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U.S. Charges Hamas Leaders Over October 7; Russian Strike On Military College Kills Dozens; Accused Secret Agent Of China; Ex-aide to NY Governors Accused of Acting as Agent for China, Linda Sun, Husband Chris Hu Pleaded Not Guilty in Federal Court Tuesday; Trump Pleads Not Guilty in Reworked January 6 Case; French Man Accused of Drugging, Raping Wife and Getting Dozens of Others to Rape Her for Nearly a Decade; at Least 12 Dead After Boat Sinks in English Channel; Artist and Activist, Shepard Fairey Endorsees Harris With New Piece "Forward". Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired September 04, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:23]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. The U.S. Department of Justice charges six Hamas leaders over the October 7th attack on Israel. A Russian strike on a military college in Ukraine kills dozens of people in one of the deadliest attacks since the start of the war.

And spy scandal, a former aide of New York's governor is charged with acting as a Chinese agent.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: And this just in. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has tended his resignation. We will, of course, bring you more details on this very issue when they come into us.

Meantime, Russia is continuing its relentless air assaults on Ukraine. In the past few hours, Moscow launched an attack on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Officials say three people were killed. One of the victims is a 14-year-old girl. 35 people were reported injured, including five children.

On Tuesday evening, a Russian airstrike hit a university building in Sumy, that is a border area close to Russia's Kursk region where Ukrainian forces are making gains in their month-long incursion. And all of this follows one of Russia's single deadliest attacks in the duration of the war. More than 50 people were killed and hundreds wounded overnight Tuesday, when a Russian attack targeted a military education facility.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen brings us the details from Kyiv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Parts of the military educational facility almost completely destroyed. Dozens killed here, the Ukrainians say when two Russian ballistic missiles struck, leaving those on the ground with no time to get to bomb shelters. More than 200 were also wounded and a nearby hospital damaged. Ukraine's President irate.

VOLODYMR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): The Russian scum will undoubtedly be held accountable for this strike, and once again, we urge everyone in the world who has the power to stop this terror. Air defense systems and missiles are needed in Ukraine. Not in the warehouse somewhere. Long range strikes that can defend against Russian terror are needed now, not sometime later.

PLEITGEN (voiceover): Russia has been accelerating its aerial bombardment of Ukraine cities and infrastructure. A massive barrage aiming for the capital Kyiv early Monday, just as children were gearing up for the first day of school after summer break. One of the places damaged a management college.

ANASTASIYA, STUDENT (through translator): I got up and it had already started to boom. We ran out into the yard near the dormitory. We heard something flying and something being shot down.

PLEITGEN (voiceover): On Sunday, more than 40 people injured after Russian air strikes on the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Responders desperately trying to save the victims. There's an ambulance on the other side, the photographer says. We won't be able to carry him there, she answers. While Ukraine's air defenses often take down Russian missiles, the consequences can be devastating when they don't.

The strikes on Poltava were one of the deadliest single attacks since the start of the war. We were on hand when a ballistic missile annihilated a funeral wake in eastern Ukraine in October of last year, killing 59 people. And 46 were killed in Dnipro in January 2023 when a heavy cruise missile blew a giant hole into an apartment block.

PLEITGEN (on camera): The Ukrainians say the reason why the damage here is so extensive that this building was hit with a cruise missile called the Kh-22, that's designed to destroy aircraft carrier strike groups, and obviously, when it hit the building, it completely annihilated it, burying dozens of people underneath.

PLEITGEN (voiceover): Now yet another mass casualty strike, leaving Ukraine's leadership angry and vowing revenge.

Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And as we just reported, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has tended his resignation. That is, according to a post by the Speaker of Ukraine's parliament, who says the request will be discussed by lawmakers soon. But earlier on Tuesday, he spoke to CNN's Christiane Amanpour about the deadly attack in Poltava. He says it's proof Ukraine needs advanced Western missile defense systems now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:05:08]

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The main lesson that I want everyone again to hear about and we will not get tired of reminding of it. This is just another reason why delivery of air defense systems to Ukraine must be expedited.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Do you think if you had had them there, this would have been intercepted?

KULEBA: Well, ballistic missiles are very difficult to intercept and Poltava is in the east of Ukraine, so much closer to the -- to the Russian territory, according to what I know, the time range for the for the ballistic missiles to reach the target was very short, and the only way to intercept them was to have -- to have a patriot system or 70 air defense system because they're the only one capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.

So, I don't know how many more tragedies like this have to occur for all promises to be fulfilled and for all new commitments to be made. But I want to set one thing straight. I don't want anyone to think that Ukraine is asking for air defense systems while sitting itself with hands down. This is not the case. We are doing more than we can to use our mobile groups shooting, intercepting drones to efficiently use air defense systems available to us.

So, we are doing our part of the homework. We are asking our partners to do their part of the homework, especially with regard to those systems which were promised but have not delivered yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Dmytro Kuleba also says he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is working to shut down Ukraine's power as winter approaches to "freeze people and to destroy our economy."

Nearly 11 months after the October 7th attacks against Israel, the U.S. Justice Department has filed criminal charges against six high- level Hamas officials. They include the late political leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' current leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar and another Hamas leader, Khaled Mashal. The charges include terrorism, conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals and use weapons of mass destruction resulting in death.

And they follow a promise from U.S. President Joe Biden to hold Hamas accountable. However, the October 7th massacre is not the sole focus of the complaint, which actually covers several decades of alleged atrocities by Hamas. The charges were originally filed back in February, but kept under seal in case the Justice Department had an opportunity to arrest any of the defendants.

But an official said that with three of the Hamas leaders charged now dead, it was no longer necessary to wait. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MERRICK GARLAND, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas' operations. These actions will not be our last. The Justice Department has a long memory. We will pursue the terrorists responsible for murdering Americans and those who illegally provide them with material support for the rest of their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meanwhile, the anger across Israel over the recent deaths of six hostages shows no sign of letting up. Protesters filled city streets for the third straight day on Tuesday, demanding the Israeli government end the nightmare by signing a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

CNN's Nic Robertson talked to the protesters in Tel Aviv.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's the third day in the road protesters have been out in the center of Tel Aviv demanding the Prime Minister get the hostages home, saying, why are we still in Gaza? And at one point, the crowd were listening to the wife of one of the hostages, and she read out. And I have to say, her voice was hoarse from shouting, from being at so many protests, shouting so much to be heard.

She was shouting out the names of each of the hostages, and after each name, the crowd shouted back now, meaning, now get them back home. Now this was a level of anger, level of frustration. And the crowd I know was asking people there what they thought about what the Prime Minister had said the previous day, Monday, that he wasn't going to negotiate with Hamas and he was getting even more hardline on his position on the Philadelphia corridor and having troops on that border between Gaza and Egypt. The people I talked to, they just don't trust the Prime Minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a liar. That's it. All fraud. I don't believe one word he says.

ROBERTSON: And how long will you keep protesting?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As long as it takes.

[02:10:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as the hostages are in Gaza, normal life in this country and normal governing of this country will not be allowed to happen.

ROBERTSON: So, I asked him what he meant by that and asked other people as well, what did they mean? What else could they do? And he told me, and they told me that they would shake the country. And ask him specifically, well, how do you do that? And he wouldn't get into the details. But clearly, what the unions have been trying to do to put pressure on the government additionally, and they can't do it now.

The unions can't go on strike because there's been a court order saying that. But what the unions would be able to do, the big unions here would be to shut down the airport, shut down the ports, shut down the train stations, shut down the busses, reduce services at hospitals, all of those things it appears the protesters, the organizers believe could be part of the mechanism in the future, but they just believe this isn't going to be changed overnight.

The Prime Minister isn't going to listen to them overnight. But if they keep coming out, keep showing other politicians that they have support. And they did hear tonight from Benny Gantz, who spoke on television, one of the main leaders, one of the main opposition parties, saying he too, doesn't believe the Prime Minister. Doesn't believe what the Prime Minister is saying about the Philadelphia corridor is valid.

Says it's not an existential threat to the country, as the Prime Minister says. It's a strategic issue. But he says the prime minister knows full well there were other options, military, technical options to controlling that border, other than the ones the Prime Minister's proposing. The faith in the prime minister in this country is dwindling. He is not giving in, however.

Nic Robinson, CNN, Tel Aviv.

CHURCH: I want to bring in Yuval Baron from Tel Aviv now. He is a protest organizer, and his fiancee is the daughter of an American hostage in Gaza. Thank you so much for talking with us.

YUVAL BARON, PROTEST ORGANIZER: Thank you so your fiancee's father, Keith Siegel, is still being held hostage in Gaza. And so, you have been organizing these massive protests demanding Israel's Prime Minister sign a hostage release deal to bring them home. What's your response then to Netanyahu ignoring those calls to sign a deal while vowing to make Hamas pay for the deaths of the six hostages over the weekend?

BARON: We're terrified for our loved ones who are being held in terrible conditions for almost a year now. And we just got an approval that they're not safe and that they can be just executed. You know, in a matter of a decision. We continue to demand to release them. We know it is possible. We know that these hostages, three of them, were on the list to be released on a hostage deal.

We know that hostage deals save lives. And we realize that our own prime minister, the one that we vote for, the one that we pay the salary prefers his coalition than saving lives. That is not the values of the State of Israel, that is not the values of the Jewish nation, and that is not humane values at all. And we demand him to release them with a deal. We demand the world to stand with us and help get a deal done, apply any pressure needed, both on our government and, of course, on Hamas, who is the source of this entire horrific situation we're in for so long, they need to get to a deal, because deals saves lives.

CHURCH: And Yuval, why do you think Prime Minister Netanyahu is not doing that, is not signing a deal to save their lives?

BARON: So, as I said, I think it's loud and clear, he prefers to remain in office. He prefers his coalition to continue supporting him and he -- and he is OK with, you know, with scarifying lives over it and he made it loud and clear in his speech.

CHURCH: And talk to us about --

(CROSSTALK)

BARON: Sad but that's the situation.

CHURCH: Talk to us about how people are feeling out on the streets. How deep are these frustrations being felt by Israelis at this time, and how far might they go with these protests?

BARON: So, the frustration is very deep. I think we all got attached to the stories of the hostages along these months. I can tell that for me, they became like families. I feel -- I feel like I know them deeply, even though I haven't met them once. Their family members who've been, you know, walking with us side by side for the last 11 months became like families. So, it's really -- it's devastating and it tears our hearts apart.

And it's a wakeup call and that's the reason for the protests. Now I need to emphasize Hamas kidnapped them and Hamas murdered them in cold blood and they are accountable, and just like the Department of Justice is now pursuing them.

[02:15:11]

They need to be cornered to sign a deal. But since I'm an Israeli citizen and we're all Israeli citizens, we direct our criticism and our demands to our own government because they are responsible for us and for a loved one.

And, by the way, for Keith, he's also the U.S. government, since -- he's an American citizen. So, we keep demanding the Biden administration to do everything they can to get a hostage deal that brings them home.

CHURCH: So, what will protesters do if Netanyahu continues to ignore these calls, these demands to sign a hostage deal?

BARON: Honestly, I don't know and I think I'd rather not expose some plans we have. But I must say, it's, it's an act of despair. We don't know what to do. You know, when we protest, sometimes the public gets really angry. When we block roads, people are late for work, people are late to keep to pick up the kids, and it's frustrating, and I understand, but I talk to them and I tell them, put yourself in my position. What would you do for a loved one was kept held in Gaza for almost a year and you just got a message that, you know, hostages were executed there?

I mean, see me, feel my pain. What would you do instead of me? And people get that and they say, OK, I'll be late for work for an hour, but it's nothing compared to almost a year in hell. So -- I mean, really, we don't know what else to do. We feel like we're doing everything we can, and they're still there.

CHURCH: And Yuval, how are these protests different to those that have come before them, and could they represent a significant turning point for the country, perhaps even a path to new elections?

BARON: At least I'm not a politician. I don't know to expect how it will affect things. I -- I'm just a family member of the hostage that is deeply hurt and fearful and angry about the decisions that are made. And as a citizen in a democratic country, I went on the street to protest. It's a legitimate tool. We've been using it for a long while now but, you know, the current event, I think, made everyone realize that we need to act now and we can stay at home.

So, that's the reason for the numbers in the street and we're trying to navigate it in the right direction to get as much impact as we can but at the end of the day, I can tell where it will lead.

CHURCH: Yuval Baron, thank you so much joining us from Tel Aviv and sharing your story, and we do hope that Keith is returned home safely very soon. Appreciate you being with us.

BARON: Soon. Amen. Thank you very much.

CHURCH: And still to come, Pope Francis met Indonesia's president during his first full day in Jakarta. We will have the latest on his tour of Southeast Asia.

Plus, Human Rights Watch is condemning political violence in Venezuela, which the group says is the deadliest in years after the disputed presidential election.

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[02:20:38]

CHURCH: He is no Saint Nick but Nicolas Maduro says Christmas will come early in Venezuela, October 1st, to be exact. It's not the first time the embattled president has moved the holiday, but it's the earliest and it's widely seen as an effort to distract from the anger over the July election which Maduro claims he won. But much of the world believes he lost in a landslide. Religious leaders in Venezuela blasted Maduro's decree as propaganda,

saying Christmas will still commence December 25th.

Human Rights Watch has issued a scathing new report on the post- election violence in Venezuela, calling it the worst in years. The group documents a wave of killings and detentions across the country since the July vote, and it found in some cases, state security forces colluded with government aligned militias. Journalist Stefano Pozzebon has the details.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN REPORTER: Allegations of human rights abuse at the hands of security forces in Venezuela are not new, but Human Rights Watch is saying that members of the armed forces including the National Guard, were involved in the killings of several protesters in a brutal crackdown on dissent follow the controversial election on July 28th. Human Rights Watch says its team documented 11 killings during the protests, while authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro had previously said that more than 2400 people have been detained.

And independent groups have said that 24 people have been killed, including 23 civilians and one member of the military. CNN could not independently verify these allegations and has reached out to Venezuelan authorities for comment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUANITA GOEBERTUS, AMERICA'S DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: This particular violence that is also different, because it's affecting not only underage, but people in neighborhoods that were usually closer to Chavismo, very popular, very poor neighborhoods were historically the regime would not execute that kind of violence. Now they're doing so. They lost the legitimacy around the country, even in places where they used to have much more popular support and that's also where they have concentrated this repression.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: Meanwhile, opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez remains on the run after Venezuelan authorities published an arrest mandate against the former candidate who claims to have won the election with 67 percent of the vote and has since published tens of thousands of electoral tallies to support his claim. The 75-year-old former diplomat is accused of crimes associated with terrorism, including conspiracy and has not been seen in public for weeks.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

CHURCH: Pope Francis is warning political leaders in Indonesia to be on guard against religious extremism. It's his first address on a 12- day tour of Southeast Asia promoting interfaith dialog. The Pope met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and other officials earlier in the day.

And let's go live to Jakarta now where CNN Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb has more on the Pope's trip. Good to see you, Christopher. So, what is the latest on his trip and what's ahead on his itinerary?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, this has been an important morning from Francis on Wednesday here in Jakarta because it was the first time that the Pope has addressed anyone in public. He used his speech at the presidential palace in Jakarta to underline the importance of inter religious dialog. He said the Catholic Church would step up its efforts in this area, which he believes is so important in tackling religious extremism, in creating a more harmonious and peaceful society and tackling conflicts around the globe.

Is a small minority about three percent of the population, making which is made up about 8.6 billion (INAUDIBLE) is here in Indonesia. [02:25:09]

CHURCH: All right. We're clearly having some audio issues there. Christopher Lamb reporting from Jakarta. Still to come. A former aide to two New York governors who spent years in the highest levels of state government is now accused of acting as an agent for China. We'll explain on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. We are continuing to follow developments out of Ukraine, where Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has now tended his resignation. That is according to a post by the Speaker of Ukraine's parliament who says the request will be discussed by lawmakers soon. Kuleba is not alone. He is one of several ministers to recently offer their resignations.

According to Ukraine's parliament majority leader, this week, more than 50 percent of the cabinet of minister's staff will be changed and new members appointed. Those include the Minister of strategic industries, who was in charge of weapons production, Ukraine's justice, environment and reintegration ministers have also resigned.

A former aide to two New York Governors has been charged with acting as an agent for the Chinese government. Current Governor Kathy Hochul says she's furious and outraged at what she calls brazen behavior by her former Deputy Chief of Staff Linda Sun. Sun was arrested Tuesday and charges include violating the foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more now from New York.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NEWSOURCE NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what prosecutors are alleging essentially amounts to the successful infiltration by a Chinese government agent to the highest levels of New York State government for more than 10 years. Earlier on Tuesday, federal prosecutors charged Linda Sun and her husband Chris Hu.

[02:30:03]

Linda is a former aide to Governor Kathy Hochul, and she also worked for former Governor Andrew Cuomo, as well as other state agencies. Now, federal officials say that Linda and her husband enriched themselves and received a series of payoffs in exchange for actions that ultimately benefited the Chinese government and the Communist Party.

Specifically, they say that they laundered money, received tickets to special events, helped to promote their friends' businesses. And at one point, even received a special delivery of specialty duck, which had been prepared by a Chinese official's personal chef.

Now, we have gotten a response from Governor Hochul's office which said that they are cooperating with the investigation. They said that they terminated Linda Sun's employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct and immediately reported her actions to law enforcement, and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process.

One of the more shocking allegations that the government has made in this case is that Linda Sun at one point, used her influence to get former Governor Andrew Cuomo to publicly thank Chinese officials for donating medical equipment. This was at the height of the pandemic and as New York was trying to respond, Linda Sun was allegedly using her position to make sure that Chinese officials were being publicly recognized. Then Governor Cuomo went on to thank them publicly during a briefing and he even wrote out a tweet naming some of the officials and thanking them for the donation.

Now as part of her role, part of what the government alleges Linda Sun did, she specifically worked to block Taiwanese officials from having access to New York state government officials, even blocked sort of trivial things like the Taiwanese community being able to get a recognition for Taiwanese cultural week. All of this she did at the behest of the Communist Party and the Chinese government, according to federal prosecutors.

Now, Linda Sun and her husband did appear in court with their lawyers. They have pleaded not guilty and their lawyer said that the allegations are all the result of an overly aggressive investigation by the federal officials. If it's all true, it will be that the state government here in New York was brazenly manipulated for nearly a decade at the highest levels and certainly, raises questions just about how the government here in New York hires its staffers and whether or not there may be other Chinese government officials and agents working on behalf of the Communist Party and the government here in New York.

Reporting in New York, Gloria Pazmino, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": We have major updates on two of the many legal issues facing Donald Trump. Lawyers for the former U.S. president has entered a not-guilty plea to the revised January 6th election subversion charges. Special Counsel Jack Smith updated his indictment last month after a supreme court ruling granting immunity for some of Trump's conduct, which fell within his presidential powers.

Judge Tanya Chutkan has scheduled a hearing for Thursday to decide how to proceed with the case. Meanwhile, a judge has rejected Trump's request to have his hush money trial moved to federal court. A jury found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts back in May. The federal judge says there's nothing in the supreme court's immunity ruling that would change his view of the fact that payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels were private unofficial acts. Trump's attorneys have also asked to postpone his September 18th sentencing.

A shocking story now out of France. A 71-year-old man is on trial for allegedly drugging his wife and getting dozens of men to rape her over nearly a decade. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne has the story and we want to warn you, viewers may find the details disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR FIELD PRODUCER (voice-over): Gisele wants this trial to be public, so that the horrors she lived never happen again. To expose the 51 men accused of raping her while she was drugged unconscious by her then husband, Dominique.

ANTOINE AREBALO-CAMUS, GISELE'S LAWYER: She now realizes that there were many lessons to be learned from her own story, which is why her first wish is obviously that it should come out. In the end, silence is what the aggressors want.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): The 71-year-old pensioner has admitted to crushing sleeping pills into her drink, raping her, and allowing other men to rape her at their home in Mazan, Provence. Over the course of ten years, Dominique recruited the men over a website that is now banned.

[02:35:00]

BEATRICE ZAVARRO, DOMINIQUE'S LAWYER (through translator): Some people believe that he told them that it was a Libertin (ph) game that it was, forgive me the expression, a threesome.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): After discovering footage on his computer, police counted a total of 92 rapes committed by 72 men. 51 were identified. Their ages spanning from early 20s to late 60s at the time of the alleged assaults. Gisele was so sedated that she has no recollection of the abuse she suffered. But for the first time, surrounded by the couple's three children, she'll hear and see the details of what was done to her.

AREBALO-CAMUS (through translator): The questions their children ask are mindboggling. Who is this man who raised them? What exactly did he do to their mother? What are their childhood memories worth? Birthdays, holidays, their whole lives are shattered.

VANDOORNE: Dominique claims the other men were all aware that his wife had been drugged and was unconscious, an allegation most of the men deny. Many of them face up to 20 years in prison with the trial set to go on until December.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: At least 12 people have died, mostly women and children, after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of northern France on Tuesday. More than 50 others were rescued, several in critical condition. Authorities believe most of the migrants were from Eritrea. The French interior minister blames smugglers for unsafe conditions on the boat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GERALD DARMANIN, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER: You must understand that while there were 30 to 40 people on these boats in the past, today, there are 70 to 80 people on these same boats. So, what probably happened is that this boat collapsed on itself very quickly, which condemned a large number of people to certain death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Officials say it's the deadliest migrant incident this year on the English Channel where small boat crossings have soared in recent years. And we'll be right back.

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CHURCH: Artist and activist, Shepard Fairey is careful about the subjects he chooses when creating political art. One of his more famous pieces titled "Hope" became a symbol for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. But looking back, Fairey says he feels Obama did not live up to the promises he made to the American people. Fast- forward 16 years and inspiration has struck again. Fairey's newest piece called "Forward" features Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who he says offers the best chance at fighting threats to democracy.

And earlier, I spoke with Shepard Fairey about his work and why he felt the need to offer his endorsement for Vice President Harris. And here's part of our conversation.

[02:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHEPARD FAIREY, AMERICAN ARTIST AND ACTIVIST: Well, I felt that Kamala Harris was asked to be vice president for very significant reason. She has a strong record of service and yet, for much of her time as vice president until Roe versus Wade was overturned, she wasn't in the spotlight. And once Joe Biden passed the torch to her, it's really an important time to emphasize her qualification, her vision, her warmth, her character. So, I wanted to make an image that just brought that to the forefront because I think that is an important conversation starter for why Kamala Harris should be our next president.

CHURCH: And as well as creating this incredible artwork, you also endorsed Harris. Why is it so important to you that the Harris-Walz team wins this election? And what expectations do you have for a Harris Administration if she does win?

FAIREY: Well, this gets to your question about the title "Forward." I think all we can do is look at how we can more positively shape the future. And we've all experienced one Trump term which, in my opinion, was an absolute disaster for middle- and working-class people who want to see a better future for them, for their children, for the environment, for many, many issues a lot of Americans care. The Harris-Walz campaign is looking forward and for how the American dream will be achievable for the people who normally Trump would overlook. Trump is making all his overtures to people who are wealthy and powerful, and he is selling snake oil to some people who, I believe, are willing to suspend his belief. But Harris and Walz are -- they are going to bring down the cost of medication, they're going to hold corporations accountable. They're going to level the playing field, protect women's reproductive rights. These are all things that I think most Americans want and that are very important to ideas of freedom, equality, and access to opportunity.

CHURCH: And you can see my full conversation with Shepard Fairey next hour, right here on CNN. And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then, I'll be back in 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.

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[02:45:00]

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