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Hala Gorani Tonight
House Judiciary Schedules First Impeachment Hearing; Albanian Earthquake Kills 21; United States Has Rejoined Kurds In Fighting ISIS; Democrats Fail To Move Republicans On Impeachment; U.K. Chief Rabbi Attacks Corbyn Over Anti-Semitism Record; U.N. To World: Cut Emissions Or Else; Supporters Rally For Embattled Israeli P.M. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired November 26, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:36]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN Center, I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, Donald Trump slams a critical court ruling that could have a major impact on impeachment proceedings. We're live in Washington.
Also, a powerful earthquake strikes Albania. A desperate scramble is now on to find survivors. We take you live to the quake zone.
And the human toll of Turkey's offensive in Syria. We're live inside northern Syria for that reporting.
The U.S. fight over impeachment is shaping up into a huge constitutional clash that could affect presidential powers for years to come. Donald
Trump is pushing back today against the blistering court ruling that rejects the idea that White House aides should have absolute immunity from
testifying. So when they're asked, this judge has ruled that they do not have immunity.
The president unveiled a new defense of his blanked refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas. He tweeted that he'd, quote, "Love for top aides
to testify," including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. But says he's fighting for the rights of future presidents, protecting them, he says,
from scam investigations.
It's hard to forget that Mr. Trump also said he would love to speak with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. He never did.
Yesterday's ruling involved former White House Counsel Don McGahn, but the judge stressed that absolute immunity for any top presidential aide, quote,
"simply does not exist." Her bottom line? Quote, "The primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that presidents are
not kings," she wrote.
That ruling is already under appeal. But given the Democrats' insistence they won't wait for court battles as they press ahead with impeachment,
what is the real impact for McGahn and other potential key witnesses?
Let's bring in CNN's Boris Sanchez with the very latest. So, going forward, we know there's an appeal. What impact could this have on other
witnesses subpoenaed to testify before Congress?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, at this point, it is unclear. As you pointed out, this appeal from the Department of
Justice has been filed and that is likely going to take some time to process, weeks if not months. If it ultimately reaches the Supreme Court,
that means that we could likely see an end to this impeachment process well before it is ultimately settled for future administrations.
We also should point out that an attorney for Charles Kupperman, the former deputy to -- former National Security Advisor John Bolton actually shared
the same attorney -- he has said that this ruling does not impact either of this clients because they're national security officials. So as far as
John Bolton, we should not expect him to be going before any House committee any time soon.
The president, as you noted there, trying to spin this, saying that this is about precedent. But of course, the White House has done everything it can
to try to block testimony from these officials, who the president says he'd like Congress to hear from -- Hala.
GORANI: Right. And we are also learning new information suggesting that the Trump administration did put that critical aid to Ukraine on hold on
the day of the phone call, the now-infamous phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Zelensky of Ukraine. What more can
you tell us about that?
SANCHEZ: Yes, so this is coming from a summary of documents provided to the House Budgeting Committee. Effectively, what you see here is that the
decision to withhold aid to Ukraine was made in early July. Roughly, agencies were notified about a week before the call to Zelensky was made,
but the official decision was actually put on paper that same day.
What this reveals is sort of the process that we've seen this White House carry out when it comes to the decision to withhold aid. Notably, we saw
just a few days ago, reports emerging that e-mails showed that Mick Mulvaney, the acting chief of staff, was asking for legal justification for
this hold well after this decision was made.
It's unclear at this point that the decision to withhold aid being put to paper became official because of the president's call with Zelensky, but it
appears that the White House made the decision without actually thinking through it first, really going off of the president's gut as we've seen
them do with other decisions before -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Thank you, Boris Sanchez.
So, just coming in, we are learning that the House Judiciary Committee has scheduled its first impeachment hearing next week, as the House moves
another step closer to trying to impeach the sitting president, Donald Trump.
[14:05:06]
The committee announced that it would hold a hearing on Wednesday, December 4th, on, quote, "the constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment,"
unquote. It will have a panel of expert witnesses who will testify, quote, "on the application of the constitutional framework of high crimes and
misdemeanors, to the very serious allegations regarding the conduct of the president." I'm reading this, really, for the first time -- full
transparency here.
One of our legal analysts says Mr. Trump has literally declared himself above the law, but Renato Mariotti also says Democrats must be very careful
as they draft these articles of impeachment. Renato joins me now.
What do you -- can you explain to us what is happening on December 4th exactly with the House Judiciary Committee slating its first public
impeachment hearing?
RENATO MARIOTTI, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Sure. Well, now they're moving past the stage of gathering evidence and putting that out there. What they're
doing now is trying to explain to the public what the potential articles of impeachment are, what the Constitution says, what potential violations
there were by the president.
GORANI: And who are these witnesses who will be testifying? Is this behind closed doors? Will these be public hearings?
MARIOTTI: I would presume this would be public -- these will be public hearings. Look, the staff attorneys for the House are very acquainted with
impeachment and the Constitution. In fact, a very popular and important book on impeachment was coauthored by a lawyer who's on leave of absence,
working for the House right now.
So they certainly have that knowledge in-house, but I think they're trying to educate the public. And really, they're looking at the polls, they're
trying to do what they can to move the needle. Because obviously, impeachment in the United States is a constitutional process that has
political implications.
GORANI: And if they're trying to do that for political reasons, it would make sense. Because according to the latest polling we've seen, these
impeachment hearings have not increased support for the impeachment and removal of the president. That's something we're going to analyze a little
bit later.
Alan Dershowitz was speaking on "Fox News" in the last 24 hours, and this was after the ruling from the judge who essentially said that the 250 years
of recorded history in the United States, if it has taught us one thing, it's that the president is not a king. This is what Alan Dershowitz had to
say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN DERSHOWITZ, LAWYER AND AUTHOR: Of course the president's not the king. The president is far more powerful than the king. The president has
the power that kings have never had. He's -- very, very powerful office, and the framers wanted it that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: What do you make of these types of statements on "Fox News," where clearly a lawyer like Alan Dershowitz is speaking to the president's base?
MARIOTTI: I think he's a liar who's trying to mislead the public. I don't think that there's any way to take that statement as anything other than an
obvious falsehood. And Mr. Dershowitz is trying to mislead people.
I mean, the fact of the matter is that the framers of our Constitution here in the United States were very concerned about having a monarch. They just
-- they broke away from a monarchy, and they were trying to set limits on presidential power. And they did that through a variety of means, but
through enumerating (ph) the president's powers by checks and balances and various other means. So that is absolutely false.
GORANI: Oh, and that same judge who concluded that U.S. presidents are not kings, also said that witnesses cannot benefit from blanket immunity.
What happens now with Don McGahn, the former White House counsel? He's appealing, but can he be compelled to testify?
MARIOTTI: Well, at some point he can. But, you know, this is a waiting game. And, you know, the way I would think about -- if I was a viewer --
about what's going on, these legal arguments, is they're essentially a delay tactic.
In other words, I don't think most lawyers would tell you to take any of these arguments very seriously. I don't think the absolute immunity
argument was ever going to be successful. But they've managed to delay and waste a lot of time with that. And Mr. McGahn, if he's appealing, is going
to take more time.
And really, the Democrats are trying to get this done quickly. They want, I think, to -- from what I've heard reportedly, they're trying to get
impeachment wrapped up by the end of the year --
GORANI: Yes.
MARIOTTI: -- they don't want it to run into the upcoming election, so I think that's what's going on here.
GORANI: And what about other potential witnesses -- last question -- could this ruling influence others who may be hesitating because they don't want
to end up defying congressional subpoenas, and they don't want to end up being the subject of court rulings such as the one that Don McGahn was --
was put under -- I should say -- sorry, I'm going to try to say it -- such as the one Don McGahn was the subject of.
MARIOTTI: Well, if there's any witness out there who has any doubt of how these rulings are going to go, this is a great clue to that. Certainly,
this ruling's going to influence other judges who are considering similar cases.
[14:10:08]
But to the extent to which they want to delay, it's not going to necessarily force the hand of anyone else, as your reporter mentioned
earlier.
GORANI: All right. Renato Mariotti, thanks very much for joining us. Appreciate it.
Now to Albania, and really a tragedy there. Rescue workers in that country are searching for survivors of an earthquake that struck a major port city
overnight. Officials now say 21 people have been killed and the prime minister's office says several are still missing.
There was damage in the capital, Tirana, and other cities nearby. You're seeing some of the images coming in to us from Albania, and the rescue
efforts are ongoing and are harrowing. Nina dos Santos has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Buried alive: local residents, emergency services and military personnel scour the rubble.
There's still hope for some, less for others. The region's most powerful earthquake in decades struck during the early hours of Tuesday morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It was a real horror. So I tried to get out of my home, and went through the glass door. I cut myself
badly.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): According to the United States Geological Survey, the epicenter of the 6.4-magnitude quake was the coastal town of Durres, 36
kilometers or 22 miles west of Albania's capital, Tirana.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's office updated the death toll upwards several times. On Tuesday, the health ministry confirmed at least 325
people have been injured.
Worryingly for potential survivors, aftershocks continue to be felt. Rescue efforts were forced to halt on multiple occasions throughout the day on
Tuesday. The prime minister tweeted to say that nearby countries including Italy, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece, have been assisting with the recovery
operation.
He went on, "This is a very dramatic difficult time, however we must keep calm and stand by each other to get through this together. We will do
everything we can within our power, together with the support of our great friends to overcome this situation."
Albania is the poorest country in Europe according to Eurostat, with a typical income less than a third of the European average. The United
States and the European Union both pledged their support.
The Balkans is an area prone to seismic activity. Among the worst, in 1979, a magnitude-6.9 quake hit Albania, leaving 136 dead and more than
1,000 injured. Forty years later, the citizens of Albania have suffered another deadly tremor. Nina dos Santos, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Blendi Salaj is from our CNN affiliate A2 in Tirana. Obviously, rescuers are still searching for survivors, Blendi. What are you hearing
from the quake zone?
BLENDI SALAJ, JOURNALIST, A2: Well, they're working on the scenes and there's several scenes throughout the areas that were most affected by the
quake today. They're still searching for survivors, they're still trying to communicate with them. They can hear voices from under the rubble, and
they're trying to pull these people out.
And it's a full-country effort. Everybody's trying to pitch in, you know, the best they can. And you got volunteers, you got police, you got
firefighters, you got rescue workers all on the scenes and trying to battle it this hour. You know, I mean, it's already gotten dark in Albania. And
they tried to use the hours of the day -- to use the daylight and pull these people out.
And we've been, you know, following these stories. And some wonderful stories have been, you know, reported throughout the day, but some sad ones
as well because the death toll now stands at 21 and it's expected to rise because, you know, I mean, there's been so much destruction.
Nothing like this had ever happened in our lifetime. I'm 40 years old. The last time we had something like this was 40 years ago, so I didn't get
to see that. And we didn't remember anything like this. You know, it's something you see on CNN. And by the way, I want to thank you guys for
covering this story throughout the day and being on top of it. But everybody's pulling in together. It's been a hard time.
It was a 4:00 a.m. this morning when we heard that -- I mean, this roar first, and then this tremble, and it was violent and it was shaking. And,
you know, I had to pull my kids out, I got a 4-month-old and an 8-year-old and we had to make it out of the building. And then we go outside and it's
full of people, everybody's trying to stay away from the building and stay safe.
Two areas were mostly hit. And I can hear sirens behind me because they're still working, you know, at this hour of the night. But two areas were
mostly hit. It was the port town city of Durres in the Adriatic, and then Thumane, that's 30 miles north of Tirana here.
And two buildings collapsed in Thumane. These were apartment buildings, about 15 families were stuck inside and they tried to pull as many people
as they could out. About 45 of them have been pulled out safe, 650 went injured to area hospitals, and there's camps now being set up.
[14:15:11]
And everybody's working to the best of their abilities. We've got, you know, the Red Cross and all kinds of organizations, and people are pitching
in and you got these GoFundMe, you know, things going up online, so everybody's trying to do their best.
It's a sad day but Albanians are pulling together. And we're getting (ph) some help from our friends around, you know, Italy, Greece, Kosovo have
been showing up, so it's a good day in that sense.
GORANI: All right. Blendi Salaj, thanks very much. And we know how critical the first 24, 48 hours are if rescue workers want to find
survivors. Thank you for that.
The United States is again fighting alongside Kurdish forces in northern Syria, and their target is ISIS. The statement by the Combined Joint Task
Force says that after a brief pause, the coalition has continued its relentless pursuit of ISIS.
It also confirmed that a mission was conducted last Friday, killing multiple ISIS fighters. Last month, you'll remember, the U.S. pulled out
of most of Syria, which paved the way for a Turkish offensive against the Kurds.
So what is going on on the ground? Amid the fighting between Kurds and ISIS and Turkish forces, there are civilians caught in the crossfire; a car
bomb killed 17 people today in a northern Syrian town that is controlled by Turkish-backed forces. Our chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward
is on the ground in northern Syria and joins us now, live.
We'll get to the U.S.-Kurdish alliance once again fighting against ISIS, but what have you seen on the ground in northern Syria after the Turkish
incursion? What are Kurds telling you?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting, you know, Hala, because the Turkish president, Erdogan, said
that he wanted to create a safe zone here, a 30-kilometer buffer zone along the border.
But I have to tell you, it doesn't feel safe inside this so-called safe zone. You mentioned that car bomb in the town of Ras al-Ayn earlier today,
17 people killed. We just heard a very loud blast about 15 minutes ago, not far from where we are here in Qamishli, not clear yet what exactly that
was or whether there were any casualties as a result of it.
But more broadly speaking, when you talk to Kurds across this region, there is a very real sense of anger and betrayal, and also a sense of
desperation. The humanitarian situation has become very difficult, 160,000 people displaced from their homes, Hala.
We sat down with one displaced Kurdish man. He now lives in a school in a classroom in the city of Hasakah, he was forced to flee with his five
children when Turkish artillery started raining down on his hometown of Ras al-Ayn. And just a few days earlier, he had been posing for photographs
with his children with American soldiers who were patrolling the area. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARD (voice-over): Just days before the offensive began, Ibrahim's (ph) children had posed, smiling, with U.S. troops patrolling the area. He says
America's presence gave him a false sense of security. Then suddenly, they were gone.
IBRAHIM (PH) (through translator): Since America betrayed us, every time I look at these photos of my children with the Americans, I want to erase
them.
WARD: Do you feel that you trust the Americans still?
IBRAHIM (PH) (through translator): Definitely not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WARD: And, Hala, it's not just that people are angry. But as I mentioned before, they're living in truly desperate circumstances. Authorities are
trying to move people out of those schools so that classes can start again.
They're trying to set them up in camps that are springing up. But these camps don't have the infrastructure, they don't have the resources they
need. That's largely because international aid agencies, owing to the deteriorating security situation, have been forced to pull out from here.
So a lot of anger, a lot of misery on the ground in northern Syria -- Hala.
GORANI: And what about these reports that the U.S. and the Kurds are once again fighting against ISIS together? When the U.S. president announced
the U.S. withdrawal, he made it sound like the U.S. was leaving that part of Syria completely. What's going on?
WARD: I think there's a sense of whiplash here. No one can quite get across what exactly the U.S. mandate now is here in Syria. Because as you
said, President Donald Trump made it very clear that he wanted to leave, that he felt that ISIS had been completely defeated and that his only
interest in staying in some limited capacity was to somehow guard the oil.
Now, we're hearing from the U.S. military that in fact operations to try to combat ISIS because sleeper cells, of course, still exist across swathes of
this country, that operations to try to combat those sleeper cells are still going on.
[14:20:01]
And so it seems you're almost seeing some kind of mixed messaging between what we're hearing from the White House and what we're seeing from the
Pentagon and also on the ground here. But none of this, to be honest, Hala, is very much comfort to the Kurds who feel at this stage that there's
no way they can trust their American allies again -- Hala.
GORANI: OK. Thank you. Clarissa is in northern Syria, and be sure to watch her report, "THE KURDS: BETRAYED AND FORGOTTEN," today at 9:00 p.m.
in London, 10 Central European Time on CNN.
Still to come tonight, the bold jewelry heist that shocked Germany and intrigued the entire world, now the search is on for the burglars and the
irreplaceable treasures they stole. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: German police are asking for help. They need help to search for stolen treasures in Dresden. They've released pictures of some precious
jewelry snatched during Monday's break-in at the Green Vault museum in Dresden's historic Royal Palace. The thieves escaped with treasures dating
back to the 18th century and considered part of Germany's cultural heritage.
Melissa Bell has this update for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their value cannot be calculated, we're told, elaborate diamond-encrusted pieces. This is the
antique jewelry stolen from the Green Vault museum here in Dresden, and it's those very unique qualities that experts say will make it so difficult
to sell.
The robbery was smash-and-grab. Police say that it took just minutes: two thieves, moving through the gallery with flashlights. The thieves, then
violently smashing a glass display case with an axe.
While the gallery has security, the guards are unarmed.
Police, now releasing new details, saying that a nearby electrical fire knocked out streetlights and they think the incidents were related.
The burglars made off in an Audi A6. A car of that model was found just hours later, set on fire in an underground garage.
BELL: Those perpetrators are still on the run from local and federal police. Twenty criminologists are involved in the case, and continue to
examine the scene here. And the police have launched an appeal for any witnesses, please, to come forward.
BELL (voice-over): The Green Vault is called the treasure chest of Europe, the continent's oldest public museum, the treasure collected here when the
18th century ruler of Saxony, Augustus the Strong, was hoping to make Dresden the Florence of the north.
MARION ACKERMANN, DIRECTOR GENERAL, DRESDEN STATE ART COLLECTIONS (through translator): I can also tell you that the importance and quality life in
the fact that this ensemble as such was passed on. The material value as such is not even that high, it's the fact that this ensemble exists. It
could be described as the state treasure of the 18th century.
BELL: Nearly three centuries on, his Green Vault has become the scene of one of the most audacious robberies in the history of the European
continent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:25:04]
GORANI: Well, Melissa Bell joins me now, live from Dresden in Germany.
And we saw that CCTV footage that police released. Do they have any more information on who these suspects might be?
BELL: Nothing at all for the time being, Hala. In fact, what we heard just a few hours ago, earlier this afternoon, was another appeal from the
police, a second appeal, calling for witnesses to come forward and announcing that a special portal had been set up so that people could
upload things like any photographs or video that they might -- think might be relevant to the investigation.
Now, what that tells us, Hala, is that this afternoon, they were really no closer to figuring out where the robbers were, who they were and perhaps
most importantly, where those treasures are tonight -- Hala.
GORANI: Right. And because the CCTV footage, you don't see the face of the suspect. I wonder, do we know if they were masked or how many of them
police believe participated in this operation?
BELL: Well, on that CCTV footage, you can clearly see two men, one of them wielding an axe that he uses, nine times, to get through the glass of that
casing and at the jewelry.
But what police have told us, again, today, is that they believe that this was too well-coordinated and that they think that this must have involved
more people. Indeed, that fire that broke out just before 5:00 a.m., when the robbery took place here on Monday morning, they believe was connected.
They think this was a coordinated attack.
The question really is, Hala, even at this stage, given the elaboration of this plan, given its coordination, given the thought that had gone into it,
what the plan was then to do with these jewels. Because --
GORANI: Yes.
BELL: -- this is something we've heard over and over again. When you look at those jewels, they're very distinctive, they're instantly recognizable
to anyone who knows anything about European art and its history --
GORANI: Yes.
BELL: -- and even if it is -- if they are taken apart, those are jewels that have been cut in a very specific way, and that is going to be very
hard to sell on the open market. Who were they destined for? Where were they planning to take them? Those are some of the questions that very many
people here in Dresden would like to have answered tonight -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. And also, it would be heartbreaking to break these beautiful artifacts apart, beyond the financial value. Their cultural
value, as many Germans have remarked, is priceless. Thanks so much, Melissa Bell, live in Dresden.
The U.S. government is sending teams to the UAE and Saudi Arabia to investigate a CNN report about American military equipment falling into the
hands of Yemen's rebels.
The U.S. supports Yemen's government in this long-running conflict. But CNN reporting showed that American armored vehicles sold to the UAE and
Saudi Arabia have instead ended up with rebel fighters in separatist militia.
A State Department letter obtained by CNN says, quote, "continued insufficient responses" -- unquote -- from the UAE and the Saudis have
delayed the U.S. probe.
Now, in London, Monday, the Foreign Press Association honored CNN's Nima Elbagir for her reporting on that particular story that shed light on those
American arms falling in the wrong hands.
Still to come tonight, Democrats have spent weeks hammering Donald Trump on Ukraine. Has it moved the needle at all in public opinion about
impeachment? We have new CNN polling. We'll tell you what it reveals, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:39]
GORANI: For the past couple of weeks, Democrats have been hammering Donald Trump on impeachment staging public hearings that included some pretty
damming testimony.
And yet, a brand new CNN poll finds public opinion has not moved since before the impeachment hearings began. Fifty percent of the Americans poll
think Donald Trump should be impeached and removed from office. That is the exact same as in October.
Joining me now is Rachel Bitecofer, she is the assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy, and an expert in elections and polling.
Thanks so much for joining us.
What do you make of the fact that overall, impeachment trend suggest that the needle has not moved on how many Americans across the board, overall,
support impeachment and removal of the president after all of these public hearings?
RACHEL BITECOFER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, WASON CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY: Yes. Sadly, I mean, it's exactly what I expected would happen. The United
States is extremely polarized right now with the two parties in tribal mode.
You know, ultimately, too, evidence can only sway an audience that tunes in and is receptive to the -- into the evidence. I mean, keep in mind, the
viewership was pretty good for the impeachment trial equaling about a Monday night football game for the NFL, which isn't bad and that doesn't
count all the people who looked at segments or what have you.
But in terms of the vast majority of people, they didn't follow the actual hearings. And in terms of Republicans especially, people incline to
support the president. They would have relied on partisan news to summarize what happened in the hearings and just quick audit of the -- has
present a quite different picture of the takeaway of the impeachment trial or impeachment inquiry.
GORANI: And you mentioned Republicans, so among Republicans, 10 percent support impeachment and removal of the president. Now, six percent
supported impeachment and removal on October. So that's an upward trend.
But 14 percent did in September which means that between now and September, fewer Republicans support impeachment. Is that because of what you
described that many Republicans and supporters of the president will get their news from media platforms and outlets that are sympathetic to the
president?
BITECOFER: Yes, something I would assume at yourself and your viewers here probably paid quite a bit of attention to the -- to the impeachment inquiry
and the evidence, the witnesses presented.
But in the right wing media which is starting at Fox News and going out from there, the narrative from the impeachment inquiry takeaway was that it
was mostly (INAUDIBLE) for Trump that he -- there was really nothing there, no there-there. And that actually it was more problematic for Joe Biden,
right?
GORANI: Mm-hmm.
BITECOFER: So given that information, relying on those influencers and those opinion leaders, which is political science research shows are so
influential to framing public opinion. It's not a surprise that most Republicans don't feel that the evidence was compelling.
GORANI: So what would it take to move the needle then?
BITECOFER: So, you know, the truth of the matter is, my research argues that, you know, you're not going to be able to move Republican opinion.
The status that we're in in the U.S. is really unprecedented.
The last time that we are in a situation like this with our institutions in our political system was a civil war. And I don't mean that to be
hyperbolic, it is actually that bad.
So, you know, I don't know that there's any evidence that could be offered to Republicans that would make them support getting rid of Trump because of
the idea then -- you know, he's their guy. He represents their Party and their values and he's doing a lot of things that make Republicans very
happy.
And to them, it becomes a matter of what we call negative partisanship, you know, denying Democrats the victory of destroying somebody they argued
Democrats who are out to destroy from the beginning. So it is really has much more emotional than analytical.
And because it's more emotional and analytical or fact-based, facts don't matter as much, right? I mean, I guess international viewers and people
around the world who watched these impeachment proceedings and heard from these career diplomats, many of whom, by the way, are conservative,
politically.
[14:35:00]
They saw this as more proof that Donald Trump and this administration may have abused their power. But inside the United States, explain to
international viewers why this is not -- has it become so tribal that facts just don't matter anymore?
BITECOFER: Yes. No, it's exactly that. I cannot stress enough. Number one, your international viewers and yourself are absolutely right, the
evidence was, you know, completely compelling and really just quite substantial with credible witnesses and many of whom, as you site, were
Republicans themselves.
And it is not resonating here in the United States because we are now in a position where Fox News and other partisan news networks and the blogs and
the internet, the talk radio landscape, which I monitored very extensively through this process are curating for their listeners a very safe
alternative reality and which the president is a victim.
GORANI: So what does this mean for 2020? Because we were discussing yesterday with one of our political analysts, his voter registration
numbers in Texas, in Georgia, another traditionally red states where you have, you know, almost a million and a half in Texas alone under 25 and
people of color and minorities registering to vote.
Are those being taken account in the national -- I mean, in the -- in the polling for 2020 or they're being under estimated? Could this change
things for Donald Trump next year in ways that were not measuring today?
BITECOFER: Yes. Actually, I'm really glad you have mentioned that. Because, yes, actually, I think a great deal of the polling in the United
States right now is under estimating the size of what I call the Trump effect, the backlash effect that will be manifesting. That's what powers
my own forecasting models which predicts Trump will lose the election. I was quite successful at predicting the seat gains in the 2018 House
midterms.
And that's because exactly as you pointed out, the composition of the United States electorate is changing because of a vast increase in
participation amongst gen-z and millennial voters, college educated women, Latinos, and African-Americans.
And so, you know, the silver lining of the Trump presidency for its many disadvantages has been this what I call a civic renaissance amongst some
people. And we are not going to fully know what it looks like until Election Day. But we could see election turn out that exceeds 65 percent
in this presidential election. And that is, you know, not just historically high, it's a total game changer.
GORANI: Right. It's certainly high for western democracy over 60, 65 percent participation rate.
Thank you so much, Rachel Bitecofer. Really a pleasure having you on the program. Thank you.
BITECOFER: Oh, thank you so much.
GORANI: All right. Some of those negative feelings about Donald Trump have clearly spilled onto to his wife. Listen to the greeting Melania
Trump got this morning at a youth center near Baltimore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: -- to join you today for such an important event center on all the other witness. Hello, everyone.
Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That must have been uncomfortable for the first lady, all that booing. A CNN producer who was at the summit said. The audience remained
rowdy and disrespectful to Mrs. Trump throughout her speech. She was attempting to promote her the best initiative that seeks to educate
children about online bullying.
The British Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is fighting back against accusations that he's not doing enough to address anti-Semitism in his
party. And this comes after the U.K.'s chief rabbi wrote a blistering op- ed in the Times saying a labor government would be dangerous for the Jewish community in the U.K.
Phil Black explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These banners aren't settled and the feeling behind them isn't new. Many British Jews
don't trust Jeremy Corbyn.
BLACK (on-camera): So when Jeremy Corbyn gets up and says anti-Semitism is abhorrent, has no place in our society, you simply don't believe him?
JONATHAN FREEMAN, PROTESTER: I don't believe him. That's it. The words are there, the action has not been there for a long time.
BLACK (voice-over): The Labour leader probably shouldn't have been surprised. This might come out on the day he wanted to talk about peace
between racism religions.
(CROWD SHOUTING)
BLACK: Far more damaging than the protests and screams, with the British chief rabbi's carefully chosen words published in a national newspaper.
Ephraim Mirvis argues Corbyn is unfit to be prime minister. "The claims that the party is doing everything it reasonably can to tackle anti-Jewish
racism and that it has investigated every single case are a mendacious fiction. It is a failure of culture. It is a failure of leadership. A
new poison sanctioned from the top has taken root in the Labour Party."
[14:40:05]
In response, the Labour Party quickly condemned anti-Semitism. But Jewish concerns about Corbyn stem from his past. He's been accused of getting too
friendly with known anti-Semites.
This video is a famous example.
JEREMY CORBYN, LEADER, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY: -- I've also invited friends from Hamas --
BLACK: He was referring to a group openly committed to killing Jews. He later expressed regret for the comment.
And as a Labour leader, he's accused of allowing a permissive culture that's failed to step out anti-Jewish hatred.
STEPHEN POLLARD, JEWISH CHRONICLE: At best, Jeremy Corbyn doesn't care about anti-Semitism. I think it's worse than that. I think he's actively
complicit in it.
BLACK: Stephen Pollard edits the country's biggest Jewish newspaper, and recently, dedicated the front page to a message for non-Jewish voters.
POLLARD: When you cast your vote, bear that in mind, bear in mind the fact that one of our ethnic minorities in this country regards one of the party
leaders, Jeremy Corbyn, as being a racist.
CORBYN: Anti-Semitism, in any form, is vile and wrong. It is an evil within our society.
BLACK: But after years of repeatedly condemning anti-Semitism, Jeremy Corbyn still hasn't persuaded the people who cared most about this issue.
And if many Jews don't believe him, few will vote for his party when the country chooses its next prime minister in just over two weeks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, Phil Black joins me now live from London.
Overall, what do the polls suggest when it comes to Labour, the conservative party, and the Lib Dems? Brexit is obviously one of the big
issues, but you have these accusations of anti-Semitism that won't go away.
BLACK: Indeed, they won't go away, Hala. We've been talking about them for years. That's how long the Jewish community has been concerned about
anti-Semitism with the Labour party. That's how long Jeremy Corbyn has been saying, we're fixing this, we take it seriously.
But the Jewish community simply hasn't bought that explanation. So in that sense, it certainly is not a good look for the Labour Party. It is feeds
into the narrative that has been built by the Conservative Party, that is that Jeremy Corbyn shouldn't be trusted with governments. It has been a
traumatic experience for the Labour Party in the sense that Jewish Labour MPs have resigned, walked away.
There's been criticism within the party. It has been investigated by the country's human rights watchdog for potentially being institutionally
racist. That's really quite unprecedented. So it's really serious.
And on top of all of that, the result, of course, is that Jeremy Corbyn and Labour alienate the Jewish vote to a very significant degree. That's
obviously really important in an election campaign. And could prove to be really important in constituencies that have been Jewish populations.
And on the whole, it's bad for Labour because they can't be affording to lose -- they can't afford to be losing votes right now, because
consistently Labour is behind in the polls, in this race, Hala.
GORANI: Phil Black, thanks very much.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, still has the support of his base after the indictment announced last week against him. Thousands of
his supporters turned out for a rally in Tel Aviv. Israel's attorney general has ruled that Netanyahu can keep serving as prime minister despite
facing prosecution on corruption charges, but that has not stopped critics from demanding his resignation.
Paula Newton joins us live now from Jerusalem with more. What does this mean for the future of Netanyahu but also -- without a single politician in
the country able to form a government, where does this leave the country?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the president agrees with most voters right now, Hala, and actually calling it a mess, and it is
a mess.
Now, given the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu is now the only sitting prime minster in Israeli history to have an indictment come down on him for those
charges, it even adds absolutely to the issue of a crisis here in this country. Netanyahu rally issue may be able to hear, Hala, several thousand
turned out but not tens of thousands and that is key.
The issue here is that Netanyahu is trying to set this up certainly as what he calls a deep state operation, a coup, that these charges are fabricated,
that they are framing him. And he wants these kinds of rallies to really prove this point that his base is with him, and that he is the only person
who was going to be able to guarantee Israel security.
The problem is that this has not, so far, should have been the groundswell that they're hoping. These people here, his loyalists, his supporters. He
could not even muster cabinet ministers to be here with him this evening and that will be an issue as he continues to face a battle even from his
own party.
From some people, it has to be set at some minority or from some people who think it is just better that he stepped down right now.
Hala, you know as well as anyone, maybe Netanyahu is a political survivor and he will go down fighting. And obviously taking a page from the script
from Donald Trump. Hala?
[14:45:09]
GORANI: All right. Thanks very much. Paula Newton is in Tel Aviv.
Still to come tonight, the United Nations has a new message for the world on climate change, listen to the warnings or suffer the consequences.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: U.N. is urging people to heed a startling new report on climate change. Temperatures on our planet are heading toward an increase of --
listen to this -- 3.2 degrees by 2100 if we don't drastically change course. That could cause catastrophic heatwaves, storms, and increased
pollution.
The annual U.N. report released Tuesday calls for an immediate reduction in fossil fuel usage to limit the global temperature increase to only 1.5
degrees.
The goals said in Paris Climate Accord that the U.S., of course, walked away from. So there are things that can be done to avoid the worst-case
scenario. Will countries coordinate with each other in order to achieve this?
Our senior international correspondent, Jim Bittermann, is in Paris with specifics. So when you have a big country and big emitter like the United
States, walking away from the Paris Climate Accord, it seems like potentially not realistic to expect the world to heed the warnings of this
climate report.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a little bit difficult, Hala. In fact, to put this in context a little, I
think you understand what's happening here. You have to go back to four years to what happened here in -- during that the COP 21 conference when
196 countries basically gathered and set pretty lofty goals.
That lofty goal of stabilizing world temperature increases at 1.5 degrees by 2003. That's 1.5 degrees hotter than what the temperatures were
globally at the turn of the last century, with this to say at the preindustrial period of the world.
In any case, 1.5 degrees still perhaps achievable by 2030. But according to this report that was released today, in order to achieve that by 2030,
the world's got to get together and agree to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7.6 percent each year between now and 2030.
That just does not seem very likely and people are a little bit pessimistic of how this has turned out. In fact, they are thinking it is going to be
more like two degrees.
Right now, by the way, just so you know, we're at one degree hotter -- one degree hotter than things were at the turn of the last century.
So as kind of a warning, the secretary general of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said this, he said, there's never been a more important
time to listen to the science. Failure to heed these warnings and take drastic actions to reverse emissions, we will continue to witness deadly
and catastrophic heat waves, storms, and pollution.
[14:50:04]
That appointed message, I think, towards countries like the United States and climate denials like President Donald Trump.
GORANI: But, of course the issues with climate change go beyond the temperature of the planet, I mean they cause massive immigration waves,
conflict. The knock-on effects of this increase in temperature, again, go beyond the big storms and the hotter summers.
BITTERMANN: Well, exactly. And one of the things we're talking about here is air temperature. As our meteorologists at CNN, Chad Myers, points out,
you've also got to consider water temperature. Water temperatures are going up rapidly as well.
Water temperatures are going to affect all kinds of animals in the sea and, in fact, food sources for people on land.
GORANI: Jim Bittermann, thanks very much. Our senior international correspondent with this climate report.
We will be -- the planet will be 3.2 degrees hotter by 2100 if we do not drastically change course.
Now, for stories of everyday people making their mark and inspiring action for the planet, have a look through the "Call to Earth" section on our
website at CNN.
We are committed to reporting on all these environmental challenges facing our climate along with their solutions. Go to cnn.com/calltoearth.
There's Ted Turner, by the way, the founder of CNN.
We're going to take a quick break. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: The Michelin Star, it is the grandest rating that the finest of restaurants around the world inspire to. The Hungarian capital of Budapest
is home to six establishments that have been awarded that top honor.
CNN goes into the kitchen of the Stand restaurant. It was awarded its first Michelin Star this year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TAMAS SZELL, CHEF, STAND: The food is the best communication between the chef and between the guests.
Hopefully, this this is on things the sweet memories from childhood.
When I do that dish, it should be acceptable to our grandmother and to the mission inspectors too. As this is the more difficult, I think.
ANDRAS JOKUTI, HUNGARIAN FOOD CRITIC: What Tamas Szell is doing with Stand is, in a way, it's the perfect Hungarian restaurant. With such a
traditional cuisine as Hungarian which is normally like where you have a very rich, you need to find a way to make it taste more fresh, much, much
lighter. This is, I think, is his biggest achievement to somehow recreate the traditions into something modern.
(DOG BARKING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, Tamas' comes to this dairy farm outside Budapest to check on the cheese being prepared for his restaurant.
SZELL: This farm is a really, really tiny farm. We test the (INAUDIBLE) cheese and sour cream, hopefully.
[14:55:01]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) have run this farm for just over a decade, providing dairy products to a small handful of fine dining
restaurants in the city.
SZELL: So this cheese have really, really clean taste, and this is the most important, content only small without any spices. That's all. Fresh,
smoky, this is smoked cheese. It's going to be good in the restaurant.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Within 48 hours of the milk leaving the cows, the cost of cheese is being served up back in the kitchen.
SZELL: The good ingredients always try to find the chefs and the chefs always tried to find the best ingredients. Similar taste, always try to
find each other. So it's only is the question of the fantasy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that rich fantasy is helping this one Michelin Star restaurant stand strong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Yesterday, a dog was the star at the White House. Today, it was a turkey. President Donald Trump just spared butter for mending up on
someone's Thanksgiving dinner table. The turkey was this year's lucky recipient of a presidential pardon and annual tradition that's more than a
century old.
No word on what happened to Butter's friend, Bread, who also hoping for a pardon.
Mr. Trump joked that it's a good thing they were raised to remain calm under any situation because they're going to be called as witnesses in the
impeachment's inquiry on Thanksgiving Day. So the president cracking jokes about those congressional proceedings.
Thanks for watching tonight. I'm Hala Gorani. I'll see same time, same place tomorrow right here on CNN.
Do stay with us though. A quick break and then it's "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
