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Hala Gorani Tonight
Leaked Government Memos Detail Possible Brexit Shortages; Released Iranian Tanker Leaves Port; NASA Scientists Investigate Greenland's Rapid Glacial Melt; Rescue Ship Blocked From Docking In Italy; Sudan's Ex- President On Trial For Multiple Charges; Brexit Changing Freedom Of Movement; Prince Andrew "Appalled" At Epstein Sex Abuse Claims; Leaked Documents Warn Of No-Deal Brexit Chaos In The U.K. Nairobi Governor Reveals Lawmaker's Affair At His Funeral. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired August 19, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:20] ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Good evening, everyone. Live from CNN London, I am Isa Soares.
And tonight, Boris Johnson's big Brexit week. Just as Operation Yellowhammer report is leaked, the British prime minister is preparing to
ask European leaders to compromise.
How much hotter are the oceans now because of global warming? We go to Greenland with a group of scientists to find out.
And stuck at sea, a ship packed with more than a hundred migrants is looking for a port. It's a humanitarian crisis on the water.
Now, we begin tonight here in London -- it's 7:00 p.m. -- where long-held fears over the potential repercussions of a no-deal Brexit really have
reached new heights.
It's feared the country could be paralyzed by the fallout of crashing out of the E.U. without a deal, after leaked government documents painted a
really dire picture. The memos, outlined in "The Sunday Times," suggest serious chaos without a Brexit deal, including the return of a hard border
in Northern Ireland.
Now, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still pushing to renegotiate a deal with E.U. He's preparing for face-to-face talks with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel this week, as well as France's President Emmanuel Macron, and says he hopes they will compromise. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: I'm afraid very much, up to our friends. And I hope that they will compromise, that they have seen that
the U.K. parliament has three times rejected the withdrawal agreement, the backstop. It just doesn't work, it's not democratic. I hope that they
will see fit to compromise. But in the meantime, we get ready to come out on October the 31st.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get more now on these fears as well as the political turbulence here in the U.K. Nina dos Santos and Bianca Nobilo are very --
faces that you know very well on CNN -- join me now.
Nina, let's start with you, if we may, with -- we'll talk about Boris Johnson going to Europe and what he may get out of Europe in just a minute.
Let's talk about Yellowhammer, really, in terms of the dossier. What exactly does it say? What -- how fearful should Brits be about this
dossier?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, none of this is stuff that we haven't heard before. it's just the format in which this was presented,
the idea that this is a leaked secret government document, prepared by the Cabinet Office, which really holds the key to the British government and
no-deal Brexit planning.
TEXT: Operation Yellowhammer: U.K. government report on no-deal Brexit; Food, fuel and medicine shortages; Hard border in Ireland; Severe travel
disruptions at U.K. ports
DOS SANTOS: The fact that this would have been presented to ministers, something like two or three weeks ago before Parliament went on its recess,
that really is the thing that is so significant about it.
Now, obviously, what they say in this document is that we could see -- as you can see on your screens there -- fresh food becoming less available,
prices obviously rising. Bank of England has warned about the potential for inflation from here --
SOARES: Yes.
DOS SANTOS: -- many suppliers to the United Kingdom as well. But one of the other things is this idea of a hard Irish border, basically almost
being inevitable. That is one of the interesting things, because it'll form the backdrop to Boris Johnson's conversations with people like Angela
Merkel and Emmanuel Macron later on in the week.
SOARES: But, you know, we have been speaking about this for some time, but this is the first time we're actually hearing from the government, this
warning that this could lead -- a hard Brexit could lead to this.
DOS SANTOS: And it's concerning, also, for consumers, isn't it, let's face it, who will be on their summer holidays, who will be looking at this, what
they'll see is Parliament in recess, on holiday --
SOARES: Yes.
DOS SANTOS: -- and at the same time, this government document, being leaked to one of the Sunday newspapers, saying that patients who need
insulin because they're diabetic could face shortages. That's going to be really hard to swallow, if you're somebody worried about your health in the
future, freight disruption. That'll be a concern for people who drive goods back and forth across the Port of Dover.
Also, one of the things in this document that is alarming is the potential for rise in public disorder, as potentially faith in democracy starts to
break down, whether Brexit is delivered or not.
SOARES: So, Bianca, are we looking then, you know, some would call an impending national emergency. Are we expecting Parliament M.P.s to be
called back early from summer recess as Nina was suggesting?
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Over 100 M.P.s have signed a letter to try and recall Parliament so that they can resume proceedings, given that
this is a time that they describe as of national crisis, they want to address it.
As far as the government's concerned in their response to this, initially, when the report came out in "The Sunday Times," I believe the government's
first position was, "We don't comment on leaks."
Then after that, they said that essentially things have changed a lot since then. So Boris Johnson became prime minister on the 24th of July. And
since then, his various different ministers -- who, in the cabinet, are all singing from the same hymn sheet, they all want Britain to leave and he's
been very clear about them signing up to that -- they've announced various different spending packages to try and prepare the country for a no-deal
situation.
[14:05:00] So their argument is, "Yes, all of those details provided in operation -- around Operation Yellowhammer, may be correct but they don't
stand any longer because we've now announced all these other ways --
SOARES (?): We've got the preparations.
NOBILO: -- we're going to prepare ourselves.
SOARES (?): OK.
NOBILO: But the date on Operation Yellowhammer that we've seen -- and that has been reported -- is the first of August. So that does mean that the
government is trying to say that "In the weeks since then, we've announced these measures," which would mitigate some of the disruption that you see
outlined in that dossier.
DOS SANTOS: But it's hard to see that in three weeks, our government would able to reverse --
SOARES (?): Oh, absolutely.
DOS SANTOS: -- a lot of the lack of planning that we've seen over the last three years -- obviously, it's been three years since 2016. And you're
already hearing the business community start to talk about this today.
Now, one of the things that over the weekend also came out was, Lidl Ireland, one of the discount grocery store chains -- obviously a German
company, but its Irish subsidiary -- starting to warn U.K. suppliers that on the island of Ireland, they may have to charge additional tariffs.
So they start to prepare industry for passing on the costs of a no-deal Brexit. That's going to be really difficult for small-time suppliers,
farmers in the U.K. to sort all this out.
SOARES: I mean, this is all very -- highly embarrassing for the government.
NOBILO: It's highly embarrassing. And also a point that Nina raises is, obviously that the Conservative government of the United Kingdom has had
about three years to prepare for this. It's problematic for the Johnson government, the fact that one of Theresa May's key strategies -- many said,
and it did seem to be the case -- was to try and make a no-deal scenario --
SOARES: Sound bad.
NOBILO: -- sound as scary as possible so that they would back her deal as the compromise. Obviously, that was unsuccessful. But now you have a
government with an even slimmer working majority than Theresa May's, who's now having to deal with that legacy of a no-deal being touted as the worst
of all worlds, and try and make it sound remotely palatable to the British public.
SOARES: How would the opposition, then -- are they -- how are they seeing this, how are they using this for their own play, political play?
NOBILO: Over the last couple of weeks, Jeremy Corbyn has taken a greater leadership role in trying to make the other parties and those who would
wish to see Britain either remain or avoid a no deal, coalesce and try and form some kind of opposition to Britain leaving without a deal.
Originally, most of the discussion was centered around a potential so- called government of national unity, to avoid a no-deal. But interestingly, Jeremy Corbyn was frequently not mentioned as the person who
would lead that, which is quite remarkable, considering he's a leader of the opposition.
It was more centrist figures like potentially a Ken Clarke, a grandee of the Conservative Party, or Harriet Harman, a member of the Labour Party,
that some moderate Conservatives might be able to get on board with. But Jeremy Corbyn's obviously trying to take a leadership position now.
SOARES: He's quite divisive, isn't he?
NOBILO: He is a divisive character. He is for several reasons. He is certainly on the far left of the British political spectrum, there's also
been problems -- his party's been plagued with accusations and evidence of anti-Semitism for some time now.
It's also got its own fractures. We focus so much on the --
(CROSSTALK)
DOS SANTOS: Ceiling (ph) on Brexit, yes --
NOBILO: -- splits within the Conservative Party. But absolutely, those splits remain. If the Labour Party was put under the same microscope as
the Conservative Party, the splits would be in different places but it would be equally fragmented, but just in a slightly different way.
SOARES: So, really, nothing has shifted since we last spoke?
NOBILO: The -- I mean, in essence, no. But you can see --
DOS SANTOS: Except for the fact that the current government has, now, a majority of one.
NOBILO: Exactly.
SOARES: Right.
NOBILO: So it's all going to come down to --
DOS SANTOS: And 73 days to go --
SOARES: And 73 days.
NOBILO: -- yes. But --
SOARES: That's shifted --
(CROSSTALK)
NOBILO: -- the circumstances have changed. The numbers are changing, there's less and less time. But the fundamentals as yet have not shifted.
But Boris Johnson has a big week on the world stage this week and it'll be interesting to see how he interacts with his European counterparts.
SOARES: And it'll be interesting to see if the Europeans budge at all. So far, they haven't. Bianca, Nina, thank you very much to you both.
Well, we've got much more ahead on this, including a deeper look at just how Brexit will affect European movement of -- freedom of movement right
here in the U.K. We'll have a guest on this later on in the show, in about 45 minutes or so. Do stay with us for that.
Now, Iran is warning the U.S. not to interfere with an Iranian oil tanker that was recently freed from British authorities. Iran says the ship left
Gibraltar late on Sunday, and is now on the move. It's believed to be headed towards Greece. Now, observers are now watching to see if Iran will
release a British-flagged tanker that it captured.
Clarissa Ward reports on how these latest tensions with the West are playing out in Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the city of Qom. Home to one of the holiest sites in Iran, it is deeply
conservative, a bastion of support for the country's supreme leader.
Ali (ph) Resibandar (ph) is a lawyer and cleric. He supported Iran's seizure of a British oil tanker, and says he does not trust the west at
all.
ALI (PH) RESIBANDAR (PH): This is your culture, that you say that, tit for tat. No, you captured our ship, we captured your ship.
WARD: And do you think the people here in Iran, they want to see a war with the United States?
[14:10:01] RESIBANDAR (PH):: You know, the people of Iran believe in their leaders. Our leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, as he said, that we don't like
war, but we are ready for war.
WARD: Do you have a message for President Trump?
RESIBANDAR (PH):: Mr. Donald Trump, you are -- you know, you are an unpredictable person, you are a liar. You have lied more than 2,000 lies
during, you know, your short time of presidency. So you are dangerous, of course you are dangerous. And we don't believe -- and we don't trust in
you.
WARD (voice-over): But even in the bazaars of cosmopolitan Tehran, opposition to Iran's leaders is much more common. Forty-six-year-old
Nasser (ph) tells us people feel betrayed by the West, following the collapse of the nuclear deal.
NASSER (PH): But, they didn't do what they signed, but everything we signed, we did that, we don't have any problem with that.
WARD: So do you feel it's unfair?
NASSER (PH): Yes, exactly, it is unfair for Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WARD: And, Isa, we are now here in the port of Bandar Abbas, where that British tanker that was seized by the Iranians, two weeks after the Grace
1, is still being held, people here, waiting and watching closely to see if the Iranians will reciprocate now by letting that tanker go.
But the broader sense from all Iranians across the political spectrum, who we have spoken to, is that they feel pride and a conviction that Iran was
right to seize that tanker -- Isa.
SOARES: Thanks very much, there, Clarissa.
Now, still to come tonight, NASA scientists warn of supercharged melting of Greenland's glaciers, the latest troubling sign of climate change. We'll
bring you that story next.
And, rescued from the Mediterranean only to be trapped on a boat, the fight over where these migrants can disembark. That story, after a very short
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Welcome back. Now, the immediate threat posed by climate change is on full display in Greenland. Glaciers there are melting at an alarming
pace, which could lead to devastating sea level rises. NASA climate scientists are investigating the crisis. Our Frederik Pleitgen joined the
scientists on one of their missions.
Tell us, first of all, why NASA's investigating this and what you actually found.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're investigating it because climate change has just accelerated so much over
the past couple of years. And the thing that they are telling us, their early findings, is they say, "Look, a lot of people, when they talk about
climate change and the ice melt that's induced by climate change, many people think it's warmer air that's essentially melting a giant ice cube,
that is, the ice shield in the Arctic.
But they say that they're finding that warmer ocean temperatures are also having a significant effect, not just because of the warmer temperatures
themselves, but also because of ocean currents that are really leading to a lot of attrition on those glaciers, very interesting to see what those NASA
scientists are doing. Here's what we saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[14:15:07] PLEITGEN (voice-over): Takeoff from a tiny airfield in South Greenland, NASA, embarking on its mission to map how warmer ocean water is
melting Arctic ice.
Chief scientist Josh Willis shows me the probes they're launching all around Greenland. It's like dropping thermometers into the sea.
JOSH WILLIS, CHIEF SCIENTIST, NASA OCEANS MELTING GREENLAND MISSION: They go out of the plane, right through this tube right here. They fall down to
the ocean. And then they separate into two parts. Part falls all the way down to the sea floor, so it gives us a profile from the surface to the
bottom, on the shelf.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): We've reached today's drop zone, the massive Helheim Glacier. What you're seeing from our cockpit camera is not even
the glacier itself, it's just the ice it's lost in the past days. And this goes on for miles.
PLEITGEN: It is absolutely awe-inspiring to see the size of this glacier, to see how much ice is coming off that glacier, that's obviously then going
to flow into the world's oceans. It is one of the largest glaciers in Greenland. The amount of activity is just absolutely overwhelming.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the scientists spot an ice-free zone right at the mouth of the glacier. It's pretty unusual. With great precision, they
have to drop a probe --
WILLIS: Four, three --
PLETIGEN (voice-over): -- right in that pond.
WILLIS: -- two, one. Drop, drop, drop. Fourteen, away. I see water.
PLEITGEN (?): Bull's-eye.
WILLIS: (?) In the -- in the drink. Perfect.
PLEITGEN (?): I saw it, yes. Oh, wow.
WILLIS (?): I see it.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the readouts they get are troubling. Warm water along the entire depth of the glacier, more than 2,000 feet below the
surface.
IAN FENTY, SCIENTIST, NASA OCEANS MELTING GREENLAND MISSION: These warm waters now are able to be in direct contact with the ice over its entire
face, supercharging the melting.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): And it's not just this glacier. The ice melt has been supercharged in all of Greenland recently.
PLEITGEN: This year is on-pace to set a record for ice melt, here in the Arctic. And the NASA scientists are finding out that it's not just hotter
air, but also warmer ocean water that's causing a lot of the attrition that's making these glaciers lose so much ice.
And while it may look majestic, the ice melt is also dangerous. These billions of tons of ice are causing sea levels to rise. The scientists
from Nasa's Oceans Melting Greenland project, saying all of us need to pitch in to try and slow down global warming, or face the consequences.
WILLIS: There's enough ice in Greenland to raise sea levels by seven and a half meters. So it's an enormous volume of ice, that's about 25 feet. And
that would be devastating to coastlines all around the planet.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The changes to our planet's environment can already clearly be seen, here in Greenland, a remote Arctic paradise whose warming
climate will affect us all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: It's really quite a humbling experience, actually, to fly with these guys. One of the things that I found interesting is, we were
speaking to some local folks there in Greenland, and they were telling us that, you know, they've been witnessing this firsthand, how these glaciers
have not only receded, some of them by kilometers, but they've also gotten a lot thinner, a lot lower. So that ice melt can clearly be seen and felt
there.
SOARES: I was surprised, what they said, this seven and a half meters --
PLEITGEN: Yes.
SOARES: -- that's huge, isn't it?
PLEITGEN: That's a lot. And that's -- and I asked them, "Look is that -- what can we do to slow this down?"
SOARES: Yes.
PLEITGEN: "What can we do about this?" And they said it really is cutting emissions is the thing to do, because that's what's driving warming in the
entire planet, not just the air, but of course then the oceans as well.
But they also said, right now, the pace at which things are going, people need to start thinking about moving away from coastal areas in certain
places.
SOARES: How -- and the question of trying to cut emissions, do they believe that the Paris Climate Accord that we've got that's now in place,
it's -- you know, many countries are trying to apply that. Do they feel that that is enough to kind of try --
PLEITGEN: I think --
SOARES: -- to avert, to slow it down in any sort of way?
PLEITGEN: -- yes, I -- I think from what a lot of those scientists that we saw, that's a hub for scientists there. I think a lot of them, they will
tell you, "We are indeed in a phase, generally, of global climate warming. But that manmade activity is really accelerating that to a great degree."
And of course, the Paris Climate Accord is not something that I think people think is perfect or that will solve things --
SOARES: Correct, yes.
PLEITGEN: -- but it certainly is at least a start, and something on which to build when things really become bad. And I think one of the things that
we've noticed -- and you and I, I think, have noticed, reporting on this topic, is that for a lot more people than before, this is not a secondary
issue any more --
SOARES: No, it's definitely shifted.
PLEITGEN: -- a lot of people are feeling that, it's something they talk about every day. You feel a younger generation, already protesting and
saying that more needs to be done to save the world's climate because they're seeing things like this and they're seeing other things, where the
climate's really going out of control.
[14:20:03] SOARES: Look, I've been reporting on the environment --
PLEITGEN: Yes.
SOARES: -- for CNN, for CNN Vision for three years, and this is the first time I've actually felt that it's not just a small group of people --
PLEITGEN: Yes.
SOARES: -- but it's now a question of, "What can be done?"
PLEITGEN: What can be done and what political will is there --
SOARES: Yes, absolutely.
PLEITGEN: -- to do this. Because in the end, a lot of it still is a tradeoff between -- you know, between large economic growth and trying to
do something for the environment. How can you -- how can you fit both into one? Make it economically sound --
SOARES: Yes.
PLEITGEN: -- to actually do things that then will hopefully help save the environment --
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: And crucially for our leaders, to actually believe the --
PLEITGEN: Yes.
SOARES: -- the science.
PLEITGEN: That is --
SOARES: Let's start with that, right?
PLEITGEN: -- that's what it starts with, yes.
SOARES: Fred, thank you very much.
Now, the White House is trying to tamp down talk about fears of an economic slowdown or even a possible recession, brushing off multiple warning signs
that an 11-year expansion could finally come to an end -- Mr. Trump regularly takes credit for a strong economy, you've heard him, telling
voters recently that even if they hate him, they have no choice -- his words -- but to vote for him because of pocketbook issues.
He's well aware, the economy will be a huge issue in the 2020 race, and is already laying the groundwork, if things go south, by blaming others. And
that includes the Federal Reserve, which he had done numerous times already, and even us, the media.
TEXT: Donald J. Trump: Our Economy is very strong, despite the horrendous lack of vision by Jay Powell and the Fed, but the Democrats are trying to
"will" the Economy to be bad for purposes of the 2020 Election. Very Selfish! Our dollar is so strong that it is sadly hurting other parts of
the world...
SOARES: Listen to one of his top advisors, talking to reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO DONALD TRUMP: It's nice to see the media finally cover the Trump economy. You seem to cover it only when you can
use the Sesame Street word of the day, "recession." And so you're using a tweet here or report there or an economist's words here and there. The
fact is, the fundamentals of our economy are very strong, and you know it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get more now from CNN White House Reporter, Boris Sanchez.
And, Boris, so we've heard President Trump saying the economy's going -- I'm quoting him -- "tremendously well," as well as his advisors going
further, with Peter Navarro, I believe, going as far as sounding optimistic, Boris, over the U.S. economic forecast.
Are many people scratching their heads where you are, over these kind of missed messages, what the economy, what bond markets are doing, stock
markets are doing, and what politicians are saying?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: When it comes to the White House, they're trying to remain unified in this message, as you heard there
from Kellyanne Conway, saying that the fundamentals of the economy are strong.
But as you pointed out, they're sort of also laying the groundwork, and potentially laying blame if there is some sort of recession or an economic
hiccup on the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates too quickly.
Privately, we know that President Trump has had conversations about potential woes in the economy with his aides. That's something that
frequently happens, in part because this president has staked so much of his reputation on the success of the American economy.
When he lists his accomplishments, he frequently touts the American economy near the top of that list. He also states that he gets frequent praise
from world leaders on how well the American economy is doing. We know that there is some concern from the White House, though. Point of fact, just a
few weeks ago, the president, deciding to delay tariffs on Chinese imports until December 15th.
Now, we've heard from aides (ph), sources inside the White House, that have told CNN that aides were able to convince the president to do that by
essentially telling him that this could hurt consumers, going into the Christmas shopping season. And the president was essentially coaxed by
being told that he could ruin Christmas for these shoppers.
So it's clear that the White House understands that these tariffs on China could have damaging implications, not only for the American consumer but
also for his re-election hopes, going into 2020 -- Isa.
SOARES: Let's talk about that, Boris. Because if there's -- slowdown or a recession does materialize, how impactful, how worrying, what kind of
damage would that do for President Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, do you think?
SANCHEZ: It would be absolutely catastrophic. Very rarely have you seen an American president success in a failing economy, going for re-election.
There's that old adage, "It's the economy, stupid."
And especially, I think this is a delicate matter for President Trump because for as long as he's been in the public eye, he's touted himself as
this strong businessman, somebody who understands not only the broader macroeconomic picture, but someone who specifically values and understands
the plight of the American worker, and that's a big part of the reason he got elected in 2016.
If the economy were to take a turn for the worse, this president not only would get the blame for it, but he'd hear cries from many of this supports
who are in red states, many of them, farmers who are suffering from these tariffs that have been placed on Chinese goods. And the tit for tat with
China, placing tariffs on American soybeans, for example, he would like hear from supporters in red states about this.
He is obviously going to watch this very closely. And what we will likely continue to hear for the foreseeable future, is this administration,
tamping down worries about any kind of economic recession. You'll likely hear the president repeat that refrain from Kellyanne Conway, that the
media is trying to present this as a serious problem when there isn't one - - Isa.
[14:25:00] SOARES: Yes. And he's already been tweeting about the Fed. We'll hear from the Fed chair later on this week. Boris Sanchez, there for
us in Washington, thanks very much, Boris, good to see you.
SOARES: Now, our Stephen Collinson says an economic slowdown right before the election could mean Mr. Trump will face the biggest sales job of his
life. Stephen joins us now, live from Washington.
Stephen, let's start with that, in that case. How tough of a sales job will it be for the president, if we're looking, then, at a slowdown here?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, as Boris was saying, all the historical precedents suggest that a recession in the months
leading up to an election typically means a president doesn't win a second term. So just in terms of the history, it would be very serious.
Now, the U.S. economy is much stronger than some of the economies that people have been talking about with concern the last few weeks, China, for
example, and Germany. So there's no guarantee that there would be a recession.
But as Boris was saying, the economy is one of the few areas where Donald Trump actually has had a majority of public support during the two and a
half years that he's been in office. And he doesn't have much margin for error. His approval rating is usually around 42, 40 percent -- 42, 43
percent generally.
So you can see, if voters that support Donald Trump's handling of the economy start to sour on him, it could be very bad news, just in terms of
the mathematics of how you win the election in 2020.
SOARES: Let's just show our viewers, Stephen, the tweet that we've seen from the president in the last 45 minutes or so, if we can bring it up.
"Our economy is very strong, despite the horrendous lack of vision by Jay Powell and the Fed. But the Democrats are trying to will the economy to be
bad for purposes of the 2020 election. Very selfish! Our dollar is so strong that it is sadly hurting other parts of the world."
We'll talk about the Democrats in just a second, and how they're looking at this and how they're playing the political -- going political message on
the economy. But when it comes to President Trump's supporters, if there is a recession, if there is a slowdown, will his really core supporters
change? Will they shift at all?
COLLINSON: I think it's an interesting question. We don't really know, to be honest. Covering the 2016 election, it was clear that many people in
Trump's base were voting for him because they saw that he had business acumen, and that they believe that they were not sharing in the dividends
of the recovery after the Great Recession. So there are those voters who voted for Trump economically.
But people voted for Donald Trump for many different reasons. Many people saw him as somebody that was saying things about immigration, for example,
that they'd long believed, that were seen as taboo. Others have a strong cultural bond for him. Some conservatives voted for him because of his
pledge to introduce, you know, to reform the judicial system with conservative appointments.
So I don't think we can say right now that Trump's base would sour on him, even if the economy goes south. And you're seeing this, now, igniting
propaganda campaign by the president, blaming the Federal Reserve, blaming the media for talking down the economy.
There are some people in Trump's base who may not even believe that the economy is going south if it does go south, because the president is able
to convince them, with his almost mythical connection with his supporters, you know, that black is white and vice versa. So I think it's something we
need to watch, going into this election. I don't think we can make strong conclusions about that yet.
SOARES: On the question -- if we put aside the Republican Party just for a second, how would a recession -- or an economic slowdown, let's say -- how
would it transform the White House race when we're talking about the Democratic Party?
COLLINSON: I think it would change and simplify the task of many of the Democratic candidates, and would be, clearly, a weapon, although no one
wants to talk (ph) of the economy into a recession.
Right now, Democratic candidates are talking about how the economy might have been doing well, but many people haven't been sharing in the spoils of
the economy, and accusing the president, with his tax cut, for example, of favoring the most wealthy Americans.
If the recession -- if there was to be a recession, the economy goes bad, it's a very clear case of Democrats saying, "Donald Trump has failed with
the economy." And more than that, I think you'd hear them say that every time Republicans get control of the economy, things go bad.
They'd refer back to President George W. Bush, who was in office during the Great Recession. And before that, President George H.W. Bush, his father,
who lost to Bill Clinton in 1992, largely because the economy went into reverse.
So it's a much easier and clearer argument for Democrats to make, purely on the economy. And of course, it's the area where Donald Trump is strongest.
And if that's -- if he's deprived of that strength, it could become very difficult for him.
SOARES: And as you and I talk here, Stephen, we can see the Dow Jones -- if we can bring the Dow Jones graphic up again -- up 1 percent. It was a
very volatile rollercoaster of a week last week, as many viewers would have noticed.
[14:30:07] But although the president and his advisors are saying, actually, well, they're not so worried. They're painting a rosy picture.
Stephen, what we have seen is that a lot of his economic advisers have been talking to the media over the weekend, really trying to downplay it. Does
it give you a sign that, perhaps, there is slightly worried here?
COLLINSON: I think there's definitely a concern. The interesting thing is that they don't really go out and make strong economic arguments. They're
talking, for example, about let's be optimistic, things are looking great. That is raising the question of whether this administration is doing the
due diligence required that could, you know, prevent the worst aspects of a recession or even some kind of less serious economic downturn if it were to
come. And that's something, I think, which is always a concern with this White House.
But I think, clearly, what you're seeing is an attempt to make this talk that we had last week, very gloomy talk and signals from the bond market
and elsewhere that there was concern about the global economy and the U.S. economy as a result to try and make that go away to almost improve the mood
music for the electorate as we look ahead now to the 2020 election, which I think when everyone gets back from their summer vacation in a few weeks'
time, it's really going to accelerate.
SOARES: Improve the mood music, I like that.
Stephen Collinson there for us in Washington. Thanks very much, Stephen.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
SOARES: And still to come tonight, rescued at sea then trapped on that vessel that saved them. Migrants desperately wait for weeks to get off
their rescue ship after Italy denies docking privileges. We'll bring you that story.
As well as this one, Britain's Prince Andrew can face new questions over his ties to convicted sex-offender, Jeffrey Epstein. We'll tell about the
video that just surfaced. Both of those stories after a very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Now, does this sound familiar? Migrants rescued from the Mediterranean only to be stuck at sea because Italy won't allow the ship to
dock. Well, it's happening again. More than 100 migrants have been stuck on the Open Arms vessel for weeks, in fact, after Italy refused to allow
them to disembark.
The Spanish government is offering to take them but getting the migrants there is the next major challenger as rescuers say many already distress.
Our Melissa Bell is in Paris covering the story for us.
Melissa, let's take a step back. Why did the ship turned down an option to take them to Spain? What are you hearing from those on board Open Arms?
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well, for the time being, what we're hearing from the NGO that runs the ship, the Open Arms, is that there
is a desperate urgency to get to the closest port that they can and that, of course, Isa, is an Italian port.
[14:35:08] The Spanish authorities, the Spanish government, as you say, have said that they will take them in, suggesting, first of all, a port to
the very south of Spain and then changing that to Mallorca.
But, of course, for the ship itself, that would take even just Mallorca, Isa, at least, three more days sailing. That's where the people on it are
saying to cover that thousand kilometers of Mediterranean Sea. So they're holding fast to that position that being as they are just off the coast of
Lampedusa, it is an Italian port that should take them in.
And I think you're quite right to point out that this is a recurring story. We've seen so many examples of this over the course of the last months and
that's because this really was the flagship policy of Matteo Salvini as he came into office 14 months ago, Isa.
SOARES: And just as you and I are talking, Melissa, I'm showing videos, some of the video from inside the ship, and actually, so viewers get a
sense. It's actually quite a small ship, yet, it's packed with migrants who really get a sense of the conditions inside. So why will Matteo
Salvini -- what are his reasons, Melissa, for not letting the ship dock?
BELL: This was such a symbolic policy for him. Almost as soon as he came into office closing the ports to these NGO ships that he describes as
essentially facilitators of people trafficking. That is the logic he puts behind it and he has been steadfast in his determination to keep Italian
ports close.
That doesn't mean that migrants are no longer arriving in Italy, of course, Isa, all it means is that these big NGO ships that carry out these sorts of
rescues in the Mediterranean are being denied entry.
And, of course, every few months one of them will have been at sea for long enough to attract the media's attention. Of course, this standoff now
remains in the balance tonight. We don't quite know who will move next. There is a likelihood, a possibility that we'll hear next from the Italian
transportation ministry saying what it can do to help resolve this situation, even if that is only, Isa, facilitating the passage of these
migrants towards Spain.
SOARES: Yes. And if they don't find an impasse, I do wonder whether Open Arms will have to defy Italy's ban.
Melissa Bell there for us covering the story. Thanks very much, Melissa.
Now, a stunning site in Sudan that many never expected to see. Images of the country's former iron fist president, Omar al-Bashir sitting in a court
caged dressed in white, you can see there, as he faces major corruption- related charges and CNN has learned about the failed jail back ahead Bashir's first day in court. Loyalists to the 75-year-old tried to free
him in June, according to police statements seen by CNN. With more, Nima Elbagir.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Isa, it was a day of extraordinary symbolism, where the former Sudanese dictator of 30 years,
Omar Hassan al-Bashir, stood up in court and had to answer his name, his profession as former ruler of the country, and his place of residence at
Kober Prison.
For many of those inside the courthouse, they tell us it was a day they never thought it would come. It was also a day of startling revelations,
beginning with the sheer amount of hard foreign currency that was found inside one of the al-Bashir's many presidential palaces. The number in
total, the defense attorney saying, was about $91 million.
The president's defense team tells CNN that this was a gift from the heir to the Saudi throne, Mohammad bin Salman and that they felt that the former
ruler could not have rejected this gift without causing a diplomatic incident.
CNN has reached out to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which was also mentioned as having gifted sums of hard currency to the president in
this court case. The case deals with allegations of financial impropriety.
But, of course, there are much bigger allegations, much bigger charges still being looked into against the former president. One of those is, of
course, with regards to the killing of protestors, and that is the case that many of those in Sudan say cannot come soon enough.
But after a weekend that saw many of those who stood behind al-Bashir, ruling the country from its military apparatus, signing a deal with
civilian protestors to start a new government.
Today, al-Bashir's trial was yet another major milestone for those pushing the country forward.
Isa?
SOARES: Nima Elbagir there.
And still to come tonight, Buckingham Palace has issued a statement after video surfaced that appears to show Prince Andrew inside the mansion of
convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, in 2010.
And then later on the show, the U.K. says once Brexit happens, the freedom movement with Europe will change immediately. We'll hear from a group of
Europeans living in the U.K. about the impact. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:40:08] SOARES: Now, Buckingham Palace says Britain's Prince Andrew is appalled by the sex abuse claims against his former associate, Jeffrey
Epstein. That statement comes after a video surfaced over the weekend, appearing to show the Duke of York inside Epstein's New York mansion in
2010.
Epstein was a registered sex offender at the time. He recently killed himself inside a jail cell.
Hadas Gold joins me now for more. Talk to our audience here, to our viewers. Give us a sense of exactly what this video shows.
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA AND BUSINESS REPORTER: So this footage was published by The Mail on Sunday, and what it shows is a series of events that they
say happened December of 2010. The first part of the video is Jeffrey Epstein leaving his home with a woman who walks with him to a car, enters
his car. The woman comes back to the house.
Then it shows Prince Andrew opening the door for a different woman who walks outside of the house. Prince Andrew and her exchanged some words, he
waves at her and then she walks off.
Now, why this is notable? Is because, as you noted before, by 2010, Jeffrey Epstein had already spent time in prison for sex crimes. Now, we
knew that Prince Andrew had already been associated with Jeffrey Epstein after 2008. They were pictured walking together in Central Park. But this
is one step beyond just walking together in a public park, this is him inside Jeffrey Epstein's home.
Now, Buckingham Palace has released a statement after this video emerged. They said the Duke of York has been appalled by the recent reports of
Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes.
His Royal Highness deplores exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behavior
is abhorrent. Because keep in mind, Prince Andrew has been named in some of the court documents surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and some of the
allegations are rather serious around Prince Andrew, something that Buckingham Palace has vehemently denied.
Now, as to why they were together, Buckingham Palace did not specifically answer as to why they were hanging out together in 2010, but they did refer
us to a statement from last month where they say, "The Duke of York accepts it was unwise to have met Mr. Epstein in December 2010. The Duke has not
met with Mr. Epstein since."
SOARES: What was their -- do we know more about when they met, the relationship between Epstein and the Duke?
GOLD: Well, we know that they were connected for some time and their stories are interwoven together and they were close for some time, and
obviously they stayed close even after Jeffrey Epstein spent time in jail. And that's something that's kind of hard for some people to understand, why
a member of the royal family -- this person has spent time in prison for sex crimes. Why are you spending time together now again even after this
person has been charged and spent time in prison? Clearly, they kept their associations up.
Now Buckingham Palace said they had not met since 2010. But I mean, to have somebody in your home, you're obviously somewhat close.
SOARES: How is standing with the family? I mean, how damaging is this?
GOLD: Well, listen, I mean, the royal family seems to be banding about around Prince Andrew, especially the queen. I think it's very notable
that, as you can see on the screen right there, that this photo was taken just last week, Queen Elizabeth with her son in the car together to church.
This is a palace that does not do things just by chance. Especially something that they know will be photographed. I think this was a very
clear message that the queen is standing by Prince Andrew.
[14:45:14] SOARES: And very, very quickly, the British press. Is this a story they have been latching on to?
GOLD: They definitely have been. We've been seeing it all over the place. I think it's notable, especially from The Mail on Sunday, and this,
obviously, a big story with Prince Andrew. I mean, there's still a lot of unanswered questions here. Why was he with Jeffrey Epstein in 2010 to
having known that he was already registered as a sex offender and also, there's still a lot of these allegations that are in these court documents.
SOARES: Hadas, thank you very much.
GOLD: Thank you.
SOARES: Now, back to our top story. The British government is preparing for a worse case Brexit scenario ramping up plans for the possibility of
leaving the European Union without a deal. Leaked documents said the U.K. could be in a dire situation with a no-deal Brexit including shortages of
food, medicine, and fuel.
Now, the government forecast even more that it's possible that hard border returns in Ireland. Downing Street says freedom of movement between the
U.K. and the E.U. will change immediately once Brexit happens. This can mean longer delays for travelers as well as businesses trading with the
continent and that includes tougher criminal checks at points of entry.
Joining me now via Skype, Alexandra Bulat. The Young Europeans chair at the3million, which is an organization of Europeans living in the U.K.
Thanks very much for joining us.
Let's talk first about -- because the withdrawal agreement -- because under the withdrawal agreement, Alexandra, negotiated by the former Prime
Minister, Mrs. May with E.U., freedom of movement would have stayed for a two-year transition period, and correct me if I'm wrong. That has gone
completely out of the water. That's changed. I want to get your reaction to what we've heard from the government today.
ALEXANDRA BULAT, YOUNG EUROPEANS CHAIR, THE3MILLION: Yes, indeed. It's not only that the withdrawal agreement negotiated by the U.K. and you had a
transition period. It also had protections for U.S. citizens living in the U.K. and British people living in other U.S. states as well.
So I think hearing the news, recently. I think this made people feel even more uncertain. So a lot of U.S. nationals in U.K. have been living in
uncertainty for over three years now. And as you know, they will have to apply for the settlement scheme if they wish to stay in the U.K. after
Brexit.
And with a no-deal Brexit, the deadline to apply to that scheme is shorter, so it's only until December 2020. But the question is if freedom of
movement ends with no transition period in November 2019, how will people like -- people in the NHS or employers or landlords, how will they be able
to distinguish between someone who qualifies for the settlement status, but hasn't applied yet, because the deadline is 2020, than someone who just
entered the U.K. in November.
So I think there are many concerns about potential discrimination and who's still in the case of the (INAUDIBLE) generation. They were also told they
are welcome and their rights would be protected, but this hasn't played out quite as predicted.
SOARES: so in many ways, what you're saying, Alexandra, there no kind of legal provisions have been put in place to almost to replace any of these
laws.
BULAT: Well, there is -- the settlement scheme has some secondary legislation on it, but the point about secondary legislation that can be
changed much more easier so it can be changed by any government, future government, any ministers, so what U.S. citizens would really like to see
is their right to enshrine in primary legislation and, you know, that withdrawal agreement was better in many ways, because it also offered
protections for British people in other E.U. states.
And I think there's an uncertainty to what will actually happen in practice, because although, in theory, it may sound good that E.U. citizens
are welcome and there's like a route to be able to stay. Is that in November, on the first of November 2019, someone with a local resident in
U.K. under E.U. law could suddenly have no lawful residence unless they apply for this settle status. And the question is how --
SOARES: So basically their legal status is removed overnight. Give me a sense, if you -- from those you've been speaking, those European citizens
that live here, what are they -- they've been on the news that we've had in the last 24 hours. Are you being getting more calls, speaking to more
people who are slightly more concerned of the turn of events? The potential turn of events?
BULAT: Yes, definitely. We hear a lot -- we have a forum -- like our organization has a forum on social media and if we hear more and more
comments from concerned E.U. citizens, people asking so if I go on holiday exactly on -- you know, and that period, what would happen? So there's a
lot uncertainty around what will actually happen in practice when people will be, you know, accessing employment or welfare or have a grant
agreement and so on after if this no-deal happens.
And I think what is really concerning is the lack of detail, because you can't just replace the system overnight if you don't actually have a detail
system to replace that old system with. So it's all well and good to say, "OK, we'll end the freedom of movement," but what actually replaces it when
we need to see the detail on this and to make sure that people who are already here are not left behind the settle status system and there are
still over two million people who still have to get through the settlement system.
[14:50:03] SOARES: So we've had one million, roughly, is that what you're saying? One million have applied for the resettlement, but we've got about
two million that still haven't done it.
So really, Alexandra, what you need to hear from the government, what do you want to hear from the government is clarity, a plan, some sort of
strategy, correct?
BULAT: Yes, exactly. What we heard, so far, it's mainly promises that we heard very well in 2016 that everyone will be automatically granted status.
This promise hasn't been delivered. We all need to apply to stay, so people need to apply either for settle status or for free settle status.
And those with free settle status will be living in U.K. for under five years, will have to reapply again for settle status.
So they actually have indefinite leave to remain. So it's not as easy as just saying that all U.S. citizens are welcome and we welcome you to stay.
It's actually this is a practical issue of how are you able to prove status to all those people, to (INAUDIBLE) to employers, to landlords and so on,
and what actually happens on the border on the first of November.
SOARES: And I'm guessing many, many families here in the U.K. will be incredibly worried about what this will mean for them come the 31st. What
will they mean? Because obviously, there's so many nationalities within one family here in -- one family here in the U.K. and I've met so many up
and down the country who are now thinking twice about staying here.
BULAT: Yes, exactly. I do have -- I'm a PhD student alongside my work for The3million, and I know a few academics who are planning to leave the U.K.
because of this uncertainty because people are quite tired of waiting more than three years after we've all been promised that nothing will change for
us, some people get quite tired waiting until there's uncertainty on this issue.
And I think rather than trying to replace a system with another system with a lack of detail on it, the government should actually prioritize sorting
out the rights of people already here and also working with other E.U. countries to sort out the rights of British people and other E.U. states
before we move on to discussing the future immigration system. This should be the first point on the agenda, and unfortunately, there's still a lot of
uncertainty on this.
SOARES: Very quickly, do you think that Europeans living here, do you think they're appointing negotiations?
BULAT: Yes. I mean, at first, I have felt like a bargaining chip and then the3million, our slogan was the -- we are not bargaining chips and we think
that citizen's rights shouldn't have been part of the negotiations in the first place. We are people, not political pawns in this negotiations and
we were all promised that nothing would change for us.
And, unfortunately, those promises haven't been delivered, so that's why we have been calling to have a separate agreement on citizen's rights and say
whatever happens with the other agreement on trade, for example, or whatever other area of the -- whatever negotiations may come on the future,
the citizen's rights should be taken out of this negotiation and everyone's rights. People already here E.U. citizens and British people abroad should
be protected under international law.
SOARES: Well, we know that Boris Johnson would be traveling to see Angela Merkel this week, as well as President Macron. We shall see what comes out
of those meetings. Thanks very much, Alexandra Bulat for us there, live for you from Cambridge in England.
BULAT: Thank you.
SOARES: We'll have much more after a very short break. Do stay right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Now, with the Kenyan lawmaker had any hopes of carrying his secrets to the grave, they were very publicly dashed at his televised
funeral. Nairobi's governor revealed that his deceased friend had a child from an affair, and as Farai Sevenzo now reports is now sparking a country
wide conversation about having children out of wedlock.
[14:55:03] FARAI SEVENZO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This incredible story initiated by the Governor Mike Sonko, who was the governor of Nairobi
County, which takes in the capitol, Nairobi. It began when the governor was giving his final words to one of his friends, Ken Okoth, who had died
of cancer at the age of 41.
At his memorial service, the governor declared to all the gathering mourners, and indeed, to the entire nation because the entire service was
been broadcasted in television. That the dead MP had had an affair with one of his members of his constituent assembly, the people who run the
capitol, Nairobi.
And then he went further to say that this affair had produced a son. And the governor, Mike Sonko, Isa, wanted that son to be recognized by law and
by the Okoth family.
Now, of course, this hit many landmines in the context of Kenyan society. Because such matters are supposed to be discussed in private, but the
governor didn't stop there. He then set up two hotlines to urge all women throughout this massive country to call these hotlines if, in his words,
they had been impregnated by powerful politicians or powerful businessmen and so that he could find redress for their abandoned babies.
Now, of course, the idea that anyone of this -- of this massive power could do this, it created so much controversy and so much debate when CNN went
out onto the streets of Nairobi. Women are much more (INAUDIBLE) and they said that the governor was right. There are too many hidden things in
Kenyan society and these things should come out into the open.
The men, Isa, have found it very difficult to believe that the governor had done such a taboo thing. Some of them say that he was giving away their
secrets and Kenyans created a hashtag called #Sonko in which they urged themselves not to tell the governor their secrets, because he would
inevitably spill them out.
But, of course, Isa, behind this is a greater of serious talk. Remember, one Kenyan servicing more than half of Kenyan children do not live with
both biological parents.
SOARES: Farai Sevenzo there for us is in Nairobi. Now to a watch high- profile auction at Sotheby's. A one of a kind Porsche from the 1930s was expected to fetch a record price. Look how beautiful it is. But it all
went wrong soon after the auctioneer opened his mouth. See if you can follow along.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sixty million, sixty million, 500,000, 65, 60,500,000 million (INAUDIBLE) 60,500,000 -- $70 million, at $70 million, $70 million.
Is there 70, guys? Seventy (INAUDIBLE) pronunciation, worth $70 million.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Now, the bidding stopped after the chaos and the car was not sold. We'll let you know if it goes back for auction and who will announce the
bid.
And that does it for us. Thank you for watching tonight. I'm Isa Soares. Do stay right here with CNN. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next. I'll be
back with you tomorrow and for the rest of the week. Bye-bye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
