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Hala Gorani Tonight
How The Democratic Party Is Responding To The Trump Era; Fired That Killed Eight, Still Burning In California; U.K. Far-Right Activist Tommy Robinson Freed On Bail; Cases Of Purported U.S. -Korean War Dead Flown To Hawaii; Daylight Heist In Sweden. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired August 01, 2018 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:17]
HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London. I`m Hannah Vaughan Jones in for Hala Gorani.
Tonight, anger on the streets of Zimbabwe. We are live in Harare as election protests turned violent and both sides are blaming each other.
Also, tonight, Donald Trump says his attorney general should end Robert Mueller`s investigation into Russia election interference.
And extraordinary moment, a plane in Mexico crashed and exploded and miraculously no one was killed.
We begin the program in Zimbabwe where the growing anger and outrage over this week`s election has now turned deadly. Police say three people have
been killed in clashes between opposition protesters and security forces in Harare, the capital.
You can see here police battling protesters with tear gas, also using water cannon. Many are disputing the official results in the country, which says
that the ruling Zanu-PF Party has reached a two-third majority in parliament.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is blaming Zimbabwe`s opposition NDC Party for the unrest we`ve seen today. That`s something the party spokesman flatly
rejected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKULULEKO SIBANDA, SPOKESPERSON FOR OPPOSITION LEADER, NELSON CHAMISA: We condemn in the strongest sense, the action that was taken today. There is
no justification whatsoever for the brutality we experienced today. Let us all maintain peace in the country while respecting the rights of citizens.
The idea that protesters are violent is a false narrative that cannot be justified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Let`s go live then to Harare, the Zimbabwean capital. Our Farai Sevenzo joins us from there. Farai, there was so much hope, of course, of
a fresh start for Zimbabwe. Tonight, is that dream of a fresh start in passes?
FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it does --
JONES: It looks like we are having some difficulty getting in touch there with Farai on that Skype connection there from the Zimbabwean capital. We
may try and come back to him in a moment.
But I think in the meantime it`s probably best that we move on to our next story. To an unmistakable message is our next story as well in black and
white for all the world to see. Donald Trump is calling for his top law enforcement official to shut down the Russia investigation.
The U.S. president fired off a series of tweets today blasting Special Counsel Robert Mueller by name five times and urging Attorney General Jeff
sessions to end the Russia probe. Now that is quite a statement given that Mr. Trump is, of course, being investigated for potential obstruction of
justice as particles of the wider probe into whether or not his campaign colluded with Russia.
Now the White House responded to the growing outcry over that tweet a short time ago saying, "Mr. Trump is not obstructing justice, but rather he is
fighting back."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president stating his opinion. He is stating it clearly. He certainly expressing the
frustration that he has with the level of corruption that we have seen from people like Jim Comey, Peter Strzok, Andrew McCabe.
There is a reason that the president is angry and frankly, most of America is angry as well, and there is no reason he shouldn`t be able to voice that
opinion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Well, do you remember, of course, it was just days ago that we learned that the Special Counsel Robert Miller is actually scrutinizing
Donald Trump`s tweets for possible obstruction of justice.
Let`s bring in our White House reporter, Jeremy Diamond, covering this story for us. Jeremy, Donald Trump in that tweet message. He called on
Jeff Sessions, his attorney general to end the Russia probe. That to me sounds like an order and if it is an order, isn`t that obstruction of
justice?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, that is going to be the big question going forward. And again, as you pointed out, we know the
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is indeed looking into the president`s tweets as part of that broad inquiry into obstruction of justice and other
matters.
But the White House today defending the president`s tweet, insisting that what he was saying was not an order, merely the president expressing his
own opinion. It is a comment that Sarah Sanders delivered from the briefing room here just moments ago.
It`s something also that the president`s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, also said in a statement earlier today that is going to be the White House`s defense
going forward as it relates to this tweet in particular.
We are going to have to see how that plays out in the coming days. But clearly, these tweets are from the president are perhaps helping him in the
broader media game as he tries to convince his supporters that he did nothing wrong.
[15:05:09] That this is a witch hunt against him, but the question is how will that affect him going forward in the actual court of law.
JONES: Yes. And the thing that Sarah Sanders, the press secretary, said expectedly today just an hour or so ago, she said, she referred to the
dossier as a dirty, discredited dossier and that the entire Russia probe, the entire investigation was based on that dossier.
We know that that`s a lie. It`s a falsehood that the investigation itself is based on Russian interference into the 2016 election. If Sarah Sanders
then just repeating lies from the White House or is that just her doing her job and expressing the president`s opinions again?
DIAMOND: Well, it`s something we are seeing more and more from this White House briefing room. I mean, that claim, as you pointed out, is patently
false. It has been disproved in the FISA application documents that were released by Justice Department just about a month ago.
It`s something that was also debunked in the Senate Intelligence Committee`s report on this matter and yet Sarah Sanders from the White
House podium, from the White House briefing room, continuing to say that.
Sarah Sanders also claimed today that reporting from the 90s helped afforded U.S. intelligence efforts to spy on Osama bin Laden`s satellite
phone. That is also something that has been repeatedly, repeatedly debunked previously, President George W. Bush in 2005 made that claim.
It was later debunked because the reporting at the time did not say anything about the U.S. government spying on his phone and merely noted
that it was a satellite phone, something that was well known at the time.
Again, this was to make a point that Sarah Sanders today made not just one but several falsehoods from this podium today and it is a recurring trend
it seems from this White House.
JONES: Yes, just finally, Jeremy, Donald Trump`s tweet again calling on Jeff Sessions to end the Russia probe. Jeff Sessions has recused himself
from the Russia probe. Has the Press Secretary Sarah Sanders commented on this issue where or the president may not know how this all supposed to
play out?
DIAMOND: All she said today in response to that was that the president understands how this matter carries out, how the process is supposed to
play out, but no direct response to that question there.
JONES: All right. Jeremy Diamond, we appreciate it. Thank you.
Now Mr. Trump also criticized the trial ongoing of his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort today comparing his treatment to notorious mobster,
Al Capone. The president says Manafort has been convicted of nothing, although a jury, of course, will decide that point. Jurors are hearing
more testimony on day two of the trial that extends from the Russian investigation but focuses on alleged bank fraud and tax evasion.
So, let`s get an update now from outside the courthouse in Virginia. We`re joined by CNN`s Joe Johns. He`s been covering this court for us on day
two. Joe, far from putting any daylight between himself and Paul Manafort, for his former campaign chairman. Donald Trump very much weighing in to
all of this, but some odd mob comparison. Tell us more.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: True. I could not quite hear you on that, but what is clear is that it was just a day ago that the
White House was trying to put some distance between Paul Manafort, the president of the United States, the oval office, the White House.
And the president here in this situation really sort of going after the entire Russia investigation weighing in at the same time. Also, trying to
make it clear that in his view, Manafort didn`t do very much for him, but you also have to fact check that and when you do, you come up with the
conclusion that Paul Manafort.
While he was only the campaign chairman, manager for a short period of time, it was a very important period of time in the campaign when the
president and his people were trying to wrangle delegates to the Republican National Committee in the lead up to the convention where he would be
nominated to run in the general election.
So, an important period there and very difficult for this White House to downplay the significance of Paul Manafort especially when this is the very
first trial that`s been brought by the special counsel investigating Russia and looking into quite frankly the Trump campaign -- Hannah.
JONES: And Joe, I hope you can hear me for this question. I want to get into a bit more of the nitty, gritty of the trial itself. Rick Gates, the
star witness for the prosecution and some discrepancy now as to whether or not he will actually testify.
JOHNS: There does seem to be some questions. Now the prosecutor who raise that issue was answering a question from the judge. He said, essentially
that it might be possible that Rick Gates would not testify.
[15:10:10] And then right after that said that he didn`t want to give the impression that Rick Gates would not. So, a curious situation here at the
trial. Also, important I think to say that upon the opening statements, it was clear that the defense was going to do everything it could to malign
and if you will undercut any testimony or information Rick Gates put out there before the jury.
And so perhaps the prosecution was either having second thoughts or perhaps just trying not to show its hand. You know, there is a lot of behind-the-
scenes maneuvering on this one because Rick Gates was a top deputy of the defendant, Paul Manafort.
And he`s being accused by the defense essentially of being the person behind the scenes, who led Paul Manafort astray, if you will, that`s kind
of a hard case to make, simply because earlier today, they entered into evidence, the prosecution did, reams of documents, wire transfers, other
documents indicating that Paul Manafort had himself signed off on the transfer of millions of dollars.
And a lot of that to benefit him so that we have the signatures on the paper and then they`ve got Rick Gates to back it up the prosecution does
and the defense, of course, would do everything it could to undercut the testimony Rick Gates calling him the liar.
JONES: Of course, they would. Joe, we know you are going to say across this trial for us. We appreciate your reporting on it tonight. Thanks,
Joe.
We are going to take you now live back to the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. We were trying to connect earlier with our correspondent, Farai Sevenzo,
who is live from there. He joins us on the line now.
Farai, we were talking before about violence that has erupted on the streets of the capital in the aftermath of this disputed election. A
violence which has now resulted in several victims we understand as well. Who is responsible?
SEVENZO (via telephone): Well, the thing -- the very fact that for the first time in a long time, I have seen soldiers coming in to control
protesters. Now, we`ve always known that the army in Zimbabwe has been very the longer shadow in Mugabe`s fall last November. But now, they`re
actively on the streets.
The pictures that I saw while driving around the city this afternoon were completely shocking because these are men in uniform in camouflage with the
old weaponry of war, AK-47, (inaudible) and they`ve started to try and disperse this crowd of NDC supporters.
A fiery energy popped out into the air. We are supposed of get reports of (inaudible). The Human Rights Watch director of Southern Africa would say
and I quote, it is bad military indiscriminately shooting people and beating up (inaudible).
(Inaudible) more than 10 victims with various injuries like broken arms (inaudible). Now where does this put the situation of this vote. First of
all, it`s not even over yet, which we have to hear the presidential (inaudible), but the NDC are completely believed that something has been
(inaudible).
I heard it when I was having breakfast (inaudible) this morning. They`ve started this march to try and force somebody`s hand, but who then that is
perhaps the Zimbabwean Election Commission. Nobody knows.
But if it is resolved you say in a terrible day for Zimbabwe democracy. (Inaudible) of a very, very widely accepted vote that many people to try
their hand at making their mark about who they want to lead them under President Mugabe era.
JONES: Yes. Farai, I mean, basic question now of what happens next. Nelson Chamila, the leader of the NDC Party, the opposition is not
conceding. It does not look like he is going to concede anytime soon. He said he won the popular vote. Where does this go for the NDC, for the
opposition?
SEVENZO: Well, I mean, the NDC are being led by (inaudible), passion, their numbers are bigger on their rallies. Where it goes now, if it
doesn`t go to the high courts, if they disputed (inaudible) then it might end up in more protects and march, but bear in mind one thing, Hannah, it`s
like the opposition themselves are deeply divided.
Take for example, (inaudible) in the south where they could easily have taken 20 seats, but because they are so divided, they could not overturn
the Zanu-PF (inaudible) at 6,000 and the two NDC people got 4,000 each.
[15:15:11] Anyone will tell you with 8,000 votes (inaudible). So, they have to look for themselves as well about why what thought would happen and
who actually come to parse.
JONES: Farai, we appreciate your reporting on this on the line there from Harare, Zimbabwe. Farai Sevenzo, thank you.
All right, still to come on the program tonight, a Trump`s decision that could directly hit the wallets of millions of Americans. Ahead, which
gadgets could cost more due to the trade war with China.
And this is the moment a plane crashed after takeoff, we`ll tell you what happened after this heart stopping footage was captured.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: Now we turn our attention to an extraordinary story out of Mexico where a plane carrying more than 100 people crashed, but miraculously
everyone on board has survived. Officials believed that a strong gust of wind caused the airliner to crash shortly after it took off on Tuesday.
Passengers and crew were able to escape the plane using its emergency exits and before the aircraft then went up in flames. We want to show you this
incredible video shot inside the aircraft as it came down. You can see the gray and rainy sky and then a massive fire brought shortly after. The
footage captures the chaotic moment as passengers spilled out from the burning aircraft.
Our Leyla Santiago joins us now from Mexico City with more on this. You know, it really is an extraordinary tale of survival against the odds
really. I mean, what are the passengers and the pilot saying about this crash?
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, we understand that 64 of the passengers have been released from hospitals. The pilot remained in
critical, but stable condition, along with one other passenger, but it`s those videos, it`s the fact that a day later, they are all waking up just
being grateful to be able to tell those stories.
That video you showed is from a young woman named Ashley Garcia. I spoke with her. She was talking about how it is going to be tough to get back
onto an airplane to head back to Chicago after having experienced something like this.
There was also a reverend on board from Chicago and he too spoke with reporters toay. He`s getting ready to go into surgery in a matter of
hours. But all of them really sort of told the same story in terms of the sequence of events.
They all said, they were taking off when a strong gusts of wind was too much for the plane to handle and that is when it sort of get it onto a
field nearby. One woman said there were two impacts. She bumped her head on one, but it was that second impact where she saw fire and all of a
sudden everybody just went into survival mode.
[15:20:05] Every single person on that plane we have talked to has told us that it was an immediate get out, get out, figure out how to get through
the smoke. Anything that was too difficult to breathe just to survive.
As we mentioned, there were a 103 people on board. That included children, infants. In fact, in Ashley Garcia`s video, when they do finally
get out of the plane, you hear the screams, panic, terror, and you also see somebody holding a baby as they are trying to again just somehow survive.
So really the reverend we spoke to said he was calling this a miracle. Ashley Garcia said the same thing. Another passenger, Al Herrera told CNN
the exact same thing. Everyone just sort of waking up just grateful to be able to tell that story.
But the big question will now be the official investigation, what will they find as the cause. Many people on board pointing to weather, but now a
commission has been established by the Mexican government to look into that. They have even been sent two NTSB investigators to assist in trying
to find the sequence of events, the factors that led up to that, to prevent it from ever happening again.
GORANI: All right. Leyla, thanks very much indeed live for us there from Mexico City. Our Richard Quest is also CNN`s aviation analyst and we`re
going to talk to him about another story, about trade wars in a second. But Richard, I know you`re standing for us and you want to come in on this
story as well.
I mean, I`m wondering what you think the aviation industry can perhaps learn from this given that so many other similar situations, other crashes
that we`ve seen have ended obviously so tragically.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, this is extraordinary obviously. This comes on to the category of survivable crashes. It`s a
well-known category within aviation investigations and it basically assumes that the plane lands or crash lands and that it is a survivable accident.
And this proves exactly that you can get x number of people (inaudible) to people off a plane, but in 90 seconds, everybody lives. So, from that
point of view, this reinforces the safety procedures that proved that the system works.
The question of what happened, now this is very unusual. Planes taking off usually take off at great speed and they go straight up like a rocket.
They have huge amounts of power and thrusts and weather is absolutely incidental. It`s irrelevant. The plane pretty much will take off
regardless.
This they will need to look at how the plane was being flown. A gust of wind should not upset an aircraft on takeoff. It`s going up nearly a
hundred and something miles an hour, over a hundred miles now, it`s got a lot of force behind it.
JONES: OK. We`re just hearing from Leyla then, Richard, that the pilot in question is still under critical condition in hospital at the moment, but
your thoughts that they are going to be wanting to speak to him or her about --
QUEST: The beauty of this particular incident is there is such a thing, they`ve got the fight recorder, data recorder, cockpit voice recorder, and
thank God you got the pilots who can tell you what was happening. You put that together and you have a picture perfect of exactly what was going on
in that cockpit at the time.
My sort of feeling is this is going to turn into a story about A, whether they should have taken off in those conditions, and B, how the plane was
being flown when they rotated and took off into the sky.
JONES: OK. Richard, while we have you, the first place why we`re going to talk to you anyway was about tariffs and a trade war between the U.S. and
China. Donald Trump now saying that there could more tariffs imposed on even more up to $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. Is his bullishness on
this because his previous tariffs have actually been successful as far he`s concerned?
QUEST: Well, it`s difficult to see that they`ve been successful since they have been retaliated by tit-for-tat tariffs. So, it would be a strange
definition of success if that`s what he is taking.
Now I think what happened of these 200 billion we have known about, but we thought they were going to be at the 10 percent tariff rate. It was less
than the 25 percent that they have already done.
This with the idea it was going to be 10 percent. There was a swing. It`s going to make things a lot easier. Now they`re saying and we`re expected
to hear in the next few minutes, no, the 200 billion in September will be at 25 percent, which will mean a quid pro quo in a tit-for-tat from the
Chinese, they will say fine, we`d also do 25 percent.
This is escalation, Hannah. It`s pure and simple escalation. The situation is getting worse not better.
[00:00:00] JONES: OK. And finally, Donald Trump says, though, that farmers in the country, they can handle it. They can take it. Firstly,
can they?
[15:25:06] And secondly, can they before the midterms when they might actually get to vote on this?
QUEST: No is the short answer because if you listen to what some farmers are saying, the soybeans, (inaudible) farmers, those details saying that
prices are very sharply down either because markets have collapsed because of said tariffs or that they can`t pay more for their own goods and
services that (inaudible) to their own feet that has to come in.
So, farmers have got 12 billion, that`s what the U.S. government has put aside. That is simple aid. There is no other way to describe it. It`s
simple aid. They`re going to have to provide more because if this gets worst and it goes much longer, the Midwest farmers are going to certainly
start to face a crisis.
And yes, will they support him in the midterms? Well, that depends on where the elections are, the various crisis.
JONES: Richard, it`s so good to get your analysis as always on both topics. We appreciate it.
Now those tariffs that Richard is just talking about maybe looming down the road, but right now, it`s all smiles for Apple. The tech giant is on track
to becoming America`s first trillion-dollar company. Stocks have been hovering around the $200 mark all day. That is a record in itself.
However, it is still a few dollars short of what`s needed for that trillion-dollar milestone.
CNN`s Samuel Burke keeping an eye on Apple stock prices, also joins me in the studio now. Is this all psychological or is this actually a major
milestone?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN MONEY TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: I think it`s a little bit psychological, but I think it is a major milestone because they are
getting to this point almost to this point off of the back of very strong earnings reports. But it was interesting what they showed it is it`s not
just the iPhone company.
Usually we say look at the number of iPhones that I know it is happening. It`s actually little bit lower than expected but look at how their services
did. So, I would say the first trillion dollars that they are worth is all about the phones.
But I just read the list on the screen of the more than $9 billion in revenue. They did not just the past three months, Hannah, doing things --
this revenue came from software and services.
Things like Apple Pay, Apple Music and soon they could be making money from streaming videos. We know that they have hired Oprah to do a service
likely to compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime. I think that is where the next trillion dollars is going to come from.
But this threat of tariffs looms large over Apple that you were just talking about with Richard, 21 percent of their revenue comes from phones
not made in China, phones that they sell to the Chinese. Imagine if somehow the Chinese retaliate that could hit them incredibly harder. We
could say goodbye to that near trillion-dollar valuation very quickly.
JONES: But for the meantime Apple investors are very happy, very happy. We have to leave it there. Samuel Burke, thank you very much.
Still to come on the program, tales from the trail, what President Trump`s speech in Tampa tells us about his plan to tackle those midterms and how
the Democrats are going to respond. We speak to a demographic strategist about how this crucial battle could play out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[15:30:28] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They just came out with a poll. Did you year? The most popular person in the history of
the Republican Party is Trump. Can you believe this? So I said, does that include Honest Abe Lincoln? You know, he`s pretty good, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: 2016 or 2018? Well, judging by raw enthusiasm of that crowd, it seems not much has changed on the Trump
campaign trail. And when it comes to addressing his supporters before this year`s midterms, the president appears to have a pretty straightforward
approach. If it ain`t broke, don`t fix it. He is banking on textbook Trump, defender of the threat from the Democrat.
But unlike 2016, there is a disturbing new weapon in the president`s arsenal. One that sometimes they aimed directly at us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: The crowd there chanted insults against CNN, as our correspondent Jim Acosta tried to just do his job. Mr. Trump and his supporters are now
consistently sucking parts of the free press.
And in the past hour, the White House could only offer this explanation when asked why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing violent last night, in terms of hitting anybody, and no broadcaster was broadcasting safe secrets. They were
trying to do standoffs at a public rally and he had people trying to yell over them, preventing them from doing their jobs and yelling that their
network sucks on live TV. Does White House support that or not?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: While we certainly support freedom of the press, we also support freedom of speech. And we
think that those things go hand in hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: So Brian Stelter is in New York with more on that quite remarkable statement read there from Sarah Sanders. Brian, she said we respect the
free press. We also respect freedom of speech, as we all do, but there`s a difference, right, between criticism, which is justified and actually
abusing, harassing someone who`s just trying to do their job.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Responsible White House would try to bring the temperature down, but instead, this White House almost always
likes to bring it up to raise the temperature even hotter. I think what we are increasingly seeing from the president and his aides and his allies is
the hate movement against the American press. Some media critics like Jay Rosen have used this term in the past.
I think when you look at the behavior around Jim Acosta and some of the other reporters of these rallies, you really do see hate movement. And
what do I mean by that is, President Trump is not just telling people to ignore the press or not believe the press. He`s really telling people to
hate journalists. He`s telling people that journalists are their enemy, literally the enemy of the people. He`s treating the press corps as his
opponent, because it`s convenient and it creates an enemy for him -- perceived enemy from due attack.
That really is a hate movement. And the results are what we see at these rallies. And because he`s holding rallies more and more often, we are
seeing it more and more often and that`s why reporters like Acosta are saying, this is worrisome, someone might get hurt.
JONES: Yes. So when they say they respect a free press, maybe they just mean they respect a favorable press as well. I mean, you talked there
about the harassment, you saw what happens to our Jim Acosta. And how dangerous is this? How dangerous could it be?
STELTER: We`ve not seen this before in the United States, but we have seen in other countries where mostly authoritarian rulers try to turn population
against the press. And we know that ends badly in many, many cases. Obviously, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without
Borders, these groups that track violence and harassment against journalists, they have seen an uptick in the U.S., in these kinds of
incidents.
Thankfully, we`ve not seen the kind of targeted violence that has been seen in other countries. But I think there is ample reason to be concerned
because the rhetoric is getting more and more intense and in some cases violent, whether from the president who derives the president`s fake news.
But then from his allies who take it a step further and say they want to see credentials revoked and things like that. They want to see journalists
punished. The problem is that the president creates a -- he sets the table for what ends up being a very dangerous situation.
JONES: Certainly. Brian, always good to have you on the program. We appreciate it. Thank you.
STELTER: Thank you.
JONES: Now, the Trump strategy which seems to be working out pretty well. So, how is the Democratic Party responding to then that strategy? Well,
one man who knows exactly how is our next guest, democratic strategist, Scott Mulhauser. He joins me (INAUDIBLE) in the studio. Scott thanks so
much for coming in.
[15:35:05] I want to talk first of all about the battle online at the moment. The fact that we know that the Russians have been interfering in
U.S. elections as well. Who knows whether those collusions or not. How important is it for the Democrats now to try to take their arguments and
their campaign to people online and trying to reach more voters that way?
SCOTT MULHAUSER, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think that`s part of the focus, but also, there you`ll see they`re most focusing in tackling on both the
economy and health care. I think the online campaign matters, but what you`re trying to see is Democrats make the case as to why it changes
necessary. And to them, that`s not just national security. That campaign online and in person is also, we can do more in the economy and we`re going
to do with regard to health care as well.
JONES: What about the identity of the Democrats in the U.S. at the moment? How much the Democrats defines by being in opposition or how much of it had
to redefine who you are, what you stand for and who represents in the last few years?
MULHAUSER: A great deal. I mean, the opposition to the president has galvanized the party and it`s galvanized folks that don`t expect you a
Clinton victory in 2016 and sort of knew what they thought would win voters. And I think what you`re seeing is a reflection that clearly that
didn`t work in 2016. And they think about what can. And I think you`re seeing a specific focus on those three things we talked about. And it`s
clear that wave growth in the economy and healthcare seemed to be what they think is going to work in 2018 and 2020.
JONES: We`re seeing such a divide in politics across the U.S. in the last 18 months or so. If Donald Trump is taking the Republicans to the far
right and that extreme, do the Democrats go to the far left or do you try and find some kind of like own the central middle ground?
MULHAUSER: It`s a good question. I think what you see is you see him push back to the president way their obvious moment, whether it`s the Mueller
investigation, whether it`s tariffs, whether it`s a host of things that I think affect American workers, American jobs, the healthcare folks relying
on. Just the folks that are trying to live their life every day and sort of getting a negative reaction to the president.
But what you`ll see also is them standing up for something they believe and whether that`s agreement to the president or not, because you have to both
draw opposition and lay out what you for.
JONES: We`ve got some polls that are in actually or a poll, at least, and Democrats generally polling quite well. An NBC-Wall Street Journal poll
from just last week, asked Americans whether they prefer Republicans or Democrats to take control of Congress. The Democrats have a seven-point
lead. But what about the trends then? Democrats had a 10-point lead, just one month before. How worrying then is that for you, that the trend seems
to be going against the Democrats right now?
MULHAUSER: The trend may have shifted. But I think generally, the spread isn`t -- does a nice spread between Democrats and republicans. And
candidly, we don`t run on generic ballots. We run candidate to candidate. I think, folks are particularly optimistic that recruitment has gone well
and they`re a litany of teachers, veterans, small business owners, and folks that are first-time candidate that are pretty appealing in districts
that we haven`t run in before, but suddenly seem like they`re in place. It`s not the national trend that matters. It`s state by state and district
by district.
JONES: Scott, from an international perspective and we`re all looking in at American politics at the moment. So many of us would say that Donald
Trump seemed to be like the Teflon kid. There`s nothing that can touch him at the moment. Why do you think that that is and why do you think that
Democrats seem to have so far failed to really get to grip? They`re always chasing his tail rather than getting on the front foot?
MULHAUSER: It`s a very fair question. I think what you`re seeing though is the midterms will be Trump without Trump on the ballot. And so there
may be challenges repeating things to the president, which is why all eyes are on the Mueller investigation. But I think what you`ll see in 2018 is
whether Democratic candidates can beat Republicans down ballot and Senate races and governors` races and House races, without the president on the
ballot, with his ideas on the ballot. I think the case they`ll make is, we are the balance you need against. You may not like all our ideas, we can
help offset some of them and I think there`s a fair case to make in some of those ideas need some balancing.
JONES: What about rising stars then or previous stars as well, Joe Biden, perhaps he`ll make a bid in the future as well? You`ve got Elizabeth
Warren, Kamala Harris. In New York, we just Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, elected as a representative as well. Who` the rising star? When we all
saw Barack Obama suddenly come through? Who`s the one to watch?
MULHAUSER: I think everyone wants to be Barack Obama. But what you`re seeing is everybody thinking of this race. It`s not just your standard
governor, senators, and folks needs to run, private citizens like Howard Schultz are thinking about it. Even the joke is that Kanye and others. I
know Oprah`s been rumored to run, The Rock.
JONES: She says no at the moment.
MULHAUSER: She says no right now, right. But I think so what you`re seeing is folks, without a bench, because everyone expected Hillary to win
this. But actually, without a bench suddenly the whole presidency in 2020 is in play. Everyone is thinking about it. I think you`re seeing smart
young senators like Cory Booker, like Kamala Harris and like a litany of others run but also
mayors. Eric Garcetti from Los Angeles. Smart, smart, smart, talented young mayor. Really has his eye on the prize, both internationally and
domestically.
And others and I think some governors like Steve Bullock in Montana. It`s just smart. It`s a nice array of folks and I think you`re seeing a variety
of perspective which is viable.
[15:40:03] JONES: And because we have you here, I just wanted to ask you one final question completely unrelated to the story. I know you used to
be the chief of staff for the U.S. embassy in Beijing, in China as well. Your thoughts on the trade war that`s looming or already underway?
MULHAUSER: I think it`s worrisome not just for those who care about civility internationally. But also there`s been some economic growth in
the U.S. and we export abroad. And I think not just American jobs, American companies are worried. But farmers, manufacturers, folks that
have seen this economic growth that are finally starting to see some wage growth are pretty concerned about the thought. And I know businesses
across the globe are as well.
JONES: Scott Mulhauser, it`s great to have you on the program. We appreciate you coming in.
Now, huge wildfires are burning up and down the U.S. state of California for another day. They`ve destroyed thousand homes and killed eight people
including 70-year-old Melody Bledsoe and her great grandchildren, 4-year- olds Emily Roberts and James Roberts, who was just 5 years old. The children`s great grandfather has been out. He was been able to reach them
in time. He had talk though with CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED BLEDSOE, LOST WIFE, GREAT GRANDCHILDREN IN FIRE: They stopped me and wouldn`t let me go in. This is my baby, this is my wife. I should have
been laying on her with them. I should have went regardless of what anybody said, like the fire was just -- it`s the big old fire tornado and
they were -- and the fire didn`t come across down towards my house like come around the river and coming behind my house. And the fire was on the
ground. My son who live next door, they pulled out to get out. Garry Baldwin and when he opened the door to get out, his hair caught on fire and
(INAUDIBLE) off his arms and took his breath.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Well, firefighters have been gaining some grounds. But it looks like they won`t be getting much help from the weather. Scott Mclean joins
me from Redding, California where the biggest wildfire is now more than one-third contained. More than one-third contained, Scott, but not fully
ion control. Tell us the latest.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: True, Hannah. So the fire has come and gone. It seems from Redding where we are and move further west. But it is
already quite large and it is moving fast as well. And continuing to grow as well. We know that this fire is only nine days old and it is two and a
half times the size of Washington D.C. It is 35 percent contained, as you mentioned. That`s incredible though, considering there are more than 4,100
people who are actually working on this fire. Right now, where it is actively burning, as I said, this is far to the west and more remote, more
difficult terrain. But that is putting some smaller communities on notice there.
Here in Redding, people are -- they`re not in the line of the fire, at least not immediately. But not everyone is able to go home. This area
that we`re in, it is still under mandatory evacuation. But as you can see here, look, not a lot of -- not a lot of people in this area have much to
come home to. It`s odd to see a house that looks like it was completely pulverized. I mean, you can see roughly where the rooms were. You can see
the washer and dryer there. You can see what looks to be a stove and a microwave, couple of fridges in there. But there truly is not much left.
And there are thousand plus homes that look just like this one. And we`re talking about now --
JONES: Apologies. Scott Mclean there in Redding, California. We just lost the audio connection to him. But you could see around and just the
utter devastation of courses. Thousands of people have bene forced out of their homes and as Scott was just alluding to not much to return home to
once they do have the all clear and they are allowed to get back to their homes.
All right. Still to come on the program, they`re untraceable and virtually undetectable, but unstoppable too. We`ll look at the legal battle in the
United States over the guns you could make at home with a 3D printer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:45:29] JONES: Dozens of cases believed to contain the remains of American soldiers killed in the Korean War are now on their way home.
North Korea returned them after the summit between leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. president, Donald Trump. Paula Hancocks was at the repatriation
ceremony in South Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A ceremonial and so on the day, 55 caskets leaving the Korean Peninsula for the very last time, carrying the
remains of what it believed to be people killed in the Korean War which finished 65 years ago. Now, for the U.S. military, for the United Nations
command, today has been a day to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The department for the prisoners of war and missing in action say that the initial assessment that they have been making over the past few days shows
that the remains unlikely from the time of the Korean War and many of them are likely American. They also sounded a positive note that North Korea
had given these remains back to the U.N.
REAR ADM. JON KREITZ, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DEFENSE POW/MIA ACCOUNTING AGENCY: This is a great first step for us bringing a bunch of fallen Americans
home. And we look forward to potentially pursuing operations in North Korea in the future and we`re very hopeful that again, this is just a great
first step in building some confidence and building a relationship.
HANCOCKS: A piper led the first casket to the C-17 plane that would take them on to Hawaii for identification. A flyover have four F-16s known as
the missing man formation followed 55 caskets and all loaded on to those C- 17s. There are officials say there`s not necessarily 55 service members that could well be after identification that there are a lot more service
members that have been identified that is from previous experience, they say. One dog tag was among the remains that were given back by North Korea
as well. We hear from officials that that particular American family has been notified or at least for one family. They have some kind of closure
from this repatriation of remains.
Officials say also that other military equipment and hardware was given back to the U.N. command. They were helmets. They were boots, other
equipment and certainly that is going to help in Hawaii in trying to identify exactly whose remains they have. But it is a process. We are
being told time and time again that could take not just months, potentially years.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, at the Osan Air base in South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: A controversial far-right activist in the U.K. walk free from prison today after judge overturned his conviction for contempt, of course.
Tommy Robinson won his appeal against a 13-month sentence for breaking reporting rules on criminal trials. But he could still face jail time with
the judge urging a retrial as soon as possible. Nina Dos Santos has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOMMY ROBINSON, POLITICAL ACTIVIST: Stand proud. Look around you. Feel your strength.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He`s jailed for 13 months, but now, Tommy Robinson will walk free as soon as he posts bail. The far right
activist, known for his anti-Muslimism views had bene sentenced after pleading guilty to contempt of court. Filming the defendant`s in an
ongoing rape case as thy arrived in court. He broadcasted live on Facebook breaking the tight reporting restrictions that exist in the U.K.
[15:50:01] Robinson`s sentence is now being dismissed, but the judges here at the rule court just has granted with appeals. The ruling criticize the
speed at which his trial have taken place, highlighting procedural failures. Rehearing has been ordered allowing him to go free.
Outside, the reaction was mixed. The small group of about two dozen supporters cheered the decision adapting England`s World Cup soccer chants,
"it`s coming home" to Robinson, saying Tommy`s coming home. While on the other hand, counter protests does show the discontent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
DOS SANTOS: Robinson was a fringe figure in British politics until recently. His name only coming to the spotlight when Steve Bannon, Donald
Trump`s former chief strategist brought up his case in a radio interview. Portraying his imprisonment as an attack on free speech.
STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: But I don`t think Tommy is a bad guy. I think he`s a solid guy. And I think he`s got to be
released in prison. A lot of people will say that that law is way too restrictive.
DOS SANTOS: Since then, Robinson has been picked up by other figures of the American alt-right movement. The state department official also raised
his case with Britain`s ambassador to Washington and the U.S. congressman crossed the Atlantic to campaign for his freedom. Although Robinson may
soon be free, it`s unlikely his ideological fight is over.
Nina Dos Santos, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: U.S. judge has blocked a gun rights groups from posting blueprints for 3D firearms that you could print at home. The judge agreed with states
that argued the online designs could help criminals and terrorists manufacture weapons that are untraceable and virtually undetectable by
metal detectors.
The founder of the company behind those blueprints says he`ll appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, if he has to. Cody Wilson also told CNN`s
Laurie Segall that the designs are already out in the public domain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CODY WILSON, FOUNDER, DEFENSE DISTRIBUTED: I don`t sell 3D guns, so the president will understand that in time.
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you worried that the government will reverse its decision?
WILSON: Like I told you, I`ve already uploaded the plans. I mean, the ship has sailed. It`s public domain information now. It`s irrevocable.
No one can take it back.
SEGALL: The democratization of guns online giving people the ability to 3D print their own guns would make it feasible for felons, minors, mentally
ill to have access to firearms. Are you worried about those repercussions?
WILSON: No. I don`t believe access to information is ever tremendously negative or a bad thing. I know that people can use information for bad
things, but this isn`t a justification to what, stop a publisher from speaking?
SEGALL: Look at the case of the 25-year-old man who went on a shooting spree in Santa Monica with a homemade AR-15 killing five people. Are you
worried that the implications of democratizing this type of information will lead to similar types of deaths?
WILSON: I guess the question is like connected to the word you use, democracy. Is democracy dangerous or not? Can the people be trusted or
not?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Our Laurie Segall with that report there. More to come tonight including a royal robbery in Sweden. Thieves seized priceless crown jewels
before making a breathtaking escape. All the dramatic details in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: Welcome back. Some news just in here at CNN. Donald Trump`s lawyers, Rudy Giuliani has told reporters that the Trump legal team
received a response yesterday from the Mueller team, the special counsel investigator to their counts of proposal on a potential interview with the
president. Giuliani, Rudy Giuliani, the president`s lawyer, say, we`re in the process of responding. And adding that the president quote, "Has
always been interested in testifying. It`s us, meaning the team of lawyers, including me, that have the most reservations about that."
Reservations about what could be, of course, an interview between President Donald Trump and Bob Mueller, the special counsel investigating the Russia
probe, of course.
So we`ve got another story for you now. A cathedral raided crown jewels stolen and a speedboat getaway to top it all up. Now, you might call this
the plot of a Hollywood movie. But authorities in Sweden have another name for it. Tuesday. Here`s Ana Stewart with this remarkable story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a daring daytime heist that could have been written by Hollywood. Priceless royal jewels stolen from a
cathedral in regional Sweden. Two thieves making their getaway on a speedboat. While police have launched a massive manhunt for those
responsible, so far, they`ve had no success.
Authorities are appealing for public help and have released this photo of the 17th century jewels which originally belonged to former Swedish
monarchs Karl IX and Kristina. Police say the thieves smashed the security display case and made off with the two crowns and one of the orbs. No one
was hurt.
The cathedral have been opened to the public from 10:00 in the morning. The robbery happened just before lunch.
According to local press reports, one witness saw two people running away from the cathedral towards a waiting boat, prompting police to search both
on land and sea to find the perpetrators.
The dean of the parish, as well, the jewels are valuable is the cultural significance to Sweden`s history which is more important. The heist has
echoed of a daring robbery in Venice early this year when thieves mingled with visitors to an exhibition before bracing and making off with gems from
the Qatari world collection. In that case, the jewels were never recovered
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Anna, thanks very much, indeed.
Thanks so much for watching tonight. Stay with us. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
END
