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Global Leasers Gather in Russia for First Day of Meetings; Trump Team Accuses U.K. Labour Party of Election Interference; Giuliani Ordered to Give Up Valuables to Georgia Election Workers; Former Abercrombie CEO Indicted on Sex Trafficking Charges. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 23, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Clare Sebastian's here in London, but first we're going to go to Marc Stewart in Beijing. And it is, you know, the power of those images is really what we're speaking to here. It doesn't really matter in a way what comes out of that meeting. It's just the fact that these very powerful people are working together.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Max. I think there is no question that at this point in the summit, the symbolism is really becoming the substance in all of that. And that certainly includes this no limits partnership between Russia and China.

And as we have seen some images shortly of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin shaking hands. This is the third time these two men have met face to face. This time on Russian soil.

And the optics of that certainly do say a lot considering all of the other conflicts that are taking part in the world right now. Xi, in his remarks with Putin, talked about this idea of fairness in the global landscape. And that the U.S. is often, has more of a dominant position than perhaps other countries in the global South. It's a theme that we have heard many times from Xi before. Let's listen to more of his remarks from Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): The world today is facing momentous transformations unseen in a century, resulting in a fast changing and turbulent international landscape. Yet I am confident that the profound and lasting friendship between China and Russia will not change. Nor will our sense of responsibility as major countries for the world and for the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: The optics of all of these leaders sitting at a table together also says a lot in addition to this relationship between Xi and Putin, which has been long established.

As we look ahead in the hours ahead, one thing that is of curiosity to us here in China is a meeting, an expected meeting on the sidelines with President Xi and Indian President Narendra Modi. Before the summit began, the two nations did reach an agreement over a border, a very contentious border dispute between the two nations.

We are anxious to see what the two men have to say about that now that they are together in the same location -- Max and Christina.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Marc, thank you.

Let's turn to Clare to discuss Russia and Putin. As Marc was saying there, Clare, I mean, a lot of this, as we know, is about the optics.

We were talking yesterday that Putin is using this as a chance to glean legitimacy on the world stage at a time when he's becoming isolated from the West. And I think most in the West see this summit for what it is. However, there are some who take a different view.

Let's just have a listen to this soundbite.

Do we have that soundbite from Donald Trump? OK, well, we were going to throw to a soundbite there from Donald Trump, essentially praising these world leaders, these autocrats, as we have seen him do many times before, as strong men.

I mean, how dangerous is that, you know, in this particular instance? It's not just about the optics, is it? If someone like Donald Trump, potential president, is going to be making those types of comments?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think it's not clear cut, right? I think on the one hand, the BRICS summit and the timing of it just two weeks before the U.S. election is -- makes this even more of an effective power play for Russia in some ways, because Putin stands there at the center of this global alliance. They are on state TV mocking the West.

They had a montage on a very well-watched talk show last night showing, you know, on one side of the split screen, U.S. officials, including Biden, saying, you know, Russia is isolated. On the other hand, they showed the arrivals on the other side of that split screen of Modi, of Xi Jinping, of all the leaders arriving at the BRICS summit.

But I think it's not clear cut, right? I think certainly we saw with the first Trump administration that just because he might praise people, call them strong, doesn't mean he's not going to get tough on them. So I mean, we saw with the tariffs on China, sanctions on Russia actually went up during the first Trump administration. But that is the prism through which Russia will be looking at this, right?

Their key goal here is one, to erode by any means possible Western support for Ukraine, and two, to sort of work towards a lifting of sanctions eventually.

So they will be looking at this and hoping that it fits into a bigger picture of sort of an affinity for Russia and Putin combined with skepticism for supporting Ukraine. And obviously, for Ukraine, looking at this, it is extremely concerning.

So I think you have to look at this BRICS summit in the context of the U.S. election and that sort of layer of unpredictability that it has put on everything.

MACFARLANE: Also, concerning for Ukraine, I think has been the acceptance of an invitation by the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to attend this BRICS summit. Many are questioning why he's chosen to attend? What do we know?

SEBASTIAN: I mean, Ukraine is very upset about this. The foreign ministry put out a post on X yesterday saying he did not accept an invitation to the Ukrainian peace summit back in June. And now he is going to Russia to meet with officials there.

[04:35:00]

The U.N. addressed this in its briefing yesterday, the spokesperson saying, you know, he went to the BRICS summit in South Africa, he likes to go to meetings where these major regional players are there. And he will be reaffirming his well known views on Ukraine that there needs to be, you know, a just peace according to the U.N. charter.

But look, these are the arrival shots, he's tasting the delicacies in that southern Russian city of Kazan. This is undoubtedly something that will play very heavily in Russian state media and the propaganda there. And clearly, it's something that the Ukrainians are going to continue to protest.

FOSTER: He'd be taking sides, I guess. The accusation if he didn't go to that, and he did go to the G7s is that he'd be taking sides for an independent global body. But big debate.

MACFARLANE: Clare, thank you.

FOSTER: Now, according to Reuters and other news outlets, Donald Trump's campaign is accusing the U.K.'s ruling party of election interference. The Trump team filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Election Commission against the Labour Party and the Harris campaign accusing them of quote, making and accepting illegal foreign national contributions.

MACFARLANE: The complaint cited media reports which found people associated with the Labour Party were travelling to the U.S. to volunteer for the Harris campaign. But the British Prime Minister told reporters the volunteers were doing this on their own time. And he suggested that it's nothing new, that Labour volunteers have done so for previous elections as well.

FOSTER: Quentin Peel joins us, Associate Fellow at Chatham House and a commentator for the Financial Times. I mean, Starmer's not wrong, is he? There's a long tradition of volunteers from both sides going out and supporting campaigns during U.S. elections.

QUENTIN PEEL, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, CHATHAM HOUSE: Absolutely. I mean, it's almost seen as a badge of honor among sort of ambitious young political would-be's in this country to have been to America and taken part and supported in campaigns, both on the Republican side and on the Democrat side. I can think of quite a number who've done it in the past and come home with that badge of honor. So it's certainly nothing new.

MACFARLANE: But having said that, Quentin, I mean, should that be the case that it just because it has happened in the past, that it should be happening today? I mean, does Donald Trump's team have a point that this is paramount to election interference, especially if members of the Labour Party are in fact being paid to, you know, attend and take part?

PEEL: Well, if they are being paid, and I'm not sure that's a proven point yet, although I think there was a message that said, your housing will be sorted out.

But having said that, I think that it is really exaggerating to say that there's anything very formal here, but there have been clearly a bit of unwise messaging within the Labour Party. And indeed, some very senior Labour Party figures who've clearly been out and seem to think that they've been able to give useful advice to the Harris campaign.

But it's certainly not just on the Democratic side. After all, Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Reform Party, has done a huge amount of work trying to support Donald Trump on regular occasions going out to America. And I've no doubt too that there'd be figures in the Conservative Party who may have been involved in an informal way.

FOSTER: Well, Liz Truss is one person people are talking about, the former Prime Minister. She's been over to the U.S., hasn't she, to Republican events. She has also very clearly stated that she supports Donald Trump in the campaign. So it probably does go both ways. And Starmer's not arguing that at this point, though.

PEEL: No, and as I say, I think that perhaps the Labour Party has shown its hand a little bit too much. And they've taken down the message from the head of operations saying, you know, come on, let's get more involved. So I think there may be a little bit of embarrassment.

But I think I would go along with the Guardian newspaper, which described this as a bizarre allegation or a bizarre intervention by the Trump campaign, accusing the Labour Party of being very formally involved.

But the truth is that the division here over the American election campaign and the engagement of people here is extraordinary.

[04:40:00]

I mean, I think that on both sides of the political divide in this country, there is a real sense of foreboding at the possibility of a Trump victory, that President Trump might return to office. And so the truth is, people feel very strongly about the American election campaign in the U.K. MACFARLANE: Quentin, is there a concern that this could damage the quote, special relationship between the U.K. and the U.S., especially obviously, if Donald Trump is elected in just what, two weeks time, or indeed that he may use this as ammunition?

PEEL: He may well. Donald Trump takes these things very personally. And we know that he's never forgiven Benjamin Netanyahu, for example, for coming out in support of Joe Biden when he was elected.

So Donald Trump is a very unpredictable person who is very concerned about his personal image and his personal relationship. The trouble is, I think that this British government, the Labour government now and Sir Keir Starmer are really quite worried about what their relationship will be like with a future Trump administration if he were to win. And precisely for that reason, they've still yet not announced a new U.K. ambassador to Washington, so that they can be ready to perhaps choose somebody who won't be too offensive to a future Trump administration.

FOSTER: It does say something, doesn't it, about Starmer's leadership right now. He seems to be lurching from crisis to crisis, things happening within his party that he can't control, that have been damaging. And then his damage limitation process seems to be pretty weak as well.

And this is a good example, isn't it? Because as you say, there's a huge amount of apprehension, particularly in the Labour Party about a Trump presidency.

PEEL: The feeling in the Labour Party is very, very worried, I think, about a Trump presidency. Above all, what the subject that you were discussing earlier, what would the attitude of Trump be towards the war in Ukraine? I think that is a profound concern.

And so I have no doubt that in the U.K., as well as throughout the rest of Europe, governments are really rooting for Kamala Harris rather than Donald Trump as the candidate they hope will be the next president.

FOSTER: Quentin, as ever, thank you for your analysis. It's interesting, isn't it?

MACFARLANE: It's fascinating, yes.

FOSTER: I mean, all of these governments are not meant to be showing any favor to either side. They just can't help it, can they?

MACFARLANE: To Quentin's point, that's been the way for many, many years, right?

FOSTER: But to your point, you know, does it make it right? You know, for a lot of people that aren't aware of that, they might think it does feel like interference.

MACFARLANE: It does. But as Quentin says, as long as it's done independently, that's the key, isn't it? Now, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been ordered to turn over

his New York penthouse and many of his valuable possessions to two Georgia election workers he defamed.

FOSTER: CNN's Brian Todd reports on the price the former Trump attorney is paying for spreading election lies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: I know crimes, I can smell them.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A federal judge has ordered Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's former lawyer, and the former mayor of New York City, to turn over several of his valuable possessions to the control of Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers who Giuliani defamed.

RENATO MARIOTTI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: He's going to essentially be facing essentially ruinous liability that he can't ever hope to meet.

TODD (voice-over): Giuliani owes Freeman and Moss about $150 million from the defamation judgment against him. The judge has ordered him to turn over his luxury Manhattan apartment, which she recently tried to sell for around $5 million to a receivership that Freeman and Moss will control. They could then potentially sell it.

The judge has also ordered Giuliani to turn over a collection of watches, a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey, and other sports memorabilia, a 1980 Mercedes once owned by Hollywood star Lauren Bacall, and he's been ordered to forfeit his television, items of furniture, and jewelry. The judge has not yet decided if Giuliani will be able to keep his condominium in Palm Beach, Florida, or the four New York Yankees World Series rings he owns. Giuliani's son says his father gave those rings to him.

In the days after the 2020 election, Giuliani falsely accused Freeman and Moss of corrupting the vote count in Georgia.

GIULIANI: They're surreptitiously passing around USB ports as if they're vials of heroin or cocaine.

TODD (voice-over): Giuliani has conceded that he did make defamatory statements about Freeman and Moss. But when he was approached at this year's Republican National Convention by CNN's Kaitlan Collins and asked if he regretted that --

GIULIANI: I have no regrets at all. I'm on the side of justice, right, and truth.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Are you worried about them being able to seize your New York apartment, your Florida condo?

GIULIANI: Let me explain to you that I'm not afraid of anything? Because I'm on the side of justice and right.

[04:45:00]

And when history writes about this era, I'm going to be a hero.

TODD (voice-over): But in 2022, during testimony before the House January 6th Committee, Freeman and her daughter Moss spoke about the emotional stress they endured due to Giuliani's characterizations of them.

SHAYE MOSS, GEORGIA ELECTION WORKER: I don't want anyone knowing my name. I don't go to the grocery store all. I haven't been anywhere at all.

RUBY FREEMAN, GEORGIA ELECTION WORKER: I've lost my name and I've lost my reputation. I've lost my sense of security.

TODD: Rudy Giuliani's spokesman has not immediately responded to requests for comment on the judge's latest order. A lawyer for Moss and Freeman sent CNN a statement saying they're proud that their clients are finally receiving compensation in this case and that this should send a message that there's a price to pay for those who intentionally spread disinformation.

The judge has scheduled a hearing for next week on the fate of Giuliani's condominium in Florida.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Britain's King Charles, Queen Camilla heading to Samoa for a three-day visit. They left Sydney, Australia after a six-day tour. King Charles will attend the Commonwealth Leaders' Meeting in Samoa.

MACFARLANE: Many of the Commonwealth countries are island nations now struggling with rising sea levels caused by climate change. The crisis is set to be a key topic of discussion and the leaders are expected to issue a declaration on protecting the ocean.

FOSTER: Although I think Starmer, when he lands there, is going to have that other topic to discuss.

Still ahead, sex trafficking charges against the former head of Abercrombie and Fitch. Prosecutors accuse the ex-CEO of using his power to exploit men around the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The former CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch is due to be arraigned in New York on Friday on federal sex trafficking and international prostitution charges.

MACFARLANE: Prosecutors allege Mike Jeffries and two others exploited young men with promises of modelling and career opportunities while he was head of one of the world's top clothing brands. CNN's Brynn Gingras has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Oozing sex and style in their edgy and sometimes criticized advertising, Abercrombie and Fitch soared in popularity in the early 2000s. Michael Jeffries, who led the company at that time, now federally charged in the sex trafficking and prostitution scheme. Prosecutors accusing the former CEO of targeting men, some aspiring models who wanted to work for the brand.

BREON PEACE, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: The potential of an opportunity at Abercrombie to be in an ad and things like that were some of the carrots that I think people perceived as what they would achieve by participating in this activity.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The 16-count indictment alleges 80-year-old Jeffries, his romantic partner Matthew Smith, and a third man, James Jacobson, worked together to recruit dozens of men in the U.S. and abroad, often paying them to attend sex events.

[04:50:04]

PEACE: Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson used force, fraud and coercion to traffic those men for their own sexual gratification.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The victims were physically groomed, forced to sign non-disclosure agreements and then pressured to drink, take drugs like muscle relaxers and Viagra before performing sexual acts on Jeffries and Smith, the indictment reads.

PEACE: We think we have a lot of evidence that corroborates the charges in this case.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was viewed as a form of genius.

GINGRAS: Allegations like those detailed in the charges began bubbling a year ago, following the release of the BBC documentary The Dark Side of Cool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened to me changed my life and not for the better.

GINGRAS (voice-over): What soon followed, a civil lawsuit filed by dozens of men who say they were preyed upon by Jeffries and an investigation which led to the new charges. At the time, Abercrombie and Fitch, under new leadership, called the claims appalling and disgusting and were already dealing with another scandal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Abercrombie and Fitch said, we go after the cool kids.

GINGRAS (voice-over): After this Netflix documentary accused the brand of rampant racism and discrimination in its hiring process, also while Jeffries was at the helm.

In a statement to CNN, Jeffries and Smith's attorney saying they will respond to the new allegations in the courtroom. GINGRAS: Jeffries was released on $10 million bond after being

arrested in Florida. He and his co-defendants will be in New York to face a judge on Friday for these charges.

Now, it's also very important to note that Jeffries retired from Abercrombie and Fitch in 2014. The company says since then, it has worked very hard to change its management structure within and also rebrand itself to be more inclusive.

Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: You are looking at thick black smoke rising from the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike. Earlier today, the Israeli military warned residents in several parts of the city to evacuate due to, quote, ongoing military operations against Hezbollah. Lebanese state media reports that Israeli strikes in recent days have targeted the southern coastal city, destroying buildings, damaging homes and more going today.

Now, it is the first for the NBA and a rare feat in pro sports as well. Basketball legend LeBron James and his son competing alongside one another. We'll see some of those special moments coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: One of Britain's most famous bears, of course, Paddington, having tea with the late Queen Elizabeth for her jubilee. He's only just become a British citizen. I mean, it's like a national scandal.

MACFARLANE: I mean, it sort of is. What, has it taken six decades for him to be given a passport nationality? I mean, this is the story.

Paddington actually travelled from Peru in 1958, arriving, as we know, at London's Paddington Station before moving in with the Brown family.

FOSTER: Are we verging on fake news here? I mean, we're talking so factually. Decades later, British government, though, is finally giving Paddington an official passport.

[04:55:00]

MACFARLANE: It might have something to do with coinciding with the release of the new movie, which I make no bones about. I'm very excited for Paddington in Peru, my three-year-old is very excited for it as well.

FOSTER: Well, the producer was saying, they asked the home office for a replica passport and that he actually got a real passport. They gave him a real passport. So, they've got a bit of a sense of humor there.

MACFARLANE: Good, good. I'm glad.

FOSTER: That's the other story.

MACFARLANE: Glad he finally got his day.

Now, superstar Lebron James and his son Bronny made basketball history by becoming the first father-son duo to play together in the regular season NBA game.

FOSTER: The Lakers hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves in Los Angeles on Tuesday, which was the league's opening night. 39-year-old LeBron appeared in the starting lineup, as expected, of course.

MACFARLANE: And made this epic slam dunk. 20-year-old Bronny made his debut in the second quarter. What a way to do it. The final score were the Lakers actually 110, the Timberwolves 103, and after the game, the proud father shared his impressions of this historic moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, LOS ANGELES LAKERS FORWARD: It's family. It's always been family over everything and, you know, for me, I lost a lot of time because of this league and committing to this league, being on the road at times, missing a lot of his things, Bryce's things, Jerry's things. So to be able to have this moment where I'm working still and I can work alongside my son, it's one of the greatest gifts I've ever got from the man above and I'm going to take full advantage of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Brilliant, isn't it?

MACFARLANE: I love it so much.

FOSTER: Now, a New Zealand airport has gone viral for imposing a three-minute limit on hugs in its drop-off zone. They don't need this in the U.K. because no one's hugging.

MACFARLANE: No.

FOSTER: Signs like this one outside the terminal urge passengers to move their, quote, fonder farewells to the car park. How lovely.

MACFARLANE: So I actually heard that this has actually meant that people are doing the opposite now and they are in defiance of the sign standing in hugging for, I don't know, 20, 30 minutes. The airport CEO explained the policy allows more people to get hugs and prevents traffic from backing up. Gosh.

FOSTER: They can go out there with the smokers, hug amongst the smoke. That should be their headline.

MACFARLANE: Oh dear.

And finally, for the 10th year in a row, Chicago has been named the rattiest city in the U.S. Doesn't mean messy, apparently. That means they have a rat problem.

FOSTER: American pest control company, Orkin's list of top rat- infested cities puts Los Angeles in second place, followed by New York, San Francisco. The company says that Chicago's abundance of alleys provides rodents with hidden havens, offering plenty of space to hide whilst feasting on trash. Sounds like a wildlife show.

MACFARLANE: They need a rat car. Like New York car, don't they?

FOSTER: Chicago sanitation spokesperson disputes the ranking. It's the one you don't want to come high in.

Thanks for joining us on CNN NEWSROOM.

MACFARLANE: Thank you for joining us.

FOSTER: We're going to scurry away.

MACFARLANE: Oh.