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Connect the World

Second Day of Latest Talks on Ceasefire, Hostages; Ukraine Denies Involvement in 2022 Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts; Medical Personals' Concerns about Misuse of Ketamine; Confusing U.S. Economy Offers Plenty of Nuance; Hidden-Camera Video Shows Project 25 Co-Author Discussing Secret Work for a Trump Second Term. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired August 16, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: It's 04:00 p.m. in Doha as we enter a second day of Gaza ceasefire talks. The very fact they're still

talking is cause for optimism. But even as the diplomats sit down, violence escalates in the West Bank after Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian

village. It's 02:00 p.m. here in London. I'm Becky Anderson, this is "Connect the World".

Also happening over the next two hours U.S., Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to unveil her economic plan ahead of the Democratic National

Convention next week. And prosecutors say the investigation into Actor Matthew Perry's death from a ketamine overdose un-covered an underground

drug network. We will look up ketamine can do to the body.

Well, the stock market in New York will open about 30 minutes from now. It's 09:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 09:30 of course, the opening of those

markets, and they look at least as far as the futures markets are concerned, looking at a slightly weaker opening.

Well, it's the second day of a fresh round of ceasefire talks in Doha, after what Qatar's Prime Minister describes as, quote, sensitive

negotiations on Thursday. These talks coming at a critical time, not just for Gaza, where the death toll from the war passed 40,000 yesterday,

according to health officials, but also for the wider Middle East, with the looming threat of retaliation against Israel by Iran and its proxy in

Lebanon, Hezbollah.

Of note, Qatar's Prime Minister called Iran's Acting Foreign Minister on Thursday to update him on the talks, a possible signal that Iran's actions

will be influenced by what ultimately happens in Doha. Jomana Karadsheh connecting us today from the Qatari Capital and the talks still going a

good sign. But what do we know about the sticking points at this point?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know Becky, the fact that these talks resumed in the first place was seen as a step in the right

direction, and the fact that they have gone into a second day now certainly being viewed as a very positive sign, but we don't really know how much

progress is being made behind closed doors.

Now, what we know is the Israeli delegation is meeting with the mediators, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt. And they are trying to work through these key

differences that remain, these gaps between both sides. As you recall, they had the proposal that was put on the table, that three phase plan that was

laid out by President Biden, a framework agreement that last month.

It appeared that both Hamas and Israel agreed to in principle, but then the Israelis came back with new demands from the prime minister that created

these sticking points that they are trying to deal with right now, as we understand. And there are several issues.

The key points here being the presence of the Israeli military along the Egypt-Gaza border in a nine-mile stretch of land known as the Philadelphi

Corridor, because under this agreement in phase two, the IDF would have to leave and withdraw from the entire Gaza Strip. But the Israelis want to

maintain a presence in the Philadelphi Corridor.

And then you also have the issue of the return of Palestinians from the south of Gaza back to the north. The Israelis want to make sure that

there's some sort of a mechanism in place that ensures that no armed Palestinian men move back to the north. How is that going to look like? How

is that going to be enforced?

That's on the table right now, as well as the identity of Palestinian prisoners. Hundreds under this agreement will be released from Israeli

jails in exchange for Israeli hostages. And so, it is the identity of the - - of these prisoners that is also being discussed.

And as you know, Becky Hamas is not taking part in this -- in these indirect talks. What we understand from our sources, is the Qataris and the

Egyptians will be engaging with Hamas separately, taking back whatever comes out from these talks with the Israelis, back to Hamas.

So, this is quite a complex situation that they are dealing with here, and a lot of work remains to be done. But all indication and what we're hearing

is they believe that they are -- you know moving in the right direction with these talks going into a second day.

[09:05:00]

ANDERSON: Right. Well, people are keenly aware of the impact of these talks, of course, on the wider region. As we pointed out, the prime

minister there in Qatar, keeping Iran across what is going on with these talks in Qatar? Thank you.

A Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank has come under a devastating attack, meantime, by heavily armed Israeli settlers. According

to Israeli Palestinian officials, dozens of settlers set fires and threw rocks and molotov cocktails in the town of Jit. The head of the town

council says it was like nothing there that he has seen before.

Palestinian health officials say a 23-year-old Palestinian man was killed. Top Israeli officials have condemned the attack. CNN's Nic Robertson is in

the West Bank with the very latest. And Nic, can you describe what you have witnessed there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, Becky. I mean, just take a look at this car behind me here, for example. This was burnt

out. This was one of the first houses here that the settlers arrived at. And the two men who lived in this house, they tried to hold the settlers

back. They couldn't.

The car was set on fire. It was actually burning next to the house here, but a track. They bought a tractor in to move the car away so didn't set

the house a light. We've looked at a house up the street here, where the family was sitting drinking orange juice in the kitchen. The settlers came

around the corner of the hill, threw rocks, through the windows, they said, threw molotov cocktails, petrol bombs through the windows.

The kitchen is totally burnt out. I mean, the light fittings are dripping plastic on the floor. The furniture is all completely burnt. The

refrigerator is ripped open that's burnt. Just over the hill here, and this sort of mountain top village of Jit in the occupied West Bank, that's where

Rasheed Seda the 23-year-old young man was killed. Several other houses were burnt over there.

And when we arrived in the village here just a few hours ago, it was right in the middle of Rasheed Seda's funeral procession. He was being carried

shoulder high by the young men of the village, wrapped in a Palestinian flag. The older men of the village lining the roads, watching them go by.

There was a huge amount of anger, as you can imagine, not only against the settlers, but against the Israeli government, and also a lot of pain his

father, Rasheed's father was literally, physically, physically being helped to walk up to the street. And at the grave site, there were orations for

Rasheed and the local officials were speaking.

And the absolute clarity from them, despite what they're hearing from the Israeli government. The defense minister condemning the settler attack. The

interior minister calling it a nationalist attack and condemning it. Despite hearing all that, they feel that the Israeli Defense Forces, they

say, we're protecting the settlers, not them, they feel in a very threatened and vulnerable position right now and frightened.

So, they don't feel that they have the support of the Israeli government to defend them from the settlers. They believe that they're working in cahoots

together. Now the IDF did manage to prevent a second attack on the village, but that really doesn't make anyone here feel any safer.

And of course, this comes, as you say, and Jomana is explaining these very sensitive talks around Gaza. And when you ask people about that, they think

this settler violence is intended to sort of really destabilize the situation in this very sensitive time.

ANDERSON: And that's really important context here, Nic. Let's talk about the international reaction to this. We've just had reaction from, for

example, the British Foreign Secretary in region in Israel -- he says, quote, the scenes overnight of the burning and torching of buildings, of

the molotov cocktail thrown at cars, of the widespread rampage and chasing of people, is abhorrent.

That's the British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, and yesterday, we had this awkward exchange at the U.S. State Department. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's fair to say that there haven't been any actions taken other than condemning it verbally?

VEDANT PATEL, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: When it comes to officials within the government, sure that it can be a fair assessment to

take. But you have seen us, particularly when it comes to actors in the West Bank, we have found to be sowing division, sowing instability, sowing

insecurity. We have taken action, and we've spoken about that a number of times here.

[09:10:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I will just remark that the reason that these actions are being taken by settlers in West Bank is because they do get a

green light from said government to be able to behave like that. But again, that's -- you know but to me, that seems linked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: That has not stopped the Israeli Foreign Minister from saying that he expects allies, and he includes Britain and France, as well as the

U.S. in this. He expects their full support should Iran attack Israel, how does that work?

ROBERTSON: Look, I think diplomacy in the region the allies and supporters of Israel are willing to defend them against an attack by Iran, but they're

absolutely going to draw red lines. It may be that the Israeli government doesn't choose to listen or observe those red lines.

But certainly, working with their other Arab partners in this region, they're being encouraged to draw red lines around settler violence. This is

not the first instance and I've talk to a regional ambassador about this with earlier settler violence not long after the October 7th attacks, very

bad violence back then as well, deadly violence, in fact.

And he said, look, what we're urging our allies to do is to be very loud and very clear diplomatically, to make these red lines clear. You know, we

know that the United States has sanctioned a tiny, tiny, tiny handful of settlers. Many people will say that doesn't go far enough, but it's trying

to draw the red lines to make it clear for the Israeli government.

And I think we got a sense of this yesterday from the U.S. Ambassador Jack Lew who called these attacks appalling, and he said they absolutely must

stop now. You know, there's no amount of U.S. pressure that apparently so far, has caused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to turn back the military

operations inside of Gaza that have killed now more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

So, when it comes to settlers, and the amount of pressure that international diplomats are trying to apply to Israel -- you know it does

seem that the settlers are able to continue to act. They are generally fairly well known the places on the particular settlements that have a

reputation for precipitating this type of violence.

And it wasn't the neighboring settlement here, but another group of settlements. They are well known, and it will certainly be the view of

people in this village and in the Palestinian authority and other places that greater action could be taken.

You know, look, let's see if the words of David Lammy can make a difference, or Jack Lew can make a difference in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

with government officials there. But that's what they want to see, and it's certainly what the people here want to see. Tougher action on those

particular settlers.

ANDERSON: Nic Robinson is on the West Bank. Thank you. Well, kilometer by kilometer, village by village, Russia has been losing territory to

Ukrainian forces in the Kursk Region. Well now there are signs that to defend that territory, the Kremlin is taking away units from across the

border in Ukraine.

Senior U.S. officials tell CNN that Russia has apparently diverted several thousand troops to the Kursk Region. CNN's Nada Bashir joining me now. This

is now a Ukrainian operation into its well into its second week. Russia, on a sort of counter narrative says that they have taken yet more territory.

What are we learning at this point? What do we understand to be the situation on the ground?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, we are hearing from the Kremlin from the Russian Ministry of Defense, saying that they are repelling these

Ukrainian forces, in their words. But what we're hearing from the Ukrainian side is that they are just taking yet more and more territory.

Just earlier this morning, we heard from President Zelenskyy saying that the Town of Sudzha, just near the border is now fully under Ukrainian

control. Under the control of Ukrainian forces. At this stage, they say they have advanced more than 21 miles through Russia's defenses, more than

thousand square kilometers that have been taken under the control of Ukrainian forces 82 settlements.

So, this is a significant feat just across the border from Ukraine. We've been hearing from officials in Ukraine saying that what they're trying to

establish here is what they've described as a sort of security buffer zone inside Russia to protect Ukraine's border regions.

And earlier today, we heard from an aide to President Zelenskyy. He said that this is really aimed at persuading Russia to get into the negotiating

table for fair negotiations by what they're trying to do, essentially impose significant tactical defeat.

ANDERSON: Yeah, and there were, of course, peace talks without Russia at the table in Geneva earlier in the year, talk of further opportunities for

a peace summit, and that is how is described by President Zelenskyy sometime in November.

[09:15:00]

And so, this may very well be in anticipation of that getting the narrative, sort of, you know, into the Ukrainian hands, as it were. U.S.

officials have said that Russia is moving troops towards Kursk. What could this mean on the battlefield at this point?

BASHIR: Well, look, but certainly the message we've been hearing from U.S. officials that they're diverting several thousands of troops away from

those key front lines in the south and the east focus on the Kursk Region. Ukraine has a different assessment. They believe that there is still a

significant presence that they haven't seen necessarily this diversion.

But the question really is -- what is the end goal here for the Ukrainian forces? But also, what could this mean in terms of Ukraine's ability to

actually hold on to these particular territories, if indeed, Russia is moving several thousands of troops to the Kursk Region?

We know, of course, from U.S. officials, that they believe that this has been a significant surprise for Russia. It's certainly been a point of

embarrassment for President Putin. But according to U.S. officials have spoken to U.S. effort to CNN. They don't really believe that Ukraine has

the ability to hold on to these territories for very long.

And they're really at this stage uncertain about how this could affect the broader outcomes of the war. What Ukraine can actually gain from trying to

take these territories along the border.

ANDERSON: Yeah. Good to have you. Thank you very much indeed, Nada Bashir. Well to the U.S. where the Democratic Party's Presidential Nominee Kamala

Harris is set to unveil her economic agenda if she is elected president in November's election.

The first policy speech schedule for later today is expected to include proposals to lower costs for middle class families, including a ban on

corporate price gouging, according to her campaign team, will also include a plan to make housing more affordable, especially for first time home

buyers.

And she will deliver her speech at an event in North Carolina with battle ground state, that is that both she and Republican Donald Trump are working

very hard to win. CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere is following all of this from Washington for you. We had heard some talking points from Donald Trump this

week on economic policy.

And didn't do a particularly good job on keeping on point, but we got some of where he stands. What more do we know about Kamala Harris' economic

speech at this point?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, look, she's going to lay out a bunch of specific proposals. The question, of course, will remain how

she would be able to get any of them passed or signed if she were to be elected, but for right now, she's talking about things like a $25,000

credit for first time homeowners, a tax credit, a child tax credit, that would be renewing something that existed for the first couple of years

under the Biden Administration for parents of young children.

The expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, which affects a lot of poor Americans, and then things like crackdown on price gouging in supermarkets.

This is an attempt for Harris to say that she knows that Americans are still feeling the pain of inflation and of not feeling like their dollar is

going as far as it was, even though all the economic indicators basically say that things are in a much better place than they were when Joe Biden

came in. And what Biden was suffering for politically when he was running.

ANDERSON: Yeah, and that will be a different position from that of President Biden, who insisted on continuing to sort of lecture the American

people about what the economic data was showing when it was quite clear that on the street, as it were, on Main Street, people are still feeling

the pinch.

So, I can, you know it's clear that she's taking a different position there. On Thursday, she also held her first formal joint appearance with

President Biden since he dropped out. What came out of that?

DOVERE: Well, that was announcing something that actually came out of the Inflation Reduction Act, so a piece of legislation that is almost two years

old at this point, but that allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices to get them lower saving, by their calculations, billions of dollars for

Americans on some of the 10 of the most common medications, things like heart disease and diabetes medications.

That is another way that they are pointing to things that this administration has done that have cut costs. The difference between that

and what she's proposing today is that's already done. Those price cuts are happening. Now she's talking about things that she will try to do if she is

elected president.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed.

DOVERE: Thank you.

ANDERSON: We are just over 80 days and counting until that U.S. election.

[09:20:00]

Well, still to come, authorities make multiple arrests in last year's death of Matthew Perry, seen here from an overdose of ketamine, which he had been

reportedly using for depression. We'll take a look at the drug that experts say can be a big game changer for treating depression.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Right, you're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson for you. 22 minutes past 2 here in London, and an update on a story that we

broke on this show yesterday. A woman known to authorities as the ketamine queen is being held without bail in connection with the death of TV star

Matthew Perry.

She is one of five people facing charges related to Perry's fatal ketamine overdose in 2023. She pleaded not guilty, but she is considered a flight

risk. Some of the other defendants have already struck plea deals. You may have heard of ketamine as a party drug. It's sometimes referred to as

special K but even when it's legally used, it is not approved for mental health disorders

Some experts are raising concerns about potential abuse or dependence. CNN's Medical Correspondent, Meg Tirrell is here with more on this. Tell us

what we know at this point about what ketamine is used for, what it should be used for, what it should not be used for.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, ketamine is an incredibly interesting drug. It's been around since the 1960s when it was

first developed and used as a battlefield anesthetic during the Vietnam War, it is FDA approved now as an anesthetic, both for humans and for

animals. There is also an FDA approved version of ketamine, known as Esketamine.

The brand name is Spravato, that's made by Johnson and Johnson, and that is approved for treatment resistant depression. But there's also this sort of

wild west of off label use of ketamine, the anesthetic version of ketamine that is used for all kinds of mental health disorders through clinics used

for depression, anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, even things like Lyme disease, where doctors are arguing that this really has not been tested or shown to

be safe and effective, but it is increasingly being used quite a lot.

So, there is concern about the use of this drug. It also, of course, is used recreationally, and there are data showing that in the United States,

seizures of illicit ketamine have been increasing over the years. So, there are both these approved uses from the FDA, but also off label use that is

sort of a legal loophole, and then recreational use of illicit ketamine as well, Becky.

ANDERSON: Right, how exactly is it given to patients?

TIRRELL: Well, it can be given in different ways. It's injected as an anesthetic, but as Esketamine or Spravato, which is the approved drug for

treatment resistant depression, it's given as a nasal spray.

[09:25:00]

And this is under a very controlled setting. The FDA says you need to be monitored by a health care professional for two hours after the

administration of this. It's given twice a week over four weeks for this use. They also say you shouldn't drive until you get a good night's sleep.

So, until the next day after you receive this ketamine treatment because of the side effects it can have in terms of sort of dissociation, cognitive

side effects, and that two-hour monitoring is for respiratory depression to make sure that you're breathing OK and your heart rate is all right.

So, this is a very powerful drug. Doctors say it needs to be used under a lot of supervision, and of course, there's a lot of concern that it's being

used a lot more broadly than that, both in medical settings and recreationally.

ANDERSON: And the risk of addiction?

TIRRELL: There is a risk of addiction both physical dependence and psychological dependence, doctors say. So that is something that they watch

very closely. Even in the FDA approved version, there are warnings about the potential for abuse.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Meg. Thank you. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And for the

first time, a new, more dangerous strain of Mpox has been found outside of Africa. It's been confirmed in Sweden, and the World Health Organization

warns there will likely be more cases in Europe in the days and weeks ahead.

Pakistan also reporting its first suspected Mpox case this year. Well, Thailand is set to get its youngest prime minister. The parliament voted to

put 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra into office after the Constitutional Court removed the previous prime minister. Paetongtarn is the daughter of

the former prime minister who was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

Her appointment is conditional on Thailand's King giving his endorsement. Doctors in India stepping up their protests and strikes after last week's

rape and murder of a colleague. Medical unions are backing the demonstrations. The protests began after the body of a trainee medic was

discovered last Friday. I'm Becky Anderson in London for you this week.

Ahead on "Connect the World", lower inflation, strong retail sales and a recent recovery rally on Wall Street. All seems like us all systems go,

doesn't it, for the U.S. economy, why so many Americans that are still feeling the pinch. More on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: Well, welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in London. You're watching "Connect the World". The bell is just wrong on Wall Street. It is out of

the gate and up and running for the Friday session, and Wall Street on track for a winning week if stocks can hang on to their recovery rally.

It's a mixed open that said here on "Connect the World". We do like a bit of nuance and context. So, we are asking you to think back 11 days when

stock markets were frankly freaking out and were clearly fearful. The world's biggest economy was heading for a recession with quite a contrast

to this week with a string of reports painting a picture of a more solid U.S. economy

But even after some reassuring data, what if so many people in the U.S. feel strapped to keep in mind, prices in general aren't coming down.

Cooling inflation figures just tell us that prices are rising less quickly than before, and the signs are that housing has become, frankly,

unaffordable for millions of Americans.

CNN's Matt Egan joining me now from New York, to put all of this in context. And it is important to remember, we've seen these better-than-

expected U.S. economic reports, this week suggesting fears of a possible recession were overdrawn. And yet, Americans are still coming up against

higher prices. Just explain what's going on.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Becky, I'm a big believer in the idea that two things can be true at the same time. It is absolutely true that life

here in America, and frankly, many countries around the world, life is so much more expensive than it was just a few years ago, groceries, rent, car

insurance, day care, prices have no doubt gone up, but it is also true that the rate of inflation has eased.

So no, it doesn't mean that prices are going down. They're going up at a more gradual pace, and that is good news. That is very good news. I mean,

in some ways, that's actually the best-case scenario all along, was that not that prices would plunge, but that they would just go up at a more

gradual pace, and that, that would happen without the jobs market imploding.

And so that is why there is reason to be encouraged by the state of the U.S. economy. But here's the problem with inflation. It is cumulative, and

so that is why people do feel frustrated. And some people, not everyone, but some people are struggling to pay the bills because they are feeling

the impact of not one price hike, but years of price hikes.

And as much as a lot of us miss those pre covid prices, we're not going back to them in most cases, and that's just not going to happen. You

mentioned the jobs market, Becky. Two things are true on that front too. It's absolutely true that the unemployment rate has gone up and there are

cracks in the jobs market, and hiring has slowed, and that is concerning to some extent.

But it's also true that there's no imminent recession in sight. I haven't talked to any economists who are worried about something imploding in the

economy right now. It's something to keep an eye on, but there's no sign of an imminent recession, and so I think that's why it makes sense.

And frankly, I'm not shocked that the market has bounced back the way it did those fears 11 days ago. I mean, a lot of that was overdone, and I

think that we're seeing that cooler heads are thankfully prevailing, including on Wall Street, where the market has basically recovered all of

those losses, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah. And there were some very stock and industry specific reasons for that market to go south. What the last Monday as well, some

concerns about tech earnings, et cetera. And so, I'm with you on that. I think overall, sort of overblown story of recession.

But it is key that you know, the man on the street, men and women on the street in the states are still feeling the pinch, and that will need to be

addressed by both the candidates in this upcoming election, and we will hear more from Kamala Harris on economic policy later today. Thank you.

Well, CNN has obtained secret video captured on hidden camera of one of the architects of what's known as Project 2025. He's also the Policy Director

of the RNC team that rewrote the Republican Party's official platform. Now in this secret video, the RNC operative talks about his controversial

conservative blueprint for a second Trump term. And that Trump's disavow of Project 2025, is just politics. CNN's Kyung Lah with us.

[09:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSSELL VOUGHT, FORMER CABINET MEMBER IN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You are looking at secretly recorded video of Russell Vought, a Former Cabinet

Member in the Trump Administration

VOUGHT: This year has been predominantly now getting ready for a year, five of a Trump Administration. We've got about 350 different documents that are

regulations and things of that nature.

LAH (voice-over): Vought, the Platform Policy Director for the Republican National Committee says he is building the plan for Trump's second term. I

don't know what the hell it is. It's project 25 Trump publicly disavowed Project 2025 a conservative blueprint for his administration if he gets re-

elected, but in private, both said that's just politics. The details of the real plans are secret and based on Trump's own beliefs.

VOUGHT: Notwithstanding. I expect you to hear ten more times from the rally, the president, you know, distancing himself from the left's

boogeyman of Project 2025.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

VOUGHT: Um.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you're not worried about that?

VOUGHT: No, I'm not worried about it. And so, I see what he's doing is just very, very conscious, distancing himself from a brand. He's very supportive

of what we do. And know that we have an all manner of things that we do that's, you know, even unrelated to Project 2025.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

LAH (voice-over): Vought has been a mastermind behind expanding the powers of the presidency, some of those policy proposals Trump has supported, two

sources tell CNN. Trump even hosted a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser two years ago for the group, Vought founded the right-wing center for renewing America.

VOUGHT: He's been at our organization. He's raised money for our organization. He's blessed it.

LAH (voice-over): In this hotel suite, Vought thinks he's talking to family members of a wealthy donor, but one is a journalist, the other an actor,

working undercover for the U.K. based Center for Climate reporting. The center provided the video to CNN on the condition we blur their faces so

they can continue their undercover work. The conversation covers a host of issues like abortion and how his position differs from Trump.

VOUGHT: And he talks about rape, incest and life of the mother. All, I actually don't believe in those exceptions, I want to get to abolition. But

I also, we got to win elections. And so, I want to get as far as we possibly can.

LAH (voice-over): His view of who should be an American.

VOUGHT: So, I want to make sure that we can say, we are a Christian nation. And my viewpoint is mostly that I would probably be Christian nation-ism.

That's pretty close to Christian nationalism. Can we, if we're going to have legal immigration, can we get people that actually believe in in

Christianity?

Is that something or do we have to have, you know, we're not allowed to have, ask questions about Sharia law?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What could we see America looking like, I guess, in an ideal world?

VOUGHT: I mean, in an ideal world, I mean, I think we could save the country in a sense of, you know, the largest deportation in history.

LAH (voice-over): And even pornography.

VOUGHT: We'd have a national ban on pornography if we could, right?

LAH (voice-over): But the most striking of both statements has to do with presidential power.

VOUGHT: George Floyd obviously was not about race. It was about destabilizing the Trump Administration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

VOUGHT: It's the left belief that structures in society, are the problem. Pulling society down for purposes of revolution is exactly what they want.

And what you're seeing on college campuses is a part of that as well. The president has, you know, the ability both along the border and elsewhere to

maintain law and order with the military.

LAH (voice-over): A major part of Vought's plan is turning thousands of career federal jobs into political appointments, meaning workers could be

fired if they're not sufficiently loyal to Trump.

VOUGHT: Eighty percent of my time is working on the plans of what's necessary to take control of these bureaucracies. I want to be the person

that crushes the deep state.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

VOUGHT: I think there's a lot of different ways to do that. It is defunding it. It's impoundment, the ability to not spend money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

VOUGHT: It's getting rid of their independence.

LAH (voice-over): Even as Vought talks about the so-called deep state, he claims his group is forming its own to take over on day one.

VOUGHT: We are trying to create a shadow Office of Management and Budget, a shadow National Security Council and a shadow Office of Legal Counsel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

VOUGHT: These are the main organs in government that you need outside to create the battle plan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you're not going to publish those?

VOUGHT: No, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They go straight to.

VOUGHT: Yeah, they're very, very close hold.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (on camera): We are hearing from both the Trump campaign and Russell Vought's organization.

[09:40:00]

In response to the video, a spokesperson for Vought's group is downplaying the video, saying Vought has spoken about the same topics, publicly,

telling CNN quote, thank you for airing our perfect conversation emphasizing our policy work is totally separate from the Trump campaign.

And the Trump campaign says only President Trump and the campaign represent policies for the second term. Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well next up in "World Sport", the night football fans around the world have been looking forward to. It is the new season of the Premier

League, and it is just a few hours away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: We're just a few hours away from the kickoff of the new English Premier League season. Manchester United face Fulham the real question is,

can anybody stop Man City. Andy Scholes will have that right after this break. I'll be back top of the hour with more "Connect the World".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END