minister Najla El Mangoush and the Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen.
They said that the two met in Rome, that it was organized and hosted by the foreign minister Antonio Taiani and that the two discussed how they could broaden the cooperation between the two countries, including on issues such as agriculture and water technology.
Now, such a meeting would be very historic and important because Israel and Libya have no diplomatic relations to speak of. But the announcement of this meeting sparked protest in Libya. We've seen social media videos of protesters burning Israeli flags, burning tires, waving Palestinian flags. Of course, the Palestinian cause is widely supported across Libya.
And the Libyan internationally recognized government has pushed back against the Israeli characterization of this meeting, calling it an informal, unprepared, saying that it did not include negotiations or consultations. And then they suspended the foreign minister, and the "New York Times" is now reporting that she has fled the country for safety in Turkey.
[03:35:04]
But according to an Israeli source that is familiar with the situation that CNN has spoken to, they've pushed back on that characterization, saying that the meeting was planned in advance, and saying that actually, there had been plans to make the news public, but Israeli media is reporting that the foreign ministry had been made aware that reporters were going to break the story ahead of a formal announcement, and that's why the Israeli foreign ministry sent out that press release to reporters on Sunday evening.
Now there has been some criticism from inside Israel towards the foreign ministry, like Cohen, the former prime minister, former foreign minister himself, Yair Lapid, criticizing the move to publicize this meeting saying it risked an important future relationship, also calling it amateurish, irresponsible, and a grave failure of judgment.
Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The U.S. military has identified the three Marines killed in a weekend crash in Australia.
They are 29-year-old Captain Eleanor LeBeau, 21-year-old Corporal Spencer Collard, and 37-year-old Major Tobin Lewis.
U.S. President Joe Biden posted on social media, Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of the Marines who lost their lives. We are praying for those who also suffered injuries.
20 other Marines were injured when their Osprey aircraft went down during a military exercise on Sunday. One person is still hospitalized in critical condition. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
A U.S. District Judge is expected to rule soon on whether to move the election interference case against Mark Meadows from state to federal court. Donald Trump's former White House Chief of Staff testified for more than three hours on Monday, claiming it was his job to question the 2020 election results. CNN's Sara Murray has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows --
MARK MEADOWS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: To start wholesale trying to change the way that we conduct elections state by state, I can tell you we're asking for problems, we're asking for fraud.
MURRAY (voice-over): -- taking the stand in a federal courtroom in Georgia after he, former President Donald Trump and 17 others were charged with racketeering by the Fulton County District Attorney for their attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can't ever accept when they steal and raid and rob.
MURRAY (voice-over): Meadows, who has kept a stunningly low profile amid the various investigations into Donald Trump, now breaking his silence on the case under oath. Those were challenging times bluntly, Meadows told the court of his White House tenure. As Meadows seeks to move his case from state to federal court, the focus of Monday's hearing, prosecutors delved into their case and some of the allegations against Meadows.
Meadows denying under oath that he directed another White House aide to write a memo about how to delay or disrupt the certification of the election on January 6th, saying he had zero recollection of that happening and it was the biggest surprise to me upon reading the indictment.
Putting Meadows on the stand to challenge the events he's accused of participating in Georgia, a risky approach for any criminal defendant. Meadows is looking to make the case that his activities after the 2020 election were part of his official duties as chief of staff, including arranging the call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
MEADOWS (on the phone): Mr. President, everybody is on the line and just so this is Mark Meadows, the chief of staff.
TRUMP (on the phone): I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more that, because we won the state.
MURRAY (voice-over): Raffensperger also took the stand, saying he first tried to resist the call and testifying there was no federal role in certifying Georgia's election.
When prosecutors questioned what federal role Meadows was fulfilling in post-election calls with Trump and another purveyor of election falsehoods, his then personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani --
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: We cannot allow these crooks, because that's what they are, to steal an election from the American people. They elected Donald Trump. They didn't elect Joe Biden.
MURRAY (voice-over): Meadows said he was acting as a gatekeeper and insisted there was a federal interest in accurate and fair elections. Meadows also claimed he wasn't the driving force in pushing bogus claims of election fraud. But when then Attorney General Bill Barr dismissed the fraud claims --
BILL BARR, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I made it clear I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, which I told the president was bullshit.
MURRAY (voice-over): Meadows said he felt that further investigation was warranted.
(on-camera): Now Mark Meadows spent more than 3.5 hours on the stand testifying Monday and at the end of a full day hearing, the judge said he was not yet ready to rule in the case. He said though that he will do so quickly. We expect that ruling to come on paper.
{03:40:02]
And he acknowledged that arraignments in this case, again those hearings where you would enter a plea, are quickly coming up in the state court scheduled for September 6.
Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Coming up here on "CNN Newsroom," the Wagner Mercenary Group has boots on the ground in battlefields around the world. We will look at what its legacy is and what its future could be now that its leader is dead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Russian supporters of the Wagner private mercenary group are grieving for its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Kremlin is releasing some information about his death, but there are still more questions than answers about the plane crash that killed him and about the fate of the Wagner Company itself.
Fred Pleitgen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITEGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Less than one week after the fiery crash north of Moscow, Russian authorities now confirming Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was among those killed in the incident, as were members of his leadership team.
Molecular genetic examinations have been completed, the investigating committee says. According to their results, the identities of all 10 dead were established. They correspond to the list in the flight sheet. The news shocked some in Russia, but appears to have surprised few as
makeshift memorials have been popping up in various cities, like here in Moscow.
I think these conversations about Prigozhin's mistakes and different assessments will be forgotten and only an image of a hero will remain in people's memory, this man says.
They did a great job. They are heroes for our country, this woman adds. A brilliant future awaits Wagner. Everyone makes mistakes. It happens.
And this man says, it doesn't leave any new emotional feeling. It just confirms that we are united and there are less and less of us.
The Russians say the investigation to find the cause of the crash is ongoing, while the Kremlin called speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have ordered the jet taken down quote, "an absolute lie."
But Putin's spokesman now says it's not clear whether the Russian leader will attend Prigozhin's funeral. Putin's words for the deceased Wagner boss, lukewarm.
He was a man with a complicated fate, Putin said, and he made serious mistakes in life.
Putin had called the mutiny Prigozhin unleashed in late June treasonous. The Wagner private military company, once one of the strongest forces fighting for Russia and Ukraine, has been in limbo since then.
Wagner will probably get new leadership loyal not just to Vladimir Putin, but also to the Russian Defense Ministry, says Russian analyst Sergei Markov, who's close to Wagner.
[03:45:03]
SERGEY MARKOV, ANALYST: The Wagner Group is a symbol of the victory, so it's reasonable to preserve somehow this name, this niche, this label as a symbol of victory.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The organization could undergo major changes though as the man who turned Wagner into one of the most powerful mercenary outfits in the world is now confirmed killed.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Yevgeny Prigozhin may be dead, but his ghost lives on for Polish and Baltic officials guarding NATO's eastern flank. Prigozhin's Wagner mercenaries are in Belarus, and dictator Alexander Lukashenko has made thinly veiled threats about an excursion into Poland.
Poland's interior minister met with officials from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia earlier. He says migrants near the Polish border need to return home. And he demanded Wagner forces leave Belarus.
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MARIUSZ KAMINSKI, POLISH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): If it comes to a critical incident, regardless of whether it is at the Polish, Lithuanian or Latvian border, we will retaliate immediately. All presently open border crossings would then be closed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: We are expecting a judgment in the coming hours in the case of a violent attack on members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot. Five former band members were attacked by a group of uniformed Cossacks during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. A warning, this video is graphic.
The group was performing a song when they were grabbed, beaten, kicked and whipped by Cossack soldiers. The band members filed suit with the E.U.'s Human Rights Court. They argued that the Russian state failed to safeguard their free speech and that the state itself was responsible for the violent attack.
Well there's growing outrage over a deadly mass shooting in a suburb of the Haitian capital controlled by gangs. An evangelical pastor led a group of mostly unarmed parishioners on a march against gang violence during the weekend. And then gang members opened fire on them using automatic weapons.
Human rights groups say at least seven people are confirmed dead, but it's believed the true death toll is greater. Gang violence has displaced almost 9,000 people in various neighborhoods of Port-au- Prince during the past few weeks, that's according to the U.N., which has been trying to distribute aid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ORISCA MARIE YOUSELINE, RESIDENT DISPLACED BY VIOLENCE (through translator): Even if order is restored in the area, I would not return because we have to flee too much. We are tired of always being victims. It is better to go live in the provinces even if we have no land there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Jacqueline Charles joins me now. She is the Caribbean correspondent for the "Miami Herald." Appreciate you being with us.
JACQUELINE CHARLES, CARIBBEAN CORRESPONDENT, MIAMI HERALD: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So we have been reporting on that deadly weekend violence that occurred during the church-led protest in a suburb of Haiti's capital. And recent U.N. data shows thousands of residents have been displaced by increased violence in Port-au-Prince since August 12th, as well as kidnappings that have made life intolerable. What is the latest on this deteriorating situation in Haiti and how dangerous is it for residents right now?
CHARLES: Well, we have been seen as an escalation in violence, especially in the area around the U.S. embassy. Last month, the U.S. actually ordered the withdrawal of non-emergency personnel. And as you mentioned, over the weekend, we saw a number of churchgoers who were gunned down when a powerful gang basically opened fire on them as they were marching into this gang's community.
The Haitian National Police finally broke their silence after two days. They said that they tried to discourage this march, and they even set up perimeters. But what happened was marchers basically separated.
They're also claiming that there was some confrontation, that there were armed individuals that were part of this church-led group or was marching along with it. Basically, only detail they provided was that they had olive green uniforms, and that's it.
But the reality is that Haitians are very upset by what has happened. This has sparked an outcry and questions about why didn't the police authorities in Haiti do more to prevent this massacre from happening.
CHURCH: And that is the big question, isn't it? Because these warring gangs control the capital and the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. And these armed gunmen appear to have free reign over that region. The government seemingly incapable of controlling the gangs. Is there any political will at all to do this -- to do something?
[03:49:57]
CHARLES: Well, today, the Haitian National Police Director said that they are continuing operations and that they will continue. For instance, he was not able to give us a tally on how many casualties were the result of this weekend's massacre, but he said that police are going to launch an operation to retrieve those bodies.
He also noted that in recent days, police have gone into another neighborhood in Port-au-Prince (inaudible), would has created panic, thousands of people have been displaced and that a number of gang members were killed.
They retrieved arms and that they are continuing to do this. But the reality of Haiti is this. This is a country of 12 million people. According to the United Nations, there are 3,300 police officers on public safety duty on any given day at one time. Not all of them are involved in anti-gang operations.
And this is why the United States, the Haitian government, and also the U.N. secretary general have called for a security mission to come in to help the Haitian National Police combat gangs.
Last week, we saw a delegation from Kenya. They arrived in Haiti. They didn't really go very far in the capital, but they did meet with the government, members of the diplomatic corps and the police command to discuss the security crisis and how Kenya can assist by leading, you know, thousands of police officers or others. That could basically help the police combat this horrible crisis.
CHURCH: And is that the solution to this situation, do you think?
CHARLES: Well, you know, I've seen a number of reports and all the reports and then the experts said it's just not about getting an outside force. That there are a number of things that have to go on. For instance, today there is not an elected leader. In Haiti, the president was killed two years ago. His murder remains unsolved. So, there is this issue in terms of elections that you need to get, but you can't have elections if you don't have security.
People are not thinking about going out to risk their lives to vote, especially when we have seen the history of Haiti over these past few decades as to follow the dictatorship.
At the same time, the government and institutions, you know, institutions need to be built. They have basically crumbled. There needs to be a political will to do that to shore up things. You know, I spoke to a recent peacekeeper who was involved in the last U.N. peacekeeping mission. And one of the things that he said is that neither Haiti civil society, political class or the business elite really took advantage of the 13 years that the United Nations was, you know, there in Haiti on the ground assisting with the security matters.
So this is a very complex and complicated problem. It didn't start overnight. It's not going to go overnight, go away overnight. But I have to remind everybody that it was just in 2010 that Haiti was hit with a catastrophic earthquake.
And that incident that we saw over the weekend, that is a settlement that basically popped up after the earthquake. So when you think about that, these are people who were, many of them were earthquake victims. This area was supposed to be the promise of a new day in Haiti. And today some people will say that it basically symbolizes the failure of the international community and the post-reconstruction that was promised to Haiti after that devastation.
CHURCH: Jacqueline Charles, thank you so much for joining us.
CHARLES: Thank you.
CHURCH: And we'll be right back.
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[03:55:00]
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CHURCH: U.S. Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is stepping back from a rap battle with Eminem.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
Ramaswamy performed a rendition of the Eminem hit, "Lose Yourself," at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month. Now the real Slim Shady says he no longer wants Ramaswamy using his music. The 38-year-old Republican has used the song at his campaign events, and his spokesperson says he just got on the stage and cut loose in Iowa. But now the Ramaswamy campaign says it plans to comply with Eminem's request.
Trans advocate Dylan Mulvaney won her first Streamy Award on Sunday for Breakout Online Creator. She documented her transition journey for a year on TikTok. Mulvaney gained a following on TikTok for her post on musical theater and trans advocacy.
She also secured several sponsorships including a digital ad for Bud Light that caused some consumers to send a deluge of anti-trans hate mail. She asked people to support trans people publicly and proudly.
Adele abruptly stopped her concert in Las Vegas Saturday night to come to the aid of a fan she felt was being unfairly targeted by security. Take a listen to what she said when she stopped singing.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
Adele was in the middle of singing "Water Under the Bridge." She said she came to the fans' defense because he'd been bothered by security and people around him and was only there to have fun. She takes care of her fans for sure.
Thanks for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo next.
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