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Hala Gorani Tonight
Rex Tillerson Confirmed As U.S. Secretary Of State; White House To Iran: We're Putting You "On Notice"; Trump On Gorsuch: His Qualifications Are "Beyond Dispute"; Lawmakers Braced For Lengthy Brexit Battle; Israeli PM Forms Team To Establish New Settlement; Many In Eastern Ukraine Closely Watching Trump; Afghan Migrants Battle Through Bitter Winter; Going Undercover to Save Girls from Sham Marriages; CNN Anchors and Correspondents Reflect on 2016. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired February 01, 2017 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:02] HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome, everybody. I'm Hala Gorani. This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. The United States officially now has a new
secretary of state. All the international news we cover here on CNN, of course, will mean we'll be hearing from this man a lot. We'll be seeing
him a lot as well as he travels around the world.
I'm talking, of course, about Rex Tillerson. He was confirmed with a full Senate vote, 56-43 that adds up to 99. There was one vote that didn't get
cast, I can't, to be completely transparent, tell you why. They needed a simple majority.
Some Democrats, though, have opposed Rex Tillerson because of what they say is his corporate background and close ties to Russia. The first hurdle was
cleared by Rex Tillerson after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to back his nomination. We understand, according to reports as well that
Mr. Tillerson had lunch with President Donald Trump today.
Also moments ago, a lot to get through, an extraordinary scene in the White House briefing today. This is something that Rex Tillerson is going to
have to be thinking about.
During the daily press conference, Donald Trump's national security adviser made a surprise appearance. Michael Flynn slammed Iran for a recent
missile test and for supporting Houthi rebels inside Yemen, then he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL FLYNN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The Trump administration condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity and
stability throughout and beyond the Middle East and which places American lives at risk.
President Trump has severely criticized the various agreements reached between Iran, the Obama administration, as well as the United Nations as
being weak and ineffective.
Instead of being thankful to the United States in these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened. As of today, we are officially putting Iran on
notice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: We are officially putting Iran on notice. CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, is with me here in London. Global
affairs correspondent, Elise Labott is live at the State Department. So Elise, what does this mean, putting Iran on notice?
ELISE LABOTT, GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, nobody knows what that means because basically this is a surprise visit from Mike Flynn. No
one knew he was coming. No one has really heard anything about what the Trump administration is going to do vis-a-vis this missile test.
You had the U.N. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, yesterday saying that the U.S. is going to be very loud, that the missile test by Iran was really
outrageous.
But at the same time, you know that the U.S. is only one country at the U.S. so whether the U.N. -- U.S. could seek action against Iran at the U.N.
Security Council, highly unlikely with countries like Russia and China unlikely to approve such action and probably will use their veto.
The question is, what could the Trump administration do? Officially they haven't said what they know to be the case, whether there was an actual
ballistic missile test or not. They say if it was a ballistic missile test, it would be in violation of U.N. Security Council.
Interestingly enough, it is not in violation of that nuclear deal with Iran, between Iran and the P5 Plus One. So it remains to be seen what
putting Iran on notice, but certainly the administration doesn't have a policy against Iran that it's willing to roll out.
Clearly President Trump has said that he's against the Iran deal. I don't think he'll end up scrapping it, but probably will look for much more
stronger implementation and actions like you saw over the weekend in Yemen, working against Iran's interests there.
GORANI: All right, and certainly walking off without taking any questions has made it even more difficult, Elise, when Michael Flynn made that
statement in the briefing room to interpret what "on notice" actually means. Nic Robertson, you've spoken to your sources in the region. What
are they telling you?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Look, the Saudis are concerned about what the Houthis, and they say backed by Iran are doing. A
suicide mission involving three speedboats targeted one of their vessels just a couple of days ago.
What I'm hearing from Riyadh, and this isn't the official government line, but what I'm hearing is that they're happy that Iran has been put on notice
that there's a changed view about what's happened in the region, meaning the White House view has changed.
GORANI: Do you think they'll scrap the Iran deal, the Americans?
ROBERTSON: They don't want an escalation. They want to have their cake and eat it on this one. They are concerned about what Flynn means by this.
Anyone who's read Flynn's book --
GORANI: And I know you have.
ROBERTSON: -- and I have. That they will understand that he is very strong against Iran. Now what does he mean by a red line? Does he mean
another ballistic missile test or does he mean another allied vessel, Saudi, UAE, that's attacked in the region.
Right now, you have a joint naval operation going on in the Persian Gulf, Australian, French and British there. The Iranians saying, this is not
going to prove anything, not going to do anything. For the record, the Iranian Defense Ministry said yes, they did conduct that ballistic missile
--
GORANI: They're saying it's not in violation of the deal. And Elise, Rex Tillerson, the new secretary of state, what has he said about Iran, about
the Iran deal, what can we expect from him in that regard?
LABOTT: Well, he was very kind of basic really about Iran and obviously the fact that it poses a threat in his confirmation hearing, Hala, but he's
not been very explicit about what the policy would be.
I don't think he's willing to scrap that Iran deal, because he knows the problems that it will cause throughout the region, throughout Europe, with
other allies that are signatories to the deal.
And it might not really work. I think he's got a lot of problems on his hands as he comes into the State Department, not just on these policies and
statements that he had no influence in affecting.
You know, over the last couple of days, with this refugee ban, this travel ban, he was left completely out of the loop. He's walking into a State
Department in near revolt with about 1,000 diplomats opposing in a dissent cable, President Trump's new travel policy.
So certainly he's inheriting a very unstable world, but he's walking into a very chaotic State Department later this week -- Hala.
GORANI: Certainly. We'll be following this. Thanks very much, Elise Labott. Our global affairs correspondent is in Washington and right here
in London, Nic Robertson, our senior diplomatic editor. Thanks to both of you.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is poised to put his stamp on the U.S. Supreme Court, an institution that has made landmark decisions on issues from
abortion to campaign finance, the highest court in the land. Trump's nominee, 49-year-old Judge Neil Gorsuch.
Trump unveiled his Supreme Court pick in primetime, in Donald Trump fashion, with characteristic flair and television production. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So was that a surprise? Was it? The qualifications of Judge Gorsuch are beyond dispute.
He is the man of our country and a man who our country really needs and needs badly to ensure the rule of law and the rule of justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Gorsuch is seen as conservative on key social issues. He could get a rough ride from Democrats during the confirmation process. There's a
60-40 majority required there. Not a simple majority for a Supreme Court nominee. Democrats angry that Republicans blocked hearings for former
President Obama's choice, Merrick Garland.
Let's bring in CNN justice and Supreme Court correspondent, Pamela Brown. Also joining us is CNN political commentator, David Swerdlick. So Pamela,
what are the chances here that this nomination will be blocked by Democrats on Capitol Hill here? What are they saying about their intentions?
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Democrats today are saying that they're willing to dig in their heels. A lot of them are still very
upset and are holding a grudge by the fact that Republicans didn't even hold a hearing for President Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland.
And so you've heard Chuck Schumer say that there's a possibility there will be a filibuster, but on the other hand, Donald Trump has come out and given
his blessing to the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying that he could invoke the nuclear order, which would only require 51 votes and there
are 52 Republicans in the Senate.
And so you're already seeing this sort of fight play out, if you will, but at the same time, I think Democrats are looking also at the long game
because there are three justices on the high court that are in their 70s and 80s.
And if Trump gets to put another nominee on the high-court that could really shift the ideological balance. Because, remember, in this case,
it's a conservative replacing conservative, but down the road, like I said, it could shift the ideological balance. So some Democrats are saying they
may hold their fire for next time around.
GORANI: And David, can you tell us about this nuclear option that's being mentioned a lot. What does that mean, exactly?
[15:10:10]DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Sure. Well, right now, as you said, Hala, the Senate needs 60 votes to get cloture, which
means to, in other words, to close debate and go toward a final vote for confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee.
If Democrats don't give Republicans those 60 votes, they filibuster that nomination, essentially, then Republicans' only option would be to change
the Senate rules and get rid of the filibuster.
Then they would only need 51 votes to confirm President Trump's nominee. The challenge I think, as Pamela, was just reporting, is that Democrats
have to weigh whether they are going to, as she said, play that long game and hold on to the filibuster for future nominees.
Right now if you're just replacing a conservative justice who passed away, with another conservative justice, versus down the road, another nominee
who might shift that ideological balance.
But I'm not sure if Democrats have a choice, Hala, the Democratic base wants to exact some sort of payback or turnabout is fair play for
Republicans holding up President Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland.
GORANI: But the nuclear option if the rules are changed, Pamela, it means they're changed forever more, right? I mean, it means --
BROWN: Right. You can't go back.
GORANI: Right. So that means it could hurt the Republicans down the line.
BROWN: That's exactly it. So that's obviously something Republicans have to weigh. Because as you'll recall, this is what Democrats did in the
Senate, and now that's sort of coming back to haunt them with some of the cabinet nominations, the Supreme Court was excluded in that.
But of course the Republicans do have to weigh if they invoke this nuclear option, will that come back to haunt them when, if, the Democrats have the
majority again in the Senate?
GORANI: Right. David, one quick word on Rex Tillerson, it looks as though we do have in fact -- sorry -- a confirmation, 56-43. I'm unclear why
we're not adding up to 100, but maybe you can tell me. But either way, Rex Tillerson is walking into a very tense State Department, there's an
internal revolt going on, the travel ban, and now Iran put on notice after a ballistic missile test it said didn't violate any agreement. How is he
going to do?
SWERDLICK: That is -- this is really going to be a test for Secretary Tillerson. As you said, look, a lot of people touted the fact that he was
a corporate executive who has done a lot of business overseas, has a lot of contacts overseas, up to and including Vladimir Putin, and this was going
to be an asset for the Trump administration.
But not having any formal government diplomatic experience, he's really coming into this job with his hands full. The Iran situation, a thousand
State Department employees signing this internal dissent memo, and the travel -- the Muslim ban that's in hot dispute here is all going to be on
his plate on day one.
And I think it's going to be a challenge for someone who's not served in a formal diplomatic role.
GORANI: We'll see how he does. His work is cut out for him. Pamela Brown, thanks so much. David Swerdlick at the "Washington Post." Thanks
so much to both of you.
In the past hour half, British lawmakers have overwhelmingly said yes to beginning the first stages of Brexit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:: The ayes to the right, 498. The nos to the left, 114.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Big changes in the U.K. ahead. The move to trigger official negotiations, follows two days of debate. The vote came after Britain's
prime minister said she'd lay out new details about her plan on Thursday. Despite the developments, the government's real Brexit battle is yet to
come.
Let's get more now from Diana Magnay. She's live in Westminster. So what happens now?
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What happens now is that the process to trigger Article 50 is still not 100 percent set in stone. There is a white
paper that the government will publish tomorrow that they hope, depending on how exhaustive it is, and whether it expands on Theresa May's Brexit
speech that she gave a couple weeks ago, will settle the various amendments that MPs want to discuss over the next few days.
And there are 103 pages of amendments that will be discussed at the committee stage and then the report stage. But basically what those
amendments are looking for is to give more parliamentary scrutiny has Theresa May pushes through this very hard Brexit that she want.
Then it will go to the House of Lords. They will then decide whether they like these amendments or not. There may be a ping-pong session going back
to the Commons, and then finally it will turn back to the Commons.
But because there's been such an overwhelming majority of MPs voting with the government on this one, Theresa May can probably expect that her
timetable of seeing Article 50 triggered by the end of March.
[15:15:08]And in fact, by March the 9th, when she'll be going to an E.U. Summit, may be achievable -- Hala.
GORANI: So March 9th, potentially. That's all the procedural stuff, but what about Therese May is going to tell her citizens about what kind of
Brexit they're going to get? Will we get more details from her?
MAGNAY: Well, that's certainly what this white paper may hold. I mean, she's made it very clear after so many months of saying Brexit means Brexit
and not really giving the British people much detail, that Brexit speech gave a lot of detail, but it certainly also caused a lot of concern for the
MPs who campaigned for remain.
And that is why they want to see the amendments tables, really, to see whether they can have more say over the type of Brexit that Theresa May
negotiates. She's made it clear she would prefer no deal rather than a bad deal.
Many members of parliament want to be able to push her back to Brussels in the event that we have to break out of the European Union with no deal.
They fear that could mean economic collapse.
And this all comes on a day where the British ambassador to the E.U., the parted British ambassador, Sir Ivon Rogers, testified to a parliamentary
committee this morning with some very worrying language.
Saying that this whole process is going to be unbelievably complicated, but there won't be a trade deal negotiated before 2020 and that E.U. leaders
really don't have very much faith in Britain's ability to negotiate this one through, saying it's really going to be a very, very complicated
process.
So Theresa May will have to hope that when she goes to the E.U. leaders on the 9th of March, that she can go with some full parliamentary support for
her plan, and that will give her more bargaining power with the E.U.
GORANI: OK, Diana Magnay at Westminster, thank you very much.
Still to come tonight, Israeli forces, Jewish settlers out of an illegal community built on Palestinian land, but plans to build thousands more
homes elsewhere remain.
And CNN is on the front lines of the fighting in Eastern Ukraine, which like much of the world, is watching events in Washington very closely.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: The Israeli prime minister says he's formed a team to establish a new Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Benjamin Netanyahu said it
fulfills a pledge he made to settlers a month and a half ago.
The announcement comes as Israel evacuates the outpost of Amona, which is illegal and built on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank. As
Oren Liebermann reports, the process to transfer the residents out of that outpost did not go smoothly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[15:20:10]OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Scuffles have once again broken out here between protesters and the police. Take a look at this
building right here behind me. This has been the focus of a lot of demonstrations as settlers have dug in here to protest the evacuation of
Amona.
Some 42 families being evacuated. They have been joined by 600 to 700 protesters, according to police, and you get an idea of the difficulty
here. There are police surrounding the bottom of the building. There are protesters surrounding the police as well as inside the building and
protesters on the roof.
Every few minutes there's tension here and that breaks out and the scuffles between these two, we just saw somebody arrested a couple moments ago.
This has continued all day as some 3,000 police officers and security forces have made their way through Amona to try to carry out this
evacuation.
It's been proceeding at a fairly slow pace, but police have said they're doing this methodically, very carefully to try to make sure there are no
problems between protesters and police, but as you can see behind me, especially at this house right here, there have been quite a few problems.
Police say they're nearing ten arrests, as well as some 15 police officers lightly injured in these scuffles between protesters and police. That
includes stones thrown from protesters, liquid bottles thrown as well.
We've seen a tremendous amount of pushing and shoving. Protesters have tried to start fires here to keep police from advancing, but police are
moving in with bulldozers to clear the roads before pulling out the people here, the settlers and the protesters.
Why is this being evacuated? Because the Israeli high court ruled that this is an illegally built outpost, illegally built on private Palestinian
land. It's been through months and years long legal process, but that legal process comes to an end here with this evacuation.
This, of course, has sparked a fury, a backlash from right wing voters against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at least partly in exchange for
that, in return for that, he approved 3,000 more settlement units across the West Bank, just one day before this evacuation began.
That approval coming from Netanyahu and his defense minister. Netanyahu promising more settlements ahead, more settlement homes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And Oren joins me from Jerusalem. Benjamin Netanyahu did announce for the first time in many years, a new Jewish settlement to be built in
the West Bank after the closing of this illegal outpost. Tell us more about that.
LIEBERMANN: He didn't say much about this, but the short statement he did put out or that his office put out was quite stunning simply because a new
settlement hasn't been announced since from our research, sometime in the mid to late 90s.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came out and said he's put together a team to immediately start working on a new settlement, the location hasn't
yet been determined, but he says this is a promise he made to the settlers a month and a half ago.
It's a promise we hadn't heard anything about until this statement, and that's on top of not only 3,000 new settlement homes announced just a
couple days ago, but 2,500 announced before that, and the municipality of Jerusalem advancing approximately 550 more homes in East Jerusalem before
that.
So it seems Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu very much taking advantage of President Donald Trump here, the cover he expects to get and pushing
forward settlements.
GORANI: So what's unusual or surprising isn't that they're building new settlements. They do that routinely, but that they're making the
announcement, is that what you're saying?
LIEBERMANN: The announcement of a new settlement, correct. This isn't just exiting -- or homes in existing settlements, this is an entirely new
settlement.
GORANI: So from scratch?
LIEBERMANN: We haven't seen that in the decade before that. That is what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced, sure to bring a fury of
backlash not only from Palestinians and others in the Arab world, but the U.N., the E.U., the international community.
It seems Netanyahu thinks he has enough cover from Trump, but there will be a backlash here as Netanyahu's critics say this is simply a growing body of
evidence that Netanyahu doesn't support a two-state solution despite his claims.
GORANI: Oren Liebermann, thanks very much, reporting from Jerusalem.
Violence is escalating in Eastern Ukraine with an alarming number of recent ceasefire violations. Nearly two weeks ago as Donald Trump began his first
full day in office, Nick Paton Walsh, was in the area of Eastern Ukraine worst affected by the almost daily exchanges of fire. And he heard the
fears and hopes for the new White House from those living among constant violence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's grim here, in the twilight of Europe's forgotten war. Not much has
changed the daily dusk artillery shoot-out here in months. But oddly it is the new Trump era that have put hopes up here in this Russian-backed
separatist area.
(on camera): President Trump's first day in the office and it is entrails the question of should there be sanctions still against Russia? They were
put in place because of this war in Eastern Ukraine. The world may have taken it out of its attention, but it is still, this night, ongoing.
[11:25:08](voice-over): There's meant to be a ceasefire, we never know who is firing at who. But they say they do get hit here and blame the help
America gave Ukraine when it said Russia invaded.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Obama was to blame for this war, he sponsored with arms, and this is why they bomb us.
WALSH: Closer relations with Russia or even sanctions being dropped for the right deal, Trump said it, and it was heard even around these empty
shelves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think they will befriend Russia and change. We don't have Russian forces here. Just locals who've
lost people in the war and fight. With Trump, it could be better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We head to the front. Snipers, they say, and holds in the ground from recent shelling. Even in the dank
smoke, they can feel the somersaulting world order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Trump is far, and I am here.
WALSH (on camera): Is it possible Trump might recognize this as part of Russia?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It would be good if he did. Time will tell. People change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If he does what he said, then our life will be easier. Make Ukraine make peace, in reality, not on paper.
WALSH (voice-over): There's a little advice from their top spokesman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have only one thing to suggest, that he listens to himself and not his aides. He will answer for the
country and his aides may pursue the agendas of those who put them in place. He should listen to himself and his family.
WALSH: Cross over the lines, through the checkpoint queues and drudgery, you feel how poor Ukraine is, in a war with his much richer neighbor.
Tatiana (ph) moved here right on the Ukrainian frontline a year ago and has her own take on Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He looks like an improviser, he says what he thinks. He doesn't make things look pretty, just says what he
thinks.
WALSH: Next door is a minefield and just back from a front line they refused to show us a small base where we can see America's limited
assistance here.
(on camera): The units all of them are in some kind of training and assistance (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Regardless of American politics, we will continue to fight for our homeland and for the return of our land
that enemy occupiers have tried to steal and make part of another country.
WALSH: Once they were falling over themselves for western help, but now, two years and two American presidents on, there's an anger here, and
perhaps ever more, a resignation, they will have to fight this alone. Nick Paton Walsh, Eastern Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still ahead, Democrats prepare for a battle over President Trump's pick to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. We'll get perspective
on Judge Neil Gorsuch from our legal expert. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:30:34] GORANI: Breaking this hour, the U.S. Senate has voted to confirm President Trump's pick to lead the State Department, Rex Tillerson.
Tillerson is the former CEO of ExxonMobil. Most Democrats voted against the nomination that required a simple majority.
The new U.S. Secretary of State has departed on his first foreign trip to Seoul and Tokyo. Before he left, James Mattis sent new budget guidance to
the Defense Department, part of the President's plan to invest more in the U.S. military.
British lawmakers have overwhelmingly said yes to beginning the first stages of Brexit. The move to trigger official negotiation follows two
days of fierce debate. The decision helps pave the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger Article 50 and get Britain out of E.U. after two
years of talks.
The Netherlands says it will count all ballots by hand in its upcoming parliamentary election. And Interior Ministry spokesperson tells CNN, that
is to avoid their tallying system being hacked. The election takes place on March 15th.
Let's take a closer look at President Trump's pick for the Supreme Court and the key rulings he's made. Some of his most notable cases deal with
the issue of religious liberty as a fundamental constitutional right.
For example, Judge Neil Gorsuch argued that the company Hobby Lobby could invoke religious beliefs to justify refusing to provide, for instance,
contraceptive coverage to its female employees. In another case, the Judge sided with Catholic nuns who also objected to the Obama administration's
contraception mandate. He's also argued in favor of allowing a state to block funding to Planned Parenthood, a very touchy issue to generate a lot
of passion.
CNN Legal Analyst Laura Coates joins me now from Washington. She's a former federal prosecutor.
So, Laura, before we talk about whether or not Democrats could try to block all of this, what kind of justice would Neil Gorsuch be? He would be
replacing, essentially, Antonin Scalia, another conservative.
LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Scalia was potentially a conservative icon, and replacing him with Judge Gorsuch would be an
ideological twin. They have very, very similar viewpoints on very core, hotbed conservative issues. So, realistically, it won't really push the
needle of the composition of the Court in terms of ideology. What it will do is replace one with the other and have us looking forward to,
essentially, the next vacancy that's probably going to come up Trump's term.
GORANI: And what are some of the big cases in which, if he's confirmed, he could weigh in and therefore, tilt the Court conservative?
COATES: Well, you know, in terms of Roe v. Wade, which is one of the core promises that Trump made, in terms of trying to reverse Roe v. Wade, I
think the thought, initially, for people is that that would be possible with a very conservative justice. But remember, when Scalia was presiding
on the bench, Roe v. Wade survived the attacks.
GORANI: Yes.
COATES: And so it won't change that dichotomy. But in other areas, perhaps in terms of separation of powers, you know, unfortunately for any
executive order-friendly president, which included Barack Obama, you will have the battle between figuring out whether a Justice is going to be, you
know, amenable to having any Congressional action have to suffer the deference of an administrative agency.
And so you're going to have that battle of whether to give deference to agencies to not only interpret their own laws but to change them as they
see fit, which according to Judge Gorsuch, kind of tramples on the rights of the Judiciary and Legislature.
So you're going to have that battle. And, of course, as you mentioned at the outset, religious liberty will be very key. And there are cases
already on the docket where the Supreme Court is holding out for that critical ninth Justice.
GORANI: And he's 49 years old. I mean, by any standard, hopefully that still means you're young at that age, most especially if you're --
COATES: I hope so.
GORANI: Yes, especially if you're sitting on the Supreme Court where many Justices are certainly much older, I mean, in their 80s and 70s as well.
COATES: Remember, you've got two 80-plus Supreme Court Justices, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Anthony Kennedy, who, of course, Gorsuch clerked for.
And so with a potential Justice who could serve more than three decades and still not meet the age of some of the sitting justices, you have got the
ability to really transform the Court.
[15:34:54] And remember, if there is more than one vacancy that opens up during this particular tenure of this President, it could dramatically
shape -- remember, there's no guarantee. Although Scalia's seat has been kind of reserved for a conservative, there's never a guarantee though, and
a Constitutional guarantee, that you must replace one ideology with the same one. It could very well shape the whole court.
GORANI: Yes, certainly. Now, regarding in particular Neil Gorsuch, there have been cases of past appointments, for instance, where the Justice
nominated and confirmed ended up not ideologically aligning himself with the expectations of the President who nominated him. In the case of Neil
Gorsuch, I mean, we do have a very long -- he spent 10 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver, for instance, but is there at least that
possibility that he might depart from Scalia, for instance?
COATES: Well, there's always a possibility. I mean, you have Justice Souter who is really kind of considered the conservative missed
opportunity, where everybody thought, when George H.W. Bush nominated him, he would obviously side towards the reversal of Roe v. Wade. That didn't
happen. He voted in favor of upholding it. So it's always a possibility.
And unlike a political appointee, there's no expectation that a Justice is going to not only believe what the President believes, but has to toe the
party line or try to fulfill a campaign promise. I think it's going to be most evident in, like, terms of whether or not this Court and this Justice
say, I'm going to give deference to executive orders and your interpretation of the law and remove the authority of Congress to decide
for the people what to legislate. That's going to be a very big challenge for somebody like Donald Trump.
GORANI: And let's talk a little bit about how this was all announced. It was a made-for-T.V. moment, certainly different from when Barack Obama made
his announcement sort of mid-morning on a weekday. This was prime time. We were all waiting to see Thomas Hardiman, the other rumored finalist, as
the administration called him, but apparently he wasn't even in D.C. at the time.
I mean, what did you, as a former prosecutor, a legal expert, when you saw that, the announcement, how it was made, what did you make of it?
COATES: Well, I was skeptical because I thought, like everyone else, that Hardiman was also going to be in town, and he was going to announce in kind
of a Miss Universe sort of style who the first runner-up was going to be and leave one person standing in there, you know, holding his ego in his
hands. That didn't happen.
The way it was rolled out, I thought, ultimately ended up being, you know, very -- it had integrity to it, and it did honor to the position. But
initially, the way it was going to be structured with have one person present and the other person not winning this sort of rose, if you should
say, was very, again, disheartening for any attorney.
GORANI: Yes, we didn't get the rose ceremony. And it wasn't --
COATES: No. Thank god there was no rose ceremony. But you know what, it could actually happen next time.
GORANI: We'll see. Laura Coates, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
COATES: Thank you.
GORANI: All right. And check out our Facebook page, facebook.com/halagoranicnn. We'll post some of our show's content on
there.
The British Prime Minister Theresa May says she had no advance warning about Donald Trump's executive order on immigration. And while the Prime
Minister defended Britain's alliance with Washington, she told lawmakers that the travel ban is unacceptable. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA MAY, PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: We believe it is divisive and wrong. If he's asking me whether I had advance notice of the
ban on refugees, the answer is no. If he's asking me if I had advance notice that the executive order could affect British citizens, the answer
is no. If he's asking if I had advance notice of the travel restrictions, the answer is, we all did, because President Trump said he was going to do
this in his election campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That was Theresa May today. Of course, you'll remember, she visited Donald Trump last Friday, and a few hours later is when the
executive order was signed.
Now, this controversial order by President Trump has been the source of many heated scenes, including in Europe, although one lawmaker made his
point without speaking.
This is Nigel Farage, member of the European Parliament, saying Donald Trump should be welcome to the organization for talks. But as you'll have
already noticed, Farage was completely upstaged by a fellow MEP behind him, Seb Dance, who represents London. He says he was frustrated by rules that
make it hard to challenge populism, so he held up a sign, "He's lying to you." UKIP says it's launched a complaint.
This is, by the way, the Parliament in Strasburg.
European leaders are about to get the chance to offer suggestions on how to handle the refugee crisis facing this continent. They're preparing for a
major meeting in Malta this Friday. But, of course, as politicians talk, thousands are still stranded and many in freezing conditions.
Phil Black has more from Serbia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Only the most desperate join this line. Each face belongs to someone who is cold, hungry, and a long
way from home. They traveled to Serbia from Afghanistan.
[15:40:01] Thirteen-year-old Nadim (ph) made the journey alone. Every day, he joins this patient shuffle for a serving of hot food and crouches on the
cold ground to eat it quickly. It's usually his only meal of the day.
He shows us the small room he shares with nine other people. Nadim (ph) tells me he fled Afghanistan after his father was killed by the Taliban.
He wants to reach France, go to school, arrange for his mother and sister to join him.
Where you sleep really matters here. We meet Paradun Hugani (ph) inside the main smoke-filled building where most of the migrants fight the
freezing temperatures by burning fires day and night.
Somehow, this boy smiles easily, like a 12-year-old who's only known comfort and safety. But Paradun (ph) says he, too, fled the Taliban's
violence. He's been traveling alone for eight months. His face is black from smoke. He tells me, he dreams they'll open the border soon.
Paradun (ph) is talking about the Serbian-Hungarian border. Everyone we talk to here says they've tried to cross it, only to be forced back by
Hungarian security forces.
BLACK (on camera): How old are you?
RIKHAN AKHMADZAI (PH), REFUGEE: I'm 19.
BLACK (on camera): Nineteen?
AKHMADZAI (PH): Yes.
BLACK (voice-over): Rikhan Akhmadzai (ph) says he's made four attempts to cross Hungary's border fence.
BLACK (on camera): Will you try again?
AKHMADZAI (PH): We will try again.
BLACK (on camera): It is really difficult to understand how they continue breathing this air, living like this, for so long, day after day, night
after night. There are Serbian government camps that would keep them away from the smoke and the cold, but they choose to stay here and endure this
because they're scared, scared of not being allowed to continue their journey north to a safe, wealthy country, and hopefully a new life.
BLACK (voice-over): Some are worried about being unable to apply for asylum in other countries if they first register for help in Serbia.
Serbia's government deliberately won't help these people while they're staying here. It's trying to encourage them to move into organized camps,
at least for the winter.
The problem is, the policy is not working. While some have moved, every day, more people arrive at the old rail yard. As night falls and the
temperatures plummet, the migrants face a stark choice, the cold or the smoke. Many stay outside for as long as they can, but eventually, they
must go inside for the precious warmth they know is also doing them untold harm.
Paradun (ph) and some friends have found chicken pieces to boil. He's smiling again, joking about wanting a cigarette while breathing in the
oppressive smoke. His smile defies the miserable reality.
These people are stranded indefinitely between their dreams and their fears. They're determined not to take a step back, and they're not allowed
to move forward.
Phil Black, CNN, Belgrade.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Donald Trump is making an unannounced visit to Dover Air Force Base.
This is him leaving -- it's a rainy day in Washington, it looks like -- leaving the White House, headed for Dover Air Force Base for the return of
the remains of a soldier killed in Yemen, Chief Petty Officer William Ryan Owens. And this was previously unannounced.
And we'll follow developments there as President Trump heads toward that air force base for the return of the remains of this U.S. service member
killed in a raid in Yemen.
Earlier this week, we introduced you to a woman whose family sold her into a sham marriage when she was just a child. After the break, we'll hear
from the women who are going undercover to stop these tragic stories from happening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:46:08] GORANI: All this week, our "FREEDOM PROJECT" uncovers a sex trafficking network in our series, "Brides for Sale." Young girls sold by
their families to fake marriages, they often, of course, become victims of abuse. Muhammad Lila follows an undercover operation to catch the
traffickers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a busy afternoon in the old city of Hyderabad.
JAMEELA NISHAT, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, SHAHEEN WOMEN'S RESOURCE AND WELFARE ASSOCIATION (through translator): We have to ask how much money and other
things they'll give.
LILA (voice-over): A group of women, faces covered, are planning a daring operation.
NISHAT (through translator): Have you put the phone in the bag?
LILA (voice-over): They're putting on hidden cameras, on their way to meet a suspected human trafficker.
NISHAT: When you are going behind also, you have to be very fast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Are we close to the house?
LILA (voice-over): This is their secret footage and these are no ordinary women. Most of them are former trafficking victims themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Call the madam quickly.
LILA (voice-over): Now, they're part of a local NGO that goes undercover, trying to catch human traffickers on camera, in the act of selling underage
girls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): This is why we say, we will come inside and talk.
LILA (voice-over): Inside this house, they're posing as a mother and a group of friends, trying to sell two underage girls into a forced marriage
for the equivalent of just a few hundred dollars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The rent is so high now, it's become a problem financially.
LILA (voice-over): The house they're in belongs to a woman who is a well- known marriage broker. The business runs in her family, arranging for underage girls to be married off, often to old Arab men. They fly in
specifically to have sex with virgins.
BROKER (through translator): Take it off now.
LILA (voice-over): The broker starts by asking to see the girls' faces.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My kids, they are young but they look older.
BROKER (through translator): Small, eh? So they are like my kids.
LILA (voice-over): As the women continue to talk, what the broker doesn't know is that across town, Jameela Nishat is listening in. The women have
left their cell phone on, so Jameela can monitor the conversation live at the NGO's headquarters.
NISHAT: Many of the Arabs think that if they marry a virgin, they are healthy. Even if they have any sexual diseases, that will clean up. That
is one of the major reasons these sheikhs come here to marry the virgins.
This is our organization, Shaheen.
LILA (voice-over): Jameela started the NGO 20 years ago to stop a type of trafficking where young girls are forced into these kinds of marriages
without their consent. Her volunteers run sting operations, targeting suspected traffickers, then showing that footage to police and asking them
to make an arrest.
NISHAT: It's always a risk, but we keep doing this kind of things.
LILA (voice-over): It's all going according to plan, when suddenly the phone gets disconnected. So we do the only thing we can. We wait and
wait.
NISHAT: Sometimes, they will know, you know. And so, from here, we wait everybody.
LILA (voice-over): Back inside the house, this is what their cameras are recording.
BROKER (through translator): When you leave here, two of three of you should leave first in a small group, then the rest should follow later.
LILA (voice-over): The women are told to come back in two days to finalize the deal. Two days later, the city is alive once again. It's dark outside
and this time, we follow their rickshaw with our own cameras, rolling from a safe distance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Don't touch it, the camera, over and over again. Don't keep straightening it.
LILA (voice-over): Back at the house, the curtain opens, a woman answers, and they're told to go inside.
[15:50:03] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We are helpless and we need to get our daughters married.
LILA (voice-over): In order for police to make an arrest, the broker has to break the law, offering to buy, sell, or transport the underage girls
without their consent. But something feels off. It's taking too long. Outside in the dark alleyway, we're starting to get worried.
LILA (on camera): We can't draw attention to ourselves, so we're shooting this completely in the dark. They've been inside now for more than 20
minutes, and there's no way to know what's going on.
LILA (voice-over): Inside the broker knows the girls are underage, so she offers to make them fake IDs.
BROKER (through translator): Let's make a new identification card.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's not happening, it's not happening.
BROKER (through translator): If you pay money, anything can be made.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): That's what I'm saying.
BROKER (through translator): What's their age?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): She's 14. She's 15.
BROKER (through translator): OK, let's put her age as 24 and put hers as 25.
LILO (voice-over): The broker asks the women to come back after they get their fake IDs, so they leave without having enough for a trafficking
conviction.
For Jameela, it's just a temporary setback, vowing they'll keep fighting until her last breath.
NISHAT: What is the meaning of death if you don't live it? Live your life, then you die. And living one single life is no life. Live at least
thousand lives. At least I should have 1,000 Jameela, so that I can die.
LILA (voice-over): And as the women melt back into the bustling city, they know their next operation could be more dangerous, a risk they know they
may have to take.
Muhammad Lila, CNN, Hyderabad, India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, CNN has been committed for years now to fighting modern day slavery. And on March 14th, we're teaming up with young people for a
unique day of action called "My Freedom Day," asking the question, what does freedom mean to you? Send us your answer via text, photo, or video on
social media using that hash tag, #MYFREEDOMDAY.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: 2016 was defined by breaking news, and we here at CNN have been reflecting on the people who touched our lives most last year. Today is
Becky Anderson's turn.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ABU DHABI MANAGING EDITOR: 2016 has been an exceptionally busy year in news. And throughout it all, we, as
journalists, have been on the scene to witness events unfold and to report on how these massive events are impacting people living around the world.
So that is why my heroes this year are my colleagues, the reporters who drop everything and head out to what are these far corners of the world to
tell the stories that need to be told.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: What are you hearing on the ground?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, the advance is still continuing from multiple fronts with different units.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:54:59] ANDERSON: Many colleagues who work tirelessly behind the scenes, from producers to engineers to studio operators, all of whom help
us present to you, the viewer, all the stories that matter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Few places put on these supersized displays of public adulation better than North Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We couldn't do this without the teams that work with us. I am fortunate to work with many of those people in Abu Dhabi and on the road in
this region and elsewhere, day in and day out.
And let me tell you, it is not always the most glamorous of jobs, doing countless hours of live programming, pulling all-nighters, for example. So
I salute them for their courage, their dedication, and what is their tireless effort to go there and get the stories. They are all my heroes in
2016. And I thank them.
GORANI: Over the last few weeks, we've heard from many Americans about the state of their country in the Trump era, and one of their best-known sports
stars has weighed in. Tiger Woods sat down with "LIVING GOLF" for an exclusive interview to discuss division in the United States. Listen to
his thoughts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHANE O'DONOGHUE, CNN HOST: Tiger, the USA is clearly a divided country at the moment, and you are clearly one of the most famous Americans. What's
your message to your fellow Americans at this moment in time?
TIGER WOODS, AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: Well, you just said it right there. We're fellow Americans. And as Americans, we come together and we
do what's best for our country. And we need to unite and be Americans.
And I know there is a lot of divisiveness for as of right now, but time, patience, and unity, I think, will win out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Tiger woods, you can see that full interview on "WORLD SPORT." That's at 10:30 London time, so an hour and a half from now.
This has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. I'm Hala Gorani. I'll see you tomorrow, same time, same place. Thanks for watching. "QUEST MEANS
BUSINESS" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
