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Hala Gorani Tonight
Donald Tusk Says Some Brexit Leaders Will Have A Special Place in Hell; Donald Trump Calls for Unity and Offers No Compromises in His State of The Union Speech; Democratic Response to Trump's Speech Included Eye Rolls And Sarcastic Applause; SDF Commander Says ISIS Isn't Finished Yet; Trump Says Time to Welcome Us Troops Home From Syria; A UN Report Says North Korea Brazenly Violating Sanctions. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired February 06, 2019 - 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 this Wednesday, I'm Hala Gorani. The calls for unity, the facts to be
checked and the key moment means what you need to know after Donald Trump's State of The Union address.
Then Brexit gets biblical as the President of the European Council tells some Brexiter leaders they'll have a special place in hell.
And later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These diseases come back and they clobber us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: A preventable disease still gripping thousands in Madagascar. We'll hear from a doctor there who says this outbreak should be a warning
to the world. We begin with a call for common ground and compromise that quickly devolved into the old politics of division.
U.S. President Donald Trump's State of The Union address started off with an appeal for unity, but he showed no retreat on some of his most
controversial policies that have left America bitterly divided. Mr. Trump stood firm on his demand for the border wall, likening the U.S. southern
border to the lawless wild west. And he blamed Democrats for the investigations overshadowing his presidency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: An economic miracle is taking place in the United States, and the only thing that can stop it are
foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations. [applause] if there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and
investigation. It just doesn't work that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Joining me now is White House reporter Jeremy Diamond, senior diplomatic correspondent Michelle Kosinski as well with us as we cover
this. Jeremy, I want to start with you. Interestingly, Donald Trump did not mention the shutdown.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, he did not. But, of course, he did address the fact that the government spending runs out in
-- it was ten days yesterday, nine days from today now, and obviously a big focus of his speech was this issue of border security which remains near
and dear to his policy agenda. And he clearly focused a lot of his speech on that as he talked about the need for a border wall and, once again,
trying to portray the situation on the southern border as an urgent national crisis. But he did not address specifically whether or not he
intends to declare a national emergency. But as we have seen in recent days, and even in the President's speech last night, the President does
appear to be setting the table as he once called it in an interview last week for the possibility of some kind of executive action on this. We've
heard him describe in the past these negotiations between Democrats and Republicans on capitol hill as merely a waste of time and Democrats have
shown no indication, they are willing to fund the border wall that the President so desires. So, it remains to be seen what exactly will happen
in the next nine days, but the President making clear that that remains a key priority for him, even as he talks about the need for compromise and
unity, a border wall, that is one thing the President is certainly not willing to compromise on.
GORANI: And Michelle Kosinski at the State Department, the President did make some news. He announced a second summit with North Korea. What more
do we know?
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, we know it's going to be on February 27th and 28th. We know it's going to be
somewhere in Vietnam. They haven't nailed down the exact location. So, he wanted to present that as something of a win, but this is the problem that
so many observers and his critics have. He's having this second summit with Kim Jong-un, but there's really been no movement on Kim's part towards
denuclearization. So, what the President conveniently left out of that big announcement was that nothing has happened towards denuclearization. In
fact, even the rounds of talks that have happened have yielded nothing towards that ultimate goal. He seems to feel like, you know, what will
happen towards that -- what could be taken away from it can only happen face to face between him and Kim. But, of course, that remains to be seen.
We've already had one summit where we didn't see anything really come out of it. Now, here comes another one in less than a month's time, Hala.
[14:05:00] GORANI: Uh-huh. And Stacey Abrams, she delivered the Democratic response, Jeremy Diamond. Let's listen to a snippet of what she
said after the State of The Union address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STACEY ABRAMS, FORMER MINORITY LEADER OF THE GEORGIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: America has stumbled time and again on its quest towards
justice and equality. But with each generation we have revisited our fundamental truths, and where we falter, we make amends. Even as I am very
disappointed by the President's approach to our problems, I still don't want him to fail. But we need him to tell the truth, and to respect his
duties, and respect the extraordinary diversity that defines America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And, Jeremy, I wonder -- I mean, this is really -- we started the race for the presidency in earnest here. And you can see both sides
positioning themselves ideologically and in terms of issues. Could the Democratic response or how the Democrats are -- the field, the very wide
field of candidates, how is that impacting how the President is looking at 2020?
DIAMOND: You know, I think the President is going to look at 20 regardless as yet another fight that he has to win. The President often views things
in win or lose terms, whether it's policy, whether it's elections, and so clearly campaigning is a niche where he feels comfortable. And he is ready
to fight. Despite the President's rhetoric last night about unity, about bipartisan ship, we've seen so often when he does make those broad
bipartisan appeals, they evaporate very, very quickly. Whether it's on Twitter the next day or in the fight for the border wall that we expect to
see the President pursue in the next week or two. And the President already is planning to have his first rally of the year in a week's time,
just an indication of the fact the President is indeed gearing up for campaign season as all these Democrats are announcing as Democrats are
trying to finesse their message for this upcoming Presidential election.
GORANI: All right. Michelle Kosinski at the State Department, Jeremy Diamond at the White House, thanks to both of you for joining us here on
the program.
Let's check some of the facts from the President's speech. Mr. Trump claimed credit for creating 5.3 million jobs since taking office. The
economy actually added 4.78 million. The rest were created before he took office. In terms of national security, the President said if he had not
been elected the U.S. would be in a major war with North Korea. There is really no way to gauge that claim since it's just one President's opinion.
But it's not like Hillary Clinton was campaigning on war with North Korea. Of course, he did announce that second summit with Kim Jong-un for later
this month. On immigration the President said he wants more immigrants entering the U.S. as long as they enter legally. We all know the Trump
administration is fighting illegal immigration, but he has also -- it has been established -- making legal immigration a lot harder.
We'll see how members of Congress are reacting. Last night there was no shortage of fascinating and at times amusing body language on display.
Let's bring in our chief media correspondent Brian Stelter. First, I want to start with all these Democratic women and elected female representatives
wearing white to celebrate an anniversary of the suffrage movement, giving women the right to vote. That was actually visually speaking an arresting
shot of all these women sitting together.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I think for Democrats visually inspiring as well because it was the first time, we had
seen this group of newly elected lawmakers together in the context of the entire Congress. We've seen them sometimes in photo ops together, but here
you have a room filled with every U.S. lawmaker, all 500 plus senators and congressmen and women. And the difference between the Republican side and
the Democratic side of the aisle was really vivid.
Yes, there were a lot of white men over on the Republican side all wearing ties and jackets. But to see so many women of color wearing white on the
Democratic side shows you a divide in the country between these two parties.
GORANI: We finally got to that image. Apologies for having run the wrong video at the top. Nancy Pelosi has become a meme again. The way she
clapped at Donald Trump, if we can put that particular video up. There she is. Not like a sarcastic clap. This has become a real kind of made for TV
production, this state of the union address, hasn't it?
[14:10:00] STELTER: It absolutely has. Look, some people can look down their noses at the idea of memes becoming important part of the culture.
There's no denying, they are whether these are gifs that get shown on Twitter and Facebook, memes of political leaders, pro Trump, anti-Trump,
this is how people consume information about politics. Nancy Pelosi over the President's shoulder applauding in that way, what she was doing was
applauding him for getting all these women hired, all these political leaders, pro Trump, anti-Trump, this is how people consume information
about politics.
Nancy Pelosi over the President's shoulder applauding in that way, what she was doing was applauding him for getting all these women hired, all these
female lawmakers hired by replacing Republicans in districts. There was so much wrapped up in that moment. And the President, to his credit, he
embraced that moment. He celebrated the election of all these new Democratic lawmakers. He probably didn't mean it, but he said the right
things in that moment and that was significant. The ratings are just in for last night's address, and this was the President's highest rated State
of The Union yet. It was an important moment for him to reach out to voters, not just political junkies, cable news viewers, but other Americans
that don't watch Trump news. It was an important moment for him and a high-rated moment for him.
GORANI: There we see Tiffany Trump. I was speaking with David Gergen who has been an advisor to so many U.S. Presidents. I asked him was it always
like this where you have representatives invite guests to make political points, the first lady inviting guests to try to score political points and
have sort of visual impact as she sits in the box there? Let's take a look, by the way, at where the first lady was sitting. You said, no, this
really started with Reagan, and more and more -- more and more people were invited and it's become kind of now a custom. It's become a tradition.
STELTER: And Trump leaned into it arguably more than ever, even past Presidents like Obama and Clinton. Trump really leaned into this by having
Buzz Aldrin, World War II survivors. I thought the President was at his best when he was in storytelling mode telling the stories of a man who had
been released from prison thanks to the first step act. Of a man who survived World War II. That storytelling capability, we don't normally see
that from President Trump. He's known for his tweets and insults and fights. When you see him talking about America, it is quite compelling. I
don't know if he'll continue that beyond last night. Normally State of The Union happens once a year. Nothing much comes from them. They don't
change minds, they don't change hearts. It was striking the President's use of those guests in the boxes to make points.
GORANI: Uh-huh. The Trumps invited a boy whose last name is Trump, not related to them. Joshua.
STELTER: Yes.
GORANI: Apparently, he was bullied at school --
STELTER: To be fair, 9:30, 10:00, that's a lot of us. I think a lot of people were just like Justin, no matter how exciting it is to be in the
room with all those politicians.
GORANI: Apologies, I thought his first name was Joshua. Justin Trump. There you have it. Apparently bullied at school by kids because of his
last name, but quite relaxed on Capitol Hill.
STELTER: Maybe a little too relaxed. I think we can all relate.
GORANI: That we can. Brian, thanks so much as always.
Still to come, President Trump defends his plan to pull troops from Syria as his own administration says ISIS is still a major threat. We'll take a
look at the situation on the ground in Syria. We are there live.
And not one, not two, but the three top state officials in Virginia are being hit by scandals. We'll be right back.
[14:15:06] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A special place in hell, the words of the European Council Donald Tusk, he made the comments alongside the Irish prime minister. Take a
listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TUSK, EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT: By the way, I've been wondering what a special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit
without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it safely. Thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Bianca Nobilo is here. The reaction has been swift in the U.K., especially from Brexiters.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, as you might imagine. First of all, Downing Street did respond, and they went the rhetorical route. He
should ask himself whether he thought those comments would be useful, underscored Brexit is the biggest exercise the country has ever seen. It
is a polite way of saying you should watch what you say. The members of the cabinet like Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the House of Commons, says
this underscores exactly why she thinks the U.K. should be leaving the E.U. in the first place. She also said that Donald Tusk should mind his
manners. This was a deliberative provocative move. Another member of the DUP Sammy Wilson said this devilish maniac is doing his best to keep the UK
bound by chains of bureaucracy and control.
GORANI: It was deliberate because his Twitter account immediately tweeted out that quote. It wasn't a throw away comment. But we did catch on hot
mic, a mic that wasn't immediately turnoff from the Irish prime minister reaction to what Tusk said. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEO VARADKAR, PRIME MINISTER, IRELAND: -- they will give you terrible trouble in the British press for that.
DONALD TUSK, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COUNCIL: I know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: They will give you terrible trouble in the British press, and he chuckles and says, I know. But he didn't seem displeased.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: No, and he obviously would have been right. The reaction was very strong. You have to ask why he's doing this. Usually, yes, there's been a
bit of back and forth and Donald tusk posted on Instagram last year, a dig against Theresa May. By and large it's been cordial. Usually you have to
peel back the language to explain a bit of a dig at the U.K. or vice versa. Obviously not the case today. Given that both sides, both saying we have
to try and engender good will to get through the impasse, than have this language is quite shocking.
GORANI: I asked myself that very question. Why is he saying something like this? It was preplanned, it was scripted. He then tweeted it out
immediately. And one theory is, well, maybe he's trying to, to tell ordinary British people if you voted for Brexit, it's not your fault. You
can change your mind, you were misled.
NOBILO: Yes, I think the reason this took off so much is because it hit on a number of issues. One is so many in the European Commission and Council
and many in the U.K. have issues with the way the Leave campaign was conducted. There was a lot of misinformation, some people would say flat
out lies, many promises which obviously won't be kept. So, this is alluding to that because it has been slightly misquoted. He wasn't saying
it Brexiters, there is a special place in hell for them, for the people who didn't sketch out how this could be done safely. That was the point he was
trying to make. So, I think that it's important we consider that. And we know where he stands on Brexit. He's always been against it and I think,
Hala, this is really significant about what happened today. Even up until about mid-January, so just over two weeks ago, Donald Tusk was sounding
optimistic there could still be a chance Britain might remain. There could be a second referendum.
GORANI: That's gone.
[14:20:00] NOBILO: Now in no uncertain terms, he said the facts are unmistakable and there simply isn't the political will or the leadership
from either Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn to make that a possible outcome of the situation.
GORANI: Well, yes. And some accuse Jeremy Corbyn of being a secret Brexiter for other reasons.
NOBILO: He has a history as well as being euro-skeptical earlier in his career.
GORANI: Thank you, Bianca. This week is another busy one for Theresa May, Dublin and Brussels. We'll see what comes out of that. Thank you very
much.
Back now to our top story, President Trump's State of The Union, in his speech, Trump did not repeat his frequent false statement that ISIS has
been defeated, something his own generals have contradicted but he still defended his plan to withdraw American troops from Syria from Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Great nations do not fight endless wars. Today we have liberated virtually all of the territory from
the grip of these blood thirsty monsters. Now, as we work with our allies to destroy the remnants of is, it is time to give our brave warriors in
Syria a warm welcome home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: A few hours ago, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said ISIS remains a dangerous threat and territory it does not control. We are
expecting President Trump to deliver remarks in the next hour to foreign ministers of the global coalition to defeat ISIS at the U.S. State
Department. And if any news worthy lines come out of that, we'll bring them to you. Our Ben Wedeman is in Syria now and he has more on the fight
against ISIS in eastern Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fighters are loading up for the final battle against what's left of the so-called Islamic state.
Now holed up in a tiny corner of land in eastern Syria. With coalition air support, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic forces have driven ISIS out of
all but a sliver of territory along the Euphrates River. It's easy to see plenty of movement inside the besieged enclave a half mile away as gunfire
echoes across no man's land. The active fighting stopped a while ago, these soldiers say. Is that incoming or outgoing, I asked? Outgoing, he
responds. He was, however, mistaken. So, the soldiers here have told us it's been quiet for the last at least week or so. But just at the moment
the soldier was telling me that, there was an incoming round landing right over there. So quiet, I guess in this instance, is a relative term. He is
commanding the anti-ISIS forces in the front and warns against assuming the war is almost over.
ISIS isn't finished yet, he tells me. It's still in this area. It's still fighting. It still has sleeper cells in the areas we've liberated. When
ISIS was at its height, one of the supporter's favorite slogan was the "Islamic State Remaining and Expanding." That now seems like a very long
time ago. As the Islamic State collapses, they are leaving behind their spare change, so to speak. This now not worth anything. Worthless like
the debris of their utopian delusion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And Ben Wedeman joins me now live from inside Syria. What are some of the biggest challenges? Because we're talking here about a very
small slice of territory. What are some of the biggest challenges and dangers that these forces face as they try to root out the last remnants of
is?
WEDEMAN: Hala, the biggest challenge at this point is the fact that there are as many as 1,500 civilians in addition to about 500 fighters according
to Syrian Democratic forces commanders. It's in a very small area by some estimates three square kilometers.
[14:25:00] So, it does appear at this point the attitude of the anti-ISIS coalition is perhaps just to sit it out, wait it out because we know that
every day dozens, sometimes as many as 200 people are leaving that area because of the conditions inside. They're running out of food, running out
of fuel. There is a lot of illness inside this town. So, they may simply just keep the siege on until some sort of surrender takes place. In terms
of the military challenges, what we know from one commander, the one you saw in that report we spoke with, he said as a result of the shrinking of
the Islamic State from the boundary, from basically the outskirts of Baghdad to western Syria to this very small enclave, a lot of the most hard
core fanatical ruthless fighters of ISIS have ended up in this small area. So, we're not dealing with run of the mill fighters here, many of whom who
have left. We are talking about the real hard core who are putting up, according to this commander, point of fight.
GORANI: And what about, of course, the U.S. President and the reiterated his pledge, what difference would it make to those on the ground fighting
forces, what difference would it make to them when American troops withdraw?
WEDEMAN: Well, according to sort of the number the pentagon puts out, there's around 2000 U.S. special forces in Syria. And what we saw when we
were up in the front is that coalition aircraft are very active and present in the skies over this small enclave. Now, the worry is when this force
leaves, that there will be a power vacuum, a power vacuum which traditionally ISIS has been able to exploit through a -- through sort of
intimidation and terrorism. And what we've seen in Syria over the last six months is a wave of assassinations of people connected with the anti-
coalition, the anti-ISIS forces, people who are in local government. And we can see also in Iraq, uptick in the amount of terrorist attacks on the
government and government facilities there. So, very much a danger of a power vacuum being filled by is yet again. So, yes, an important battle
may soon be over, but the war against ISIS is not. Hala?
GORANI: Certainly not. Thanks very much, Ben Wedeman, live inside Syria.
Mr. Trump also made some big news on North Korea in his state of the union speech. He announced when his next summit with Kim Jong-un will take
place, praising their warm personal relations. CNN's Will Ripley has that story.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Trump continues to be optimistic about North Korean denuclearization, so optimistic, in fact,
he's moving forward with a second summit with Kim Jong-un in Vietnam three weeks from now. At his state of the union, President Trump touted the
results of what he called his bold new diplomacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Our hostages have come home. Nuclear testing has stopped, and there has not been a missile launch in more than 15 months. If I had not
been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea. Much work remains to be done,
but my relationship with Kim Jong-un is a good one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: Despite that good relationship as the President said, there certainly is a lot of work to be done. We heard from a U.N. Security
Council diplomatic source who shared with us a confidential report that was released last week. It says that North Korea's nuclear program not only
remains intact with missiles ready to launch at any time, but you have these satellite images showing that North Korea has been expanding key
missile bases that could potentially pose a threat to American troops in this region. North Korea, they are also accused in this U.N. report of
moving around ballistic arsenal trying to guard against military strikes. How would they do that? Using civilian airports like in Pyongyang. I've
flown into it many times. They use it to test ballistic missiles. To be clear, bolstering missiles, it's not a violation of any written agreement
with the U.S. although some say it goes against the spirit of the Singapore summit.
[14:30:00] Speaking of sanctions, this U.N. report also accuses North Korea of brazenly violating U.N. Security Council sanctions to the point that
they have become ineffective. The allegations, illegal ship to ship transfers of petroleum products and coal. One transfer worth 5 1/2 million
dollars. Also accused of violating an arms embargo with the middle east and Africa. They say sanctions shouldn't be in place at all. They point
to steps they say they have already taken. Probably the most dramatic was one I witnessed last May, they blew up the tunnel entrances at a test site.
North Korea has also returned American detainees. They have handed over Korean war remains. They have continued a year long pause in missile
testing. Despite all that, just last month in the United States, the Pentagon's missile defense review called North Korea an extraordinary
threat to the U.S. a lot to talk about when President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet in Vietnam later this month. Will Ripley,
CNN, Hong Kong.
GORANI: Certainly, a lot to talk about.
Still to come tonight, the governor of Virginia, the lieutenant governor, and now the attorney general all embroiled in scandals. We'll tell you all
about them next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Now to a stunning twist in a story that we brought you Monday, that's engulfing the leadership of the U.S. State of Virginia, you'll
remember this. On the right is Governor Ralph Northam. He's under increasing pressure to resign over the picture on the left, the racist
photo appeared in his medical school year book entry from decades ago. Northam admitted being in the picture and then later denied it.
Now, the state's attorney general, Mark Herring, the man on your screen here, is admitting that he dressed in blackface for a party when he was 19
years old, and this just days after he called on Governor Northam to step down.
Meanwhile, the man who would replace Northam, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax is denying an allegation of sexual assault against him.
These men represent the top three leaders in the state. All are Democrats.
Let's get out to Virginia state capital Richmond, Ryan Nobles is there with more.
Before we get to Justin Fairfax, Mark herring, we don't have a picture to show our viewers, but he's saying that he once went to a party in
blackface.
RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Hala. And reporters across Virginia, including me, were giving -- given this tip
yesterday that we believe that Mark herring himself could find himself in the middle of a scandal involving a blackface situation in his past.
And the attorney general got out ahead of the many reporters chasing that story by releasing a pretty dramatic statement earlier this afternoon where
he described a situation where, as a 19-year-old college student at the University of Virginia, he went to a costume party with his fraternity
Sigma Chi and dressed up as a rapper. And as part of that costume, he put on brown makeup.
Now, the attorney general does not describe it as blackface, but given how most people use that definition, it seems pretty clear that that's exactly
what the attorney general was doing.
And, of course, as you rightly point out, Hala, it comes just a couple of days after this attorney general called on the current governor to step
down because of a similar photo that he was appeared in.
Now, not to make this more complicated, the governor now says he's not in that photo. He's not stepping down. But what it's created is a level of
chaos that the state capital has never seen before. And you'll have to remember, of course, Hala, this was the capital of the confederacy during
the civil war. And this has been an unbelievable few days.
[14:35:05] GORANI: So I'm looking down at my phone because we received a statement through the law firm of the woman representing Justin Fairfax,
his accuser, Vanessa Tyson.
I'm just going to read a very brief sort of excerpt from it. "After the assault, I suffered from both deep humiliation and shape. I did not speak
about it for years and I, like most survivors, suppressed those memories and emotions as a necessary means to continue my studies and to pursue my
goal of building a successful career as an academic."
I'm not going to read word for word exactly what the accusation is. It's a bit graphic. But she's essentially saying he forced her to perform oral
sex on him. This is a very serious accusation.
NOBLES: It certainly is, Hala. And this comes after the lieutenant governor played a similar track that the attorney general did today by
attempting to get out ahead of this accusation.
In fact, early Monday morning, 3:00 o'clock Monday morning here in Richmond, before anyone had even asked the lieutenant governor's office
about this after this accusation was posted on the same conservative blog that released the initial photo of Governor Northam,. He put out a
statement saying that this never happened, that the accuser is wrong. And that she -- that her recollection of this event was not correct.
Well, for several days here, we've all been trying to get in touch with the accuser. She chose, instead, to go to Debra Katz who is the same attorney
who represented Christine Blasey Ford. This was the woman who accused Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when they were both teenagers.
Through Dr. Katz' law firm -- I'm sorry. Attorney Katz' law firm, Dr. Tyson, released this very lengthy statement where she goes into very
specific details as to how she recalls this sexual assault, and then she furthermore, Hala, she goes in to calling the lieutenant governor -- saying
that he is launching a smear campaign against her.
And part of the reason she's saying that is because we know through our own reporting that in a private meeting with members of the Senate Democratic
Caucus here in Richmond, the lieutenant governor launched into an expletive laden rant against his attacker specifically Ms. Tyson saying that she is
wrong even showed them a video of when she appeared on a panel talking about sexual assault, where she didn't describe herself as an abuser, and
somehow attempting to convince these senators that she couldn't possibly be a victim.
Now, she's out with her very specific claims. So far, Hala, the lieutenant governor, has refused to respond to those specific claims.
GORANI: So, if we could just put up the pictures of the three men we're talking about, we're talking as we mentioned there about Justin Fairfax,
about the current governor, Ralph Northam, and Mark Herring, the attorney general. These are the three top officials.
What happens, if for whatever reason, all three are forced to step down? Who's fourth in line? Is it a Democrat?
NOBLES: Right. Well, the first thing we should point out, I mean, there are a number of scenarios by which one or more of them could resign at any
given point. And depending on how the dominos fall, that could impact who takes what position.
But let's just say for argument sake that all three resigned at the same time. That likely will not happen. But if that were to take place, it
would be the speaker of the House who happens to be a Republican. He would then become the governor.
Hala, I honestly believe -- and I've covered Virginia politics for more than 10 years. I've talked to a lot of people about this particular topic.
I think the most likely scenario is the fact that these three monster scandals came in such a narrow window of time that the most likely scenario
is that none of them resign, that they all stay in power at least until the end of their terms.
A lot could happen over the next couple of days. A lot has happened in the last few days. So I wouldn't make that as a prediction, but I think the
one thing we can most definitively say is no matter how it all shakes out, it's unlikely that Kirk Cox, the Republican House speaker becomes the next
governor.
But there's real doubt as to whether or not any of these three men will still be in their jobs for the foreseeable future.
GORANI: OK. Ryan Nobles, thanks very much in Richmond.
And to Venezuela now, the Maduro government has blocked a bridge that connects his country to Colombia just as humanitarian aid was going to
arrive.
CNN used a drone to get these images of an orange oil tanker and two large blue containers positioned across the three-lane bridge blocking vital aid
from entering. You see it there clearly in the middle of your screen. With the Maduro regime saying, we are not beggars. They are refusing
humanitarian aid for their people.
Let's get to CNN's Isa Soares in the border town of Cucuta, Colombia. And you are at a crossing point on a bridge. Tell us where you are and what's
going on at your position, Isa.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hala, we are at the Simon Bolivar Bridge. It's the main pedestrian bridge between Colombia and
Venezuela. Behind me, if I just turn around, Bienvenido a Colombia, welcome to Colombia. Behind me, the cameraman, is that is the entrance to
Venezuela.
[14:40:03] Every day, as you can see here, stream of people making their way into Venezuela. Roughly 32,000 people making this journey every day
according to migration Colombia.
And people carry everything. They come here with suitcases, Hala, packed with money that's really worth nothing because of hyperinflation. And they
come here to buy basic staples, milk, eggs, toilet paper, nappies, everything they can get their hands on. And at the end of the day they go
back again. They do this journey every day.
I'm going to try and get some people. He didn't answer. Potatoes. We've got potatoes there. But I've seen people -- this guys, gentleman's got cat
food. I've seen nappies, I've seen eggs. And people really have nothing. People with children. It's so hot here, Hala, as well. They're trying to
make this journey in this heat every single day. You just get the sense of how arduous it is.
Look, this gentleman here, his toilet paper. So she bought crackers and she bought chicken, this lady told me. The other ones flour to make
(INAUDIBLE) which is like a toast.
People basic don't have anything there. And then they make their way here. Many of them had shouted, go Maduro (INAUDIBLE) Maduro should be out, some
people are saying.
Another gentleman told me, Hala, that he's not for aid. He doesn't want humanitarian aid. He just wants the sanctions to come to an end. Very
similar to what we heard from Maduro, that we're not a country of beggars. They just want the sanctions to end, economy to open again.
So a lot of emotions running extremely high. As you see people coming in with children, many of them with newborn babies, many of them coming here
to even have babies, which is what I'm speaking to today at a hospital. This lady saying with full of hunger, was starving.
One lady told me earlier today, Hala, that what Maduro has done is put a hunger bomb on them.
Food, lots of food, toilet paper. More toilet paper.
So people really just trying to survive, really trying to survive, Hala, just basically what you're seeing every single day. Sure, a lot of people
across over a million have actually stayed in Colombia. More than three million have crossed from Venezuela. It gives you a sense of the scale of
this humanitarian crisis, Hala.
GORANI: I mean, is it easy to just go back and forth on a daily basis? What about border checks?
SOARES: Excuse me. Very easy. If you've got a Venezuelan passport, a Colombian passport, you can cross, you should need to show it, there's no
stamp. It's absolutely fine.
The problem is when you get to the other side, the taxis that are there, they charge you an arm and a leg to go anywhere, of course, and then you
get in a coach, you have to pay around $8 to make your way. Some people actually walk to where they are going. Walking for -- some people actually
for days.
So there is an ease to it, of course, but imagine doing this every couple of days in order to get by.
And I'm just going to move out this way so that the camera can capture it. Maybe we can get Jose with us. So I'm just going to walk with -- come with
me. Just food, more food here. Drinks. This lady's got nappies, milk, lots of milk. Some people buying even -- it looks like a piano. I don't
know.
Shopping. Food, food. Well, I won't translate that because he just swore, but not very positive on the question of Maduro.
Come on down. This lady's got eggs. She's carrying eggs. People carry whatever they can, Hala, just to make this crossing. I spoke to one lady
that's about an hour ago -- he's saying, when are they going to help us? We need help. This gentleman saying.
And lady telling me, also saying that cross -- to make this journey at night, Hala, the army now, Venezuelan army now charging them $32.00.
Remember, they, too, are running out of food, Hala.
GORANI: Well, Isa Soares, thanks' very so much.
Really, a very colorful there illustration of how difficult life is for just ordinary Venezuelans, who have to cross border into Colombia to get
basic supplies and have to do it every couple of days.
Thanks very much, Isa Soares with that live report.
We want to update you on a deadly building collapse in Istanbul. Just take a look at this video. Rescuers are racing to find survivors after the
seven story building collapsed in eastern Istanbul. It looks completely flattened. We're hearing two people have been killed and six have been
rescued so far.
A lot more to come this evening. We are live in Madagascar where health officials are frantically trying to stop the spread of a highly contagious
and preventable disease there. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:11] GORANI: Health officials in several places around the world are fighting the spread of measles, an extremely contagious but preventable
disease.
In the U.S., at least 10 states have reported measles cases this year. Across the globe in Madagascar, there's a much more urgent situation.
Thousands of people have been infected with measles since October.
CNN's David McKenzie has more from the capital of Madagascar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baby Pirog (ph) clings to his father. His measles made life-threatening by
malnutrition. They traveled 24 hours just to get to a hospital for treatment.
MCKENZIE (on-camera): What were people in the village saying about measles?
"There are a lot of cases now in my village," he says. "It's getting even worse."
MCKENZIE (voice-over): It is Madagascar's worst outbreak in decades. More than 50,000 infected, more than 300 killed across this island nation. By
an entirely preventable disease. The virus was forgotten by many, including physicians, thanks to vaccines. But for years, immunization
rates have been dangerously low.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Outbreak like this in Madagascar should be a wakeup call for not only every person, every health center in Madagascar, but for
the world. These diseases come back and they clobber us if we're not protected.
MCKENZIE: Measles is now finding victims in Europe and the U.S. As well. In Washington State alone, there are around 50 confirmed cases.
MCKENZIE (on-camera): Do you get frustrated when you see outbreaks in the U.S. for a preventable disease?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do, I do, especially measles. And the U.S., our whole infrastructure is set up to prevent.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): In Madagascar, the system is overburdened and underfunded. So when this outbreak hit, Lance's past life found him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. So I said, I work for them.
MCKENZIE: The former epidemiologist is now a Peace Corps Volunteer put to work by the local connect tracking cases and distributing vaccines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll get it done together
MCKENZIE (on-camera): As a team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's a team.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): We follow as he visits a man recovering from the virus. Even the strong have fallen ill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're starting to get his strength back a little bit.
MCKENZIE: The doctors say baby Pirog will recover, too. But with measles and other preventable diseases, recovery isn't the aim. Prevention is.
That requires a global effort and attitude.
"It is a question of mentality," says Dr. Andusoa (ph), "because we need to convince those people, not only people in poor countries are not well
educated."
Here, health is never taken for granted. And one fact is known only too well. Vaccines save lives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:50:03] GORANI: Well, David McKenzie joins me now live from Madagascar.
So, it's really just a question of getting this message to the people who need to hear it, isn't it, David?
MCKENZIE: Well, that's right. It's all about messaging and trying to dissuade people who might be persuaded by conspiracy theories and debunked
scientific studies that in the past said that there were some dangers to these vaccines. But that has been, as I said, debunked time and time
again.
This frustration amongst the doctors here in Madagascar who don't have the developed health system to get to all the people quickly, they look at
cases in France, and the rest of Europe, in the U.S., scratching their heads a little bit saying, well, those areas should have measles
eradicated.
In the U.S., Hala, measles was eradicated, they believe, in 2000. It's come back and come back strong because of people who won't get their
children vaccinated. One doctor I spoke to here at a pediatric hospital said that's criminal. Hala?
GORANI: And what about the kids who do have the -- who are infected? I mean, you rarely die from it, but you can have major, major complications.
Are they getting the treatment they need?
MCKENZIE: You can have complications. And because of the under nourishment in large part of this country -- as this country, Hala, there
are children dying from this. We met one mother who had three children from the ages of three to five over three consecutive days in January.
She says that she used to love to play with them, feed the birds in their yard, here in the capital, Antananarivo. She's obviously devastated. She
said that the vaccine wasn't available to her when she went to the clinic.
And, of course, now knows that she must do everything she can to vaccinate her children. That father you saw that traveled for two days to get to
that clinic in the hopes of getting his child vaccinated even though the child already had measles.
People are moving heaven and earth to get their children protected and that's another reason, they say, that --
GORANI: I believe we lost David Mackenzie there. But David was making an important point because speaking to experts, we learned -- I certainly
learned this today, that it's not just enough to be vaccinated. That you need a critical mass of people in the community to be vaccinated. And that
threshold is usually in the lower 90th percentile. So around 93, 94 percent of people in any given community need to be vaccinated.
So when you have situations in some U.S. states and some U.S. communities where some parents are not vaccinating their kids and the threshold is
under 93 percent, that puts every other child at risk, even people who are vaccinated against measles.
So there are many layers to the story. It's a lot more complex than it sounds. And getting people to vaccinate their kids and vaccinate
themselves means also having a certain number of people in any given community who are protected.
We're going to have a lot more after a quick break. Thanks to David McKenzie, by the way, even though we lost the connection. We'll be right
back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: It's not that long ago we saw France lift the World Cup in Moscow. But teams around the world are already gearing up for the next tournament
in 2022. It's happening in Qatar, and some of Europe's top football clubs are already getting their early and trying to get ready as early as
possible. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[14:55:12] MESHAAL BARSHAM, QATARI FOOTBALL PLAYER: My name is Meshaal Barsham. I'm 20 years old. I'm a goalkeeper for Qatar national team.
I was like 7 years old and I wasn't into goal keeping. But one day, the coach said like who wants to be a goalkeeper? And I was raising my hand to
be a goalkeeper and that's how it started.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meshaal is a graduate of the Doha's Aspire Academy which finds and develops young athletes while providing them with an
education.
MEHRAN KAMRAVA, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY QATAR: It's a residential academy that is mentored by professional coaches and it is only a matter of time
before this academy produces the next Messi, simply because of the sheer volume of the kids that are going through this academy.
BARSHAM: The facilities here are one of the best in the world.
Morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, good morning, Meshaal, welcome.
BARSHAM: This morning, we went two hours this month with the physios because I had a small injury in my shoulder.
We have the gym facilities and we have the pool area. We have the ice baths, sauna, full recovery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He currently plays with the leading local club Al Sadd and the under 23 Qatar national team. But this is his prize, to play for
his country in this stadium during the World Cup in 2022.
We are now in Khalifa Stadium. It's one of the World Cup's stadium. It's the first one to be built and it has 40,000 seats.
When I walk in here, I just feel like the World Cup is just today. I just can't wait to be playing and to be part of the team here like shouting for
Qatar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The World Cup will take place in the month of December when average temperatures in the gulf are around 25 degrees. It's the
reason why some of Europe's top teams descend on Qatar annually for their winter training camps. And among them is Paris Saint-Germain. And Meshaal
has been given an opportunity to meet with PSG goalkeeper and reigning World Cup champion France's Alphonse Areola.
BARSHAM: So, what do you think about our stadiums here in Qatar?
ALPHONSE AREOLA, FRENCH PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER: It's really nice and huge. Always great to visit it and hope that we'll be there in a few
years.
BARSHAM: Yes. I hope we'll be there.
AREOLA: I guess you maybe.
BARSHAM: Do you have any advice that you can give me?
AREOLA: Just to work -- to work and dream, dream, because the dream is like the objective.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now that Meshaal has met one of his sporting heroes, he is more determined than ever to make his dreams a reality.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Thanks for watching tonight. I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN. A lot more ahead on CNN. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is coming your way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
