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Scandal Surrounding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica Expands; Suspected U.S. Serial Bomber Dead; Russia and U.K. in Diplomatic Row Over Attack; Israel Admits Bombing Syrian Nuclear Facility in 2007; U.S. President under Fire for Phone Call with Putin; EU Ministers to Review Draft Agreement Friday. Aired 11a-12n ET
Aired March 21, 2018 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00] BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Suspended, the man at the helm of the disgraced Cambridge Analytica is sidelined. But the tech data scandal
continues to grow, and Facebook CEO is still yet to comment. Also, ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suspect detonated a bomb inside the vehicle knocking one of our SWAT officers back and one of our SWAT officers fired
at the suspect as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The suspect in a string of bombings in Austin in Texas is dead. Ahead, the latest on that investigation. And.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I had a call with President Putin and congratulated him on the victory, his electoral victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And that's exactly what his advisers didn't want him to do. And now Mr. Trump is furious this is all leaked out. Later where live for you
in Washington.
Hello, and welcome. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi where the time is 7 o'clock in the evening.
Pressure is mounting on Facebook and on the U.K. data firm, Cambridge Analytica. They are both at the center of a growing storm over what some
are calling the exploitation of millions of Facebook users personal information. Facebook now agreeing to speak to Congress. Lawmakers want
answers to how those details were used to target users for political adverts.
The scientists at the center of this says, Facebook is making them a scapegoat. Aleksandr Kogan tells CNN he had virtually no idea what the
data was going to be used for.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEKSANDR KOGAN, SCIENTIST AT THE CENTER OF FACEBOOK BREACH: We did collect 50 million people, my side. But we only gave CL/Cambridge
Analytica 30 million people that we could confirm were from the United States.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, ANDERSON COOPER 360: And what kind of information about those 30 million people where you provided?
Kogan: Yes, so it was basically their public profile. Things like name, age, gender and location. And then these really noisy personality
predictions and that was like almost for everybody I was basically at.
COOPER: Well, when you are offering your data to Cambridge Analytica you knew who Cambridge Analytica -- I mean, you knew what they -- did you know
what they were going to do with it? Did you know what their interest was?
KOGAN: No. I mean, that's the thing. I was pretty heavily siloed as far as -- anything as far as funders or clients. I found out about Donald
Trump just like everybody else, through the news.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: All right, well, that's his line. Meanwhile, in London a parliamentary committee continues its probe into the role of fake news in
recent elections. Sandy Parakilas, a former platform operations manager at Facebook is set to appear before them this hour.
CNN's Brian Stelter standing by in New York for a lot more on this. First let's get you to our senior international correspondent, Nick Payton Walsh,
who is in London. This thing, Nick, is snowballing. What's the latest where you are?
NICK PAYTON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've had actually from the British Prime Minister herself, Theresa May, calling
recent allegations about Facebook potentially allowing harvested data into the wrong hands. Quote, very concerning. In this sort of adds really to
the official clamor on this side of the Atlantic amongst European powers to get to the bottom of exactly who was given what, when and why.
Now, the Cambridge Analytica front, Alexander Nix, their CEO, has been suspended by the company itself, board of directors. Pending an
independent investigation. That's their bid really to try and move on to some degree and detained their brand. Obviously, Alexander Nix was the man
filmed undercover by Channel 4 news suggesting Ukrainian prostitutes or perhaps corruption stings can be used to discredit a position candidate.
He also with his colleague, Mark Turnbull, talked about how they had met Mr. Trump many times and were seminal frankly, to assisting his electoral
victory in 2016.
I should point out that separately they say there's conversations taken out of context. Particularly the ones suggesting the use of corruption. And
also, too that they didn't get the data about the Trump election campaign, potential electors, until it was too late to for that to be of success.
But the Cambridge Analytica noise is basically bolstered by a move by the information commission here. Kind of a data protection watchdog in the
U.K. to get a warrant, to get access to Cambridge Analytica's servers and work out what they got from who, when. We don't know quite when that
warrant will be served.
[11:05:00] But we do know the same commissioner asked Facebook, what it was to get out of Cambridge Analytica, so they can get on with their work
unimpeded. But the broader issue here is when really does this stop. Effectively the spotlight has been shown now on what Cambridge Analytica
alleged to have done. Although, they have their very specific less damning version of it. They still got rid of their CEO none the same.
The question is when does this ball stop rolling for Facebook? And the more broadly, Becky, you know, this is a social media platform used by
about a billion people globally. I think possibly now many are beginning to question exactly what they do with their data on it, what Facebook has
been doing with that data since they been using it. And quite how they feel in the future moving forward with their privacy and their state of
trust, frankly, where so many people turn to many times a day -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Company will say it's closer to 2 billion users on a regular basis. Brian, thank you. Nick, stand by. Brian, Mark Zuckerberg has been
conspicuously silent, absent since these allegations have grown. Like it or not he is Facebook. The company's being hammered. Where is he? And
why hasn't he spoken out at this point?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN, SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: According to the company is working around the clock trying to get to the bottom of this. Figuring
out what the facts are and what to do about it. But you're right, it is very unusual that Zuckerberg and COO's Sheryl Sandberg have remained
silent. After all, they have Facebook pages. They can logon any time and post a status update just like all of us can. And comment on the
situation.
Look, I think Facebook tried to get out ahead of this on Friday by suspending Cambridge Analytica. They tried to preempt the investigations
by the "New York Times" and the "Guardian." But clearly that didn't work. Facebook stock is down for a third day in a row. More than $50 billion in
value has been wiped off the books. And users and lawmakers have a lot of questions about whether they can trust the company.
So, I would suspect we will hear from Zuckerberg sometime today or tomorrow. It is kind of baffling that he hasn't spoken out yet. And I've
got a wonder how investors feel about his silence.
ANDERSON: Another thorn in the side for Facebook and other big tech firms like it, and Google. The EU moving aggressively to raise billions more in
taxes from these companies. One interim measure slapping a three percent tax on revenue generated from digital activities. And the European
Commission, Brian, estimates that could raise a healthy $6.1 billion a year to the coffers of member countries. Look, this is happening coincidentally
at the same time.
But let's concentrate on this scandal. Is this of Facebook's own making? And now, talk of taxes, talk of regulation, we are looking at what looks
like a whole new world potentially. And many say about time too so far as these tech giants are concerned.
STELTER: It's all a part of a reevaluation of these companies' roles in society and in all of our lives. And I agree with you. It's a long
overdue reevaluation. You know, you think about Facebook when it launched first at Harvard and other colleges in the U.S., it was essentially a way
for friends to meet up, for people to date, for people to chat. I don't think users initially imagined that these companies would have billions of
users and would affect wars and would affect elections all around the world. So, there is very much a reevaluation happening.
And this EU proposal for higher taxes is one piece of that. The EU is further along on this than the U.S. or other countries I might add. You
know, in the U.S. lawmakers are starting to talk about possible regulatory steps. But has shown a possible way forward in terms of regulation and
taxation.
ANDERSON: Brian Stelter is in New York. Nick Payton Walsh on the story out of London for you. To you both, thank you.
And to Austin, Texas where police say the serial bomber who terrorized the city for nearly three weeks is dead. The 24-year-old suspect was killed
inside his car when he detonated explosives as law enforcement closed in. One officer was wounded in the blast. Source tells CNN the suspect is
named Mark Anthony Conditt. Let's get you to CNN's Ed Lavandera. He is in Round Rock, Texas just outside of Austin. What can you tell us at this
point?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Becky. Well, investigators are still here working the scene just across the highway. You can see from me
this is where the surreal and to this frantic search for the suspect in this serial bombing case that has really kind of just brought a chill over
the city of Austin. Many people anxious to see this all come to an end and it did in the overnight hours here. We were told by investigators that a
number of investigative leads that have been worked over the last 48 hours really brought them to ahead here and close to the suspect. One of the
things that they were able to do was they had gotten a pretty good indication of who they thought this person might be was they used cell
phone triangulation to pinpoint him to a parking lot of the hotel here just a few feet up the road.
[11:10:05] But it was also the big clue came a couple of days ago when this suspect -- and we can show you these images -- delivered two packages to a
FedEx drop-off location in the city. Rather far from where we are here. But those surveillance images really kind of were able to paint a picture
who this person was, how he was operating. In those images you can see the young man, 24-year-old Mark Conditt, wearing a blonde wig, a hat and gloves
on those packages. Clearly, looking very suspicious and that kind of dress here. And that is what led them beginning the investigative process to
lead them here.
When they arrived just late last night, and they were surveying him and keeping an ion him, they were waiting for a tactical unit to show up so
that they could move in and arrest him. But before that team could make it here Conditt, we're told by investigators, started driving away from that
scene. Eventually driving the car into a ditch just in that area over there where you see those trucks behind me. A SWAT team approached the
vehicle and that's when investigators say Conditt had a bomb inside of his car and essentially blew himself up right there on the spot.
We are starting to piece together a few things about Conditt's life. He lives not too far from where this search ended and where he died. We have
spoken with his grandmother who said, this is just horrible. Stunned by the news, they describe Conditt as very kind, loving person. But they
could see no signs that he was violent. And that he came from a family that works hard to raise their children correctly. So, right now
investigators are at the home of where this suspect lived, not too far from here, also, (INAUDIBLE) his parents. And really know the search continues
for information leading to what the motive behind here all of this was. And that's what investigators are focused on right now -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Very confusing. Ed, appreciate it, thanks.
Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. At least 29 people were killed, and dozens were wounded
by a suicide blast in Kabul, in Afghanistan. Police say security forces stop the bomber from reaching a shrine where Shiites and others were
gathered to celebrate the Persian new year. There's been no claim of responsibility.
The White House says the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are strengthening their relationship. President Donald Trump met with Crown Prince, Mohammed bin
Salam, on Tuesday. They talked about new business deals, Saudi Arabia's economic reforms and the conflict in Yemen.
The Islamic militant group, Boko Haram, has returned most of the schoolgirls it kidnapped last month in the town of Dapchi. According to
Nigerian officials 104 of the 110 girls were dropped off near their hometown early on Wednesday. They say the girls release was unconditional.
Many U.S. government offices closed as Washington and other parts of the northeastern United States are hit by a potentially record-breaking
snowstorm. This is the fourth major storm in three weeks. So, more than 4,000 flights have already been canceled. Ryan Nobles joining us now from
Washington. And Ryan, we're looking at pictures of -- well, it looks cold, sir. What's going on? What's the forecast at this point? How long is
this going to last?
RYAN NOBLES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Becky, interestingly enough it's not as cold as you might think when you see all
of this snow. And actually, the fact that the temperatures were a little bit higher, Becky, this snowstorm came in a little bit later than what we
were expecting. In fact, around 6 o'clock this morning on the East Coast this was all green grass here on the National Mall. A couple hours later
the capitol dome behind me, normally you can see that without a problem, and right now it is completely covered by snow.
The snow has been at a pretty steady clip here now for the last three or four hours. And it's expected to come down now for the next several hours.
And so, that means that travel in this part of the country is very difficult. So, basically, everything in Washington is shut down. The
House and Senate are in session, but the rest of the federal government is completely shut down. Washington DC's government is shut down, and many of
the local school districts. In fact, all the local public-school districts in the city of Washington DC, of Maryland, Northern Virginia, they're all
shut down as well.
And I'm going to tell you a little bit about the snow that we're dealing with here, Becky. This is a very thick heavy wet snow. And that actually
makes for a pretty good snow day. Right? Because it's not, you know, bitterly cold. The temperatures are right around 32, 33 degrees. It's not
that windy. You can get outside and have some fun. Right? So, we built this snowman here on the National Mall. I'm from Western New York I
honestly think I probably should have done a better job putting this guy together. He actually already fell down once. He's trying to take my job
as you can see. He's got the CNN white flag there.
[11:15:00] But you know, it's that kind of day where you can actually get out and enjoy it. There isn't anywhere to go because everything is shut
down. So, that's what a lot of people here in Washington DC and along the East Coast are doing -- Becky.
ANDERSON: And Ryan, if there are people looking to get in and out of Washington, as far as flights are concerned, what's the schedule? What do
we know it this point?
NOBLES: Yes, I mean, that is a major concern. You know, Amtrak has shut down a lot of the trains that travel between here and Boston and New York
City. And there's been many flights that have been canceled or delayed. The airports are completely shut down. It's not that big of a storm, at
least not yet. But there had been some delays. So, it is pretty smart if you're traveling to this part of the world, it would be smart to check to
see what your flight schedule is and if it's been change or if there's the opportunity to switch your flight. Because at the very least it might be a
headache. Things aren't completely shut down, Becky. But it's definitely more difficult than it would be on a normal day.
ANDERSON: There is a little fellow behind you. There is a dog behind you. It looks as if he wants to play with you in that snow. So, go find him.
Thank you, Ryan.
NOBLES: Getting cold.
ANDERSON: See if you can find that fella. There you go. Brian nobles in Washington, thank you.
Still to come tonight is U.K./Russia relations continue to struggle under the weight of the Salisbury poisoning. We are live in Britain and in
Moscow for you after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back at 20 past seven or just shy of. You're watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD with me Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi for
you.
The U.K. and Russia continue to spar over the poisoning of a Russian double agent. Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found poisoned in
Salisbury on March 4. Foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, now suggest the attack was linked to Russia's presidential election on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITAIN FOREIGN SECRETARY: I think the timing was probably more closely connected with the recent election in Russia. As many known
democratic figures do when facing an election or facing some critical political moment, it is often attractive to conjure up in the public
imagination the notion of an enemy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:20:04] ANDERSON: Well, that's Boris Johnson speaking. A Russian Foreign Ministry official has accused Britain of orchestrating the attack.
Now the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says it's team will need 2 to 3 weeks, more weeks, to analyze the nerve agent used in the
Salisbury. For more Phil Black is there in Salisbury. Matthew Chance joining us from Moscow. And Phil, let's start with you. The Foreign
Minister, I'm not holding back, making quite some allegations. Evidence- based at this point?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: Not really, no. But yes, again pointing the finger very firmly at Russia. To paraphrase, Becky, did
Russia do it? Yes, says Boris Johnson. Did the orders come from the top of the Kremlin? Yes. Why use such a specific and rare nerve agent, as the
British government alleges? Well, Boris Johnson's theory and it's been said by other parliamentarians here is that it puts a very specific Russian
signature on the deed. And acts a warning to Russians and former Russian agents everywhere that it's impossible to avoid the long arm of Russian
revenge. And as you heard him say there, he was asked about the timing, and he pointed about the recent Russian presidential election. All of this
really just theory and in his own words some degree of speculation.
On the timing issue and the issue of the election well it's also worth noting that a spokesman for President Putin's campaign think the British
government for helping bolster voter turnout for President Putin on the day of the vote itself. But no hard evidence yet. The efforts to gather
evidence continue here in Salisbury. Two prongs, one the police investigation to try and determine where and how the alleged use of this
nerve agent took place. And were told by the police bats likely to take some months. And as you touched on there as well, there is also now this
effort from experts at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons who are on the ground here in Salisbury looking to confirm, if you
like, this independent body will be looking to confirm or otherwise the British governments allegations that this was a highly specific and rare
Russian nerve agent. And their work is likely to take 2 to 3 weeks, as they say.
So, it is unlikely that the British government is going to have more evidence to pull out of its hip pocket as it continues to point the finger
at Russia in the near future. That at a time when Russia is increasing its calls for the British government and British officials to produce evidence
to back up its claims -- Becky.
ANDERSON: OK. Well, let's get to Moscow then. Phil, just alluding to the fact that Russia or certainly Moscow wants to hear more. They want
evidence. What's the perspective from where you are, Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly some of the diplomats I've been speaking to are saying that look, the problem with,
you know, putting out evidence that would demonstrate without any doubt that the Russians were behind this. It's because there is a police
investigation on the way on one hand, but also the country, Britain is reluctant to reveal its intelligence gathering methods. And so, we may
not, not see for some time, if ever the kind of conclusive proof that Russia is demanding that Britain present.
But you know, at the same time, look, I mean, the point that's being made very strongly hereby various diplomats is that Russia has the intent and
importantly that the track record of carrying out these kinds of assassinations or attacks in this case against its perceived opponents.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE (voice-over): He was one of the Kremlin's most ruthless enemies. An Arab jihadist called Khattab. Notorious for executing Russian troops
during the brutal Chechen wars. When Russia's security services finally announced his assassination, this special operation in March 2002, they
released this video to prove it. Showing Khattab laid out dead with no visible wounds. Russian state media and the rebels both said he died after
opening a poison letter. To us it seems quite literally a message from the Kremlin.
There have been other alleged messages from Moscow too. In 2004 the pro- Western Ukrainian presidential hopeful, Viktor Yushchenko, who went on to lead the country, was badly disfigured after a severe dioxin poisoning. He
told me back then he's push for Ukraine to join the European Union and NATO. It made him enemies at home and in Moscow.
VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UKRAINE (through translator): We started dinner at about 10 o'clock and finished around 3:30 in the
morning. While driving back home the first thing I felt was a terrible headache. I had never felt anything like it before.
[11:25:00] When I got home my wife kissed my lips. She said she could taste something metallic. I asked her for some medication. But the pain
was aggravated. Only then I said to myself, Viktor, you're in trouble.
CHANCE: For others that trouble prove deadly. The radioactive killing of former KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, in London in 2006 foreshadowed the
recent Skripal newer nerve agent attack. Both were former members of the Russian secret services, were poisoned with chemicals said by Britain to be
Russian and seen as traitors by the Kremlin.
(on camera): There has been, in other words, a growing list of people. This Kremlin sees its opponents and long before the poisoning of the
Skripals in Britain, who have met painful and untimely deaths. All of course were poisoned, one of Russia's main opposition figures, Boris
Nemtsov, was shot dead in 2015 right here on this bridge. Of course, the Kremlin denies any involvement and rejects the allegation it could've
ordered the Skripal nerve agent attack as unthinkable.
And as this poison father and daughter, Sergei and Yulia Skripal, fight for their lives in intensive care. The Kremlin insists Britain should
apologize for the serious allegations it has made or present proof of Russia's hand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE: Well, the Russian Foreign Ministry called an urgent meeting today of all the foreign ambassadors in Moscow. It wanted to take the
opportunity to explain its position about the attack in Salisbury and about the poisoning of the Skripals. But not many of the -- certainly the
Western ambassadors turned up. The United States, the British, the French, the Germans, they stayed away. Apparently, the Chinese stayed away as
well. And so, you know, Russia is not exactly getting international support for its claim at the moment that it had nothing to do with this.
ANDERSON: Matthew Chance is in Moscow for you. Thank you, Matt.
Just ahead, you're about to see a video from the cockpit of an Israeli fighter jet that was kept secret for more than a decade. Israel admitting
to bombing a Syrian nuclear reactor. Why tell the world now? We are live in Jerusalem for that.
[11:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Welcome back. Half past seven in the UAE. I'm sure you can work out what time it is wherever you are watching in world, but welcome.
For the first time ever, Israel has admitted to bombing a Syrian nuclear facility in 2007, a decade ago. The world quickly found out about an
Israeli air strike in the Syrian desert, the nature of it remained secret. Both Israel and Syria stayed quiet. Well, more than a decade later,
tensions in the region as you are well aware are still high. So why has Israel decided to release its footage now? Let's bring in Oren Liebermann
who's in Jerusalem. Oren, we should tell our viewers that Israeli military censors I reviewed CNN and other media reports under strict committee rules
on the material that they provided. Correct?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Correct. And that's how sensitive this was to the Israeli military whom polls this censorship on this entire
story and the information for the last seven years. The interesting question is what you pointed out, why release this now? Pretty much
everybody here in Israel and most around the world who have heard of this knew it was the Israeli air force who had carried out this strike, even
though as you point out, both Israel and Syria were relatively quiet in the days and months and years after the strike.
Why now? It a very different Middle East these days, Syria is a fractured country so perhaps the target audience is Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LIEBERMANN: In the crosshairs of an Israeli fighter jet, a secret Syrian nuclear reactor, mere months away from completion, in this never before
released footage, you see the reactor as it was in the early morning hours on September 6, 2007 as precision guided Israeli bombs bore down on their
target. After the strike, Israel's nuclear worry shifting from Syria to Iran.
AARON DAVID MILLER, WILSON CENTER: I mean Israel is not only trying to designate deterrence, but to make it unmistakably clear that they would
strike again, make it unmistakably clear to Russia and to the Assad regime and with respect to the Iranian nuclear program, should the Iranians
accelerate enrichment and seek to breakout, that the Israelis are prepared to act against Iran as well.
LIEBERMANN: Israel has never fully acknowledged the strike against Syria. The video held by military censors who reviewed this story and enforced
strict rules on media before publication, these pictures released by the U.S. in early 2008 they say were taken inside the facility, show the core
of the reactor under construction. The U.S. said the gas cooled graphite moderated reactor was built with North Korean assistance. The only other
country to have built such a plant in decades. Syria has never acknowledged building a nuclear reactor at the site, instead insisting it
was a missile facility.
BASHAR JAAFARI, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: Syria builds many buildings all over the country, does that mean that any building we build
should be a project or designed to be a nuclear reactor building?
LIEBERMANN: IAEA inspectors found traces of uranium at the site, the CIA said the reactor could not produce electricity and was not for peaceful
purposes. For years Israel stayed quiet believing silence could prevent escalation with Syria. Israel had been collecting top secret intelligence
on Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and his nuclear ambitions. Their conclusion in 2007, Syria was at least a year away from an operational
nuclear reactor. If completing the facility would've made Syria the first Arab nuclear state.
A quarter century earlier, Israeli fighter jets struck the nuclear facility in Iraq, crippling our country's nuclear program. It established Israel's
policy that it would carry out pre-emptive strikes against weapons of mass destruction it considered a threat like it did in Syria.
[11:35:00] MILLER: Whether or not the United States is prepared to take the lead, Israel has agency and it's prepared in anticipation of any of
their neighbors who presumed to develop a nuclear program to weaponize that the Israelis are prepared to act well in advance of that weapon becoming
operational.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIEBERMANN: If you look at regional politics today, Israel is waging an all-out lobbying campaign against both Iran and the nuclear deal, working
essentially with Donald Trump has he threatens to cancel it, Israel has very clearly urged him to fix it or nix it. Meanwhile Iran has an
increasing presence, increasing influence in Syria right across the border as Israel tries to keep Iran as far away from that border as possible.
Becky.
ANDERSON: Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem. Still to come tonight, remember Donald Trump promised during his campaign to sue all the women
accusing him of sexual misconduct. Well he didn't, and now one of those women is suing him. We'll look at what appeared to be his growing legal
troubles up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Not one, not two, but three women are now pressing ahead with legal action against the U.S. President Donald Trump. You no doubt have
heard about the porn star Stormy Daniels, but now a former Playboy Playmate and a former reality TV contestant are also taking their grievances to
court. Abby Phillips looks at how Trump's personal legal challenges are piling up, at the same time he's trying to fight off pressure from Special
Counsel Robert Mueller.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBY PHILLIPS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Accusations about President Trump's alleged past sexual exploits now developing on three different
fronts. The lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels releasing this photograph and the results of a 2011 polygraph test about her alleged
affair with Mr. Trump. The results indicate that Daniels was being honest when she said she had unprotected sex with the President in 2006. Mr.
Trump has denied the affair. Polygraphs are generally inadmissible in court, but Daniels' lawyer paid $25,000 for the rights to the footage.
MICHAEL AVENATTI, ATTORNEY FOR STORMY DANIELS: We want the public to know the facts, to know my client's story. I'm confident that after they view
that interview and after they view this evidence they are going to conclude that what they have been told by Mr. Cohen, and the denials if you can call
them denials from the White House are simply baseless and the false.
PHILLIPS: President Trump's legal woes don't stop there, on Tuesday, a New York judge denied a motion by the president's lawyers to dismiss a
defamation lawsuit from former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos.
[11:40:00] Weeks before the 2016 election Zervos accused Mr. Trump of sexually assaulting her in 2007.
SUMMER ZERVOS, TRUMP ACCUSER: He came to me and started kissing me open mouthed as he was pulling me towards him. He put me in an embrace and I
try to push them away. I pushed his chest, put space between us and I said, come on, man, get real. He repeated my words back to me, get real,
as he began thrusting his genitals.
PHILLIPS: The president denied her claims saying I never met her at a hotel or greeted her inappropriately a decade ago. Zervos' lawsuit claims
Trump damaged her reputation by essentially calling her a liar. Then there's former model Karen McDougall
who claims she had an affair with the President in 2006. McDougall is suing a media company to be released from a 2016 agreement preventing her
from discussing the alleged relationship with Trump. These lawsuits come as sources tell CNN that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia
investigations continue to agitate Mr. Trump. President Trump facing scrutiny over his reluctance to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I had a call with President Putin. And congratulated him on the victory, his electoral victory.
PHILLIPS: "The Washington Post" reports that President Trump ignored warnings from his national security advisors, including a note in his
briefing materials that read in capital letters, do not congratulate. A White House official tells CNN that President Trump did not read the notes
from his advisors before speaking with Putin, who's sweeping reelection has been widely condemned as a sham.
SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We don't get to dictate how other countries operate. What we do know is that Putin has been elected in
their country and that's not something we can dictate to them how they operate.
PHILLIPS: "The Post" reports that Mr. Trump also overruled guidance to condemn the nerve agent poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter
in the U.K. Instead, the White House emphasizing that the purpose of the call was to discuss shared interests with Russia on Iran and North Korea.
TRUMP: We had a very good call and I suspect that we'll probably be meeting in the not too distant future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, that's Mr. Trump, he clearly is under fire today on several fronts and let's bring in our White House reporter and regular
guest on the show, Stephen Collinson. Don't congratulate him they said but President Trump didn't follow that advice, did he? What he didn't do is
bring up Russia's election meddling during this phone call with Putin, prompting a rebuke from Senator John McCain and this link to the "The
Washington Post" and he is furious, Steven?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, we're hearing this morning that the President is very angry about this, there is an
investigation going on in the White House to find out who leaked the President's briefing papers to the press. But that sort of hunt for who's
responsible, I think is somewhat overshadowing the gravity of this. The President spoke to Vladimir Putin at a time when the issue of Russian
election meddling, interference with American democracy is dominating Washington.
It's also, soon after that attack, using a nerve agent on the soil of America's closest the NATO ally, Britain. The fact that neither of these
issues were brought up by the President, the really most crucial issues in the relationship between Russia and the West right now just goes into this
whole conceit about why the President is so deferential towards Vladimir Putin. Why is he so solicitous of him?
People who believe that the Russians have some compromising material on Donald Trump and that's behind the whole collusion issue, that Robert
Mueller is investigating, they think this is more evidence of that. Others believe that the President is so sensitive about Russia just because the
issue of the probe and collusion seems to delegitimize his election and he's doing it for that reason. But it just brings up all these questions
about the President's very puzzling relationship with Vladimir Putin all over again.
ANDERSON: If you were providing a defense for him and Sarah Sanders did at the press briefing yesterday, she says, he just wants to move on this
investigation into Russia. She says, has taken too long and the Trump administration just wants to get on with it.
COLLINSON: Yes, and, you know, that's, I guess a fair point for many of Trump's supporters. The flip side to that is that Robert Mueller has been
methodically moving forward in this investigation, he's indicted a number of people who are former close associates of Donald Trump. So, to argue
that there is nothing there, that this investigation as the President does is just a hoax and a political distraction is not quite accurate.
[11:45:00] The other part of this of course is that the President by his is constant personal attacks now on Mueller, on the idea, the fact that he's
not really admitted in public or it took a long time for him to admit that there was election meddling that taken place is prolonging this. Because
it makes it look like he's got something to hide. He's clearly trying to if not to obstruct justice in the investigation, sort of attack the probe
itself and make it more difficult for Mueller to his job. So, that's a piece of political spin from the White House but is not really grounded in
an awful lot of merit I don't think.
ANDERSON: That is the political atmosphere, the Russia investigation clouding what Donald Trump says is his efforts to get on a make America
great again. Behind the scenes he has personal problems. This is a man who would tell you himself, I'm sure, that he loves a lawsuit. Well there?
And what might the consequences be? Are three women now effectively turning the tables on him? How significant is all of this be?
COLLINSON: Well, it's turning into a legal morass and of course there could be political implications for this down the road. But I think the
legal situation is getting quite -- must be quite a concern for people in the White House. Simply because one of the cases with Summer Zervos that
was allowed to go ahead by a judge on Tuesday, this is someone who's suing him for defamation. After he said that her claims that he inappropriately
touched her that she was lying. So, this is a defamation suit.
Now this is going on through the court process, that means there's going to be a period of discovery, of the parties finding evidence. There's going
to be court proceedings, that are obviously going to be covered by the media. There's the potential that the President could be forced to do a
deposition in this case. And that is sort of very dodgy political ground and legal ground for the President, especially for someone who's known not
to be always completely truthful. He could get himself into all sorts of legal problem there.
And then there's the question that the fact that these three cases going on, we know there are other women who have basically said that the
President treated them inappropriately. They could now think well if anyone especially is going to get a legal remedy, maybe I'll come and start
a legal case. So, this is a really slippery legal slope the President I think.
ANDERSON: Stephen Collison, as I say, a regular guest on this show and appreciate it Stephen, thank you. He was a pleasure.
Live from Abu Dhabi. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up, not your average photographer, we meet a man who has spent his life capturing
the history of this country, the UAE. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00] ANDERSON: Critics of the latest Brexit transition deal say there is something fishy going on. And to make their point, some British
fishermen dumped crates of haddock into the River Thames. Confused? Well, are Nic Robertson has this for you from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Fishermen are frustrated at is latest round of Brexit talks in Brussels. Fishermen here
in Britain have always been frustrated with the European Union. Cutting their fishing quotas have been some of the strongest people supporting
Brexit. Now they're saying the way the talks are going under the British government it seems to be getting a weaker hand on quota negotiations.
That's what they're angry about. That's what's bringing them out of the water right now.
(voice-over): And out to support them, Prime Minister Theresa May's own MPs, critics of hers and of Brussels.
JACOB REES-MOGG, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: Now that's what we want to see.
ROBERTSON: Do you tell us what are you doing here today?
REES-MOGG: Just supporting the fishing communities up and down the United Kingdom that are going to lose out by the delay in our leaving the common
fishing policies. It's a really serious matter for those. The risk with fish is that in the last year under EU control, there may be a change in
the approach to quotas that could be ruinous for our fishing communities.
ROBERTSON: He wasn't, however going to join the fishermen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you us not to schedule debate by the Prime Minister?
REES-MOGG: No, of course not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought you were (INAUDIBLE).
REES-MOGG: Look the boat is in here.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): As it was, the boat didn't actually have permission to dock and pick him up, which was perhaps just as well. It
said he wasn't a fish thrower. Another well-known Brexit leader turned up to do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throwing a few fish in the river
ROBERTSON (on camera): Political theater, the real drama takes place in Brussels at the negotiations there. That's where Theresa May will be
headed to later this week. Good news for her, she got a concession, if you will, from the European Union on transition. An agreement that there will
be a transition, not as long as she wanted, she got 21 months, not the 24 she wanted. But there was a concession on the rights of the EU workers.
That was something that she hadn't planned for. Also, the thorny issue of Northern Ireland still to be decided.
ROBERTSON: What's your message for the government over the border with Northern Ireland?
REES-MOGG: The message on the border over Northern Ireland is that the government will stick steady to its course of saying that there will be no
hard border, but it needs to define what a hard border is. And that the government should (INAUDIBLE) of actually and not bullied by the European
Union.
ROBERTSON: Between politicians, fishermen and EU negotiators, the Prime Minister still far from home on delivering Brexit.
Easy enough for this little boat to navigate the relatively calm waters of the Thames here, but with so many tough issues ahead left in Brussels, the
Northern Ireland border, security, fishers, stormy waters can be expected ahead. Nic Robertson, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: The parting shots tonight, my team and I brought the show here to Abu Dhabi four years ago almost to the day. So, we thought we would
explore what is the rich history of what is now our second home, the United Arab Emirates. Which has been the home of this show, as I say, for four
years. It's an incredible multitiered nation, and that in just a few decades has transformed from desert to a world metropolis. And one
photographer has had a front seat view of that change.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Ramesh Shukla has had a career unlike any other. Witnessing the history of a new young nation through the viewfinder of his
camera.
(on camera): And this I believe is the camera that you use. You were given this camera at 15 years old.
RAMESH SHUKLA, PHOTOGRAPHER: As I focus.
ANDERSON (voice-over): And now at 80, Shukla is looking back on his career as the UAE's most celebrated Royal photographer. Unveiling never before
seen photos, the country's founding father, Sheikh Zayed, born a century ago.
(on camera): And this is one of 22 new images that you are releasing here. Why?
NEEL SHUKLA, SON OF RAMESH SHUKLA: My father has an archive of thousands of images and for the past 50 years this archive has been in pretty much
filing cabinets, in there are the negatives have been there. But I had to restore them, bring them to life, touch them up and see exactly what the
content is and, in these images, -- and this particular one you can see him in full form.
[11:55:00] ANDERSON (voice-over): Taken in the 1960s, it's one of many photos that Shukla captured of the late Sheikh, including one that's
arguably the most important moment in the UAE history. When Sheikh Zayed signed the very document that's formed the country on a hot December day in
1971.
SHUKLA: A unique man, dancing, education, on very same par.
ANDERSON: They first met during a camel race that shook the cycle to years earlier. Crossing the desert some 30 kilometers or 18 miles with his
camera before developing the pictures in his home, which didn't have electricity or running water. It was a simple life, but Shukla never asked
Zayed for money. Only wanting him to sign the photo. An approach that over the years gave Shukla the unique access to the leader.
(on camera): You were there when your father took this. Tell us about how he took it.
NEEL SHUKLA: The is Sheikh Zayed. My father would always start to look for the shot, the angle. So, he climbed up and I would fight with him. I
go, what are you doing? You're going to fall, you're going break your legs, stop. And he would do the impossible. And he injured himself many
times. He fell from trucks. He fell off of buildings. He has, to capture the shot. So that would not happen if there was no heart.
ANDERSON (voice-over): A witness to history capturing precious moments that was once sleepy Bedouin society transformed into a modern country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD from Abu Dhabi. Thanks for watching.
END
