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McConnell Slams House Democrats' Rushed and Rigged Inquiry; McConnell: Senate Must Protect Nation from Momentary Hysteria; House Charges President with Abuse of Power and Obstructing Congress; Vladimir Putin Says Trump Impeachment Based on Made-Up Reasons; U.K. Lawmakers to Vote on Brexit Bill Friday; U.K. Labour Party Lost 59 Seats in Last Week's Poll; Scottish First Minister: Going to Be an Independence Vote; Hezbollah Backed Candidate Likely to Be Next to Lebanese Prime Minister. Democrats to Hold Final Debate of the Year; New South Wales, Australia, Declare State of Emergency. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired December 19, 2019 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): -- try order to get their way. It is long past time for Washington to get a little perspective. President Trump is
not the first president with a populist streak, not the first to make entrench elites uncomfortable. He's certainly not the first president to
speak bluntly, to mistrust the administrative state or to rankle unelected bureaucrats. And heaven knows he's not the first President to assert the
constitutional privileges of his office rather than roll over when Congress demands unlimited, sensitive information.
None of these things -- none of them -- is unprecedented. I'll tell you what would be unprecedented. It will be an unprecedented constitutional
crisis if the Senate literally hands the House of Representatives a new partisan vote of no confidence. That the founders intentionally withheld,
destroying the independence of the presidency.
It will be unprecedented if we agree that any future House that dislikes any future president can rush through an unfair inquiry, skip the legal
system and paralyze the Senate with a trial. The House could do that at will under this precedent.
It will be unprecedented if the Senate says secondhand and thirdhand testimony from unelected civil service -- servants is enough to overturn
the people's vote. It will be an unprecedented constitutional crisis if the Senate agrees to set the bar this low forever. It is clear what this
moment requires. It requires the Senate to fulfill our founding purpose.
The framers built the Senate to provide stability, to take the long view of our Republic. To safeguard institutions from the momentary hysteria that
sometimes consumes our politics. To keep partisan passions from literally boiling over the Senate exists for moments like this. That's why this body
has the ultimate say in impeachments. The framers knew the House would be too vulnerable to transient passions and violent factualism.
They needed a body that would consider legal questions about what has been proven and political questions about what the common good of our nation
requires. Hamilton said explicitly in federalist 65 that impeachment involves not just legal questions but inherently political judgments about
what outcome best serves the nation.
The House can't do both. The courts can't do both. This is as grave an assignment as the Constitution gives to any branch of government, and the
framers knew only the Senate could handle it.
Well, the moment the framers feared has arrived. A political faction in the lower chamber have succumb to partisan rage. A political faction in
the House of representatives has succumbed to a partisan rage. They have fulfilled Hamilton's philosophy that impeachment will, quote, connect
itself with the pre-existing factions, enlist all their animosities and they will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated
more by the comparative strength of parties than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt -- Alexander Hamilton.
That's what happened in the House last night. The vote did not reflect what had been proven. It only reflects how they feel about the President.
The Senate must put this right.
[10:05:00
We must rise to the occasion. There's only one outcome that is suited to the paucity of evidence, the failed inquiry, the slap-dash case. Only one
outcome suited to the fact that the accusations themselves are constitutionally incoherent -- constitutionally incoherent. Only one
outcome will preserve core precedence rather than smash them into bits in a fit of partisan rage because one party still cannot accept the American
people's choice in 2016.
It could not be clearer which outcome would serve the stabilizing institution-preserving fever-breaking role for which the United States
Senate was created and which outcome would betray it. The Senate's duty is clear. The Senate's duty is clear. When the time comes, we must fulfill
it.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: You have just been listening to the U.S. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell there speaking. And he certainly came out
fighting, building a strong defense against impeachment of the U.S. President Donald Trump. He called it a failed inquiry. And he noted that
looking at previous impeachments, Donald Trump now the third in U.S. history. He said with Richard Nixon there was 14 months of hearings. He
said for Bill Clinton, it was years-long investigation. For Donald Trump, just 12 weeks. And he said the Democrats did not have to rush this. Take
a listen to what he had to say just moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCONNELL: Over the last 12 weeks, House Democrats have conducted the most rushed, least thorough and most unfair impeachment inquiry in modern
history. Now their slap-dash process has concluded in the first purely partisan presidential impeachment since the wake of the civil war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, we have a team of people standing by to break this all down for you. CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Doug Heye.
Standing by in our Washington Bureau, we've also got senior political analyst John Avlon. Who's joining us from New York, and our Suzanne
Malveaux live on Capitol Hill. And I want to start with you, Suzanne. You've been covering this for quite some time now. What did you make of
the Speaker's defense of the U.S. President just then?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's all really about delegitimizing what the House has just done. That this was not an endeavor
that was justified. That it was rushed, and that it was all based-on emotion really is what he has been making the case. As many Republicans
saying this is based on a partisan fever, if you will, that needs to be broken. And then ultimately what will happen is that it will set a very
bad precedent for the country if the bar is so low. That any President in the future might be subjected to impeachment if he or she is faced with
this time of emotional type of hate and this rhetoric -- partisan rhetoric.
But that is -- it's not a surprising argument. This is something that we heard yesterday time and time again by many of the Republican members
making their case here. And he also made a case that perhaps this could have been settled in a different type of way, that they could have let it
play out, let it breathe if you will, by taking it through the court system. That particular point was something that some Democrats do feel
was legitimate. That they felt it didn't necessarily have to be as urgent as it was. That they could have waited for some of those key witnesses to
be cleared potentially or additional documents to happen.
But ultimately, the Democrats coalesced around the idea that it was a sense of urgency because of the upcoming election that the President potentially
could be engaging in cheating in the upcoming election that was right around the corner.
Having said that, if Speaker Pelosi does delay the process to a certain extent, and if the Senate does take its time potentially in a negotiated
type of trial, then you could actually see some of those court cases play out, those rulings, perhaps the former national security adviser John
Bolton might be cleared to testify. Some of the documents might be made public. And you would have something that would be more reminiscent of a
trial in the Senate and more of those primary witnesses that both quite frankly Republicans and Democrats who I speak with on the House were
calling for and quite frustrated that they could not get from this administration and from this President.
[10:10:06]
KINKADE: Suzanne, if you can stand by for us, I'll come back to you shortly. I want to go to John Avlon with the case the Republicans have
been making. You've been doing a bit of a reality check. Because yesterday, last night in particular, as we heard Republican lawmakers
defend the President, we heard some pretty absurd comments. One lawmaker from this very state referring to Donald Trump as Jesus essentially and
comparing this impeachment process to Jesus' crucifixion. Just break this all down for us.
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, my first reaction to that is Merry Christmas, I'm sure folks in the Evangelical
community would be offended by such a ludicrous comparison. But you had a lot of ludicrous talk on the floor of the house last night -- comparisons
to Jesus Christ, Joe McCarthy and Pearl Harbor. None of which remotely applied.
This was a deeply partisan divided impeachment. You had Justin Amash, former Republican, now independent voting for impeachment. You had a
handful, a very small handful of Democrats from Trump districts vote with Republicans, but at the end of the day here, this is a partisan vote
because of the tenor of our times and the broader polarization and the sway that Donald Trump has over his own party. Because they did not argue that
what he did was bad. We wouldn't want another from the do it. But let's not impeach him a year out from an election.
They argued that essentially it was a perfect call. They argued the process. They tried to demonize the disagreements that exist. And I've
got to say, Mitch McConnell in that speech there is crying out for a whole series of reality checks because that was an extension of, I think, the
same fundamentally disingenuous argument under the cloak of trying to appear an institutionalist.
KINKADE: John, stand by for us. I want to go to -- just some sound we've got now from Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell who seemed to have a
smile on his face as he listed the ways that Democrats had looked to impeach the U.S. President before the President even really took office.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCONNELL: They tried to impeach President Trump for being impolite to the press. For being mean to professional athletes. For changing President
Obama's policy on transgender people in the military. All of these things were high crimes and misdemeanors according to Democrats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: So clearly Mitch McConnell has been outlining that Democrats for a long time have wanted to impeach the President from day one. John, just
weigh in there on that.
AVLON: Yes, I'm sorry. Outlining it is perhaps the correct phrase is outlying. Those things are not true. Certainly in terms of Democratic
leadership. Those are cherry-picked fictions. You know, we do have impeach -- you know, this is the third impeachment in 45 years after only
one in the previous 200 before it. And there are -- is an impeachment caucus on either side that's fairly knee-jerk about it. But let's we
forget Nancy Pelosi and even Adam Schiff resisted impeaching the President after the Mueller report came out and there were reports that Republicans
were talking about impeaching Hillary Clinton had she been elected President a week out from the election. So I think it's really important
to put that with a caveat that those things Mitch McConnell said are not true. Those are lies in terms of anything resembling a Democratic
position.
KINKADE: Thank you for clarifying that, John. It's interesting because if you're a Republican, you're going to stick to the Republican side. If you
are a Democrat, you're going to stick. This is very much a vote down partisan lines. And I want to come to you, Doug, on that because at least
one staunch conservative voice after that vote last night to impeach the President in the House said you want to know the exact moment that Donald
Trump won the 2020 election -- this is it. How do you think this is going to help the President?
DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I'd say two things. One, it potentially -- potentially, being the operative word here -- could help the
President if there is a Senate acquittal, which we don't know if the Senate is going to get to yet. If we saw how Donald Trump reacted to the Mueller
report, he wouldn't just say that he was innocent. This would be the most beautiful declaration of innocence that we've ever seen in world history.
Obviously, Trump likes a little bit of hyperbole there.
But I also think a year out from any election to say anything is guaranteed to happen one year in advance is a fool's errand. And I say that based on
the knowledge of having RNC officials tell me the day before the 2016 election that Donald Trump was definitely going to lose because they were
sending their resumes around.
KINKADE: Right. Doug, just stand by for us.
[10:15:00]
I want to go back to Suzanne on all of this for a little bit more insight into the President's reaction because we saw him at that rally last night.
And he seemed to take a pretty low swipe at a lawmaker. Let's just play that sound from that rally.
All right. We clearly don't have that sound right now, but he was attacking a lawmaker, a widow who had lost her husband, and she has since
responded pretty much trying to rise above all this. Take us through her reaction.
MALVEAUX: Sure. Well, you're talking about Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. The widow of Congressman John Dingell who had served -- the longest serving
Congressman here more than 30 years or so. Very much revered by many and so it was highly insulting when the President in his home state of Michigan
was criticizing him. He died earlier this year, and so he was full of criticism.
He was also full of criticism of the widow saying that she had asked for all of these big things to acknowledge her husband and all of that and that
it wasn't really deserving. And then referring to potentially that he was not looking down from heaven but up from hell when he was watching the
President.
And so many people here have taken great, great offense to that. I have spoken with Senator Tim Kaine and Senator Debbie Stabenow also from
Michigan. And people are calling for an apology there. And there have even been some Republicans who have also said that this was unbecoming of a
president, that this was not good behavior.
And a lot of people just simply see this as the President acting out. That he is expressing a certain amount of frustration and rage, if you will, at
being impeached. And that was one of the ways in which he did it. But many people here just kind of looking at this as potentially a new low for
the President in his conduct and seeing it as something that simply justifies and underscores the need for him to be impeached.
All right. Suzanne Malveaux, John Avlon, Doug Heye. If you can stick around with me, I want to take a quick break and we're going to be right
back with much more to unpack. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
Well, the presidency of Donald Trump is now stained by impeachment. The U.S. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell came out fighting just moments
ago chastising the impeachment process. But the fallout doesn't stop there. We are expecting the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to speak this hour.
I want to bring back our panel. CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Doug Heye is standing by at our Washington bureau. And of
course, our senior political analyst John Avlon joining us from New York. I'll start with you first, John. I want to play a clip from Donald Trump
back in 2008 speaking to CNN, advocating for the impeachment of another President.
[10:20:00]
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, BEFORE HE BECAME PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.: And I'm very impressed by her. I think she's an impressive person. I like her a lot.
But I was surprised that she didn't do more in terms of Bush and going after Bush. It was almost -- it just seemed like she was going to really
look to impeach Bush and get him out of office, which personally, I think would have been a wonderful thing.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: To impeaching him?
TRUMP: Absolutely, for the war.
Blitzer: Because of the conduct --
TRUMP: Well, he lied. He got us into the war with lies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: So he supported impeachment then. Obviously not for himself. How do you think the relationship going forward is going to look for Donald
Trump and Nancy Pelosi given that she's certainly come out strong now.
AVLON: Yes, well you know, and he was referring to Nancy Pelosi at the top of the clip as being someone he liked and thought was really impressive.
Look, is just more evidence that where you stand in Washington is often a matter of where you sit. And I think the idea of the President of the
United States being impeached for lying probably wouldn't appeal to President Trump given his track record to date.
But you've seen a lot of hypocrisy in situational ethics throughout all of this. In 1998, Mitch McConnell was arguing there should be witnesses in
any Senate trial, so was Lindsey Graham. Now they're both saying they don't want them even as they criticize the pace and what they say
inaccurately is a lack of evidence against the President. So you've got basically a tsunami of situational ethics in Washington right now.
KINKADE: We certainly do. Obviously, Donald Trump has been very quick firing off tweets since this vote came through. Largely speaking about how
much support he has from the Republican side. You can see his tweet there. 100 percent Republican vote. That's what people are talking about. The
Republicans are united like never before. How true is that -- Doug?
HEYE: By and large, something we don't say about Trump all the time, that's 100 percent true. Republicans don't just overwhelmingly support
Donald Trump. The intensity of that support is much stronger for Donald Trump than it was say for President George W. Bush or H.W. or Reagan.
He's at unprecedented levels of support and intensity of that support. It's one of the things that's going to move him in a good direction in the
election and why through all the viewing that we do of Donald Trump's poll numbers not being strong, there's always the caveat of a comma, but he can
win.
This is why this is going to be a base turnout election by and large. There will be persuasion, but most people have made up their minds. And so
as the bases are more intense than ever which speaks to the partisanship that John spoke about, it's a feather in hat that Donald Trump doesn't have
a lot of feathers in.
AVLON: I appreciate my friend's comments on that. I mean, look, I think you will see a hardening of partisan intensity, and that may translate to a
slight bump for Donald Trump. But don't forget, he's the only President in the history of GOP never to be above 50 percent. And among unelected
officials -- I think my friend Doug would agree -- that Republicans in private often express dismay and disregard for this President. In respect
to this case in particular. But the base is inflamed and that's the tail wagging the dog in American politics these days.
KINKADE: All right, John Avlon, Doug Heye, good to have you both here. There's much more to discuss. Thanks so much.
AVLON: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, impeachment will likely loom over the upcoming Democratic debate. Seven Democratic hopefuls will take to the stage in the coming
hours. Three of the candidates have a unique perspective on the impeachment. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar will take
part in the Senate trial. You can watch the debate right here on CNN. It starts at 9:00 a.m. in Hong Kong. That's 1:00 a.m. London time.
Well, reaction is pouring into the impeachment not just from within the United States but right around the world. And coming up, we're going to
hear what Russian President Vladimir Putin is saying about all of that. Stay with us.
[10:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual marathon question and answer session earlier. And he touched on several key topics like climate
change. He says no one knows what caused it but steps must be taken to stop it. Well the impeachment of U.S. President Trump also came up. Mr.
Putin accused the Democrats of impeaching him for made-up reasons. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is just a continuation of the internal political battle. One party that lost the
elections, the Democrats, is now trying to find new ways by accusing Trump of collusion with Russia. But then it turns out there was no collusion.
This can't be the basis for the impeachment. Now they came up with some pressure on Ukraine. I don't know what is the pressure, but this is up to
your Congressmen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well our Fred Pleitgen joins us now from Moscow for more on all of this. Fred, obviously, Vladimir Putin there responding to the impeachment. How
much was he echoing the Republican talking points?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think he certainly was echoing it by a great deal. If you just -- basically if
we go back to that sound bite that we just heard from Vladimir Putin. Where on the one hand he said that the Democrats were long trying to
impeach President Trump for some of the things we heard last night at the impeachment debate there on the House floor with some Republicans saying
they believe the Democrats had been plotting impeachment basically since before President Trump even took office. So Vladimir Putin essentially
saying the same thing there.
Then he said that they were accusing President Trump -- this was really interesting one -- accusing President Trump of collusion with Russia but
then it turned out there was no collusion. Now of course, one of the things that the Russian President is omitting there in his answer is that,
of course the Mueller report did come to the conclusion that Russia did meddle in the election. Even if there was no collusion in that, certainly
they did say that Russia was not innocent. That, of course, something Vladimir Putin did not talk about in his answer there.
I thought very interesting was what he said next. He said then the Democrats came up with some sort of pressure on Ukraine and he didn't
really know what that pressure was. Of course, one of President Trump's main arguments that he's been making ever since all of this came to light,
hot is he's been saying, there was no pressure. It was a perfect phone call. He's been saying, look, the Ukrainians didn't even know that the aid
was not coming to them. That there had been a hold placed on that aid even though we know from former Ukrainian officials that early on they did know
there were some issues with getting that aid out to them.
So seeing there from Vladimir Putin really echoing almost some of the talking points that Republicans had been using in the debates and
Republicans continue to use. As he is talking about how he feels about that impeachment going forward.
I thought it was quite interesting what you said in the lead-in quoting Vladimir Putin saying that he believes that all of this was done for made-
up reasons. That certainly is something that we took note of here as well -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Absolutely, and you mentioned the Mueller report pointing out that Russia's clear aim at meddling in the U.S. election in 2016 was to sow
discord and create division. Any general reaction to the fact that that is exactly what we are seeing play out here?
PLEITGEN: Yes, you know it's very interesting because it certainly is something that we are seeing first and foremost get played out on Russian
stayed media, on Kremlin-controlled media where they are portraying the United States as a country in disarray. It's quite interesting to see
because they do levy a lot of criticism as what they call the institutions in dysfunction -- of course the Congress. They talk about the State
Department as well.
They never really seem to criticize President Trump himself. Of course, we do know that the relations between -- the personal relations between
President Trump and Vladimir Putin are very good.
But one of the case in point that we were able to observe just a few days ago was the visit by Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine.
[10:30:00]
Of course, he then came back and said he found out all sorts of things. That there was collusion between -- that Ukraine tried to meddle in the
U.S. elections and other things. Those were things that were also echoed on Russian state TV and almost given back as fact. One of the people they
also criticized, for instance, was the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, who of course was forced out after a smear campaign
against her. Also something that you saw on Russian state TV as well.
So they certainly are right now portraying the U.S. as a country that is in real disarray as opposed to the way of course that they portray the way
that Russia is being led specifically by Vladimir Putin in this press conference today -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Absolutely. All right, Frederik Pleitgen in Moscow force, thanks so much.
While the impeachment of the U.S. President is historic, the top Democrat in the U.S. House may delay the process. What a delay could mean for
President Donald Trump. We'll have that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. U.S. President Trump is now one of only three Presidents who have been impeached. The Democrat controlled House of
Representatives charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Mr. Trump blasted the impeachment Wednesday night at a rally in Michigan. In a few minutes, we're going to hear from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on
when she plans to send the matter to the Senate for a trial.
Well last hour, the Senate majority leader says the House is setting a dangerous precedent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCONNELL: The House's conduct risks a deeply damaging the institutions of American government. This particular House of Representatives has let its
partisan rage at this particular President create a toxic new precedent that will echo well into the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, to the U.K. and pomp, pageantry and a dress-down a monarch. Queen Elizabeth II has officially opened the next session of the U.K.
Parliament after Boris Johnson's thumping victory in last week's general election. With a speech outlining the priorities of his government over
the next year. At the top of the list, of course, delivering Brexit by the end of next month. Beginning with a Parliamentary vote on the Prime
Minister's withdrawal deal tomorrow.
Well the opposition Labour Party suffered a humiliating defeat in the election reporting their worst result since 1935. Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi a
Labour Party member of Parliament who was returned to Parliament and he joins us now live. Good to have you with us.
[10:35:00]
TANMANJEET SINGH DHESI, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY MP: Thank you, Lynda, for having me on.
KINKADE: So this was of course a resounding win for Boris Johnson. He has the mandate. We heard the Queen set out the agenda. Can he deliver it?
DHESI: Well, look, he's made a lot of promises, and it will be to the likes of us as Labour Party Parliamentarians to hold him to account. I
think within the Labour Party we need to acknowledge the devastating loss. But at the same time we need to quickly regroup. We need to reflect and
then, having chosen our new leader, we need to take the fight back to the Conservatives so that we have a Labour government in the very near future
that millions of people desperately need and want.
KINKADE: Tony Blair has spoken to our Christiane Amanpour. He is of course the last Labour Prime Minister to win an election. I just want to
play a bit of sound from that interview. Just take a listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: You were one of the main grandees, sort of speak, who supported remain and who wanted to reverse Brexit. And you
did everything you could to do that. Whether it was going to be a second referendum or whatever it was. Are you willing to concede that is off the
table, that Brexit will happen and that's what's going to happen to the United Kingdom?
TONY BLAIR, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Yes, it's going to happen now. I mean, it's tragic. We never should have agreed to Brexit general
election. By the way, it was crazy to mix the two issues up. We should have had a decision by the British people on Brexit self-standing as a
decision, but we didn't. One of the many mistakes the Labour Party made was to agree a Brexit general election. It's now decided. The government
has a majority to do Brexit which will happen at the end of January. It's then going to be a very difficult negotiation, but you know, it's now
important that we accept it will happen and try and make it work as best we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Tan, I want to get your reaction. Is Mr. Blair right there? Was it wrong to agree to an election with Brexit being the dominant issue?
DHESI: Lynda, the reasons for our defeat were complex and varied and having knocked on thousands of doors, not just within my own constituency,
but in other parts of the country as well, I think there were three preeminent reasons why we lost. Firstly, as Tony Blair himself has pointed
out, the likes of me pointed out that we do not want an election before Brexit is sorted out. Unfortunately, I think given the Liberal Democrats
and others in their rush to have an election and they ultimately have led to that election being called earlier.
But also our party leadership I think needed to stand firm so that we don't have that election before Brexit is sorted. Secondly, I think in terms of
for many it was also a case of party leaders. So that also played in. And lastly, I think it was a class that we perhaps offered too much. That the
economic credibility of our offer, as good as it was for some people, it seemed as if that we were offering too much and how would we be able to
afford it.
But we now need to take those lessons and we need to ensure we've got fresh faces, fresh ideas, a fresh offer to the British public because if we don't
do that, then the damaging effects of a hard Tory Brexit, because that's what we will now be faced with. Because what the Prime Minister has done
is, he has straitjacketed himself. Is that by the end of next year, he has to have agreed a trade deal with the European Union. I think that he
didn't need to have that straitjacket but that is now what we're faced with.
KINKADE: It is a highly ambitious timeline.
DHESI: Definitely, and that's why many of us, given the result of the election, I think that the Prime Minister now had a mandate to get his
withdrawal agreement bill passed by the end of January. But what should have been happening was that during this transition period, he needed to
have worked out a very complex trade deal. And that is what is entailed going forward. However, what he has led to is that he has now said that by
the end of next year, if there is no trade deal, then we'll have that catastrophic no-deal Brexit which is what the likes of myself within Labour
and others had warned the British public. That by the way, will be so damaging to our manufacturing base, to hundreds of thousands of jobs and
not to mention in terms of consequences for workers' rights and environmental protections.
If we look at the Queen's speech that was delivered today, produced, obviously, for her Majesty by the Prime Minister, there was very little of
substance with regards to tackling the climate emergency which is the preeminent issue of our time and unfortunately there are zero carbon
emissions by 2050. That's just too late. Even if the government carries on with its current trajectory, it will not actually achieve that until
2099.
KINKADE: Right, a major issue. There are quite a few big issues facing the U.K. right now. One of course likely to face very soon is the Scottish
independence. The first minister Nicola Sturgeon pushing hard.
[10:40:00]
And saying that everyone knows, the dogs in the street know there's going to be an independence referendum. Do you think the government can keep the
SNP drive for a second referendum at bay?
DHESI: The likes of myself and other Labour Party politicians had warned that the fanning of nationalism within the U.K., so whether that is north
of the border with the SNP or whether that's, in fact, south of the border within England and Wales by the Conservatives, while they purport to being
patriots and nationalists and unionists, what is actually happening is that that fanning of nationalism is leading to a weakening of our union.
But what I personally do not agree with the estimation of the Scottish National Party leader because ultimately if we look at the election result.
Firstly, the previous referendum was a once in a generational referendum. However, what is also happened is that within the voting in the last
general election, while the majority of Parliamentarians returned were Scottish National Party members of Parliament, unfortunately for them, they
did not win more than 50 percent. They only won 45 percent, I believe, of the popular vote. So in essence, if we go back to ask the same question, I
think we'll end up at a similar result but that's not where we should be heading to.
All right, KINKADE: Tan Dhesi, good to get your perspective on all of this. Thanks so much for your time today.
DHESI: Thank you, Lynda.
KINKADE: Well of course, our viewers can see Christiane Amanpour's full interview with former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. That will be
tonight at 6:00 p.m. London time right here on CNN.
Well Lebanon is moments away from a new Prime Minister. Government consultations currently under way in Beirut right now. And we expect the
Hezbollah-backed candidate to become the next Prime Minister. And while we wait to see if new political leadership will satisfy the protesters, these
kinds of rallies have rocked the nation since October. The crowds demanding an end to corruption and government mismanagement.
Our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman knows the region inside out. Joining us live from Beirut. Good to have you with us, Ben. So, of
course, the country has been rocked by these protests for weeks. And the last few days we've seen cars set on fire, tear gas, water cannons
deployed. The Prime Minister -- although he resigned seven weeks ago -- now agreeing not to seek the top job again. So who could take the reins?
Just explain it for us.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, today we had what are called binding consultations by the President of the Republic,
Michel Aoun. Where basically representatives of the various political blocs and independent members of Parliament have come and told the
President who they would like to be the next Prime Minister.
And it appears that the one -- at this point, there are 128 members of the Lebanese Parliament. The latest we've seen is that 69 have come down in
favor of Hassan Diab who is a professor at the American University Beirut. He was the minister of education from 2011 to 2014. And he is the favorite
candidate of the bloc that includes the Free Patriotic Movement which is a Christian party. Amal and Hezbollah, two major powerful Shia parties as
well.
So it does appear that the majority have come out in favor of Mr. Diab who, of course, is a Sunni Muslim because, according to unwritten agreements in
here in Lebanon, the President of the Republic must be a Maronite Christian. The Prime Minister, a Sunni Muslim and the Speaker of
Parliament, a Shia Muslim. The problem with the choice of Hassan Diab is, of course, none of the major Sunni political blocs have come out in favor
of him.
Now the previous several governments of Lebanon have been essentially governments of national unity that included all the major political
factions. This time it appears that this is what's being called a government of confrontation because these are political parties that are
not in the favor of -- or rather in the good graces of the United States which has repeatedly slapped sanctions on members of Hezbollah and those
affiliated with the group.
And the worry is that now the United States is going to slap sanctions not just on individuals or Hezbollah -- individuals affiliated with Hezbollah,
but others as well that could include Christian political allies of Hezbollah.
[10:45:00]
And in addition to the fact that none of the major Sunni political groups could be represented in this government, there could be anger, unrest from
the Sunni street as well. So it's a complicated and delicate situation. We will have to see what sort of government this individual Hassan Diab is
able to form. If it's representative enough, and has enough independent individuals, technocrats so to speak, to satisfy the protest movement that
has -- that broke out on the 17th of October here in Lebanon against the political establishment writ large -- Lynda.
KINKADE: All right. We'll see how this does indeed all play out. Ben Wedeman for us in Beirut. Thanks so much. I'm going to take a quick break
now. You're watching CNN. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. Well any moment now, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will speak. It comes just one day after the House voted to impeach
President Donald Trump. They charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. You can see the live pictures there of the podium
where Speaker Pelosi will take to that stage very shortly. We will bring you that live as it happens.
Well they have been overshadowed by the impeachment fight. I'm talking about the U.S. Democratic Presidential candidates who are getting ready to
hold their final debate of the year. Seven candidates will take the stage in Los Angeles in just a few hours. We do have a new CNN poll showing that
Joe Biden still leading the pack with 26 percent of support. Bernie Sanders second with 20 percent. Elizabeth Warren trailing in third place
with 16 percent. Pete Buttigieg is fourth at 8 percent. And Michael Bloomberg, a recent entry, who won't be participating in the debate tonight
is fifth with just 5 percent.
As we get closer to the U.S. primary season, there's obviously a lot at stake for the candidates gathering in Los Angeles. That's why we find our
Ryan Nobles who is standing by. Firstly, on the polls, Ryan Nobles. So Joe Biden, despite the blunders, the things he's missaid over the past few
months during various other debates, still leading the pack.
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is, Lynda, but it's important to point out that that is a national poll that shows Joe Biden out in front. And
it's a little bit more dicey for him when you start to look at the individual state polls, including these early polls in places like Iowa and
New Hampshire. Biden falling behind in Iowa in particular, struggling to say in the top of the pack in New Hampshire as well. And while those
national polls are important and they do tell us a lot about where this race could be headed, those early polls and those early states do play a
pretty big role.
And you know, the person we see surging in some of those early states is Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend. And that's why we do anticipate
that perhaps tonight he takes a bit of incoming fire from some of these other candidates. To this point, most of the top tier candidates have for
the most part ignored Buttigieg on the debate stage. That could change tonight because of his standing in the polls.
But the one other big thing we're looking for here tonight, Lynda, just fewer candidates on stage. Only seven candidates in total. It's been much
different than the ten and 11 candidates that we've seen on the stage before. So perhaps the opportunity for a little bit more back and forth.
We'll have to see how that plays out.
[10:50:00]
KINKADE: Yes, I was going to ask more about Buttigieg. Because he has been rising in some of those more regional polls in the first states that
will vote. And as you mentioned, the stage is getting smaller and whiter. It is less diverse now.
NOBLES: Yes. Two great points you make there, Lynda. First about Buttigieg, you know he's really strong in one poll in particular and that
is in Iowa. And that is very important because Iowa is the first state. He's got much bigger problems when you look at his standing across the
country. In particular, he has a real problem with African-American voters.
The first state where you're going to see a very strong influence of African-American voters is in South Carolina and Buttigieg is polling very
poorly there. And African-American voters are an enormously important part of the Democratic primary electorate. And to that point, we will see a
lack of African-Americans on the stage here tonight. Even though there were a number of African-American Presidential candidates that got into the
race in the beginning. We saw Kamala Harris recently drop out. Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey still in the race but did not meet the
qualifications to participate in the debate tonight. And Julian Castro from Texas, he also, a Latino candidate, also did not make the criteria to
make it into the debate today. And that's caused some criticism, even from some of the candidates who made it into the debate here tonight.
You know, the minority representation in the Democratic party is so important, Lynda. And so, the fact that we're not going to see perhaps as
diverse a field here tonight has some folks concerned. And you can bet that's something that's going to be asked of these candidates here tonight.
How are you going to meet the needs of those more diverse sections of the Democratic primary field and those voters? And Pete Buttigieg in
particular could be pressed on that.
KINKADE: An important question indeed. Ryan Nobles for us in Los Angeles, good to have you with us. And for our viewers, you can watch the debate
right here on CNN. It starts at 9:00 a.m. in Hong Kong, 1:00 a.m. in London. We, of course, standing by to hear House Speaker Nancy Pelosi take
to the podium. We will bring you that live when it happens. For now, we'll take a quick break. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. We'll be
right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You are looking at a live shot where we are expected to hear from U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at any moment.
Speaking just one day after the House voted to impeach President Donald Trump. They charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
We're going to listen to that and bring you it live when it happens.
Extreme weather conditions have prompted Australia's most populous state to declare a state of emergency. It's a second time in two months that
authorities have taken this step as more than 120 fires rage, fueled by a record-breaking heat wave. We're talking about New South Wales.
[10:55:00]
More than half of the fires in that state remain uncontrolled.
And take a look at this. A sudden snowstorm caught some New Yorkers off guard. This is a time lapse video. It shows an intense short-lived burst
of heavy snow along with gusty winds enveloping the city. The potent band of snow associated with an arctic cold front produced near white-out
conditions covering the city in a sudden cloud and dusting of snow.
I'm Lynda Kinkade. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thanks so much for watching. We're going to have more after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Speaking now a day after the vote to impeach President Trump, let's listen in.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): It seems like people have a spring in their step because the President was held accountable for his reckless behavior. No
one is above the law and the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. No one is above the law and the President has been held accountable.
It really is interesting to see the response that we are getting bipartisan across party lines. I myself want to say, I have a spring in my step
because of the moral courage of our caucus to see them all, so many of 100 members go to the floor -- that's all we had time for -- to go to the floor
and speak about our Constitution, about the facts of the case, so clearly, so patriotically, so prayerfully and so solemnly, but so definitely.
Just to get this off the table right away, to impeach the President immediately everyone was on to the next thing. The next thing for us will
be when we see the process that is set forth in the Senate, then we'll know the number of managers that we may have to go forward and who we would
choose. That's what I said last night and that's what I'm saying now. The precedent for this -- and I met with my six chairs after some of us were
together for a press conference after the votes last night--
[11:00:00]
END
