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Hala Gorani Tonight
Fired FBI Director Testifying in Private Before A House Panel; Trump Nominates A New UN Ambassador and Attorney General; Mueller to Submit Key Documents on Manafort And Cohen; French Officials Say Will Use All Means to Prevent Unrest; Huawei CFO Makes First Appearance in Court; The Dow Drops Over Jobs and Trade War Mixed Messages; Mueller To Submit Key Documents On Manafort, Cohen; Bail Hearing Right Now For Huawei CFO; Belfast Reacts To The Northern Ireland Backstop; Cautious Optimism In Yemen Peace Talks; New Yorkers Flock To See Celebrity Duck. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired December 07, 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] HANNAH VAUGHN JONES, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome. I'm Hannah Vaughn Jones in for Hala Gorani. On the program, we begin with a very busy
day in the Russia investigation as we wait for the next big reveals to drop. Special counsel Mueller is set to file two very important sets of
court documents today dealing with two former members of Donald Trump's inner circle. One is Paul Manafort who served as Mr. Trump's campaign
chairman. Mr. Mueller will tell a judge why he's accusing Manafort of lying and lie investigating a plea agreement. He will also recommend a
sentence for Michael Cohen. And that could give us insight into the value of information Mr. Trump's former attorney has provided under his own
cooperation deal with the special counsel. Also, today, we have this CNN exclusive. Sources say that Robert Mueller's team has interviewed White
House chief of staff John Kelly about Mr. Trump's possible obstruction of justice. Kelly, we understand, is no longer on speaking terms with his
boss, with the President, and is expected to leave his post soon. Now on top of all of this the fired FBI director James Comey is testifying on
capitol hill right now behind closed doors about the Russia investigation. Now, President Trump went on a tirade on Twitter this morning blasting the
Russia investigation and repeatedly attacking Robert Mueller himself. So much then to discuss. Let's kick things offer and speak to CNN's Shimon
Prokupecz to break it down for us. Let's start with the CNN exclusive reporting about John Kelly, the President's chief of staff and the fact
that he's now being questioned about obstruction of justice on the part of the President.
SHIMON PROKUPESCZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right. And that has to do with the -- whether or not this talk of whether or not the
President was going to fire the special counsel Robert Mueller. That's what the questioning was about. John Kelly's in the White House, chief of
staff, sitting in on meetings and looks like from what CNN reporters are told is special counsel had specific questions for him about what he knew
about whether or not the President wanted to fire the special counsel. It all has to do with obstruction as we know. That is one of the key things
that the special counsel is looking into. You know? Whether or not there was obstruction to try to fire the FBI -- the former FBI director, excuse
me, James Comey all in an effort to somehow get this investigation over with by the President.
JONES: And all eyes today, you know, we knew it was coming, on these court filings, documents of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen. The deadline is
what? Midnight later today?
PROKUPESCZ: No. Actually, we have perhaps maybe two different deadlines. On the Michael Cohen stuff, it is due in just a couple of hours here in
about three hours. The Manafort filing is due at midnight. So, we should get some word here soon. It could happen at any point before then even
though there are the deadlines. These are highly anticipated court documents that are hopefully going to reveal some additional details about
the Mueller investigation as it relates to Paul Manafort, of course, it has to do with what he lied about. Special counsel has said that Paul Manafort
lied to them during Sessions when they were interviewing him when he agreed to cooperate. It was in those Sessions, interview Sessions he lied to them
and so they basically said that the deal was done. They were no longer going to use him as a witness and want him in jail for probably quite some
time and so the judge set a deadline today for the special counsel to tell her what it is that Paul Manafort lied about.
JONES: And expectations have been raised very recently, of course, with other court filings with regards to Michael Flynn, the former national
security adviser, heavily redacted documents in the end. Are we going to get some wider clues from what we hear about Manafort and Cohen as to the
scope of Robert Mueller's investigation?
PROKUPESCZ: Right. And Yes. I expect there to be more redactions. I think these documents certainly as it relates to Michael Cohen, those
documents which are due in a few hours to talk about his cooperation and what he was helping the special counsel with and also the U.S. attorney's
office here in New York which is looking into the Trump administration and perhaps other things. Those documents will likely be heavily redacted
because that's an ongoing investigation and also the special counsel's information would likely be redacted. We saw that in the Michael Flynn
documents and that's because of the details are not publicly known and therefore the government doesn't want it out there and doesn't want people
knowing what they're investigating.
JONES: All right. Busy day for you. We appreciate you talking to us, Shimon. There in New York.
[14:05:00] President Trump trying to refocus the headlines, the narrative, announcing shake-ups in the staff. He is nominating State Department
spokesperson Heather Nauert as U.S. ambassador to the united nations and Mr. Trump also tapped William Barr to be his next Attorney General. The
official who will, of course, oversee the Justice Department and the Russia investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Bill Barr, one of the most respected jurists in the country, highly respected lawyer, former Attorney
General under the Bush administration. A terrific man. A terrific person. A brilliant man. He's going to work with Nauert to replace Nikki at the
united nations. She'll be ambassador to the United Nations. She's very talented, very smart, very quick and I think she's going to be respected by
all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Let's get the latest on the staff shake-ups and joined by CNN's Sarah Westwood and covering the visit to the state of Missouri. Good to
see you. So, we know who's in at the moment from what the President said. I guess I'm more interested in who's out or who might be out, rather, quite
soon.
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Hannah, all of these personnel announcements that the President made today coming against the
backdrop of renewed speculation that John Kelly, White House chief of staff, might be the next one out the door. Obviously, we have speculated
in the past that Kelly is considering a departure but this time sources are telling CNN that the departure of the White House chief of staff could come
within days. The relationship between President Trump and the chief of staff deteriorated and the exits of other high-ranking West Wing aides.
Political aid is leaving the White House. Director of the Office of Public Liaison, Justin Clark, also leaving. The President has some high-ranking
vacancies within his west wing to fill, potentially soon. Nick Ayers, the chief of staff to Vice President Pence is said to be the front-runner of
the position of chief of staff but of course nothing is set in stone until the President makes the official announcement.
JONES: Often comes on Twitter, of course. Given the fact you're with the President at the moment in the state of Missouri right now, what's his mood
been like today? Of course, we saw this tweet storm sort of before, you know, breakfast this morning. I'm wondering whether his mood improved or
whether he is sort of saving the tirades for Twitter.
WESTWOOD: Well, Hannah, the President just finished speaking here in Kansas City but you're right. This morning he tweeted seven times about
the Russia investigation and awaiting court documents filings to shed light on where the Russia investigation is headed. The President has been
hitting on what he's described as conflicts of interest on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team and promising that his team of lawyers is working on
a counter report to rebut the arguments that Mueller is expected to make in the final report about the investigation. The President said that his
attorneys are 87 pages in to this counter report and he sought to push back on some news stories that his lawyer Rudy Giuliani was not working on any
kind of counter report. The President saying that the team will, in fact, attempt to push back on Mueller's findings and he's clearly very fixated on
the Russia investigation before the filings are put in place, Hannah.
JONES: All right. Thank you.
Our White House reporter Stephen Collinson said today ends what's been an ominous week for President Trump because it's clear that the Russia
investigation is far broader. Stephen joins us from Washington with more on this. Let's kickstart with the beginning of the day when we got the
tweet storm from the President all focused on a witch hunt. Robert Mueller's investigation. What does this tell us about the mental state of
the President?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I think it shows that the President is very concerned ahead of what could be one of the most pivotal
days yet in the Mueller investigation. The special counsel faces two deadlines today. One, to tell a judge why he's accused Trump's former
campaign chairman Paul Manafort of lying and the other to weigh in on how much time in jail if any Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen should get
after agreeing to cooperate with his investigation. So clearly, these are two people who were once very tight with Trump in his orbit and that I
think is something that's weighing very heavily on the President's mind.
[14:10:00] Simply because as Shimon was saying earlier, this could give us new potential details about exactly where the Mueller investigation is
going or the evidence of the last few days suggests it's going straight weighing very heavily on the President's mind. Simply because as Shimon
was saying earlier, this could give us new potential details about exactly where the Mueller investigation is going or the evidence of the last few
days suggests it's going straight into Trump's inner circle.
JONES: And as we have often seen in the past, as soon as there's some focus on something that he doesn't want to talk about he uses what seems
like a good deflection tactic and changes the narrative and then getting the people, you know, White House shake-up in terms of staff. How
surprised are you by those on the way out and those potentially on the way in?
COLLINSON: Most interesting one is actually new Attorney General William Barr. This is someone who's a respected figure, he served in the George
H.W. Bush administration in the same post. This is a crucial job at a crucial time and Mr. Barr is not the kind of radical Trumpite character we
might have expected him to nominate. This is someone it seems to me at least although he has criticized aspect of the Mueller investigation, it is
likely to go squarely within the boundaries of mainstream legal behavior when he's Attorney General. It's not somebody I think that's going to
tolerate the President trying to push the boundaries between the White House and the justice department so I think that is very interesting. I
mean, you're right. The President has been mulling the nominations for days. He could have made announcements any other time and more than a
coincidence this he's naming these people today including Heather Nauert, the new U.N. ambassador nominee. I don't think that it's going to once we
get this information on what Mueller's doing and, of course, hearing this CNN report that the special counsel spoke to the White House chief of staff
John Kelly recently. All those developments are so huge that a few personnel announcements won't wash it away, at least in the mainstream
media.
JONES: And we also now know that John Kelly is probably on the way out, as well. Another person who was kicked out from his job, Rex Tillerson nine,
ten months ago as Secretary of State. He is speaking out about the President. Some fascinating insights there saying that he regularly had to
tell the President of the United States that some of his ideas, some of the things he wanted to do would be a breach of the law.
COLLINSON: This is the first time Rex Tillerson has publicly spoken about the rather tortured time as Secretary of State. Most people believe he was
a primary source of Bob Woodward's book that came out a few months ago. I think that comment shows us that a lot of the reporting going on when he
was in government is correct. Right from the start of his presidency, Trump has pushed at the norms and conventions and some say the legal
constraints surrounding the presidency. I think there's also a sense in which many ways the President doesn't even know sometimes that what he's
doing is not the way Presidents act or is somehow, you know, in sort of violation of a traditional perception of Presidential power and he can get
himself in trouble that way because he's inexperienced in Washington and very revealing remarks that really sort of pull open, pries open the lid of
the West Wing and validate what I think people have been saying all along.
JONES: Stephen Collinson, we appreciate it.
Stay with us. Still to come on the program tonight, France deploys tens of thousands of security forces in a bid to prevent another weekend of violent
protests. We'll take you live to Paris for the latest on the ongoing demonstrations.
And confusion over the North Ireland backstop. We take our Brexit coverage to Belfast.
[14:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: Welcome back to the program. It's been another bumpy day on the markets. This is the picture right now. The Dow currently down 560 points
or so. This is all over a disappointing report on U.S. employment. Jobs report out today and mixed messages of the Trump administration, ongoing
trade war with China and whether there's been progress on that and you can see the Dow down a hefty 550 points. We'll keep an eye on this. Bring you
the latest and "Quest Means Business" at the top of the next hour.
Meantime, some other news for you. France is bracing for a fourth weekend of protests and the government is vowing to use all means available to
prevent violence. So-called yellow vest demonstrations show no signs of slowing down despite the French President halting a fuel tax. Jim
Bittermann has the latest on where things stand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: This time around, French authorities are taking no chances. In a suburb of Paris, police
arrested over 140 demonstrators outside a school amid fears of escalating violence on the streets of the French capital.
CHRISTOPHE CASTANER, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER: These are not student movements but rather urban violence.
BITTERMANN: The students he said joined by others intent on causing damage. The small town's police force only had 12 officers on duty and a
hard time dealing with a mass arrest. It seems like this, the government, is determined to stop. Every Saturday since November 17th, hundreds of
thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across France with increasing voracity. Four people died and over 1,500 injured. The
movement began as a protest against higher fuel taxes but has morphed into a broader campaign against Macron's government.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We're calm, pacifist. We are here for the same reasons as everyone else. Higher taxes, higher fuel
prices, lower pensions, higher CSG. There's nothing right. And then there's the President who ignores us.
BITTERMANN: The government announced concessions on the fuel tax hike and other measures but it hasn't been enough to calm the anger. And in the
face of more protests this weekend, the government has vowed to use all means available to prevent violence.
CASTANER, (through translator): I call on reasonable demonstrators, those who do not support violence, to break away from extremists and not to
reconvene in Paris next Saturday.
BITTERMANN: City officials removed street furniture over concerns it could be used as projectiles against buildings and police. Shopkeepers have been
told to board over the windows to weather the expected trouble on the streets. Tourists, too, warned to stay away from central Paris. Key sites
will remain closed to visitors on Saturday. Events are canceled. A dozen museums will be closed as will both Paris operas. The French retail
federation estimates losses since the protests began at a billion euros, even before Saturday's protests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Jim reporting there. Jim Bittermann. He joins me now live from Paris. It is Friday night. What are the security preps put in place, what
is the expectations for the protests tomorrow?
BITTERMANN: Well, I think they're taking this awfully seriously and they're really worried about the possibility of violence. One of the
things that is prompting that is So much on social media hinting at violence.
[14:20:00] A person arrested earlier this week found to be in possession of a couple of handguns and had on social page written a message, only good
cop is a dead cop. There's also a number of parliament -- Macron's party received a bullet in the mail with a note saying the next one's going to be
between your eyes. So, it's a situation that is really very tense. The atmosphere is such that they have taken all of these security precautions
that they're taking received a bullet in the mail with a note saying the next one's going to be between your eyes. So, it's a situation that is
really very tense. The atmosphere is such that they have taken all of these security precautions that they're taking and there will be flying
squads of riot police out tomorrow, along with a dozen of these armored vehicles, the kind of things that the French army uses in places like the
Ivory Coast and Kosovo. It's all huge amount of preparation and disruption because the champs will be closed down tomorrow. Hannah?
JONES: Do you think the French government is caught off guard here? Sort of attempt at end the fuel tax hike that was initially threatened, that
they U-turn simply hasn't paid off?
BITTERMANN: Well, exactly right, Hannah. From the very beginning they underestimated the feeling of people, the anger on the streets. And even
this week when they did a major climb down and granted a number of concessions and called off that fuel tax hike, there wasn't really much
hope out on the barricades of anyone accepting that. They've said by the time that news reached everybody they had already gone on to complaining
about other things and found that there was a lot of anger everywhere in the country about minimum wages, about pensions, about a number of other
things and so many things that the government really can't climb down much more than what it already has. Hannah?
JONES: All right, Jim. A busy weekend ahead for you covering the protests. We appreciate.
I want to bring in a French journalist, author and political commentator, Agnes
joining me in the studio. Thank you for coming in. What do these protesters want now? We know it began with fuel but what now?
AGNES POINER, FRENCH POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, if only we knew. It's interesting.
JONES: We don't know?
POINER: Well, they're such a diverse group of people. They came from all backgrounds. Social, professional. They come from rural and -- areas but
also from little, small cities in France. They're not, let's say, city centers people but otherwise they're spread really equally.
JONES: No unified leadership?
POINER: No, no leadership. That's why it's so unusual. We're used to protesters. We're used to the theater of politics. We do this well. But
this is completely unusual and the way they have gathered on social networks, they're not structured. There's no organization behind them.
There's no trade unions. And they came up with that symbol, the yellow vest, and they agreed on November the 17th which was the first Saturday.
Tomorrow is going to be the fourth Saturday. And, you know, they tried -- the government actually after two weeks said, OK, fine. Send us your
representatives and let's start talking because, obviously, the situation is pretty serious.
JONES: Yes.
POINER: They came up with eight representatives and straightaway other people from the movement disqualified them. A week later, they came up
with a few other spokespersons and they were going to meet the prime minister. They didn't show up.
JONES: You've referred to as a movement, though, which at least in naming if nothing else gives it a unified force. Does it fall under far right?
Or, under far left?
POINER: Well, it's a good question. Because we don't know their demands, are as varied as they are vague, but they still, you know, on Facebook, et
cetera, you can compile their demands. That's what a French newspaper "Le Monde" did. They compiled the first 50 demands they have. And they
compared it with different French political programs and what do we have? They correspond to La Pen's program.
JONES: Far right.
POINER: Far right and also equally to the far left.
JONES: Interesting.
[14:25:00] POINER: So, it's a kind, you know, for instance, they want much lower taxes but for more public services so how do you actually, you know,
square the circle?
JONES: It is like whatever end of the spectrum of politics they're in. It's a surge of populism and people taking power in their own hands.
POINER: Absolutely. Some of them want a "Frexit," to leave the European Union or NATO. That will sound familiar to other people in Europe and
throughout the world. So, there's a convergence of radicalism if you like.
JONES: How much of all of these protests is targeted personally at the French President Macron?
POINER: That's the other thing that's quite unusual. We're used to seeing French Presidents becoming less popular after just a year in power. But
what happened 18 months ago is that President Macron revolutionized French politics in the sense that the left and right collapsed. The only vocal
position in France come from the extremes and he has sort of occupied all the space and he also made it quite personal. He wanted to have a
privileged relationship with the people. But that comes with a price. That is to say, the people now want him removed.
JONES: Tough job being the French President. Seems to be whatever side of the spectrum you are on. We appreciate your analysis on this. Thank you.
Still to come on the program tonight, we are getting some details about the arrest that rocked the world's financial markets. The latest about the
shocking arrest of the CFO of Huawei in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: Another rough day for U.S. markets. Here is how it's currently looking. The Dow is down some 510 points. Investors are disappointed in
the U.S. jobs report. They're also trying to decipher mixed messages coming out of the Trump administration. Mostly those mixed messages about
trade. Currently down 516 points. Take you to the New York Stock Exchange.
Allison Kosik is standing by for us. Is there a special thing or a culmination of many different factors?
ALLISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I think one of the things you mentioned, Hannah. The White House putting out the conflicting messages
about the unresolved trade situation between the U.S. and China. That is the reason why you're seeing another selloff here. What happened today is
White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow sounded an optimistic note on CNBC about talks with China and then Trade Adviser Peter Navarro warning of
if trade issues are not worked out in 90 days. So, all this confusion is really helping to juice the volatility in the markets. And just increase
the overall anxiety and negativity in the market. The day started off flat. We got weaker than expected jobs report and getting some thinking
that the fed might not hike as much as it initially planned. This kind of thing reassuring to investors. And then came the conflicting headlines and
then we saw the markets tank. So, it's really illustrative of how fragile the market is and how the market is watching every headline about trade and
makes it realize that the volatility is just going to round out the week. Hannah?
HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: All right. Alison, thanks very much for the update. I know you'll stay across that until we get the
closing bell. Thank you.
KOSIK: Yes.
JONES: Let's get back to one of our top stories though. A critical day in Robert Mueller's probe into Russia's election interference in the U.S.
As members of American president Donald Trump's inner circle current and former are in the special counsel's sights now. In Washington, Mueller,
Robert Mueller is expected to tell a judge why he thinks Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to him.
And in New York, Mueller faces a deadline to provide a sentencing recommendation for Michael Cohen. Now, Michael Cohen, the man once known
as Donald Trump's fixer. Well, he cut a plea. A plea deal with Mueller just last week. All of that comes as CNN has exclusively learned that the
president's chief of staff, John Kelly, was interviewed by Mueller's team in recent months.
I want to bring in CNN's senior justice correspondent Evan Perez who is in Washington for more on this. Evan, this was your exclusive reporting about
John Kelly.
Interestingly, though, that it's about obstruction of justice since Donald Trump has been in office, not with regards to potential collusion through
the campaign.
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Hannah. This is an extraordinary interview to have taken place. We know that there's
been certainly dozens of people associated with the president, people associated with the campaign, some people who were early in the
administration who've gone in and provided testimony, provided interviews to the Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
But now we're talking about the current chief of staff, someone who didn't show up into the White House until July of 2017. And here's what the
special counsel wanted. They had a narrow set of questions to ask him and it had to do with the president's behind the scenes reaction when the story
started coming out about how he had tried essentially to order the firing of Robert Mueller, the special counsel.
So Mueller wanted to ask questions about what the president was doing behind the scenes. We're told that one of the things that he did was he
was pushing his White House counsel to go out and refute some of those stories and to essentially lie to the public about it and he asked -- he
wanted to have John Kelly essentially be a witness there about what he saw behind the scenes.
We know that Don McGahn who at the time was the White House counsel refused to go out and say that the stories were false. And so, John Kelly is a key
witness now who essentially was there at the time and could tell Robert Mueller, corroborate, whatever Don McGahn has testified to.
Don McGahn, of course, is one of the people who has now already provided testimony about 30 hours or so of testimony. And, Hannah, what's important
here is that what keeps happening is that Donald Trump and his lack of discipline keeps making new witnesses for the investigators to have to
interview. This keeps happening in this story and here we have it one more time.
JONES: And just reading between the lines if you can, Evan, do you think that what you've reported then about John Kelly and his questioning by the
Mueller investigation could then be linked to the fact that we understand that John Kelly is about to quit?
PEREZ: Right. Well, we think the two things are sort of coincidental. The fact that we're reporting this and the fact that John Kelly is on his
last days so to speak.
We know that there's been a terrible relationship between him and the president. They're barely on speaking terms. Our reporters at the White
House are told. We know there's been a great deal of tension.
The president, actually, has been out in public saying there are certain things he likes about John Kelly, certain things he doesn't like and that's
usually a sign that the president is getting irritated and tired of someone.
And so I think the two things, I think, are coincidental. They're not necessarily one the cause of the other.
JONES: And two other people who very much be on Donald Trump's mind, no doubt, today as we wait for court filings on their fate, Paul Manafort and
Michael Cohen. Your thoughts on what we might learn, at least, in the coming hours?
PEREZ: Well, with Michael Cohen what we keep seeing is every time there's a new court filing, we find that -- he finds a way to twist the knife
further in the back of his former boss, the person that he once said that he would take a bullet for. So we're expecting more of that.
With Manafort, it's going to be fascinating to see whether or not we get any window into what Robert Mueller and his investigators have found out on
the central question of Russian collusion, of whether or not there were people associated with the Trump campaign who were trying to coordinate
illegally with the Russians and we know, Hannah, that Manafort was in business with Russians for decades.
One of those people, Konstantin Kilimnik, who he was in business with is someone that the special counsel has already said, has identified, as
someone who is believed to be an agent for Russian intelligence.
[14:35:04] So I think that's one of the things I'll be looking for is whether or not the special counsel can give us a little bit more of a
window into where that connection is, how directly was Russian intelligence working with Paul Manafort, whether with his knowledge or without his
knowledge.
JONES: Yes. And of course, then leads on to whether Paul Manafort is potentially angling for some kind of a presidential pardon as well in the
aftermath of all this.
PEREZ: Exactly.
JONES: Evan, we have to leave it there. Evan Perez for us. We appreciate it.
PEREZ: Thank you.
JONES: Now, at any minute, we could learn more about the arrest of a Chinese businesswoman that rattled world markets this week. The bail
hearing for the chief financial officer of Huawei is happening right now in Vancouver, Canada.
So far, we know nothing about why Meng Wanzhou was arrested. Only that the U.S. wants her extradited. CNN's Scott McLean was outside the courthouse
just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The CFO of the world's second largest smartphone maker will be inside of a Canadian courtroom today asking for
her freedom. This is a bail hearing while her extradition process makes its way through the Canadian courts, which could be a lengthy process.
The United States has to show the Canadian authorities that she should be standing trial in the United States. It has 60 days to do that and it's
not even clear whether that's been done. The Canadians have 30 days to make a final decision and this is appealable right up to the supreme court
of Canada.
In the extradition case, which has not yet been scheduled, U.S. authorities or the Canadian judge in this case will have to decide whether this is also
a crime in Canada, whatever it is that she's being accused of and whether or not the penalty for it is more than one year. Because of a publication
ban outlets like CNN are not allowed to discuss the charges or the evidence being presented in this case.
So Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that the United States Justice Department was looking at Huawei and whether or not it had violated
sanctions against Iran. Canada, for its part, does have its sanctions against Iran, as well.
Now, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he addressed this yesterday. He said that this arrest last weekend at the Vancouver airport was
completely apolitical. Though he acknowledged that he did have advanced notice of it.
Scott McLean, CNN, Vancouver, Canada.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ONES: Scott, thank you.
Now, Meng Wanzhou is more than just the CFO of Huawei. She's the daughter of its founder and the face of the entire company. Our Michael Holmes has
more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sometimes elusive figure, Meng Wanzhou has often being seen as the likely next leader of one of
China's largest technology companies and the heiress to an empire.
The 46-year-old began in 1993 as a secretary at Huawei, a multi-billion dollar telecommunications giant founded by her father. At the time of her
arrest on Saturday in Canada, Meng had risen to chief financial officer and deputy chair. Requested by the U.S., her surprised detention has China
incensed demanding more answers.
GENG SHUANG, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY (though translator): The Chinese side has made clear our solemn positions to the U.S. and Canada and asked
them to clarify the reason of the detention. And to release the detainee immediately.
HOLMES: It's not the first time China has gone on the defense for Huawei which has suffer a series of setbacks this year. Largely over increasing
worries it might be influenced by the Chinese state.
SEN. ANGUS KING (I), MAINE: There's a grave concern in this country and Europe and other countries that embedding Huawei equipment in our next
generation of -- the 5G generation of cellular, for example, creates a really serious national security risk. I don't think this detention has
anything to do with that but that's an overarching issue in the background here.
HOLMES: In February U.S. intelligence agencies warned that Huawei's phones and those of its rivals, ZTE, pose a security threat to Americans.
In August, Australia banned Huawei's 5G technology there. And on Wednesday, a U.K. telecom company said it would no longer buy the firm's
products or technology.
Huawei has long denied any government interference in its business but some have also scrutinized the background of Huawei's elusive founder and Meng's
father, Ren Zhengfei. For nearly a decade he helped build Chinese communications network while working as a civil engineer with the China
People's Liberation Army.
Much like her father, Meng, who also goes by first name Sabrina and Cathy, has largely kept a low profile. Little is known about her outside of
Huawei's website and limited media appearances. After earning a master's degree in 1998, she has held mostly financial jobs at the company.
[14:40:59] In the most senior position of her uncle, brother, and stepmother who all work there, she was considered the obvious choice to
take the helm about her fate and that of the global tech giant may be uncertain.
Michael Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Four days and counting. That's how long Theresa May has to convince Britain's parliament to back her deal. The crucial vote still set
to go ahead on Tuesday and there are more warnings now from the government about what could happen if there is no deal.
The health secretary says there could be disruption at the border for six months if Britain crashes out with a no deal. Matthew Hancock said this
was, quote, "Very much a worst-case scenario. But as a responsible government, we have a duty to plan for all scenarios."
Now, the most controversial aspect of Theresa May's Brexit deal is the so called Northern Ireland backstop. The arrangement is designed to ensure
there is no return to any hard border for the island of Ireland. It is has been used as a talking point from Westminster to Brussels and back again
many times.
But to understand how people in Northern Ireland are feeling about it all, Erin McLaughlin traveled to Belfast. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Belfast is a city that knows division. When it comes to Brexit, there are new fissures over Theresa May's deal.
But many say they're more confused than anything else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See, like I understood at the start the Brexit thing, but now I just don't understand what's happening anymore.
MCLAUGHLIN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
MCLAUGHLIN: It's difficult.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Understand some of it but not at all and to say. And I think the part that they don't understand much themselves either, so. As I
say it's better hope for someone like ourselves.
MCLAUGHLIN: Isn't that concerning?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is concerning. Yes. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's us completely living.
MCLAUGHLIN: It's concerning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know where we're going.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know what the future will hold.
MCLAUGHLIN: Then there are those with the more definitive view. They say the controversial backstop drafted to prevent the return of a hard border
means weakening the union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keeping us more in the E.U. than with Britain.
MCLAUGHLIN: And that bothers you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it does.
MCLAUGHLIN: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALEL: Because we're British. We are not Irish.
MCLAUGHLIN: The Democratic Unionist Party feels the same. The DUP holds the keys to Theresa May's minority government. Vows to vote down her deal
next week.
NIGEL DODDS, DEPUTY LEADER, DEMOCRATIC UNIONIST PARTY: Northern Ireland will treat Great Britain as a third country. How can it possibly stand
here and recommend this deal?
MCLAUGHLIN: But where the DUP sees a threat, Niall McMullan sees opportunity. If activated, the backstop means northern Irish businesses
will be able to trade both in the E.U. and the U.K., friction free.
NIALL MCMULLAN, HERCULES BREWING COMPANY: And as I say, we could actually benefit from inward investment, you know, being in this unique situation
where we can play with both markets.
MCLAUGHLIN: So it must be surreal to see arguing against a backstop that you see as a potential opportunity?
MCMULLAN: Yes. It doesn't really make a lot of sense to me.
MCLAUGHLIN: The city of Belfast is known relative peace for the past 20 years. With Brexit, there's newfound uncertainty and plenty of confusion.
Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Belfast.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: German chancellor, Angela Merkel's handpicked successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has been tapped to replace her as head of the ruling CDU
party. The election follows an emotional farewell speech for Mrs. Merkel who announced in October, she would step down from the post as German
chancellor. She will not seek reelection as chancellor when her term expires in 2021.
Still to come tonight, cautious optimism and a subtle warning on a second day of peace talks in Sweden between Yemen's warring factions. Is there
really reason to hope? We're going to discuss that in detail up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:07] JONES: Welcome back to the program. We're going to take you back to take a look at the markets at the moment. A story that we've been
covering throughout the last hour on this program. In particular, we want to see what's going on with the Dow right now. Currently, as you can see
there down 590 points or so.
We were speaking to Alison Kosik, our correspondent, at the New York Exchange just a short time ago. She was saying that investors are very
jittery, indeed. In part, over the U.S. jobs report. The economy added some 155,000 jobs. But that was still far fewer than was initially
expected.
Alison's main point though about the reason we're seeing all of these jitters right now on the markets is that investors are trying to decipher
many mixed messages coming out of the Trump administration. Most of those mixed messages about trade in particular, of course, the ongoing U.S./China
trade war.
Is there any way out of it? Is there any way that Donald Trump and his counterpart in China that they can actually come to some kind of deal on
tariffs? Of course, Donald Trump himself recently said that he was a tariff man. He said that on Twitter. That's got everyone upset, as well.
And so, couple that with the Fed Reserve and increasing interest rates and then, of course, tech stocks tumbling. And then you see this jitteriness
from investors, as well. Currently down 570, 575 points.
We're going to keep an eye on this. Not as big a drop as we saw just a couple of days ago. But still, something that everyone in the economic
world at least, business world, keeping a very close eye on.
Now, to other news. And this is -- today is the second day of talks aimed at easing the war in Yemen. The ongoing four-year war. And what the U.N.
calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
For nearly four years, a Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Iranian- backed Houthi rebels. In a savage war that's resulted in thousands of deaths and a crippling famines. Some 14 million people are thought to be
at risk of starvation as we speak.
Now, the two warring parties are holding direct talks in Sweden. Sweden acting as the mediator but the U.N. Special Envoy is cautioning against too
much optimism saying these are only consultations. And right now, the negotiations haven't even started yet. So just consultations as things
stand.
So, are these talks still a cause for hope and the fact that you've just got these two warring parties in the same room at least? Yemeni writer and
activist Farea Al-Muslimi joins me now in the studio. Very good to see you. Thank you.
And we know that these peace talks have just started. That's got to be a good sign at least. But at the same time, bombs are still falling.
FAREA AL-MUSLIMI, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, CHATHAM HOUSE: Yes. It's a good sign because, also, we haven't seen sudden thing like this for more than two
years. This is the first time that they meet. So it's good. And I think one can be probably helpful because Yemen is different from Libya or Syria.
I think the conflict there is solvable.
I think the number one problem Yemen currently face in matter of war is a matter of peace is the fact that there isn't enough international attention
and the pressure into it. I mean, there was a more diplomacy about the student in Abu Dhabi than about the worst humanitarian crisis in modern
history.
So from that point of view, I share with the envoy his hesitation to actually be optimist. But again, the conflict is possibly if there is --
if there is that -- and attention into it and one should be -- I mean, he already assured the deal to release all the prisoners and that's a quite a
big deal and that's quite actually a success so far.
JONES: One of the other things that we've been hearing so far to come out of these talks is a focus on the airport, the international airport in some
of the Yemeni capital. And also port cities like Hudaydah and the like.
[14:50:04] How important are these areas of infrastructure for trying to solve the Yemeni crisis in terms of getting people in and out of the
country, getting food in and out of the country and who currently controls say, for example, the Sana'a Airport?
AL-MUSLIMI: So the Sana'a Airport is important because the shutdown of that airport has probably led to more deaths than the bombs itself. Since
you have no way you can get out of the country except from two airports that are extremely far up to 24 hours of drive some of them.
And it's another issue because you have two airplanes for 27 million people.
JONES: Two?
AL-MUSLIMI: Two. And one for the president. You have two airplanes for 27 million people. The movement in and out of the country has never been
more paralyzed. The Hudaydah port is extremely important also because the port where most of the food gets in the country.
The Houthis, yes, they only control 30 percent of the population or of the territory. But under them lives more than 70 percent of the population.
So it's extremely important. It doesn't seem -- the envoy is actually interested as much or is actually hopeful in much in the Sana'a Airport.
He seems to be a lot interested in the Hudaydah ports. However, I'm not sure, to be honest, that the U.N. actually can get the port like Hudaydah.
It's quite complicated process.
JONES: OK. Well, Farea Al-Muslimi, thank you very much for coming on. Shining a light on this ongoing humanitarian crisis. We appreciate it and
hope to speak with you again soon with more process of news. Thank you.
AL-MUSLIMI: Thank you.
JONES: Stay with us here on CNN. Plenty more coming up after the short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: Welcome back. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, the chances are it's a duck. But this one has been
described as a Picasso painting, no less. Jeanne Moos has more on the bird that's taking New York's Central Park by storm.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is the duck that all other ducks revolve around. A flaming star. The Mandarin duck of Central Park.
Ever since he parked himself here about two months ago, his celebrity has taken flight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's beautiful.
MOOS: Out of towners flock to see him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just for the duck paid $50 to park.
MOOS: New Yorkers can't believe he's real.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks fake, honestly. Am I being punked?
MOOS: Regulars have given him names.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Mandy. Go ahead.
MOOS: Mandy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I call him Mandy.
MOOS: Others have dubbed him Mandarin Patinkin after the actor. He's also known as the most eligible bachelor in New York. Mandarin ducks are native
to East Asia. Not North America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's got two leg bands, so came from somewhere. He belonged to somebody.
MOOS: The going theory is that Mandy escaped from someone's collection of exotic birds or someone dumped him here. His photo has made it all the way
back to China. In a People's Daily. He's on t-shirts, he's even inspired imitators like Mandarin dog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is the talk of the town.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is almost a Picasso painting.
MOOS: Mandy the Duck is copping it for the Quackarazzi photographers are always training their lenses on him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was trying to get some action shots and I got some of him flying.
MOOS: Urban rangers keep an eye on him to make sure onlookers are --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Respecting the duck and --
MOOS: Sure. Over the weeks, his reputation has taken a hit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enchanting Mandarin duck in Central Park turned out to be a mallard nipping jerk.
[14:55:03] MOOS: We did see him repeatedly chasing other ducks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he looks nasty. He's like attacking them. That's not fair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no. The Mandarin is doing nothing.
MOOS: A case of mistaken identity or perhaps Mandy is defending himself from underwater sneak attacks like this one.
A birder told the New York Times he's the Kim Kardashian of ducks. We tried to lure him. Mandy? With his namesake song. Mandy? But it drove
him back into the pond. I guess he wanted to duck Barry Manilow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need you today oh Mandy.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: And that mission to the dark side of the moon. Not a Pink Floyd album remake but a space mission reportedly happening in China. Beijing's
national space administration is keeping exact details under wraps. But what we do know is that a lander named after a Chinese moon goddess has
just launched. That is according to state-run media. If all goes well, it will touchdown in early January. And if it's successful, the probe itself
would be the first one to land on the far side of the moon. Potentially, of course, uncovering its many scientific secrets. Fantastic stuff.
A duck and the moon. What else could you end a program on? Thanks so much for watching tonight. Stay with us here on CNN. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is
up next with Eleni Giokos. Hope you can join her for that.
END
