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China Denies Trump's Allegations Of Election Meddling; Lawyer Accuses ICC's Karim Khan Of Sexual Misconduct. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired July 17, 2026 - 04:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[04:33:17]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. China is denying election interference claims made by President Donald Trump during Thursday's primetime address. Now Beijing insists it does not meddle in other countries internal affairs.

It is, of course, a sensitive moment for Washington in Beijing, they've been working on a diplomatic reset recently after trade issues had frayed relations. But Trump speech could upend that. Here's more of his litany of allegations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: China engaged in other election related activities to undermine my first administration and our 2020 campaign. Results of the U.S. midterm elections and later the results of the 2020 presidential election itself. Separately, in mid- 2019, the Chinese government's strategy against the United States was focused on undermining domestic confidence in the U.S. president. They wanted to just make you sound like your president wasn't so hot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: I want to bring in now CNN's Beijing Bureau Chief Steven Jiang. Good afternoon to you.

First of all, Steven, how is China responding to this? Because I think there is a sense of shock that President Trump focused so much on China when it was just a couple of months ago that he was hosted by Xi Jinping in this lavish state visit. Is it all going sour again?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Salma. That's something we're watching very closely because before the speech there have been chatter of Chinese officials going to Washington to discuss with their American counterparts about the expected Xi Jinping's visit to the White House in September. And that, of course, is something Trump himself has said repeatedly he's looking forward to.

[04:35:08] And as you mentioned when Trump came here in May, his high stakes talks with Xi have indeed ushered in a period of relative calm between the two countries. And officials from both sides have long said this kind of leadership summit provides the strongest guardrails to prevent this often rocky relationship from deteriorating. But this kind of summits also require the right atmosphere to take place. And the rather overwhelming and ominous allegations Trump just made, obviously not conducive to that. That's why the Chinese response has come very quickly with a spokesman in their embassy in D.C. telling us, quote, "China has all along adhered to the principle of non-interference."

And he goes on to say "China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the U.S." And just a short while ago, a foreign ministry spokesperson here reiterated that position. And going a bit further, painting all these latest allegations as part of a smear campaign against China, even turning the table on Washington, accusing the U.S. being -- of being the one that often interferes in others internal affairs. But still at this stage, it remains to be seen whether or not Beijing wants to further escalate this latest dispute because for one, they understand Trump's claims are controversial within the U.S. even contradicting previous assessment by the U.S. own intelligence community. And two, the intended audience of this speech was domestic, especially ahead the critical midterm election.

So Beijing still have the chance to basically choose to look over, look past this quickly after issuing their predictable and strong denials and then just turn the page over to maintain this rather fragile stability between the two countries. Salma.

ABDELAZIZ: Steven Jiang there on the fragile stability, as you mentioned in Beijing, between China and the U.S. after President Trump's speech. Thank you so much.

My colleague Elex Michaelson spoke earlier with CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. He asked how the president's speech will be received in the day ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I see two stories. I mean, as I said, I think that it's a mistake to assume that what he was doing was just kind of relitigating his old grievances or that all he was doing was trying to pressure the Senate to do something that by now he knows they are not going to do. I think he was laying the groundwork for more attempts at unilateral executive action that would make it tougher vote and give the federal government unprecedented control. And we are going to see more, I think, attempts and more court fights.

The other thing though, politically, you know, the fear of Republicans going into this speech was that it would provide more evidence to one of the biggest problems they're facing in November. I mean, you know, Donald Trump was elected above all. It's unequivocal in the polling. He was elected -- his voters elected him above all to address their cost of living problems. They don't feel that he's made enough progress on it.

And even more, I think they don't feel that he's focused enough on it. They feel that he is focused more on his priorities, his grievances, his obsessions, prosecuting James Comey, tearing down the East Wing, you know, obsessing over election procedures. And I think again, another big opportunity, talking to the country, perfunctory discussion of the economy, if only to say it's all fine, stop worrying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein huddled together before meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. Now the group had met with Glance -- with Blanche for about an hour, and then they left the Justice Department together. One survivor said the meeting felt like, quote, "a waste of time" and it amounted to a lot of, quote, "lip service" from the attorney general nominee. The meeting comes as Todd Blanche looks to shore up support for his bid to become the U.S. attorney general on a permanent basis. The success of his nomination hinges on the votes of two Republican senators, John Cornyn from Texas and North Carolina's Thom Tillis.

Senator Tillis had said the meeting with Epstein survivors was needed before he could vote for Blanche.

In a world exclusive, the woman who accuses the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, of sexual misconduct is going public. Khan denies all allegations against him and has questioned the fairness of the investigation that has led to him being suspended.

Talking exclusively to our CN -- to CNN's Christiane Amanpour, the woman at the heart of this story has chosen to speak out for the very first time. On July 24, all ICC member states will vote on whether Khan will be dismissed altogether. Some have attempted to tie the case to the ICC's arrest warrants for Israeli officials, hoping that if they can do so, the arrest warrants would be discredited. Here's Christiane Amanpour with more.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The woman who accuses the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, of sexual misconduct, is going public for the first time. Khan denies all her allegations. And after a lengthy U.N. investigation, she sat down with me for an exclusive interview about what she says happened and how it's impacted her.

[04:40:19]

Her name is Sarah. She works at the court, and she tells me that her allegations have nothing to do with the ICC's case against Israel's Prime Minister and Defense Minister. You may recall in 2024, Karim Khan broke the news to me on CNN that he was seeking arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders. Since then, there have been efforts to tie Sarah's allegations to those warrants. Some supporters of Khan even going so far as to suggest that she's working with Israel in an attempt to discredit the ICC.

Sarah denies this, and no evidence has emerged to support it. After a long and convoluted investigation into her sexual misconduct allegations with several bodies and differing conclusions, Khan is now suspended. And next Friday, all ICC member states will vote on whether to formally dismiss him. It's a moment of crisis for the ICC because its future is unclear as the United States continues its pressure campaign against the court. Just this week, U.S. secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed to dismantle the ICC, quote, "brick by brick."

But Khan's accuser says that she never wanted to be in this position and that it is still difficult to speak about what happened to her. Here's what Sarah told me about why she's speaking out now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH, ACCUSES ICC'S KARIM KHAN OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT: I have been known as V01 and anonymized, and that is meant to protect a victim who comes forward or a complainant. But that also has had the opposite effect. It has allowed me to be -- to be crafted in whatever way suits another person. And there's been this caricature drawn, a estate agent, a gold digger, crazy, emotional, a compulsive liar, and there are thousands of women who will never have the opportunity to sit with you.

And this is not unique to my circumstances. This happens every day. And for me, what I want out of this is at the very least for people to consider the various ways in which we deflect from legitimate allegations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Karim Khan has repeatedly denied all allegations. We asked him to sit down for an interview with us. His legal team said it wouldn't be appropriate at this time. But they did offer us an opportunity to speak with his lead counsel. Here's some of what she told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARETA ASHRAPH, LEAD COUNSEL FOR KARIM KHAN: We would like to say that these are serious allegations and they needed to be taken seriously, investigated seriously, and undergo a serious judicial review. And that is what has happened. The allegations that are presented in your program are not new allegations. They are allegations which form part of a much larger body of evidence.

Mr. Khan has denied and continues to deny them in their entirety. Any form of sexual contact, relationship, consensual or non-consensual with the complainant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: You can see more of that interview and Sarah's extended interview at cnn.com. And we will be watching the full vote on Khan's fate next Friday. I'm Christiane Amanpour, CNN London.

ABDELAZIZ: Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has just voted to dissolve itself and has entered its pre-election recess ahead of the October 27 national vote. The dissolution vote came after a marathon legislative session in which the ruling coalition adopted a series of laws favored by right wing and ultra-orthodox lawmakers. It will be the voters' first chance to pass judgment on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the deadly Hamas attack on October 7th of 2023. His current administration is considered by many to be the most right wing in Israel's history.

Mr. Netanyahu is also facing a long running corruption trial. He has repeatedly denied all charges against him.

[04:44:29]

Truth Social is planning on selling Wall Street firms quicker access to President Trump's posts. The reasoning for this new API after the break.

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ABDELAZIZ: U.S. health officials are now linking at least part of a multi-state outbreak of intestinal illness that sickened thousands of people to shredded iceberg lettuce. Now the CDC says the produce was sold by Taylor Farms and served at Taco Bell locations in five Midwestern states. Taco Bell says it will pull the lettuce from stores and replace it with another product within 24 hours. Taylor Farms did not respond to our request for comment. Our health reporter, Jacqueline Howard, has more for us.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: We are hearing that shredded lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and sold at some Taco Bell locations has been identified as the source of this ongoing outbreak and the states where some of these Taco Bell restaurants locations are include Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. So that's what we know so far.

[04:50:18]

But of course, this lettuce may have been sent to other places, too. So this is an ongoing investigation. But really, this outbreak, it is centered in the Midwest, with Michigan really reporting the most cases so far. Nationally, we do know that some other states have reported increases in cyclosporiasis cases. So health officials are still taking a look at whether some of those cases may be linked back to the Midwest outbreak or whether they may be individual separate incidents.

Nationally, nearly 7,000 cases have been reported so far. And among those cases, again, Michigan has the largest cluster, reporting more than 4,000 cases. And with this outbreak, the reason why it has taken some time for health officials to really identify the source is because with cyclosporiasis illnesses, it can take anywhere from two days to up to two weeks for symptoms to develop. That's why it's difficult to really pinpoint what may have been the source of these illnesses. And those symptoms include primarily watery diarrhea.

In some cases, it's described as explosive diarrhea and other intestinal gastrointestinal symptoms. And we do know that dozens of these cases have been hospitalized. That's because these symptoms can lead to dehydration, and dehydration has resulted in hospitalization for some people who've gotten sick.

Now, again, this is an ongoing outbreak, an ongoing investigation. So health officials say they are still bracing themselves for more possible cases to emerge. Back to you.

ABDELAZIZ: President Trump's own social media site, Truth Social, plans to sell Wall Street firms faster access to his online posts. Now Truth Social says the data feed will be available to institutional investors starting August 1st. The President's posts often move global markets and getting these posts sooner could increase profits for companies. CNN's Clare Duffy explains how this is going to work.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: This is being billed as a potential new revenue stream for Trump Media Group, which of course owns the Truth Social platform. This is going to be a back end data platform API where institutional investors could pay to get early access to posts from influential Truth Social users before they would end up on the main feed. Now, we don't yet know how much extra time they would have with this information. We also don't know how much this offering is going to cost. But for some of these algorithmic trading firms, even just having fractions of a second of additional time with information could mean making big profits.

Now other social media platforms do have a similar offering. Platforms like Reddit and X giving Wall Street firms early access to potentially market moving information. Oftentimes those firms also get access to an archive of posts so that they can look for trends in that information.

But what I think is distinct about this Truth Social offering is that if you look at who is posting potentially market moving information on a platform like X, you've got journalists, news outlets, many times corporate executives are posting their corporate news on that platform. But if you look at who is posting potentially market moving information on Truth Social, it is largely the president. He has the largest account on the platform with nearly 13 million users and many of the other large accounts on the platform are other members of his administration.

I also think this is really striking in light of the report from our CNN investigates colleagues that published today. They found that financial managers for the president had bought stock in 20 companies and that days after those transactions happened, the president posted about those companies on Truth Social, in some cases posting about new government programs that could benefit those companies that he had just invested in. And so I think this is another example of where we're seeing sort of the blurring of the lines between his duty as president and his businesses. We should say that CNN has reached out to the White House for comment on questions that this deal could present some conflict of interest questions that this new Truth Social offering could present. The White House has not yet responded.

Back to you.

ABDELAZIZ: SpaceX aborted the launch of its mega Starship rocket just moments before liftoff on Thursday. Data from SpaceX showed at least four engines failed to ignite during the startup sequence. Thus, despite the mission being scrubbed, we got to see the water deluge system at work as it showered the launch pad with hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to protect it from the blaze. SpaceX is aiming for yet another launch attempt sometime next week. The company is facing pressure to ensure the starship is ready for an upcoming NASA test flight that could pave the way for the very next moon landing.

[04:55:17]

In Bolivia, a skater collective is blending indigenous traditions with urban youth culture. Members of the Women on Wheels Collective are paying tribute to their roots by wearing a traditional skirt while skateboarding. They're part of a wider movement of indigenous female skaters in Bolivia using the sport to challenge gender stereotypes and celebrate their indigenous identity.

Thank you so much for watching. I'm Salma Abdelaziz. CNN "Headline Express" is coming up after a quick break.

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