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One World with Zain Asher
Netanyahu Visits White House For Critical Meeting; Rubio Defends 90 Day Freeze In Aid; FBI Bracing For A Massive Purge As Deadline Passes; Federal Agencies In The U.S. Facing An Uncertain Future; Toddler Evacuated From Gaza For Urgent Medical Care; Talks With Trump Could Include Iran's Nuclear Ambitions; Super Bowl Week Fun Underway In New Orleans; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired February 04, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): He has the opportunity to address the most pertinent issues affecting Americans' health. We also need to reform
institutions like FDA and NIH, and those, as already been indicated, are my priorities as chairman of the Health Committee. I look forward to his
support in accomplishing this.
If confirmed, I look forward to working together with Mr. Kennedy to achieve President Trump's mission of improving the health of all Americans.
And with that, I yield.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: We had Senator Bill Cassidy reaffirming and going into more detail as to why he has decided to support Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. for the position of Health and Human Services Secretary.
This had been a controversial vote and the one that was crucial in getting Bill Cassidy on board because he seemed to be the one that was most
skeptical about RFK Jr. stances in the past in terms of vaccines and other statements that he's made and conspiracy theories that he has promoted.
Senator Cassidy said that Kennedy committed that if he was confirmed as HHS secretary, he would offer unprecedented cooperation with him, meeting with
him numerous times, and also committed to his support of vaccines and their importance and debunking, once and for all, any relation between vaccines
and autism.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Vaccines and autism.
GOLODRYGA: So that was a crucial vote. And now it does appear that RFK Jr. will go past committees for a wider scale vote within the Senate as a
whole, which he is likely to be confirmed on a very, very, very small margin.
ASHER: All right. You are watching ONE WORLD. I'm Zain Asher. And this is, of course, my colleague, Bianna Golodryga.
GOLODRYGA: I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: It is a critical meeting with consequences that could ripple across the Middle East. In just a few hours, U.S. President Donald Trump is set to
welcome the Israeli prime minister to the White House.
GOLODRYGA: That's right. Benjamin Netanyahu will become the first world leader to meet with President Trump since he took office last month.
The meeting comes as Hamas says phase two of the ceasefire talks have begun. Now, beyond the Gaza ceasefire and the hostage deal, the two leaders
could discuss the future of Gaza itself.
ASHER: All right. Which Mr. Trump said should be cleared out for rebuilding and other regional issues as well, including Iran's nuclear ambitions.
CNN's senior White House correspondent, Kevin Liptak, joins us live now with a preview. So, just walk us through how the relationship, Kevin,
between Netanyahu and Trump has evolved.
I mean, obviously, you remember, back in 2020, Trump was very upset with Netanyahu, because he ended up congratulating Joe Biden on winning the 2020
election. Obviously, their relationship has evolved.
We know what Netanyahu thinks of Trump. He's certainly supportive of Trump because he thinks that Trump has Israel's interest or rather Netanyahu's
interest at heart.
What is Trump's view of Netanyahu, Kevin?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think some of those sour feelings from 2020, I'm not sure that they've entirely faded.
And you'll think back to the days immediately after the October 7th attack in 2023. Donald Trump was one of the only American politicians to come out
and criticize Netanyahu for not anticipating that that was going to happen. He came under some pretty intense condemnation even from Republicans.
And so I think that this goes to show you that Donald Trump holds a grudge. Of course, we know that he does. Back in 2020, he was very, very upset that
Netanyahu congratulated Netanyahu on President Biden's win. He even told Barak Ravid, the Israeli journalist, F him.
And so I think this is a complicated relationship. Certainly what we're going to see today is a degree of warmth between the two men. Netanyahu is
the first foreign leader that Trump has invited here at the White House, but certainly it is a complicated relationship and a very complicated
moment.
And it's not entirely clear that both of these men are on the same page when it comes to what's happening in the region, particularly when it comes
to the ceasefire for hostages deal that Donald Trump, remember, took partial credit for before he took office.
Netanyahu faces some competing pressures here, certainly from his right- wing coalition in Israel, who is putting some pressure on him to just abandon the temporary trade that's in place now, but also pressure from the
opposite side, from war-weary Israelis who want to see a permanent end to this conflict.
The question for Netanyahu, I think, is where exactly Trump stands, and that's why he is here in Washington to try and get on the same page.
Donald Trump, according to officials, wants to see all the hostages come out and wants to see the conflict come to an end, but it was interesting to
listen to him in the Oval Office last night say that he doesn't have any assurances that is -- that this agreement will hold. It's casting somewhat
of a pessimistic light on all of this. So it will be an important moment for these two men to sit down and talk about that.
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The other issue that I think they'll want to discuss is the future of Gaza and the future of the people who are living there. You remember, Donald
Trump said that it should, quote, be cleared out, that the Palestinians who are living in Gaza should be moved to Egypt and Jordan. Those countries
leaders have, of course, said that they will not accept permanent settlements of Palestinians in their countries. This will be a topic of
discussion that Trump will have with the Jordanian king when he is here next week.
We did hear from a senior administration official this morning who tried to put some clarity on those comments. Officials said that Trump views Gaza
right now as a quote, a demolition zone. He thinks it could take 10 to 15 years to rebuild it into a living, a livable place for -- of the
Palestinians to make their homes.
And he said that it would be inhumane for them to continue living there with unexploded ordinance among the rubble, trying to add some more clarity
to what exactly Trump was saying.
So important topic of discussion for these two men when they sit down in the Oval Office later today, and then later when they convene a joint press
conference here at the White House.
GOLODRYGA: Of course, we'll be covering that. Kevin Liptak not even flinching as that truck went cruising by you and reversed there behind you.
ASHER: And beaconed, by the way.
GOLODRYGA: Way to go, Kevin. Quickly, we know another big issue that's going to be on the table is that of Iran. "The New York Times" is reporting
that U.S. intelligence shows that Iran appears to be moving faster towards building a nuclear weapon. That is something that Prime Minister Netanyahu
said that he would never allow as prime minister of Israel.
One would imagine that he would be pressing the president to be in lockstep with Israel if Israel does decide to ultimately take out Iran's nuclear
facilities. And the president has been very skeptical, though, as have some of those around him as top advisors, including the vice president, as to
whether the U.S. would engage in military activities like that.
What more are we hearing about Donald Trump's position on this issue?
LIPTAK: Yes. Yes. There's been all kinds of speculation that Netanyahu, part of his reasons for coming to Washington is to kind of take Trump's
temperature on a preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
There's a view, I think, that Netanyahu thinks that this is his moment to take action as Iran accelerates its program, according to American
officials, but also as its proxies have just been decimated across the Middle East, that this could be sort of the moment in history for --
ASHER: Kevin, I'm so sorry. Kevin, we have to interrupt you because Secretary of State Marco Rubio is speaking alongside the Costa Rican
president, speaking about his trip to El Salvador, where the U.S. has negotiated an agreement with El Salvador to house American citizens,
criminal American citizens in El Salvadorian prisons. Let's listen in.
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MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: There are obviously legalities involved. We have a constitution. We have all sorts of things, but it's a
very generous offer. No one's ever made an offer like that. And to outsource at a fraction of the cost at least some of the most dangerous and
violent criminals that we have in the United States. But obviously the administration will have to make a decision and it -- but it's -- I raised
it yesterday because it's an incredible offer and an unprecedented one.
On the second point, look, we froze foreign aid so that we can review those programs. The waiver process exists so that we can review those programs.
Today, here, we've issued waivers for programs that make all the sense in the world. They make America safer. They make America stronger, because the
programs we've issued a waiver for are helping our trusted partners intercept and stop drugs and terrorists from coming into the United States.
But I issued a blanket waiver that said, if this is lifesaving programs, OK? If it's providing food, or medicine, or anything that it's saving lives
and is immediate and urgent, you're not included in the freeze. I don't know how much more clearer we can be than that.
And I would say if some organization is receiving funds from the United States and does not know how to apply a waiver, then I have real questions
about the competence of that organization. Or I wonder whether they're deliberately sabotaging it for purposes of making a political point.
I want to repeat what I've said. I have long supported foreign aid. I continue to support foreign aid. But foreign aid is not charity. It exists
for the purpose of advancing the national interest of the United States.
Every dollar we will spend, as long as I'm secretary of state, and as long as President Trump is in the White House, is going to be a dollar that's
advancing our national interest. And you see this here today. These are programs that work. This is the kind of foreign aid we need to do. And
there are programs that we have questions about, that do not further the national interest, and they should be eliminated.
And then there are those we need to learn more about. But I've -- we have a blanket waiver, it's been out for a week. And anybody who tells you that
don't understand it, let me repeat it in very simple words, if it saves lives, if it's emergency life-saving aid, food, medicine whatever, they
have a waiver. I don't know how much clearer we can be
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And if they're not applying it, then maybe they're not a very good organization. Maybe they shouldn't be getting money at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Good morning, Mr. President -- Secretary Rubio. Welcome to Costa Rica. We've learned that this morning,
before your meeting with the President, Rodrigo Chaves, you held a meeting with two former ministers of this administration.
We'd like to know if you can share a bit about the contents of the meeting with former minister, Laura Fernandez, and former minister (INAUDIBLE) and
if you will have additional meetings in our country with a similar interest as the meetings you had this morning.
RUBIO (through translator): No. These are two people who, up until a few days, they were in government. And during that time, during their time in
government, they had been very strong allies of the United States, with whom we exchanged -- we shared ideas and values. I know they were outside -
- out of government. I wasn't going to have another chance to meet with them. And I had the chance to greet them today and thank them for all of
their cooperation. They've been very firm voices in everything we've talked about today.
These are people who understand very well the threats that Chinese companies represent to economic sovereignty and the security of countries.
And we simply wanted to thank them for everything they did in their positions during their time in government, in the cabinet, knowing that
they have left government.
Shaun Tandon from the "AFP."
SHAUN TANDON, STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Can I follow up my colleague John's remarks, his questions about the aid? You talk about the United
States being a strong partner. China, of course, is doing aid projects around the world.
When you have these drastic changes, what does it do to American self- power? Is there a question about the U.S. using leverage perhaps some of these programs are there? And also, you mentioned there are, of course,
legalities involved in sending prisoners overseas. Who can explain that? Obviously, there's the Constitution. What type of human rights protections
would prisoners have if they're being sent overseas? Is that a question that you raised with President Bukele?
And, Mr. President, you're of course a development expert. How do you feel about the cuts in U.S. assistance or the changes in U.S. assistance? And
how will this change worldwide and change with the competition of China? Thank you.
RUBIO: Well, let me just answer the first question. The second question is, again, President Bukele made an offer. We communicated it to the public. He
communicated it to the public. We'll have to study it and see how something like that could even be applied.
On the first question about aid, no one's talking -- this is a 90-day freeze through which it allows us now to review programs. You know, before
we did the freeze, we couldn't find out anything about some of these programs.
And USAID, in particular, they refused to tell us anything. We won't tell you what the money's going to, where the money's for, who has it, which
contractor it's been. You know, in some cases it goes through four different contractors before it reaches the intended recipient. These are
not my numbers. These are USAID's number.
In some cases with USAID, 10, 12, 13 percent, maybe less, of the money was actually reaching the recipient and the rest was going into the overhead in
the bureaucracy. This isn't my money. This is taxpayer money. So we're not going to eliminate foreign aid. We're going to have foreign aid that makes
sense. We're going to have foreign aid that works. We're going to have foreign aid that furthers the national interest. We're going to have
foreign aid that benefits our trusted partners and our allies.
I am here today. We've issued a waiver today because in Costa Rica, we have a trusted partner and an ally who has proven that they have taken aid from
the United States and used it to fix a problem, to help us, to do it in a way that actually helps the United States. They're stopping drugs. They're
stopping criminals. They're identifying terrorists.
This is foreign aid that furthers the national interest. Other programs, we have questions about. And -- but we've also issued waivers because we don't
want anybody to see anybody die or anybody be harmed in the short term.
But we're going to conduct a review. And we are going to have foreign aid in this country that is going to further the national interest of the
United States. If it doesn't make us stronger or more prosperous or more secure, we aren't going to spend taxpayer money on it. We owe that to the
people of our country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Final words from President Chaves and Marco Rubio before we end.
RODRIGO CHAVES ROBLES, PRESIDENT OF COSTA RICA (through translator): In that order, yes. Mr. Secretary, it has been an honor to have you here. I am
extremely pleased that we have come to fundamental agreements for our common interests in both countries.
The partnership between the U.S. and Costa Rica is strong. And under your leadership and the leadership of President Trump, we will make it even
stronger because it's dark before light, but we are looking at each other and seeing eye-to-eye on these very important issues.
[12:15:13]
Thank you very much, and it's been a great pleasure. Thank you.
RUBIO (through translator): Thank you very much for having us. And thank you for your cooperation and our friendship as peoples and as countries. We
will continue to work on that foundation and do very important things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. You've just been listening to a live press conference with Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking alongside the Costa Rican
president there.
He took questions from reporters on a whole range of issues, including, most notably, the future of USAID. There has been so much concern about the
fact that the USAID, the international development agency within the United States that distributes foreign aid to multiple countries around the world
is being essentially absorbed into the State Department.
A lot of people are fearing what that means for international development. Marco Rubio said a few things. He talked about the fact that he does
support foreign aid and that there are waivers in place for life-saving programs.
He was saying that he does support foreign aid, especially when it comes to life-saving programs and that there are waivers in place for that.
He also talked about the U.S.'s recent deal with El Salvador, this idea that El Salvador is likely going to be housing violent criminals, even U.S.
citizens, people from around the world, but U.S. citizens most notably, people who might have committed crimes in terms of their involvement with
MS-13 or other gangs. And a lot of people are also questioning the legality of deporting American citizens and housing them in foreign jails.
I want to go straight now to CNN's Stefano Pozzebon, who has been tracking Secretary Rubio's trip to Latin America.
I want to start with the future of USAID. Just walk us through what specifically Secretary of State Marco Rubio was talking about when he
talked about these waivers being issued for life-saving programs specifically.
He also touched on this idea that there is some concern in the Trump administration when it comes to accountability as to how the money that
USAID uses is being spent. Walk us through that.
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, exactly. Well, for sure, USAID finances a whole plethora of programs here in the southern -- not just in
Colombia, where I am, but across the rest of South America and Latin America in general.
For example, one of the programs to repatriate and to integrate Venezuelan migrants from other countries into Ecuador that was run up until last year
by the Noboa administration down in Quito was financed by USAID.
And the USAID has, for example, financed a project that has to do with freedom of expression in authoritarian countries such as Venezuela,
Nicaragua, or Cuba, or hosting internally displaced people here in Colombia.
Like, for example, we have seen that a stark reminder of the situation in Catatumbo, which is a region in Colombia where, at date, there are more
than 30,000 people internally displaced. And USAID is present there.
Of course, whenever there is a largesse, whenever there is a foreign aid, there are also abuse and, of course, that leads to corruption, which we
know is a chronic problem in this side of the world.
And so it seems that what the Secretary of State has suggested is that they had frozen -- a blank freeze on all the foreign aid, but individual
organizations can apply to a waiver to keep receiving the funding for activity that they deem as extremely important.
And for example, those who provide aid to migrants on the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama which has just come into my mind from our
previous reporting.
Now, of course, the Secretary of State has also said that if a -- if an organization doesn't know how to apply for a waiver, it shouldn't even be
part of the USAID galaxy. And that is a completely different thing.
We will know that now the waivers request will arrive aplenty from this side of the world because there are many, many people who depend on USAID
and international cooperation, not just for the lives, but also for work. We are talking about tens of thousands of people who work out of these
programs every single day.
So the blank freeze from the United States administration definitely sent shockwaves around the world, especially here in South America, but also in
Southern Africa, in Southeast Asia, for example. And now, of course, these organizations are trying to come to terms and trying to see if they can
apply to these waivers. But it's definitely a chaotic and confusing situation, Zain, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. The shockwaves really surprised the world, in large part, because before the freeze was announced, you had someone like Elon Musk
describing USAID as a criminal organization. That is not how the Secretary of State described it here, a bit more diplomatic in his description of how
the organization would be absorbed into the State Department under his purview.
[12:20:04]
Still a lot of questions though as to where that money that has been allocated and appropriated by Congress already will go and where it will be
spent.
Another important factor described and discussed here in El Salvador was the president of El Salvador saying that he would be willing to accept
deportees from the United States of any nationality, as Zain, questioned the legality of whether U.S. citizens could actually be deported that are
currently housed in U.S. prisons.
The secretary of state said that he would have to study El Salvador's offer specifically to hold U.S. citizens in its jails. But talk about the
significance of such a move in general.
POZZEBON: Yes. I mean, it seems it's almost a vindication for the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who has cultivated an image of a tough on
crime, hard law approach to the chronic crime problem in El Salvador.
Let's remember, this is a country of a mere few million people, but that had some of the highest murder rates in the world in the past. Bukele comes
to power straight ahead of the -- of the global pandemic, employs a state of emergency.
The state of emergency has been renewed since 2022, giving the police the power to detain whoever is suspected, Bianna and Zain, suspected,
allegedly, member of a gang. And that's why we're seeing incarceration rates now going up through the roof with over 80,000 Salvadorians behind
bars.
I think that the White House is taking a leaf out of the Bukele approach and trying to show they're tough on crime approach towards the
international gangsterism that we're seeing in the United States.
But that, of course, leaves many, many questions on the legality of it and, of course, opens the door to a whole sort of new human rights abuses, both
south and north of the border. Zain.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Stefano Pozzebon, thank you so much.
Also, this just in to CNN. We have learned that a military flight carrying migrants will soon be on its way to Guantanamo Bay. That is word from three
CNN sources.
ASHER: All right. This follows President Trump's order to prepare the U.S. naval base on the island of Cuba for tens of thousands of migrants. Crews
have already been sent to the base to build tents near the Migrant Operations Center.
Questions about how long they can be held there and what rights they have still need to be answered.
GOLODRYGA: We'll be right back with much more after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:25:09]
ASHER: The top law enforcement agency in the U.S. is bracing for what could be a massive purge.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. An official deadline for the FBI to turn over the names of any employees who played a role in the January 6 investigations expired
about 25 minutes ago.
Now, that list involves hundreds, if not thousands, of agents and officials. This comes just days after the Department of Justice abruptly
terminated more than two dozen prosecutors who took part in criminal cases against President Trump.
ASHER: CNN security correspondent and former FBI agent Josh Campbell joins us live now from Los Angeles.
So, Josh, as a former FBI agent yourself, I just want to get your take on this, especially the fact that technically speaking, career employees
within the FBI can only be removed for misconduct, failures in performance and conduct that have been documented over the course of many months.
I mean, just walk us through where the legality is in all of this.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No, it's so important. Within the federal government, there are political appointees who serve at the
will of any president. But as you mentioned, these FBI officials who are now potentially facing mass firing are career employees who enjoy certain
legal protections, which is why everyone that I talk to inside the FBI believes that there will be lawsuits if people are indeed terminated.
There have already been a number of executives who have been forced to retire. But I think the main point here that is really concerning people
inside the FBI is that sometimes those cases can take years to litigate.
And so it appears that Donald Trump's, you know, series of retribution calls here that he's been focusing on, even if they get overturned, it's
still trying to send a signal through the FBI that if you do something that the White House does not like, you might be terminated. It's truly, truly
chilling.
As you mentioned, the FBI leadership was given that deadline, which expired a short time ago to hand over details to the Trump administration
Department of Justice about who exactly the employees were that worked on that January 6 investigation. This is called widespread consternation
throughout the FBI because it's so unprecedented. They only see this going one way, and that is the Trump's DOJ potentially preparing a list for mass
firings.
Now these agents and analysts and professional staff are getting a lot of support, both from within. There are also outside groups to include a group
of attorneys who are basically threatening the Justice Department that you will face lawsuits if you get rid of these employees.
We're also hearing an appeal by law enforcement groups to Congress, asking members of Congress to step up and try to prevent this.
I'll read you part of what one letter we obtained yesterday says in this law enforcement organization's joint letter. It says special agents who
risk their lives protecting this country from criminals and terrorists are now being placed on lists and having their careers jeopardized. These
actions, which lack transparency and due process, are creating dangerous distractions and paralleling ongoing investigations and undermining the
Bureau's ability to work with state, local, international partners to make America safe again.
And last point here is that is such a critical aspect in all of this. I'm hearing from employees in the FBI and the larger U.S. intelligence
community. We are in a heightened threat environment here in the U.S. as it relates to terrorism. The president obviously has talked about the scourge
of fentanyl that's been coming into this country that federal officers work on.
And so the FBI employees are sitting there scratching their heads saying, if we are facing so many of these threats, the last thing that we need to
do is start clearing out the investigators who are charged with keeping communities safe, guys.
ASHER: Josh Campbell, live for us there with a very good point. Thank you so much, Josh.
OK. I want to bring in Norm Eisen. He's the co-founder of "The Contrarian," and he recently co-authored an op-ed for "The New York Times" called "Are
We Sleepwalking Into Autocracy?" He also litigated several cases involving President Trump and was also special counsel to the House Judiciary
Committee in his first impeachment trial. Norm joins us live now from Washington.
Norm, you are the perfect person to talk to about what's going on. I mean, when you think about -- I mean, it's only been two weeks, right, since
Donald Trump officially became president.
When you think about the fact that he is in the process of getting rid of or dismantling, rather, USAID, which he says is run by a bunch of lunatics.
We just had our Josh Campbell, one of our correspondents on the ground in L.A., talking about the fact that he is firing career staff at the FBI,
people who investigated January 6 convicts.
Also, the dramatic reduction in domestic assistance programs, foreign aid, of course. There's word that possibly 1,000 EPA employees who work on
climate change could also lose their jobs as well.
When you think about, not just what has happened and what Trump has done, but the fact that it all happened so quickly, only two weeks into
administration, what does that tell you about the type of America Donald Trump envisions?
NORN EISEN, FORMER HOUSE JUDICIARY SPECIAL COUNSEL IN TRUMP'S FIRST IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: It tells me that Donald Trump wants to change our
American autocracy into our American democracy, into an autocracy. He said he would be a dictator on day one. And when people assume dictatorial
powers, that means defying the constitution and laws, which he's done over and over again, every day of his administration.
[12:30:09]
When you come in wanting to be a dictator on day one, you very seldom give up those dictatorial powers voluntarily. Donald Trump has defied the
constitution with claiming that our constitutional citizenship doesn't apply. He claims he can rewrite that. He's gone to court. I was part of one
of the groups who went to court.
There are court orders telling him, no, he's tried to seize Congress powers under Article I, spending powers to free spending. The courts again said,
no, you can't do that. He's violated the laws on firing AGs. He's violating the laws on closing these government agencies like USAID, but maybe the
worst of all is.
This is somebody who complained about defunding the police. He's pardoned 1,600 insurrectionists or commuted their sentences. More than a hundred of
them violent insurrectionists. And now he's attacking the police, the law enforcement, the FBI and Department of Justice prosecutors. So this is not
American and the courts and the American people will not stand for it.
GOLODRYGA: Well, the courts have been flooded, as we know, with lawsuits, and we're just two weeks into this administration. Can they withstand the
amount of litigation that is coming their way and the speed at which it is happening?
Because the institution holds, that's for sure, or that's what we're banking on, Norm, but his policies and the lightning-speed orders that are
flooding Washington each day seemed to be a bit overwhelming.
And as we heard from Josh Campbell, I mean, the impact of these firings will be significant. There's a national security component to it, the fact
that FBI agents take months to be trained for the job. One has to even wonder who would want to be an FBI agent at this point if you're fired for
just doing your job.
I mean, isn't the damage already done, no matter what the courts ultimately fire back?
EISEN: Well, Donald Trump's shock and awe assault on American constitutional law, on democracy itself, his attack on our -- met by a
shock and awe defense with every day lawsuits being filed. The courts don't start themselves, but when litigants have asked, you've had judges
appointed by Republicans and Democrats alike saying, no, Trump, you can't do that.
So, so far those guardrails are holding and we're seeing pushback and increasing. Public pushback, our political leaders are waking up. I did
write for the times that I felt we were sleepwalking, but the alarms are going off.
I don't believe that the courts and the people are going to countenance this firing. The FBI, they protect us from terrorism, from drugs coming in,
fentanyl, child pornography, human trafficking, you're going to attack them, you're going to fire 6,000 of them, almost 20 percent of the Bureau?
Absolutely not.
I'm representing our courageous men and women of the FBI, among many others around the country. I sent a letter to DOJ, don't do this. I warned of all
legal remedies, so we are not going to allow it. You can expect vigorous court action quite promptly on this point.
GOLODRYGA: All right. We'll be following up with you, Norm Eisen. Thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Well, Israel's prime minister will be headed to the White House in just a few hours. After the break, we'll look at the issues he's
expected to discuss with President Trump and take a look at their relationship over the years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The fact that this would be President Trump's first meeting with a foreign leader since his
inauguration is telling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:35:48]
ASHER: Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga.
In just a few hours, Benjamin Netanyahu will be the first world leader to meet with Donald Trump since he returned to the White House.
Now, this is by no means their first meeting. The two go way back. However, today's meeting takes on new urgency.
ASHER: They'll discuss how to proceed in the second part of the three phase ceasefire deal in Gaza.
On Monday, President Trump did not seem particularly optimistic about the deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no assurances that it'll hold. I mean, I've seen people brutalized. I've never -- nobody's
ever seen anything like it. No, I have no guarantees that the peace is going to hold.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Mr. Netanyahu might also take the president's temperature on a direct Israeli strike on Iran rather than hitting Iranian proxies. However,
Donald Trump has not been keen on starting a new conflict with Iran either.
A fragile ceasefire in Gaza is giving a Palestinian toddler and her family new hope. The 2-year-old with a rare genetic condition was finally given
permission to leave Gaza.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. She's now in Jordan receiving critical medical care. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has Habiba's story and her journey out of Gaza. And a
warning, her report contains disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rana's preparing her baby girl for the big day. Habiba is finally leaving Gaza for life- saving
treatment.
This is what the wait has done to the 2-year-old. The black and shriveled skin you see is gangrene that has worsened dramatically in a matter of
days.
We followed Habiba's fight for her life for weeks. After our CNN report, Jordan heard her cries for help and decided to evacuate her for treatment
for a suspected rare genetic condition.
But it took nearly two weeks' time Habiba doesn't have to make it happen. The negotiations with Israel described as difficult by Jordanian officials.
Israeli authorities did not respond to CNN's repeated requests for comment on the delay in Habiba's evacuation.
Over the past week, as her mother helplessly watched Habiba teeter between life and death in intensive care, Rana had to also go through a roller
coaster of emotions.
[12:40:09]
As they prepared to leave for an evacuation that was later cancelled, Rana got crushing news, Israel would not let her leave Gaza with Habiba, forcing
this mother to make an impossible choice, to let go of Habiba, to save her life.
Dear Lord, if this is your will, I'll accept it, she prayed. But it was just too much to accept. Rana has to stay strong. She's Habiba's
everything.
On Monday, they woke up to good news, Jordan had secured approval for Rana to travel with Habiba, but this time, just as they got ready to go, they
were told her son no longer had Israeli permission to leave.
You're a big boy. I know how hard this is for you, Rana says. God will take care of you better than I ever will.
No one can make Habiba smile and forget her pain like her only brother, Soheib. He even brings out her cheeky side.
I'm going to go and leave you, Habiba says. But the thought of being left all alone is just terrifying for the 11-year-old.
I don't know what I'll do without them. Where do I go now? Soheib cries.
It's time to go. The ambulance is here. Soheib puts on a brave face for their goodbyes.
But soon after they head out, another twist, Soheib is cleared to join them. Jordan tried to spare Habiba this harsh long journey by land, but
Israel wouldn't approve a Jordanian airlift.
Across the border in Jordan, there's no time to waste. The military medevac chopper King Abdullah ordered is here for Habiba, ready for when she
crosses into Jordan.
With nightfall, the moment they've been waiting for, medics move fast to get the toddler. Habiba peeks out quietly from under her blanket, too young
to understand what this is all about.
As they head to the chopper, she wants mama. They need to get her fast to the hospital, but they do it gently.
KARADSHEH: It's a quick trip to the hospital. The medical team is here and ready. They're going to be monitoring Habiba every second of this trip.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Habiba's stable, but she's just arrived from an exhausting journey out of intensive care. For a shattered Rana, it's too
early to feel relief. As we get ready to take off, the team comforts Habiba.
It's the first time this family is flying, their first time seeing the world outside of besieged Gaza. Habiba's story is one out of thousands of
children who have become another faceless statistic of this war, trapped in Gaza and deprived of life-saving medical treatment.
On Monday, Israeli authorities said they approved Habiba's evacuation as a, quote, exceptional humanitarian gesture.
As soon as she arrives at the hospital, medical staff begin what doctors in Gaza couldn't do, a full clinical diagnosis over the next 24 hours.
Doctors here hope they'll be able to save Habiba's right leg and her arms, but they also fear it may be too late. Her journey out of Gaza may be over,
but another difficult battle now begins for little Habiba.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Amman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:59]
ASHER: All right. As we've been reporting, we are just hours from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu meeting at the White House with President Trump.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Let's get the latest from Barak Ravid, who is at the White House to cover that meeting. He's a CNN political and global affairs
analyst, as well as the author and reporter for "Axios." And the top reporter, no doubt, on this beat.
Barak, symbolically, a very important meeting, the first foreign leader coming in meeting with President Trump since he's taken office. I'm just
wondering, from Prime Minister Netanyahu's perspective, what are the deliverables that he is hoping to go back to Israel with later this week
and what are the realities in terms of what he is likely to actually walk away with?
BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think that the most important thing for Netanyahu at the moment with this meeting is
to have the meeting, to be the first foreign leader who comes here so that people in Israel, in his -- you know, his constituents, will see that he
gets this honor from Donald Trump. It's important for him domestically for his own politics.
But there are bigger issues. And I think what Netanyahu wants to do is to try and reach understandings with Trump on three key issues, number one,
the future of the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, where it's going, phase two, try and get an understanding about the U.S. and Israeli position on
this issue.
Number two, Iran, where this thing is going, are we going for a deal, are we going for a military strike?
And number three, the normalization of Saudi Arabia. What is Trump plan for this and what is Netanyahu plan for this?
ASHER: Yes. So you touched on obviously Iran, that's going to be a key theme this week just in terms of Netanyahu's goal of limiting Iran's
nuclear capabilities. And also trying to secure more military assistance for Israel as well.
Netanyahu knows, as does everybody, that Donald Trump is somewhat unpredictable. I mean, he does have mercurial tendencies. He does have a
need to dominate. How does Netanyahu navigate that?
I mean, obviously Donald Trump could say one thing this week, and then what ends up happening in a few months from now could be entirely different.
RAVID: Exactly. And, you know, Netanyahu and Trump have a history, OK? It wasn't always rosy between those two, OK? We remember, Donald Trump using
the F-word about Netanyahu in public. And I think Netanyahu would want to try and avoid from reminding Donald Trump all his negative feelings about
him. And this would be quite challenging.
And on the Iranian issue, that's also a challenge. Because Donald Trump, at the moment, is talking about trying to get some sort of a nuclear deal with
Iran. This means that any thought that Netanyahu has about a military strike in Iran will have to be delayed at least until we'll see if
diplomacy succeeds or fails.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And that F word we should note to our viewers was not friend. We'll just leave it there.
Barak --
ASHER: You're funny, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: In terms of where the two may butt heads, we know that President Trump campaigned on and has insisted that his priority is to bring every
single hostage home, especially the Americans, and have this war come to an end. When we heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu, he reiterated over and
over again that this was a temporary ceasefire. We know he's facing pressure domestically at home for the right to go back into Gaza and thus
not implement phase two.
I know there's a lot of pressure on the Prime Minister, on President Trump, from Israelis at large that would like to see this deal follow through to
phase two and phase three. What leverage of any does Prime Minister Netanyahu have at this point to keep stalling things?
RAVID: He doesn't have any leverage, but he's hoping to reach some sort of understanding with Trump about the conditions of how a deal on phase two
should look like.
The main point Netanyahu hopes to reach in agreement with Trump is what kind of governance structure will be in Gaza if phase two is implemented.
And this means whether Hamas stays in control in Gaza or not.
[12:50:11]
For now, both Netanyahu and Trump agree in public that Hamas shouldn't stay in power in Gaza, but they don't agree about what should be the
alternative. And I think that's going to be one of the key points in this conversation today.
ASHER: All right. Barak Ravid, live for us there. Thank you so much. Always good to see you.
All right. We are continuing to following some breaking news out of Sweden. Police say that around 10 people have been killed in a shooting at a school
in Central Sweden. Around 10 people killed in a school at a shooting in Central Sweden.
They do also mention that the shooter himself is also dead.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, such a tragedy. And we know several more people were injured in this attack as well. We'll continue to follow developments there
for you.
In the meantime, we'll take a short break and be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. It is that time of the year. The NFL has pitched its tent in New Orleans for Super Bowl 59. Anticipation is building for Sunday's big
game between Philly and Kansas City.
GOLODRYGA: Those words just rolled off your --
ASHER: I know. You would think I was American.
GOLODRYGA: That's because --
ASHER: So excited.
GOLODRYGA: The Kansas City Chiefs look to make history as the first team to win three Super Bowl World Championships in a row.
Our Coy Wire checked out with the NFL's big opening night when the players meet the media.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Welcome to opening night for Super Bowl 59 here in New Orleans, a rematch from the Super Bowl two seasons ago between the
Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Can the Eagles be the team to finally take down the two-time defending champs?
JALEN HURTS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES QUARTERBACK: You know, you sacrifice a lot, you put a lot in work. Work really hard to have this opportunity. And
so to do it and be back two times out of four years starting is very special. It's something, you know, the goal is to finish.
SAQUON BARKLEY, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES RUNNING BACK: You just got to take it all in. This is part of it. You got to enjoy it. So I'm happy to be here.
Happy to have conversations with you guys.
At the same time, you know, it's a business and you stay locked in. But today, you enjoy.
WIRE: Or will Kansas City become the first team ever to win three Super Bowl titles in a row?
CHRIS JONES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Kansas City. We're back in the Super Bowl, baby.
[12:55:02]
TRAVIS KELCE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS TIGHT END: The biggest lesson I've learned is don't let the hype get you. Don't let the magnitude of the game around
you get you. At the end of the day, this is a -- you know, you got here for a reason, that your team got here for a reason. So lean on them and don't
let the moment be too big for you.
PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QUARTERBACK: It kind of brings you closer together, when people are rooting against you. You just kind of --
and you become a tighter brotherhood in the locker room and you know that we're doing it the right way and we can bring it -- bring ourselves
together, have Chief's Kingdom with us, and go out there and try to win the game against everybody.
WIRE: Super Bowl week has officially kicked off. We'll be here all week long, bringing you the best sights and sound.
Coy Wire, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. That does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. Appreciate you being with us. I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. I'll be right back in just a few minutes with "AMANPOUR."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
