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Hala Gorani Tonight
Impeachment Inquiry Public Hearings Begin This Week; Violence Increases In Hong Kong Protests; Bolivian President Evo Morales Resigns; Nikki Haley: Tillerson, Kelly Tried To Undermine Trump; Turkey Army Takes CNN Inside Syrian "Safe Zone"; Key Backer Of Volunteer Rescue Group Found Dead; Is Apple's Credit Card Sexist?; Chinese Buyers Go On A Shopping Bonanza. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired November 11, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:26]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, the biggest week yet in the U.S. impeachment inquiry kicks off. Donald Trump's strategy as witnesses prepare for live testimony? Focus on
the whistleblower.
Also, a protestor shot, an man set on fire: the shocking escalation of violence in Hong Kong.
Plus a power vacuum in Bolivia: Protestors successfully forced President Evo Morales' resignation. Now what for the country?
Well, today kicks off the most important week yet for the impeachment probe into U.S. President Donald Trump. For the first time after more than a
month of investigations and more than a dozen closed door depositions, key witnesses will go before lawmakers in the House of Representatives publicly
this week, and answer questions in front of live cameras.
U.S. President Donald Trump put aside partisan politics earlier today in New York -- briefly -- delivering a speech and participating in a wreath-
laying ceremony at a Veterans Day event.
But with the impeachment hearings set to go public in just two days, the president and his allies are attacking the legitimacy of the House
investigation.
Let's go live to New York. Jeremy Diamond is there, following the president. Lauren Fox joins us from Washington on Capitol Hill.
Jeremy, let's start with the latest Donald Trump tweet regarding the impeachment inquiry, tweeting about the chairman of the House Intel
Committee, Adam Schiff, and the whistleblower. Let's take a look at what he said.
This is after the lawyer for the whistleblower sent the White House a cease-and-desist. "The lawyer for the whistleblower takes away all
credibility from this big impeachment scam. It should be ended and the whistleblower and his lawyer and corrupt politician Schiff should be
investigated for fraud."
So we're starting to see the strategy here solidify, of the president.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. I think we're getting close to the throw-everything-at-the-wall strategy from the president here.
Particularly when, you know, we know that in the past, the president has promoted conspiracy theories that have been kind of out there on the
internet in the past, or promoted by other Republicans.
This morning, it appears that he invented one out of thin air, suggesting with no evidence that the testimony, that the transcripts of the closed-
door depositions by numerous current and former Trump administration officials were somehow doctored by the House Intelligence Committee
chairman, Adam Schiff, and Democrats on that committee.
Again, zero evidence for that, the president, throwing this at the wall.
What we're also seeing though, clearly, from the president, beyond the attacks that he's leveling, beyond the increasing focus on the
whistleblower, is perhaps also an attempt to divert the conversation.
Tomorrow, we're expecting the White House to release a rough transcript of the president's first call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
That was from a call back in April. And, again, why the president is releasing this? He's making it as a show of transparency. But there is
nothing improper that has actually been alleged about that call. And so it seems to be an attempt by the president to say, look, see? This other
conversation, also one where I did nothing wrong here.
And of course, all of this is happening not only as this impeachment inquiry moves to the public phase that it is entering now, but also as we
have seen the evidence mount in recent weeks, through these closed-door depositions, that this was about much more than just one call between
President Trump and President Zelensky in which he did ask him to investigate 2016 election meddling as well as his political rival, the
former vice president, Joe Biden.
And so we're seeing the evidence mounting, that this was about a whole-of- government effort by the president to pressure Ukraine into carrying out these investigations. And so that is why, I think, we are seeing the
president now turning to this strategy where he is throwing everything and anything out there that he can.
GORANI: And not just the president. Top Republican Lindsey Graham, Lauren, had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): It's impossible to bring this case forward, in my view, fairly without us knowing who the whistleblower is and having a
chance to cross-examine them about any biases they may have. So if they don't call the whistleblower in the House, this thing is dead on arrival in
the Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And so Lauren, as Jeremy was saying, focus on the whistleblower, try to sort of move the conversation away from the public testimony of
these witnesses. But it's going to be tough.
[14:05:07]
LAUREN FOX, CNN POLITICS CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, that's right, Hala. I mean, this is going to be a blockbuster week for Democrats as they
prepare for the testimony from Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine; George Kent, a senior State Department official; and then on
Friday, Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, who was ousted from her post and was not given any heads-up as to why she was being
redirected back to the United States.
So a huge week for Democrats. And behind the scenes, one top Democratic senior aide told me that they have (ph) been preparing for this in a way
that has been unprecedented. This is bigger than Mueller, this is bigger than anything they've done before, in part because they view this as their
own investigation. There was no special counsel here. Democrats, behind closed doors, have been doing all these depositions and of course,
Republicans have also been doing the questioning behind closed doors.
But they view this as a big opportunity for them to show the American people exactly what is alleged to have taken place. They are not going to
be wasting this opportunity. So while Republicans want to talk about the whistleblower, that's who they want to hear from. Democrats, making it
clear that's not going to happen. Chairman Schiff is making it clear that's not going to happen. And it's a big week ahead on Capitol Hill --
Hala.
GORANI: And, Jeremy, is there some nervousness at the White House, that this could really harm the president this time? Public testimony is quite
different from a transcript release.
DIAMOND: There is some concern, particularly when you think about some of the witnesses who are slated to appear this week. The first one in
particular is perhaps the most threatening to the White House, Bill Taylor, because he is the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine. He was brought on, brought
out of retirement, essentially, to go there at the direction of the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, a close ally and confidante of the
president's.
And he's a military veteran, he's -- you know, it's going to be difficult for the White House to undermine his credibility. And so I think that's
the main thing.
TEXT: Bill Taylor, Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine: Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine 2006-2009; Raised concerns in text messages: "As I
said on the phone, I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign."
DIAMOND: The other thing that we're seeing at the White House is, frankly, as this shifts to the public phase, it's also going to affect the
president. We saw during the Mueller investigation, during the congressional investigations into Russian interference, the extent to which
these public testimonies really captivated the president's attention and made him unable to focus on much else.
You know, he would watch many of these public hearings, either from the residence or from the dining room just outside the Oval Office. So the
all-consuming nature of this is something that the White House is going to have to contend with now, particularly as it pertains to the president.
GORANI: And as we've been discussing, Lauren, this is going very quickly. Would all of this potentially be wrapped up before Christmas, would a vote
on impeachment take place before the Christmas holiday?
FOX: Well, Hala, that's certainly a possibility. If you look at this week ahead, it's public testimony. Perhaps they would have more public
testimony the week after that. Then you're in the Thanksgiving recess for the House and the Senate.
When they return, this could all potentially be moving to the House Judiciary Committee. They'll be responsible for marking up those articles
of impeachment, if that's the direction the Democrats want to move in.
Then, all of that would go to the floor for a full House of Representatives vote. That could all be done by Christmas, but it's a big "if." And it
depends on exactly how many witnesses Democrats feel like they need to hear from, and of course whether or not Republicans get any of their own
witnesses on the stand.
Of course, they've made clear they want to hear from Hunter Biden and the whistleblower. That's not going to happen, but there potentially could be
others like Kurt Volker that perhaps they could hear from -- Hala.
GORANI: Lauren Fox, thanks very much. Jeremy Diamond, thanks to both of you.
Let's turn our attention now to Hong Kong. Unprecedented levels of violence may mark a new turning point in five months of demonstrations. A
police officer opened fire on a protestor today, sending tensions soaring. Hours later, a man was set on fire by demonstrators. We saw that on
amateur video, extremely troubling.
CNN was in the middle of it all, and we must warn you that Will Ripley's report contains some disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Combat on the streets of Hong Kong: police versus protestors. A dangerous almost-daily struggle that
sometimes ends like this: three live rounds, fired by a traffic officer. A 21-year-old protestor, hit in the torso. This 20-year-old university
student saw it happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was standing there, and suddenly two cops ran out and pushed down one people. Then when that protestor was on the floor, and
the cops are still shooting people. And none of the protestors are holding any gears. And I don't think it is necessary to use the gun. It wasn't
fair to our people. We were leaving and we were not attacking those cops and they just used violence to treat us.
[14:10:01]
RIPLEY (voice-over): On social media, the news spreads like wildfire. Soon, the protestors start a fire of their own. You can easily spot the
front liners dressed in black, wearing full face masks in defiance of Hong Kong law. This no longer feels like a fight for democracy, this feels like
a fight against the government, the police, the very institutions now struggling to maintain public order, a public with many people who no
longer trust their government.
By the time Hong Kong police race back to the scene, the damage is done. Trash everywhere, traffic stalled, clashes like this erupting all over the
city.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; Maybe you should calm down.
RIPLEY (voice-over): The inevitable pepper spray and tear gas do little to stop the chaos. New strict laws and stiffer punishments may deter some,
but not all.
RIPLEY: It's like a game of cat-and-mouse that never seems to end. Protestors run away, the police chase them. And all the while, the crowds
are watching, often screaming insults towards the police.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Hong Kong police have suspended a police officer, caught on-camera riding his motorbike into crowds of protestors. Videos
like this only fuel the anger, anger on both sides.
Police are investigating this video, showing a man apparently being doused with flammable liquid and set on fire. Just before he was shouting, "You
are all not Chinese?"
What we don't see on the streets of Hong Kong is any attempt at a higher level of discourse. All we see is a city growing more tense, more angry,
more dangerous. Will Ripley, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: It is not clear at this hour just who is running Bolivia. President Evo Morales abruptly resigned on Sunday along with senior members
of his government, following accusations of fraud in last month's election. He's saying it was a coup.
For the past couple of weeks, street protests have grown louder and more violent. Patrick Oppmann has details now on how the leadership of
Bolivia's longtime leader unraveled.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVO MORALES, FORMER BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are resigning. I am resigning.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With these words, Evo Morales' nearly 14 years as president of Bolivia came to a close. He
declared himself the winner of Bolivia's presidential election last month. And now, blamed pressure from weeks of protests and accusations of fraud
for his decision.
MORALES (through translator): So that my brothers and sisters, leaders of the movement towards socialism, won't be harassed, persecuted, threatened.
I'm very sorry for this civilian coup.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Morales' announcement came just hours after the Organization of American States published a report concluding that there
were irregularities in the presidential elections held on October 20th.
The report cites failure in the chain of custody of the ballots, alternation and forgery of electoral material, redirection of data to
unauthorized servers, and manipulation of information. These elements, the OAS said, impacted the official count.
Opposition leaders openly accused Morales of orchestrating election fraud to secure an outright victory in the first round of voting over former
president Carlos Mesa. Morales has denied the accusations. Mesa, meanwhile, called it a historic lesson.
The allegations of fraud began when electoral authorities stopped the quick count of ballots on Election Night without any explanation. Preliminary
results indicated a potential runoff between Morales and Mesa. But when the counting resumed, Morales' lead had jumped.
The electoral tribunal's explanations did not satisfy the public. The situation quickly escalated. Hundreds of protestors took to the streets,
asking for new elections. Electoral centers were set ablaze and intense clashes between opposition and pro-government supporters were seen all over
the country. At least three people have died, and hundreds were injured.
From the beginning, the armed forces said they would not confront the protestors, a promise ratified Saturday by the head of the armed forces,
who then told Morales he needed to resign.
WILLIAMS KALIMAN, BOLIVIAN MILITARY CHIEF (through translator): We will guarantee the union among fellow citizens, so we ratify that we will never
confront the people.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Support for Morales was waning. On Saturday, some police units walked out en masse, demanding Morales step down.
And more uncertainty lies ahead. Following the president's resignation, others who would be next in line, including the vice president and the
leaders of both chambers of congress, also resigned.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And, Hala, an opposition senator by the name of Jeanine Anez is saying that she will take on the role of a transitional president. We're still waiting
to see exactly how this is all going to unfold, when new elections would be called.
[14:15:05]
Obviously, the military here has played a major role and where is Evo Morales? He's a wild card in all of this because he continues to say that
he was forced out by coup. He is not leaving the country as of yet, and he seems to be in hiding because he says that he is facing the threat of
arrest.
GORANI: All right. Thanks very much for that.
As Patrick mentioned, it's not clear what the next steps may be for the lawmakers who are left. Gustavo Valdes joins us now from La Paz, Bolivia.
You're in La Paz right now, Gustavo. What's the situation? Are there still protestors out on the street? What's going on where you are?
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN EN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT: His, Hala. There are protestors, there are road blockades. But it's a lot more quiet than it
was last night, all over overnight in several cities in the country, it's been quiet.
But the civic movement has taken over the city. And what used to be barricades by the police to protect the government entities, now there are
police and civic members trying to make sure that nobody infiltrates here.
Why? Behind me is the National Assembly. A few minutes ago, I heard from the spokesperson for the senate, which is going to be in charge now of the
succession.
There was a meeting, they have received two letters of resignation from President Evo Morales and the vice president. They have not been
officially accepted because they don't have enough members on (ph) congress to receive officially this letter. So that's what they're doing right now.
Once they have enough people to certify those letters, then Evo Morales will become ex-president.
Now, the vice president is resigning, the president of the senate, which is the third in line, has resigned. The vice president of the senate has
resigned, so it's falling on the second vice president, Jeanine Anez, to be the one who would step up to become president eventually.
Why? Because, first, she has to become the president of the senate. They need 19 (ph) votes they don't have right now because the members of the
official party, many of them have resigned and some others are not showing up. So it's not clear how, constitutionally, they can get to that point.
GORANI: Yes.
VALDES: She has said that once she becomes president, she wants to have elections prior to January22nd, which is when it's supposed to be the new
administration.
GORANI: Well, it's still a lot of uncertainty there in Bolivia. Thanks, Gustavo Valdes. He's live in La Paz, with more there on the inner workings
of how this country will eventually get a new president. Thanks very much.
Still to come tonight, a stark new warning for the British parliament.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW FOXALL, HENRY JACKSON SOCIETY: During the Cold War, what Russia sought to do was gather intelligence. What Russia's been doing since 1991
is trying to gather influence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Find out what else sources are telling CNN about Russian infiltration into British politics in an exclusive report, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:26]
GORANI: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is getting a big helping hand in next month's election from the Brexit Party. Nigel Farage says his
party is changing targets and strategy. And that, after all, it will not challenge Conservative-held seats.
It is a big reversal of Farage's earlier threat, warning Mr. Johnson against the Brexit deal he negotiated. Instead, Farage is touting a Leave
alliance and focusing on other parties to avoid a second referendum, which could happen if his (ph) party contests seats and we end up with another
hung parliament.
Now, this is what Farage told his supporters today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIGEL FARAGE, BREXIT PARTY LEADER: The reason I was quiet is, I waited until last night to decide. And I will tell you now exactly what we are
going to do. The Brexit Party will not contest the 317 seats the Conservatives won at the last election.
But what we will do is concentrate our total effort into all of the seats that are held by the Labour Party, who have completely broken their
manifesto, pledged in 2017, to respect the result of the referendum. And we will also take on the rest of the Remainer parties. We will stand (ph)
and we will fight them all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That was Nigel Farage.
Russia's influence reaches deep into the British establishment, and successive governments in the U.K. have failed to act. That is the warning
that was issued in testimony to a parliamentary inquiry on Russian infiltration into British politics.
Sources tell CNN that the cross-party Intelligence and Security Committee heard from multiple witnesses who allege that Russia has built a big
network of friendly diplomats in this country, lawyers, members of Parliament, even, and other influences in politics. The full parliamentary
report has yet to be published. The Johnson government is holding onto it and that has caused some angry questions about the delay.
The revelations come at a sensitive time as Britain embarks on one of its most divisive election campaigns in living memory. CNN's Nina dos Santos
investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just weeks before Britons head to the polls, a bombshell allegation. Members of Parliament say Boris Johnson's
government is suppressing a report on Russian influence on U.K. politics.
The contents of the report, compiled by cross-party Intelligence and Security Committee, are bound by secrecy until Downing Street approves
their release. The intelligence services, MI-5 and 6, made contributions, as did private citizens who are experts on the field.
DOS SANTOS: I've obtained some of their written and oral statements here. And the picture that they paint is a troubling one. They say that
successive governments have turned a blind eye to Moscow's targeting of political parties and research roles inside the House of Commons. And they
claim that well-connected lobbyists, lawyers and lawmakers have worked to help Russia infiltrate the British establishment.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): One of the witnesses was the American-born financier Bill Browder who, despite at one point being Russia's biggest
foreign investor, fell afoul of the Kremlin 15 years ago. I spoke with him before the report was complete.
BILL BROWDER, FINANCIER WHO PROVIDED TESTIMONY TO U.K. PARLIAMENT: The people who we've seen working to further Russian interests in the U.K. are
some of the people at the highest level of the establishment.
DOS SANTOS: Can you give me names?
BROWDER: I can give you lots of names. But we start out with -- with Lord Goldsmith.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Peter Goldsmith was the U.K.'s attorney general under Tony Blair. Browder claims that he was involved in a failed effort
to help a Russian avoid being on an E.U. sanctions list.
Also mentioned in his testimony is a company co-founded by Lynton Crosby, a heavyweight in Conservative Party circles. That business is alleged to
have helped Goldsmith's work.
DOS SANTOS: Are you a hundred percent confident in the evidence that you have to support these claims?
BROWDER: I would not have submitted the claims if I didn't have confidence in the evidence backing it up.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Goldsmith's law firm said it would not comment on client matters, but stressed that everyone has the right to legal
representation. Crosby's company said that it was enlisted by Goldsmith and did not interact with Russian parties. And Crosby's lawyer said that
he was not personally aware of the research done by the entity he co- founded.
[14:25:00]
DOS SANTOS: Another witness to the inquiry accused authorities of, quote, "putting political considerations ahead of national security." And
testimony delivered in the wake of poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, they say that Russia has managed to do what no
terrorist organization has been able to thus far, deploying a chemical weapon on U.K. soil. And they claim that Russia presents, quote,
"potentially the most significant threat to the U.K.'s institutions and its way of life."
Analysts say it's high time that U.K. lawmakers tackled Kremlin interference.
FOXALL: I think during the Cold War, what Russia sought to do was gather intelligence. What Russia's been doing since 1991 is trying to gather
influence. And Putin has long wanted to weaken the European Union, divide the Transatlantic Alliance. And unfortunately, Western publics and Western
politicians are now doing those things for Putin.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): In Westminster, the row over Russia was the subject of a contentious exchange during Parliament's last session before
next month's general election.
DOMINIC GRIEVE, CHAIRMAN, BRITISH INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE: So for what purpose is the prime minister still considering it? It certainly
can't be the risk to national security. As the agencies themselves have said, there is none.
CHRISTOPHER PINCHER, BRITISH MINISTER OF STATE: It is not as if, Mr. Speaker, the prime minister has had not one or thing -- one or two other
things to do during the last several weeks. Notably, obtaining a good deal for Britain withdrawing from the European Union.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Downing Street's declined to comment and has repeatedly denied that the failure to publish the findings was politically
motivated.
CNN has approached the Kremlin, but not heard back.
LINDSAY HOYLE, SPEAKER OF THE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS: Order, order.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): With Parliament now dissolved and the report kicked into the long grass, it may be many months before the committee's
conclusions see the light of day. Nina dos Santos, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still to come, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has some blunt comments about the inner workings of the White House, and she's
telling all in a new book. Details ahead.
Also, an exclusive look at a dangerous mission. The Turkish army takes CNN inside what it calls a "safe zone." We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: The former American ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is making some startling accusations in her new book that's due out
tomorrow.
She is calling out former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for undermining President Trump. Haley
also claims the two tried to recruit her to join their cause.
[14:30:10]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: And instead of saying that to me, they should have been saying that to me, they should
have been saying that to the president. Not asking me to join them on their side bar plan.
It should have been, go tell the president what your differences are and quit if you don't like what he's doing. But to undermine a president is
really a very dangerous thing. And it goes against the constitution and it goes against what the American people want. That was offensive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, CNN's Kylie Atwood joins me now from Washington.
And, Kylie, this is remarkable. She says in this memoir that Rex Tillerson and the former chief of staff, John Kelly, tried to recruit her to, quote,
save the country. Any response from the White House on this?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, we haven't gotten a response from the White House but we have gotten a response from the
president himself with regard to this book as a whole from Nikki Haley, who was his former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
And he tweeted just yesterday, encouraging folks to buy this book, encouraging folks to go out and meet Nikki Haley on her book tour and
saying good luck to her.
So there is a positive sentiment coming from President Trump. And that, of course, is exactly what Nikki Haley is looking for here. Now, she is a
very politically savvy operator, one of the view administration officials who left the Trump administration after only being there for a year and did
so, and is still in the good graces with President Trump.
Now, she has, however, in this book, according to this report from the Washington Post, because they've got an advance copy of the book, which is
out tomorrow, she does point out some specific spaces where she raised some concern about what President Trump was doing.
But she also says that she was the person who made that phone call to the president and voiced her concern with what he was doing and made it clear,
she wasn't doing it secretively like the way that she describes what was -- what some folks in the administration were trying to do and were trying to
pulling her into doing.
So it's really an interesting book here. And it'll also be interesting to see how it plays out with regard to Nikki Haley and her future politically,
because we know that she would be interested in running for office one day, maybe even the presidency of the United States come 2024.
GORANI: What I find fascinated the idea that really the president's top, top lieutenants, at least according to Nikki Haley, were so concerned about
the president's behavior and ability to do his job that they were trying to recruit Nikki Haley who was, at the time, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. to
help them somehow save the republic. I mean, in and of itself, it's a remarkable story.
ATWOOD: It is a remarkable story. And I think that the bottom line here is that they made this argument that they were not trying to be
insubordinate, they were trying to essentially follow the law.
And the problem here is that that indication is that the president of the United States, President Trump was not following the law with some of the
things that he was trying to do. And we have already heard from former secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, in describing that there were instances
where he had to tell President Trump that he could not do something because it was not legal for him to do it.
And, of course, this comes up right against the moment that we are here in Washington with this House impeachment inquiry, given that there are
concerns about what President Trump was encouraging a foreign government to do. To investigate an American U.S. citizen, obviously, being his most
formidable political opponent, the former vice president Joe Biden and his son.
And I think it is important to note that Nikki Haley, even, was asked about that in the interview over the weekend and she really walked a tight rope,
she said it's not acceptable to ask a foreign government to investigate an American citizen, but she also said that it's not an impeachable offense
because the U.S. security assistance to Ukraine did eventually go through. So she's kind of playing both sides here.
GORANI: Right. Trying not to certainly get on the president's bad side, yet, at least.
And it's interesting the idea of the resistance. I mean, obviously, anonymous whose book is released called, "A Warning," previously written an
op-ed claiming that there was some sort of resistance within the White House, that staffers were concerned about the president's mental stability,
et cetera.
If you read this portion of Nikki Haley's memoir, I mean, it's possible that that's what the reference is too, that the top cabinet officials were
trying to somehow rein the president in.
ATWOOD: Yes, that's a really good point. This is not an example of something that happened in isolation. We are seeing from other places from
this anonymous book that is going to come out, from the op-ed, that the author of that book wrote, that there are efforts, there have been efforts
underway in the Trump administration to rein in what the leader of that administration, President Trump, is actually doing and to inhibit some of
what he was doing.
[14:35:16]
And it's also important to note, however, that these folks, a lot of them, they aren't like Nikki Haley who have left the administration, they haven't
all left yet, and so some of them feel that they really need to maintain their anonymous nature here so that they can continue to carry out the
efforts on behalf of the U.S. government but also prohibit President Trump from doing things that are not founded on legal operating measures here.
GORANI: Thank you, Kylie Atwood, for speaking to us from Washington.
Well, CNN spoke with a former U.S. White House Director of Communications, Anthony Scaramucci. Remember, it was a short-lived tenure, 11 days.
He was asked about the contents of Nikki Haley's new book.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I Ambassador Haley has decided that she's, you know, definitively in the
president's camp. Maybe that's a good strategy as a fellow Republican of the president.
For me, I look at it a little bit differently. I think -- I think there's so much going on here that has been ridiculously lawless, and there's so
much going on here that should be unacceptable to a person as an American, as an American citizen, as somebody that loves the country.
And so we differ on that. But that doesn't mean -- here's the thing, I like Ambassador Haley. I don't want my differences with her to get in the
way of our friendship, frankly. But the flipside is she's got to be careful with stuff like this because somebody has managed a recently large
organization. You got to make sure that there's a symphony inside that organization.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: What she is describing isn't necessarily all that different than the excerpts we're seeing from this new book by anonymous,
in the book that's coming out shortly called, "A Warning." This author writes, "Trump is like a 12-year-old in an air traffic control tower,
pushing the buttons of government indiscriminately, indifferent to the planes skidding across the runway and the flights frantically diverting
away from the airport."
So again, you see this picture of chaos in the White House. And my question to you as somebody who was there albeit briefly, what's the more
honorable path if this is the way it is? Is the honorable path, the Nikki Haley path, which is to say Donald Trump was the one elected, so I'm going
to let him do what he wants to do? Or is it the path of as she describes it, John Kelly and Rex Tillerson, trying to stop him.
SCARAMUCCI: Well, I think it's a balance, John. I mean, at the end of the day, he was elected, and so you have to give him the opportunity to project
his agenda. If you reject the agenda, then you have to resign, you have to declare yourself and say, look, this isn't working. Here are the reasons
why it's not working. Never in personal for me with the president.
At the end of the day, as an entrepreneur, you're hiring somebody for a job, you're evaluating their job performance, and you're going to say, OK,
this guy is terrible at this job. We have to seek his removal and replacement.
This was a publicly traded company and those three people that you just mentioned or myself were on a publicly traded board Donald Trump would last
five seconds. He would be the first one out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Anthony Scaramucci today.
Now, a month after Turkey launched its offensive in Northern Syria, some of the major combat operations have ended, but the Turks and their allies say
they're still finding explosives and they blame the largely Kurdish Syrian democratic forces. But some are saying Turkey is to blame for all of the
chaos.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh was embedded with the Turkish military into what they call their safe zone. Here's her exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The guns may have fallen silent here but the battle for this corner of Syria is far
from over. There's a deceptive calm, but every step could be deadly.
A few days ago, a Turkish soldier was killed in a blast doing exactly what these soldiers are doing. We joined the Turkish military on their mission
to demine the town of Tell Abiad.
KARADSHEH (on-camera): So this area was cleared once before by Turkish forces, but what they're finding out is that there are cells that are still
active in this region. What they do is they still come back and they plant explosives. That is why there are ongoing sweeps clearing operations
taking place. And it seems right now that forces here have found a device they're about to detonate.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The team isolates the site before safely detonating the bomb.
(EXPLOSION)
Soldiers tell us they find 10 to 100 devices every day, left behind, they say, by an enemy determined to destroy Turkey's promise of a safe zone.
We drive into town just hours after a car bomb exploded in the market. There were no casualties this time, but people are still reeling from a
horrific bomb attack, just three days earlier.
[14:40:05]
KARADSHEH (on-camera): People around here are telling us that they knew these victims. They were the local pharmacist, the shopkeeper and his
children, a woman who was out shopping with her children. And people here, residents are terrified that this could just be the beginning of these
kinds of attacks.
We're scared of what's happening, all this terrorism, he says.
This man tells us a booby trap outside his home killed his son. He's now scared and has trouble sleeping at night.
And this woman says her neighbors came back from Turkey expecting safety here. But these two mothers were carried away in body bags along with
their children. Is this the safety that Turkey promised? She asks. And that's the point of these bombings say Turkish-backed Syrian forces.
The SDF, the mostly-Syrian Kurdish fighting force is behind these attacks says Brigadier General Hassan al-Hassien (ph). They're trying to show
people that the area is not stable, not safe, so no one comes here. The SDF has infiltrated even the ranks of the Syrian rebels, he says.
Like this 20-year-old now in custody, making less than $100 a month, he was lured not by politics, but by easy money to plant bombs on behalf of the
SDF, he tells us. We can't verify his allegations and the SDF say they're baseless, denying they had anything to do with any bombings.
No one has claimed any of these attacks. Over the past nine years of war, this little border town has seen it all. Changing hands multiple times,
now it's Turkey's turn to try and bring stability here. It's early days, and it won't be easy, especially for the civilians who once again have to
pick up the pieces of their broken lives.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Tell Abiad, Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: One of the leading backers of Syria's White Helmet rescue group has died. James Le Mesurier was a former British army officer and a vocal
supporter of the White Helmets that all volunteer group that help the civilian victims of Syria's civil war.
CNN's Scott McLean has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A man who helped save so many lives in the Middle East was found dead on Tuesday in
Istanbul. The body of James Le Mesurier, the high profile backer of Syria's White Helmets, was found lying on the pavement in front of his
home, he had apparently had fall from a balcony.
FIRAT BULUT, EYEWITNESS (through translator): We came to work at around 9:00 a.m. in the morning and we heard from our friends that noises were
heard from here.
MCLEAN: Turkish police are investigating Le Mesurier's wife told a friend who spoke to CNN that he fallen from their balcony while she was sleeping,
and that their balcony was not high off the ground.
Le Mesurier was the 48-year-old former British army officer and founder of the nonprofit, Mayday Rescue, which helped fund and train the Syria civil
defense, commonly known as the White Helmets, The network of volunteers featured in a 2016 Netflix documentary showing their heroic and dangerous
work, digging survivors out from rubble amid air strikes in Syria.
Mayday Rescue called Le Mesurier a great leader, a visionary, and that James dedicated his life to helping civilians respond to emergencies in
conflicts and natural disasters.
In 2015, he told CNN about the void filled by the White Helmets in Syria.
JAMES LE MESURIER, FOUNDER, MAYDAY RESCUE: There is nobody that you can call, you can't pick up a phone, and call the fire service. You can't call
a local police department. They don't exist.
MCLEAN: In his native U.K., he was honored by the queen in 2016.
But in the Syrian conflict, Russia has tried to discredit the White Helmets as terrorists.
Just last week, the Russian foreign ministry suggested without proof that Le Mesurier himself had active ties to Britain's foreign intelligence
service as well as terror groups.
MARIA ZAKHAROVA, SPOKESWOMAN, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY (through translator): He lit off many conflicts around the world including in the
Balkans in the Middle East, given the role of the West undermining civility in these regions. It's not difficult to assume what the British
intelligence officer did there.
MCLEAN: The White Helmets said the death came as a shock and said that it is Le Mesurier's humanitarian efforts that Syrians will always remember.
Scott McLean, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still to come tonight, one of the founders of Apple says the new Apple credit card is sexist. We'll explain why he's saying that after the
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:04]
GORANI: There's an investigation going on, New York regulators are looking into Apple's new credit card and the question you might find surprising, is
the credit card gender-biased? A number of people have complained that men are being given much higher credit limits than women.
Even in case as a married couples with shared financial assets where the wife has a higher credit score.
CNN's Clare Sebastian joins me now with more.
There's some very high profile people complaining, married man, that their wives who shared bank accounts, who have higher credit scores than they do
are getting much lower credit limits. What's going on?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So this has started, Hala, with a tweet from a tech entrepreneur, David Heinemeier
Hansson who tweeted last Thursday that the Apple card is sexist. He said, my wife and I file joint tax returns, live in a community property state
and have been married a long time, and yet still, he was given 20 times the credit limit she was when he -- when they both applied for an Apple card.
So that became a viral tweet.
It sparked the storm of responses, including from Steve Wozniak, the co- founder of Apple who basically said the same thing it happened to him. His wife was given a credit limit 10 times lower than he was. And they had no
separate bank or credit card accounts or any separate assets.
So this has become a real issue. The New York regulate -- the New York Department of Financial Services which is a powerful Wall Street regulator
set up after the financial crisis is looking into this.
And it's not going away. This is a brand-new credit card, Hala. It just launched in August. And barely three months in, accusations of sexism.
The card was marketed to be accessible to people with iPhones, to be simple, and transparent. This flies in the face of that.
GORANI: So the -- who -- what or who is responsible for setting these credit limits? Is this some sort of automatic process? And if so, is it a
bank or is it Apple? How does it work?
SEBASTIAN: Yes, it's not Apple. It's Goldman Sachs. They partnered with Apple to do this. They are the ones who are making the decision, and it is
an algorithm that does this.
Now, Goldman Sachs had put out a statement in response to this. Apple, of course, redirected us to Goldman Sachs.
And I want to read you part of that statement, Hala, they said, "As with any other individual credit card, your application is evaluated
independently. We look at an individual's income and an individual's credit worthiness, which includes factors like personal credit scores, how
much debt you have and how that debt has been managed. Based on these factors, it is possible, they say, for two family members to receive
significantly different credit decisions. In all cases, we have not and will not make decisions based on the factors like gender."
So Goldman Sachs essentially making the point that because they haven't yet broaden this card out to be -- to be shared between members of the same
family, we have one primary user and others authorized to use it, this is why this kind of situation can arise.
But they say they are working on, on boarding it out to share accounts in the future. But I think that's not going to put paid to some of these
allegations that this AI, that this algorithm is kind of lending itself to discrimination.
[14:50:06]
And, of course, Apple and indeed Goldman Sachs, they're not the first companies to face questions when it comes to these kinds of tolls.
GORANI: Right. And 20 times we're talking, I mean, this isn't just a little bit higher for men. It's a lot higher for some men.
Thanks very much, Clare.
Now to "Innovate Africa," a new water treatment solution that' safer and lower costs for service providers in the oil and gas industry.
CNN spoke with the head of a company leading the way in this effort.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN BUSINESS AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: How advance is technology within the oil and gas space becoming? And are you finding that there's
just so many new innovations that you're able to invest in and able to offer your clientele?
NOSIZWE NOKWE-MACAM, CHAIRMAN, FRIBURGE OIL AND GAS: So it's moving pretty fast, contrary to what a lot of people think. There's now technology way.
You could be in Brisbane, and you're modeling something, you're building your rig or whatever part of the rig that you're building that's been
modeled in Houston somewhere.
And through technology, we're able to actually see what is -- or we can do inspections here in Brisbane or here in Rwanda and send that to Houston.
And somebody in Houston can actually model everything that we're talking about here.
GIOKOS: So, what is it that you're able to offer a client that other companies that have been in the game longer can't?
NOKWE-MACAM: We have partnered with a Norwegian company which has got very innovative technology for the waste treatment, treatment of waste on the
rigs.
GIOKOS: What would you do with the waste, normally?
NOKWE-MACAM: So for example -- normally what they do, let's say water treatment, take the water, clean it up, put it on to another vessel, take
it to shore.
GIOKOS: And then dump it somewhere.
NOKWE-MACAM: And then get it cleaned up again and then they do whatever.
This technology that we have cleans the water there, on the rig, and that water is cleaned to such an extent that it is able to be put back into the
water -- into the ocean. So you're cutting the costs of having to now ship it to shore, have another planted shore which does a treatment and so on.
GIOKOS: Are you doing something different in water treatments that others aren't?
NOKWE-MACAM: So we think that with our partner, yes, we're doing something that is innovative which is different from what has been done in the past.
But as technology goes, a lot of people catch up. So you might have the first step but very soon, a lot of people are going to catch on to it. So
I think it's now become the norm, it's becoming the norm, globally.
GIOKOS: Do you think that we can be a lot more innovative in the way that we kind of -- we look at this industry and how we see African countries
engaging within this space?
NOKWE-MACAM: We think that this is the time for all of these nations, oil and gas countries, to start right at the beginning, this is an opportunity
to do something that's totally different.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: The Singles Day online sale in China is a shopping event on steroids. Consumers spent $31 billion in one day.
David Culver has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voce-over): One of the biggest names in music, Taylor Swift in Shanghai to kick off the world's
biggest shopping holiday known as Singles Day.
[14:55:02]
Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba started their promotional campaign on November 11th or 11/11/2009. In a decade, it's a bolt to their double 11
global shopping festival going from 27 merchants to today including more than 200,000 brands.
For China's increasingly tech reliant population, the events become a national celebration. Most of the sales taking place on Alibaba's Taobao
and Tmall platforms.
For weeks, many of their more than 500 million users have been loading up their e-shopping carts, ready to check out on November 11th to reap the
benefits and discounts. 2019 marking a record high for the company.
CULVER (on-camera): To give you an idea of the scale we're talking about here, in the U.S., retailers focus on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If
you take those sales from those days, add to them the weekend in between, the combined total still fall short of Alibaba's 11/11 figures.
This year's event involves a variety of different e-commerce sites, not just Alibaba. And it coincides with the weakening Chinese economy.
China's GDP growth has slowed to its lowest level in nearly three decades. The ongoing trade war with the U.S. adding to the financial unease. But it
seems the Chinese consumers are still eager to buy.
CHRIS TUNG, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, ALIBABA GROUP: Look at the numbers to date, we're not seeing any slowdown on the big screen that we're seeing
here. There are still lot of demand to be met in China. That huge ever- growing demand of the 1.4 billion people that's getting more and more disposable income, it's going to play a very critical role in thriving a
growth of worldwide economy, I believe.
CULVER (voice-over): Brands from 78 countries taking part in Double 11. But a recent trend shows Chinese consumers are increasingly looking to shop
local, preferring to buy Chinese goods.
GUO ZHIWEI, GENERAL MANAGER, FENQILE (through translator): Made in China used to mean that China was only a production base. But now, made in China
represents quality. Chinese brands are increasingly getting recognition in the world.
CULVER: A sentiment echoed by shoppers in Beijing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): For the young generation, it's trendy and makes us feel proud to wear words like China on our clothes.
It's great.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We don't just buy things because they are Chinese products, we buy them because they are of good quality and
a highly cost effective.
CULVER: This year, the delivery boxes may stack higher than ever before. Bargain hunters in the world's second largest economy set a new online
sales record.
David Culver, CNN, Guangzhou, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: It's huge, it's tasty, and it's very expensive. It is a record- setting white truffle, an anonymous buyer from Hong Kong paid $132,000 for a truffle at the annual truffle fair.
Unlike black truffles which can be farmed, white truffles only grow naturally. They must be hunted by trained dogs and so that's why it's
expensive. Good dog. Good boy.
Thanks for watching, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
