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Hala Gorani Tonight
Senate Will Vote Saturday On Brett Kavanaugh For Supreme Court Justice; Glenn Beck Says He Participated in Dividing the Country; Nobel Peace Prize Goes to A Man and A Woman Doing Work on The Issue of Sexual Assault Globally; Trump's Supreme Court Nominee Advance To Final Vote; Ronaldo Denies Rape Allegations; Still No Sign Of Missing Saudi Journalist; Parents Of Kidnapped Girl Ask Nigeria For Help. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired October 05, 2018 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00] HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London on this Friday, I'm Hala Gorani. Tonight, President Trump's pick is one
step closer to the U.S. Supreme Court. Brett Kavanaugh's nomination will go to a final Senate vote Saturday even though one Republican rebel voted
no. Also, I speak to conservative political commentator Glenn Beck about how this confirmation process is exposing the political divisions in the US
and how he now says he is partly responsible for some of it.
Saudi critic and "The Washington Post" columnist Jamal Khashoggi walks into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul Tuesday and has not been seen since. We
look at his mysterious disappearance.
Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee cleared a critical hurdle today in a nail biter vote and now there's just one final showdown to go. It's been a
day of high drama on Capitol Hill an it's not over yet. Senators narrowly approved sending Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to a final Senate-wide vote
and it is scheduled for tomorrow. Now, there were four undecided Senators before today but now there appear to be just two. Both of them extremely
critical for Kavanaugh's chances. Republican Lisa Murkowski will vote no and Jeff Flake plans to vote yes and still waiting for Republican Susan
Collins the announce her decision and will happen just about an hour from now and we don't know about Democrat Joe Manchin. He voted for this whole
thing to advance and we don't know if he'll vote to confirm.
Kavanaugh's confirmation is complicated by sexual assault allegations and the testimony last week which critics say came off as combative, emotional,
maybe too emotional and partisan, as well. Senators have been speaking out all day on his nomination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DIANE FEINSTEIN, (D), CALIFORNIA: At the hearing last week, we saw a man filled with anger and aggression. Judge Kavanaugh raised his voice.
He interrupted Senators. He accused Democrats of, quote, lying in wait, end quote. And replacing, quote, advise and consent with search and
destroy. This behavior reveals a hostility and belligerence that is unbecoming of someone speaking to be elevated to the United States Supreme
Court.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, MAJORITY LEADER: The absurdity, the indignity. This is our approach to confirming a Supreme Court justice? This is the
Senate's contribution to public discourse? Before the end of Justice Kennedy's our Democratic colleagues made it perfectly clear what this
process would be about. Delay it, obstruct and resist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Adding to the drama, Brett Kavanaugh himself made a last-minute appeal for his confirmation with an opinion piece, an unprecedented move.
He wrote in "The Wall Street Journal" that he may have come across as emotional but that he will be fair if confirmed. Let's bring in CNN's
Sarah Westwood, Stephen Collinson in Washington, as well. First of all, at the White House, Sarah, what are sources telling you there about what they
believe will happen tomorrow? Are they confident Kavanaugh will be confirmed?
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Hala, White House aides projecting confidence to get the nominee over the finish line. Our
colleague Jeff Zeleny reporting that President Trump watched the procedural vote this morning from the White House residence and shortly afterward took
something of a victory lap on Twitter about the fact that the nomination is advancing to the floor even though it's a bit premature because we don't
know how the final undecided Senators will ultimately vote coming time to confirm Kavanaugh. White House officials are also saying that it was
Kavanaugh's idea to write that "The Wall Street Journal" op-ed you mentioned perhaps aimed at answering to concerns of the temperament
following the emotional performance at that hearing last week but not everyone in the White House thinks it was a great idea. It added a new
variable to this equation at the 11th hour. Even though White House aides maintain a front of optimism, heading into that final vote tomorrow,
there's a lot that could still go wrong between now and then, Hala.
[14:05:00] GORANI: What could go wrong then? I mean, as far as Brett Kavanaugh is concerned. Because if all the Senators that voted to advance
it to a final floor vote tomorrow confirm he's in.
WESTWOOD: Right. It is out of the White House's hands so Trump is at this point in the process more or less a bystander. We don't know how Senator
Collins will vote. She's supposed to announce at 3:00 p.m. she left the door open to changing her vote from the procedural roll call this morning
to the final vote. She could go a different way. That's something obviously that could be very negative for this White House and again
Senator Joe Manchin the Democrat of West Virginia indicating that he, too, could change his final vote in between the procedural call this morning and
the vote tomorrow. So, for the White House they're really passive as they wait to see how those two Senators are going to fall.
So, but, Stephen, less than 24 hours. What would make either of the two Senators change their minds at this point?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: It doesn't seem very likely. I think it's a key when Collins comes out. If she says she is going to
vote to confirm Kavanaugh, I think that pretty much is it as far as this confirmation is concerned. Because in that scenario I think it's very
likely that Joe Manchin who's from West Virginia, a very pro Trump state to vote to confirm and get dicey, though, for Manchin if he as a Democrat is a
final vote that confirms a conservative majority for a generation on the Supreme Court. That scenario could unfold if Susan Collins comes out and
says notwithstanding today's vote, tomorrow she is going to vote against Kavanaugh. So, this really is the crucial hour for the Kavanaugh
nomination. If he's confirmed on Saturday, it will be historic moment for the Republican party and the Trump presidency. This is a goal that
conservative majority I was talking about this has been unifying the party not just in the Trump era but for 40 years or so, so it's hugely
significant what we are going to see when Susan Collins steps out and makes her decision public in a few minute's time.
GORANI: OK. A quick last word there on that op-ed in "The Wall Street Journal." he's basically saying, I'm sorry I cried and got emotional. I'm
sorry I appeared for perhaps not exactly even tempered. That's because I was under a lot of pressure. Did that change anyone's mind? Did that have
any impact at all?
COLLINSON: I think there were several Senators, Senator Flake and Senator Collins, who were clearly worried that the explosive performance by
Kavanaugh at the hearing last week was not exactly the kind of decorum you expect of somebody that was going to go on to the Supreme Court. I think
there's also a sense in which Kavanaugh is easing the way now to be a less controversial figure if he is, indeed, confirmed. Stepping back from that
approach and doesn't go well with Chief Justice John Roberts and you can see this as getting enough votes to get on the court and now he is thinking
about how he's sort of repairs some of the damage before he gets to the bench.
GORANI: He said what he said. He said what he said. That some of it is a revenge for the Clinton loss. That's not something you can take away and
criticized for in prepared remarks, as well. We will see if that has an impact. Thanks to both of you. There's still a lot we don't know in this
long-running confirmation process and after two weeks of wild political theater, one thing is very clear. There's a deep partisan divide in
Washington right now. It's permeating through a divided nation. What needs to be done to change that? A question or has it always been there?
It is just something that we're noticing more now with social media and cable news, perhaps. Personality and commentator Glenn Beck has written
extensively about this in "Addicted to Outrage" and joins me from Irving in Texas. Thanks for being with us.
GLENN BECK, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: You bet.
GORANI: One of the things, one of the things you said is you acknowledge that some of the work you did on cable news contributed to this
polarization.
BECK: Sure. I would love to have other voices join me. I haven't had anybody. I think we're all responsible for what happened to our country
and the Republic and it is becoming more and more disturbing. I have spoken out about it for the last five years. I have talked to members of
press. I have talked to people. And the only ones that seem to be interested are the people actually living day-to-day in the country. I
think they're disgusted by this entire process.
[14:10:00] I think that many people when they heard the charges were open to listening. They did. They watched it. I know several people that
watched last week and gave professor Ford the benefit of this entire process. I think that many people when they heard the charges were open to
listening. They did. They watched it. I know several people that watched last week and gave professor Ford the benefit of the doubt and they said
I'm not sure now. I don't know. But they have really been disgusted by this --
GORANI: What's wrong with the process? She had allegations against Judge Kavanaugh. She aired them. The committee heard from committee. Those who
don't support his nomination say it was all rigged. In his favor. That the FBI didn't talk to people who could have corroborated Dr. Ford's
version of events. So, what's wrong with --
BECK: I have heard the press ask over and over will this be good enough? Will this be good enough? For what? For people to not change their
positions? I don't say that just about the Democrats but the Republicans, too. There are people that it doesn't matter what the facts are. This was
not a search for facts. At all. And the money outside of Washington that's being poured into this to bring people in to the streets, the
vitriol is remarkable.
GORANI: From outside money? Not genuine protesters who are appalled by what's going on and believe that the voice of a woman --
BECK: Let me see. Let me ask the mighty and great CNN a question. It's the accusation of CNN on the tea party. That it wasn't grass roots. That
doesn't mean that everyone there isn't there because they're individually motivated but you cannot deny that there is organizing parties that are
also involved in this. Of course, there are. And there are people --
GORANI: I don't want to talk about the tea party. This is not something I covered or was involved in but specifically these protests. You have
people who believe that this process is not fair to the woman who's alleging that she survived a sexual --
BECK: Let me ask you a question.
GORANI: For all intents and purposes that the confirmation process will go in Brett Kavanaugh's favor in this case.
BECK: Let me ask you a question.
GORANI: Sure.
BECK: Do you want to live in a society where someone can make an accusation and we have to believe the accusation or do you want to take
every accusation seriously and then vet every accusation and make sure that we know what the truth is? I, for one --
GORANI: Of course, the latter.
BECK: I thought this was an interview to have a decent conversation. Go ahead.
GORANI: No, no. Of course. The latter. You want every accusation vetted and those who do not support Brett Kavanaugh's nomination or confirmation
perhaps also are critical of his temperament, of the things he said.
BECK: Temperament?
GORANI: Wrote a "The Wall Street Journal" --
BECK: Could I just --
GORANI: Op-ed apologizing for some of what he said. During his confirmation hearings.
BECK: May I suggest an alternative view?
GORANI: Sure.
BECK: If you as an individual, if you were called a gang rapist, if you were raping women on a boat, if all of a sudden everyone on earth
associated your name with gang rape, now, he may have done something with Ford. We don't know. I'm not god. I wasn't there. But because I wasn't
there and because there is no credible evidence except one word against the other, in a decent, civilized society that's not a high enough threshold to
destroy someone. But if you take it from Ford he wasn't angry. I don't think he was angry about the Ford thing. It was a dog pile. He's now a
gang rapist? I'm sorry but if I was told that I had to be quiet, I had to sit through this, my life was being destroyed, my children were being
destroyed for all -- excuse me. May I finish?
GORANI: I get that.
BECK: May I finish?
GORANI: Some of what the President said about Dr. Ford. Do you believe that the way she was portrayed, the way she was mocked by the President --
[14:15:00] BECK: OK. So just want to make sure I understand. So, if you started it or if they started it or it's OK because that person did it. If
you want to talk about Donald Trump, we can talk about Donald Trump. I think Donald Trump in many cases including some of the things that he has
tweeted is despicable. I do not appreciate or like Donald Trump's character. However, this isn't about Donald Trump. This is about Ford and
Kavanaugh and trying to find the truth. That's what this is about. No reasonable person, if you take politics all out of this and we were not
talking about politics, no person, no person would look at this and say, oh, there's enough evidence to say, yes, we should destroy this person's
life. There's not enough evidence.
GORANI: I get your point. I get your point because you've made it a few times but I want to advance the conversation a little bit to this -- this
divided America. Because -- by the way, Judge Kavanaugh's confirmed, first time ever, no vote to confirm any federal Judge, let alone a Supreme Court
justice, would have come down to a tiebreaker by the vice President.
BECK: Yes. It is really fascinating, isn't it? It's very fascinating. In fact --
GORANI: You say --
BECK: Advice and consent in the constitution. Advise and consent. Up until probably the last ten years we haven't seen anything like this. With
an exception of one. The farce of 1991 in my opinion. We have seen it once before.
GORANI: You're talking about the Anita Hill.
BECK: It's very, very strange --
GORANI: The Clarence Thomas hearings.
BECK: Let's not get into that.
GORANI: Calling it a farce at all.
BECK: I have not. You're not interviewing a lot of people. You're interviewing me. I take responsibility.
GORANI: Let me, Glenn, ask you about your tweets because this is how people express themselves oftentimes and how you build a sort of picture of
someone's opinions, of someone's thoughts, of their impressions on what's going on. Let me put up a tweet you put out in the last few days.
Americans are -- I can't read it, guys. You have to put it up. Americans are fair and I believe they see the pain on both sides and without evidence
will not want to choose. If the Democrats cram this down, we are talking here about the -- I imagine the Dr. Ford testimony, I believe Americans
will rise up at the polls. But you're saying that it's -- we're being too partisan in the United States. But are Democrats not Americans? It seems
like you're --
BECK: Oh my gosh.
GORANI: Mutually exclusive.
BECK: This is the problem. This is the problem. This is the problem. Did I say --
GORANI: Your tweet.
BECK: Did I say Democrats are not Americans? You should take a breath before you just try to get a yet ratings point or click or view. Take a
breath and think the -- how close to the edge society is to breakdown. Maybe we should all just take a second and consider how great freedom is.
How great the life we have is. It's never been better than this before.
GORANI: Yes.
BECK: Why?
GORANI: OK.
BECK: Did I ever say -- did you hear me say that Democrats aren't Americans? No. What a ridiculous question. You have --
GORANI: OK. It's in the wording of your tweet. Yes.
BECK: You have to believe this somebody like me believes half the country is evil.
GORANI: No. That's not what I said either. There you go putting -- it was really interesting talking to you.
BECK: It was a delight. Thank you so much. God bless.
GORANI: Still to come, dedicating their lives to healing the horrors of sexual violence, speaking to one of the Nobel Prize laureates just ahead.
[14:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: You may not be familiar with the names of this year's Nobel Peace Prize winners but the work to help heal victims of sexual violence shines a
light on some of the world's most horrific crimes, especially against women in war zones. Nina dos Santos has more on the doctor and a survivor whose
names we can now appreciate.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN EUROPE EDITOR: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace prize for 2018 to Denis Mukwege and Nadia
Murad for the end of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
The Nobel Peace Prize is most powerful when it captures a global conversation. A year after the #MeToo movement and a decade since the UN
labeled rape in conflict a crime against humanity, the Nobel Committee rewarded two people at the forefront of the struggle against sexual
violence.
It is important for -- to see the suffering of women. To see the abuses. And to achieve that. It is also important that women leave the concept of
shame and speak up.
DOS SANTOS: Recognizing a man and a woman. A gynecologist and surgeon and a victim turned vocal campaigner. Now 25, Nadia Murad was abducted by ISIS
in 2014 and held as a sex slave along an estimated 3,000 women and girls from Iraq's persecuted Yazidi community. She miraculously escaped and
highlighted the plight since on the international stage even at the United Nations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADIA MURAD, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: And give all the victims of ISIS their justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOS SANTOS: Denis healed the wounds in the Congo. A country the former UN representative for sexual violence once described as the rape capital of
the world and a place where the hospital he founded cared for 40,000 survivors of sexual violence. Yet this year's decision is also a win for
the prize itself after being dubbed too bold or too bland in years gone by. The 2018 award taps into today's female struggle and sends a message that
women are not weapons of war. Nina dos Santos, CNN, London.
GORANI: Well, Dr. Denis Mukwege was performing surgery when the news arrived. He joins me live on the phone as the dramatic news of this global
honor sinks, in Dr. Mukwege, thank you for being with us.
DR. DENIS MUKWEGE, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: Thank you.
[14:25:00] GORANI: Thank you. Congratulations. Tell us where you were, how you heard that you'd won this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
MUKWEGE: Yes. This morning I was operating as I used to do. On Saturday. And Saturday I have people who are suffering outside and from one common.
I do not understand what's happening. And suddenly telling me that the prize has come to me. I mean -- me.
GORANI: This -- I mean, you've worked on so many cases. You have put yourself in danger in order to come to the assistance of thousands and
thousands of women who have been raped, who have been sexually assaulted, who have been inflicted violence in conflict. What keeps you going?
MUKWEGE: Yes. Really, I can say that, you know, women and children here are so strong and if you could see this morning how they care in the
operating room, to look for me and their children. You can see they're very strong. Given the time to go on.
GORANI: What's one case that has stayed with you? You had to -- is there a case in particular that comes to your mind when you think of this honor
and the recognition that you got for your work?
MUKWEGE: Yes. You know, there are many. There are many because I treat many women and many women are strong but I can say that there is one, jane.
Really wonderful. Even myself I can't understand how she can keep going with all the suffering that she went through. But she's very strong and
she's really, really all our staff give thanks to god.
GORANI: Thank you so much, Dr. Denis Mukwege speaking to us on the DRC on the day he learned he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. For your work. Thank you, congratulations and thank you for all the work that you do.
Rape as a weapon of war is a form of violence inflicted on women in many conflicts, from Congo where we speak to the doctor from, to Iraq and Syria.
My next guest is currently the Swedish foreign minister and she has expertise from around the world. First of all, I don't know if you had an
opportunity to listen to the doctor but how did you react to his win today?
MARGOT WALLSTROM, SWEDISH FOREIGN MINISTER: First, they are amazing. They have shared their personal experiences and knowledge. In shaping our
understanding about rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war and they have also shown that peace cannot come if women do not have peace or get
peace. So, I think that this is also right from the Nobel Committee's side to give them this peace prize. I'm so happy for them. And are met with
met with both of them and are amazing people.
GORANI: Yes. I was -- a couple of years ago you said you wanted to -- you wanted your foreign policy strategy to be a feminist one. This year saw so
many changes because of the #MeToo movement. And because women are coming out and are feeling maybe more comfortable talking about their own
experiences of sexual assault. Do you feel that things are changing and if so how?
WALLSTROM: They are changing. But too slow. And I think, for example, the fact that the ICC, the International Criminal Court, is pursuing many
more cases under the leadership of the chief prosecutor, the fact that the Colombia peace process this was definitely something that women asked for,
justice also for the victims of sexual violence, that many more also high- ranking military guys have been put to trial in the DRC and in other countries.
[14:30:00] These are important steps for whether we have a legal framework but impunity unfortunately is still of a rule and this has been called the
oldest, least punished war crimes so we just have to continue to fight on.
GORANI: Quick last one. But what about in non-conflict zones, western democracies where you have women whose testimonies and stories brought down
powerful men and hearing from Dr. Ford and the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. How are things changing do
you think?
WALLSTROM: This, again, is the way to put the stoplight on these things, to shine a light on these things that have been hidden, that have been
suppressed and making women feel guilty instead of the perpetrators. So, this is an important phase in history, I would say. It means also we have
to do much more for gender equality in every sector of life. And of course, for peace and for peace to last longer. We have to involve the
women in the whole process, from negotiations to peacekeeping because they want to be not only victims we agents for change in their own lives and in
society.
GORANI: Margot, thank you for joining us on this day. We appreciate it.
A lot more to come this evening. President Trump's choice for the Supreme Court could be headed and is probably headed for confirmation. We'll be
right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Been a big day in Washington for President Donald Trump's candidate for a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court. The Senate voted a
short time ago to close debate on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination which means that the expectation is for a vote tomorrow, Saturday, on whether to
confirm him to the post.
All but two of the undecided senators have made their positions clear in just the past couple of hours and right now, it appears Kavanaugh will be
confirmed.
Brett Kavanaugh's been trying to help his own cause. He wrote an unprecedented op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. He attempted to address
concerns over the impartiality saying, I do not decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I'm not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant
judge.
I'm not a prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge. And protesters have also been making themselves heard all through this process.
Several arrests were made just after today's vote right outside the Senate building.
Comedian Amy Schumer was among them, among more than 300 people arrested at protests on Capitol Hill on Thursday. They were chanting, "Believe
survivors." While senators reviewed the FBI's extended background check on Kavanaugh.
Let's get more analysis on the Senate moving forward with Brett Kavanaugh. CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp joins me now from New York. Thanks for
being with us. So it looks like it's headed for confirmation for Kavanaugh.
S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It does. With Collins and Manchin, the last two remaining undecideds, Collins having left a lunch with Senator
Mitch McConnell earlier today. It looks like Brett Kavanaugh will have -- will have the vote that he needs. We'll find out in a few minutes or maybe
not until tomorrow. But we're expecting to hear, at least from Susan Collins in just 30 minutes.
GORANI: And whatever happens is going to be extremely close. Historically close. I mean, what impact does that have on the proceedings and on the
nomination itself for the country? Because you'll have half the country at least -- you know? Perhaps more. Upset with this whole process.
CUPP: Yes. I said -- I said two weeks ago, Hala, that neither side and no party is going to emerge from this cleanly or with a win. Because there
will always be an asterisk by Brett Kavanaugh's name, even if he gets confirmed.
[14:35:04] And for Democrats there will always be this idea that they potentially politicized this and weaponized Me Too for their own politics.
And so there's a lot of politics, obviously, overarching all of this and no one, because it's going to be so close and because, you know, this FBI
investigation wasn't really an investigation and we have nothing conclusive, you're right. There's going to be a lot of people in this
country who are angry by this pick.
Now, Democrats will tell you that this very much works in their favor, that this adds to this blue wave that is being carried largely on the backs of
women, animated by the Me Too movement, that the will really turn out in record numbers in November and that could be true.
But Democrats and I have to say a lot of the media often underestimate just how animating the Supreme Court is for republicans. And this nominee --
GORANI: Right. I was going to ask you that very question because there are Republican -- I mean, that this is energizing to Republicans who buy
into the narrative that this is an assault on -- that there was no due process, that there was a he said, she said. That this was an assault on
this, you know, white me, but needlessly kind of attacked for political reasons.
CUPP: Unfairly, right, right.
GORANI: Because he was not qualified. So, could there be an impact in the midterms?
CUPP: So you hear from a lot of protesters, you see them, you see Amy Schumer getting arrested. You see Alyssa Milano sitting behind Brett
Kavanaugh. You see a lot of the left and their action.
What you don't see as often is the anger on the right and that's because there is a majority that is silent. The silent majority that came out for
Trump in ways we did not predict that is also siding very much with Brett Kavanaugh and not because of his politics alone but because they see him as
a victim in this and his anger at his own hearing was vocalizing an anger in themselves. They feel misunderstood. They feel unheard by the process.
And so, I think Kavanaugh has animated Republican voters in a way that both Republicans were not ready for and Democrats certainly have not predicted.
GORANI: Right. And also Dr. Ford's testimony has stirred something in a big portion of the population. We'll see what impact that has.
CUPP: Sure, yes.
GORANI: S.E. Cupp, thanks so much. The host of "S.E. CUPP UNFILTERED" on CNN. It's Saturday on CNN USA at 6:00 p.m. Eastern. Thank you so much for
joining us.
In other news, pressure is building on Cristiano Ronaldo after a shocking rape allegation became public. The football star denies raping Kathryn
Mayorga at a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.
Ronaldo may be in the spotlight over these allegations but so are his many sponsors. Two of his biggest sponsors were finally forced to respond today
saying they were, "monitoring the situation."
CNN's Melissa Bell has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I grow up, fame was nothing but a dream.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A dream that appears to be souring for Cristiano Ronaldo or at least for his sponsors. Nike which has a reported
$1 billion endorsement deal with the Portuguese player, says it is deeply concerned by the rape allegations that resurfaced this week. And like his
other big sponsor EA Sports, the company says that it's monitoring the situation.
The allegations center on the events of this night in Las Vegas in 2009. Kathryn Mayorga says that later in the evening, Ronaldo raped her in a
hotel room while she repeatedly screamed "no" according to a lawsuit that was filed in Nevada.
LESLIE STOVALL, KATHRYN MAYORGA'S ATTORNEY: The MeToo movement and the women who have stood up and disclose sexual assaults and publicly has given
Kathryn a lot of courage.
BELL: Mayorga's lawsuit accuses Ronaldo and his team of taking advantage over fragile emotional state after the alleged assault to force her into
signing a $375,000 settlement deal in exchange for her silence.
Her lawsuit seeks to void the settlement and a nondisclosure agreement she signed at the time. Representatives denied the rape allegations when they
were first reported by a German publication.
Ronaldo who watched his team Juventus play from the sidelines on Tuesday had this reaction on Instagram.
CRISTIANO RONALDO, PORTUGUESE FOOTBALLER: Fake. Fake news. Do you want to -- you want to promote by my name. It's normal. They want to be famous to
say my name.
[14:40:09] BELL: His Italian team Juventus also came up fighting, Tweeting that Ronaldo had shown in recent months his great professionalism and
dedication and that the events allegedly dating back almost 10 years did not change that opinion.
On Friday, Juventus shares were down five percent on the back of the allegations. Ronaldo only joined the club in July in a deal reportedly
worth $117 million. Making him one of the four most expensive players of all time.
And although Las Vegas police have reopened the criminal investigation into the alleged assault last month, the rouse appears already to have taken
some of the shine off a man, whose golden image is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Melissa Bell, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: A lot more to come this evening. Growing concern for missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi who has not been seen since entering the
Saudi consulate in Turkey three days ago. We'll speak to one of his friends, next.
Also, the terrorist group Boko Haram is threatening to execute this 15- year-old girl if their demands are not met. Her parents are pleading for help. We'll have that story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: I want to return now to a story we've been following all week. Prominent Saudi Arabian journalist and the Washington Post columnist, Jamal
Khashoggi mysteriously disappeared on Tuesday after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Khashoggi was a staunched critic of Saudi Crown Price, Mohammed bin Sal, has not been seen since siting that consulate to obtain marriage documents
according to his fiancee.
Saudi Arabia claims he's left the building, but Turkey says he is still inside. The Turkish foreign ministry have summoned the Saudi ambassador
hoping to get some answers.
Let's bring in David Hearst now. He's editor in chief of the Middle East Eye and a friend of Jamal Khashoggi. Thanks for being with us.
So, what's the latest you're hearing on his whereabouts? Because we're not sure. We don't know where he is.
DAVID HEARST, EDITOR IN CHIEF, MIDDLE EAST EYE: Well, Turkish intelligence tell me that he's definitely in the building. They're quite certain about
that.
However, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman has just given an interview to Bloomberg in which he says, we're not got nothing to
hide. They can search the building if you want, which means he's confident that they got Jamal out before the alarm was raised. There's a possibility
that that could have happened.
GORANI: But that doesn't make -- I mean, if there is -- we were discussing during break that there's only one exit, his fiancee was outside the whole
time. How do you spirit someone out of a building like that when there's only one door you can use?
HEARST: I've got no idea. It could be a game of brinkmanship being played here. And all sorts of people involved in these conversations and
including state department. So this is a -- there's a very, very big fuss going on about this.
[14:45:06] GORANI: And he was a Washington -- and is this the Washington Post columnist. And in fact, the Washington Post published a blank page
today saying this is where Jamal Khashoggi's column would have gone today. Of course, it's blank because he can't write it. There it is, by the way.
A missing voice.
What's -- talk to us a little bit about why Saudi authorities are unhappy with Khashoggi.
HEARST: Well, Jamal wasn't, what I recall a radical, even a western liberal radical. I mean, his supported many of the things that are
actually going on.
He supported initially the war in Yemen. He supported the reform program. What Jamal was, was an honest journalist who said, look, you can't have
economic reform unless you have political reform.
You can't allow women to drive and then put six activists in jail. You can't say you're supporting women's political rights, but you've actually
got a woman on death row for the first time in the history of the kingdom simply for filming a sheer demonstration putting it up on the net.
So he's basically a real divide between the PR and what actually going on. The reality. And he put his finger on it and he was very brave about that,
as well. I mean, he initially sent out with the regime of his in 30 mild comments in the Washington institute, I think. In which he said, I don't
think, you know, getting by with Trump is particularly a good idea for the kingdom. That's when they stopped him in action.
GORANI: I interviewed him a few months. And this is what he told me about his concerns about, I believe -- I think this is the portion of the
interview where he talks about his concerns about, I believe, I think this is the portion of the interview where he talks about his concern about --
his concerns linked to going back to Saudi Arabia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMAL KHASHOGGI, SAUDI JOURNALIST: I received a phone call ordering me to go silent. With no court decree, with just someone from the royal court,
an official from the royal court who was close to the leadership and ordering me to be silent. That offended me and that what every other throw
that you can go through. I know many -- or before they were arrested, they had to go to the state security sign ledgers. Not to contradict the
government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So this was a year ago. And he was concerned that if you criticize authorities, you'll get in trouble.
HEARST: Yes. Indeed. And I was actually talking to him. He was here in London on Saturday. We were both at the same conference. I was talking to
him then. And his concern was that Mohammad bin Salman would bankrupt the nation, as he puts it.
He's very, very concerned about what was actually going on to his country in flight of capitalism. It's very, very different from the interview that
that's been given up by Bloomberg. But I think Jamal had his finger on the pulse.
And it actually says something. It says quite a lot that they're prepared to go to this length, whatever has happened to Jamal to silence him. It
really does show you that in my view, at least, these guys aren't reformers. These aren't progressives. They're very old-fashioned
dictators.
GORANI: They're saying, "go ahead and search the consulate building if you like." I wonder if Turkish authorities will take them up on that offer.
HEARST: Well, you know, there's diplomatic immunity. There are a lot of things going on here. And there are a lot of blasts being called. I don't
think we've heard the end of this saga. And if Jamal is, in fact, out of Turkey, he's personally in a lot of danger.
GORANI: And one of my questions is, why did he go to Istanbul? I wonder, because he could have gone to the embassy in D.C. where he knew people
there. Do you know why he chose to go to --
HEARST: Well, I do know that he had arranged with the Saudis this particular procedure. And he went to the -- to this consulate Friday the
4th. And they said, fine, Jamal, there's no problem with these papers. Come back, I think, on Tuesday and we'll have it all ready for you. And
it's simple and fact, they were laying a trap for him.
GORANI: All right. Well, thank you very much. We'll continue to follow this story. David Hearts, the editor in chief of the Middle East Eye. And
also a friend and colleague of Jamal Khashoggi. We appreciate you coming into the studio.
The French interior ministry says the wife of Interpol president, Meng Hongwei had received threats on the phone and social networks before his
disappearance. French police have now launched an instigation. After Meng's wife said she'd not heard from him for 10 days.
The spokeswoman for the Interpol, which is headquartered in France, refused to say if Meng was on official business in his native China, where he is in
China, vice minister for public security.
A word on the story that parents of a kidnapped girl are pleading for help to save their child. 15-year-old, Leah Sharibu was taken in February by
Boko Haram militants. Her parents say they watched a video where the terrorist group threatens to kill their daughter.
[14:50:03] Leah's father, Nathan, told CNN, the terrorist threatened to kill Leah in October if they don't get any response to their demand. Time
is running out. That is why I am calling on the government to keep talking to them.
Farai Sevenzo is in Nairobi. What's the latest, Farai?
FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is, Hala, that we don't really know when in October this threat was promised to be delivered.
But we do know that Leah was one the 110 girls that were kidnapped from Dapchi from their boarding school up the northeast of Nigeria. Which is
about 75 kilometers away from Nigerien border, very remote but very infested with Boko Haram. This is the kind of area they're trying to
attack and all those 110 girls, five didn't survive their ordeal.
And one of them, that is Leah, was not returned. Four weeks later with the other hundred or so girls. We hear she refused to renounce her
Christianity and adopts to Islam.
Now, it's very dangerous, indeed, for all the girls out there but the parents are telling CNN that is Rebecca and Nathan, this is real and that
they want the government to do something about it.
I must tell you one more thing. On a night when your show was talking about the strength of women and the whole idea of a peace winner, Nobel
Prize peace winner, praising women in conference, so these girls are 15 years old, Hala.
And she says in an August audiotape obtained by a Nigerian journalist I am begging you to treat me with compassion. I'm calling on the government,
especially the president, to pity me and get me out of the serious situation. Nobody knows quite when this will happen and what their demands
are.
But we know from experience and history that Boko Haram people had been talking to the government, and moneys exchanged and they want their
prisoners to be released by the government, but it puts the flight of up to 1,000 kids who Boko Haram still hold in this dangerous remote area into
really great danger, Hala.
GORANI: Farai Sevenzo, thanks very much. We'll keep following the story of Leah and all the other girls kidnapped by Boko Haram and the anguish of
their families. Thanks for joining us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Now to a forgotten gem that's been preserved for more than a thousand years. CNN takes you on a journey to an ancient temple and UNESCO
World Heritage site in Southern Laos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMARA WALKER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: In Champasak Province in the southern part of Laos, a testament to the might of a vanished kingdom.
This is Vat Phou developed between the fifth and 15th century as the temple complex predates its more famous cousin, Angkor Wat in Cambodia by more
than 400 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through translator): Vat Phou is built by our ancestors and it's one of the most important places of worship. Vat Phou is
initially built as a Hindu temple during the command by, but it soon to become a Buddhist temple.
[14:55:02] WALKER: Set again the foot of a mountain, Vat Phou's design is said to reflect Hindu beliefs about the connection between nature and
humanity. It's amazed of monuments and waterways stretching for more than 10 kilometers and dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva.
The purpose of two symmetrical palaces each containing an inner court yard is still unknown. They give way to a path lined with Lingam, a sacred
Hindu symbol. Finally, ascending to the main sanctuary where statues of the Buddha can be found along with some of vat Phou's most intricate stone
carvings of Hindu myths.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Before Vat Phou became a world heritage site, it was completely in ruins. But after UNESCO recognition in
2001, domestic and foreign experts teamed up to restore this ancient city.
WALKER: The restoration of the ancient premier temple is a boom for this less traveled corner of Southeast Asia. But visitors are still relatively
few. Lending Vat Phou a rare sense of intimacy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have been working here for years and my favorite part of Vat Phou is the remarkable landscape. The view
from the mountain is striking. You can take in the natural beauty of the surroundings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: There you he it. Destination Laos. I want to bring you up to date once again on what to expect in the next hour because today is
decisive. In Washington, it's decisive not just in the nation's capital but across the country and that is the vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to
the Supreme Court of the United States.
There was a procedural vote today, so there will be a Senate wide vote tomorrow Saturday. Of course, it's simple majority now in the United
States to confirm a Supreme Court justice and we're expecting in the next hour for the Republican senator, Susan Collins to announce whether or not
she will vote to support Brett Kavanaugh's nomination.
What's important here is how much this is divided the United States. There have been protests outside, the Senate in Washington. There are those who
do not believe that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was heard. We believe the FBI investigation was an FBI investigation in name only and that it is not
include testimony from people who could have corroborated Dr. Ford's testimony.
And then there are those who believe that Judge Kavanaugh was unjustly accused without due process. So this is divided the country. It is
certainly riveted the entire world, as we continue to watch this develop.
So, coming up next is my colleague Wolf Blitzer as well as Dana Bash with the very latest from Washington.
END
