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Political Shake-Up in Hubei Over Handling of Crisis; 44 New Cases Reported on Quarantined Cruise Ship; Battle Against Virus Taking Its Toll on Health Care Workers; Sudan Moves to Settle with Families of Terror Victims; Former Chief of Staff Defends Fired Impeachment Witness; Trump Thanks Justice Department for Stone Case Intervention. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired February 13, 2020 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The death toll for the novel virus now tops 1,300 worldwide.
Breaking overnight there are 44 new cases of coronavirus on the quarantined cruise ship in Japan.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What do you tell your children about why you guys are sitting there for this long?
HARVEY, DIAMOND PRINCESS PASSENGER: We say there's like this invisible monster called the coronavirus and we can't go outside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: This hour, a massive number of new cases of coronavirus. And the World Health Organization tells CNN we don't know
where it's going. Plus, one of the architects of Donald Trump's Middle East plan speaks to CNN and what he told us ahead.
Also, Sudan pays up $30 million in compensation for this attack as it tries to work its way back in from the cold.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Atlanta, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
KINKADE: This hour, it is 11:00 p.m. in Wuhan, midnight in Yokohama, 5:00 in the evening in Khartoum. Hello, and welcome to the show. I'm Lynda
Kinkade, connecting your world this hour.
Well the big story today, a massive rise in the number of coronavirus infections and deaths. Since our program yesterday the confirmed cases in
China has jumped by more than 15,000 with the global number now topping 60,000. The death toll in China rose by more than 20 percent in just one
day. It's now approaching 1,400. And the big question is why? Going to take a deep dive into how China's reporting the coronavirus numbers in a moment.
But first to some other big developments in the outbreak. Now President Xi Jinping's government is sacking top officials in Hubei province, the
epicenter of the outbreak. The latest to go, the Wuhan Communist Party chief. He's going to be replaced by Shanghai's mayor.
President Xi has faced unusually blunt public criticism after the death of the whistleblower doctor who tried to warn the public about the virus. The
doctor was initially detained by police and later died of the coronavirus.
The Japanese woman in her 80s to lived just outside Tokyo has become the third person to die of the coronavirus outside mainland China. The World
Health Organization says there's a great deal of uncertainty about the future spread of this virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TARIK JASAREVIC, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION SPOKESMAN: It's really too early for us to make any predictions. So we don't know exactly where this
outbreak will go. It can go either way. And we have seen with outbreaks in the past, the epidemiological curve can go up and down and there can be a
period of more quiet transmission and then a jump in cases.
So it's very difficult to predict. And what we know and one of the reasons why it's difficult to predict is because we still don't know much about the
virus. We still don't know exactly the source of the virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Meantime, another 44 people on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive. That makes a total of 219
confirmed cases on that ship. Now certain passengers who are 80 years or older who have tested negative will get to disembark soon. But others have
to wait out the quarantine.
Today the cruise line's chief medical officer warned additional measures may be needed before or after the quarantine's scheduled ending which is
due to end next Wednesday. Now he described the situation on the ship as I have dynamic.
While the coronavirus is affecting so many people and events around the world, one thing it won't impact is the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The Tokyo
2020 President vowing the games will go on as scheduled. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOSHIRO MORI, TOKYO 2020 PRESIDENT (through translator): I would like to clearly reiterate that cancellation or postponement of the Tokyo games are
not being considered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Time to bring in the team. Our David Culver is with us from Beijing. He's been on the story for us from the very start. Will Ripley is
in Yokohama with the latest on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. And our Christine Macfarlane is here with me in Atlanta on how sport is being
impacted. So a lot to get through.
I want to start first with David, because President Xi seemingly is on the front lines of this. Certainly a lot of criticism about the way authorities
in Wuhan have handled this. And for the first time, we have seen some pretty high-profile sackings.
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No question, Lynda. In our early reporting suggested this may come to this point.
[10:05:00]
And by that I the folks that we were talking to in Wuhan early on, the people who are directly impacted, those expressing criticism to the local
government. And it was also interesting because state media, Chinese media outlets early on were also given that leeway to criticize the local
government and to even expose in some investigative reporting some of the wrongdoings that were allegedly done there.
And so now what are we seeing but the central government is in charge. They have the command here. And the local government is seemingly to take the
fall. And we've got now the two most senior party officials within Hubei and the city of Wuhan who have been pushed out of their job. They've been
replaced, Lynda, by proteges of President Xi Jinping.
KINKADE: And in terms of the way the coronavirus is now being diagnosed, we saw that massive jump overnight. 14,000 new cases reported in the
epicenter of this outbreak. And it was just 2,000 a day earlier, so a massive jump. And it seems now that they are using CT scans to diagnose
this. Is that what's impacting the numbers we are seeing and how is that giving us a clearer picture of the real problem here?
CULVER: And I think this also is rooted when some of the concerns we heard from folks early on that we shared in our reporting and that is that people
were saying they weren't getting tested or there were long delays in getting tested. And they even felt like some of their loved ones likely had
the illness and have even been diagnosed but haven't been formally tested and so they couldn't be classified as such.
Well now it's perhaps that the government is responding to that by now reclassifying and allowing those who have been tested and tested positive
to be included. And those who have been clinically diagnosed and showing symptoms but not yet tested to likewise be lumped into that group.
Among those who are impacted, though, and we've learned this firsthand, have been medical workers. Those who quite literally are on the front
lines.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER (voice-over): China has likened it to a military operation. A nation's battle against the deadly novel coronavirus. It's placed
healthcare workers, doctors and nurses on the front lines. Early on in the fight against the epidemic, Chinese state media aired emotional interviews
like this one. One of the nurses explaining how she had to reassure her own parents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I always say it's OK since we are well-protected. Actually, I was just saying that to give them peace of
mind. We're actually afraid and worried. But as long as we're on duty, our own sense of mission will support us to do the job.
CULVER: While Chinese officials and state media praised the medical workers for their heroic efforts, CNN has spoken with some who feel as
though they've been sent into battle without armor. As a result, they say many of their colleagues have gone from treating patients to becoming one.
One Wuhan hospital nurse, who asked we not identify her fearing repercussions for speaking with the media, told us by text -- right now
it's really a problem. Our hospital has more than 100 people who are quarantined at home. She's one of them. She says that chest scan revealed
she had a suspected case of the virus. That same nurse describing to CNN the shortage of medical supplies often being posted on Chinese's social
media site, Weibo.
These images posted on state run "People's Daily" Weibo account. Show medical personnel in a Wuhan hospital so desperate that they resorted to
creating protective gear out of plastic trash bags. That's something Chinese health officials have publicly acknowledged. And even while they've
ramped up production of supplies, some feel it's arriving too late. And this nurse posted that she contracted the virus and is now a patient at the
same hospital where she works.
The inpatient floor I live on is filled with colleagues from my hospital, she posted. Adding, I'm afraid the virus inside my body will come out and
infect these colleagues who are still standing fast on the front line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is. It is a battle.
CULVER: We video chatted with Dr. Ivan Hung, an infectious disease doctor at Hong Kong University Hospital. He warns it's not the health care workers
working directly with the confirmed coronavirus patients most at risk but rather --
DR. IVAN HUNG, CHIEF OF DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE, HONG KONG UNIVERSITY: Those who are in the general medical ward or in the emergency,
accident emergency areas where they triage these patients. Where they are not -- perhaps not aware that they are actually carrying the virus.
CULVER: That is precisely what happened to Dr. Li Wenliang. The 34-year- old Wuhan ophthalmologist contracted the virus in mid-January. Just two weeks after trying to sound the alarm of a then mysterious SARS-like
illness. Local police reprimanded him. Li spoke with CNN briefly by phone on January 31st, struggling to communicate. You could hear the hospital
machines pulsing in the background.
DR. LI WENLIANG, WHISTLEBLOWER (through translated text): I can barely breathe.
CULVER: He died a week later. Li's death and the fight so many healthcare workers are now enduring a reminder of the dangers facing those tasked to
stop the spread.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER: We've talked about the extremes of this containment effort, including the screenings for fevers and folks who are walking into airports
or even restaurants around here. But, Lynda, we're also hearing about some other efforts including the screenings for fevers and folks who are walking
into airports or even restaurants around here.
But, Lynda, were also hearing about some other cases that seem a bit extreme as well if you will. In one case, in some places, not selling fever
and cold medicine so as to push forward folks who may be suffering from the symptoms to go to the hospital so they'd then be reported and then count
towards those numbers and even folks being incentivized to report themselves to the hospital if they have a fever or be given cash to report
on somebody else.
KINKADE: Wow. All right, David, just stand by for us. I want to go to our Will Ripley. But I just have some news in to us. Another person that had
been evacuated from China who was in quarantine in Texas has now been confirmed to have the coronavirus. Now this is the 15th case in the United
States to be confirmed.
Now, Will, you've been covering the number of people on this cruise ship that has been under quarantine. The number of cases there certainly going
up every single day. Certainly a number of Americans among them. But we know that while the quarantine on the ship isn't officially going to end
until next week that some people will be able to embark early. Why so?
RIPLEY: We know, Lynda, that people who are over the age of 80 who have not been exposed to someone who has tested positive for novel coronavirus,
they'll be given the option and some are taking the government up on that option. Getting off the ship sooner to then move into a quarantine that's
managed by the Japanese government here on dry land.
And that of course, is an attractive option for those who are worried about being on this cruise ship which has the highest concentration now of people
who have tested positive for coronavirus anywhere in the world. I mean, a significantly larger number than even the 15 there in the United States you
just mentioned.
KINKADE: Right, and, of course, Will, you've been speaking to parents on board that ship who had young families. Just how are they coping?
RIPLEY: It's an angle that we've been wanting to explore for a while now, Lynda. Because we know that there are a lot of parents on this ship with
young children who are basically having to spend most of the day, every day with the exception of maybe an hour outside, cramped in their tiny cabins.
How do you keep youngsters not scared? How do you keep them happy? How do you keep them occupied? You're about to see.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY (voice-over): This is what a cruise is supposed to be like. For parents with young children on the Diamond Princess, this only happens for
about an hour every few days. All those other hours are spent like this. Waiting for the daily delivery of fresh toys, coloring books, crayons,
colorful beads.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I have this bracelet and also this one.
RIPLEY: Arts and crafts can keep the kids busy for hours. Every morning, local jet skiers try to boost morale. Every evening, bunk beds become
trampolines.
HARVEY, DIAMOND PRINCESS PASSENGER: Being trapped in this cabin, it makes you think and realize what we should appreciate, like the little moments,
the little details of life.
RIPLEY: Harvey is a young dad who asked us not to use his last name. He's on the quarantined cruise ship with his entire family.
HARVEY: There's 11 of us and then there's 5 kids.
RIPLEY: The youngest, 3, the oldest, 8.
(on camera): What do you tell your children about why you guys are sitting there for this long?
HARVEY: We say there's like this invisible monster called the coronavirus and we can't go outside.
RIPLEY (voice-over): That invisible monster may have the parents more spooked than their kids. Nobody in Harvey's family is showing any symptoms
of novel coronavirus. He thinks they should all be tested anyway.
HARVEY: The numbers are kind of strange to me. I'm also worried because even though I trust my own health, I don't want to be like an invisible
carrier.
RIPLEY: The Japanese government has only tested a few hundred people out of more than 3,000 on the Diamond Princess. many are asking, why not test
everyone at once? Japan can only process around 300 test kits per day. The nation expects to more than triple its capacity by early next week. One day
before the end of the quarantine. The question many are asking, is it too little, too late?
HARVEY: If we are worried that we might be carrying, then it will affect our daily life when we go back. That's one of the major concerns. That we
don't want to be carrying it. We don't want to spread to the communities.
RIPLEY: Harvey worries what could happen when they go back home to Hong Kong. Could he and his children be stigmatized. Could they pass the virus
to their neighbors, family and friends? Peace of mind, he says, can only come if everyone on board is tested and if those tests come back negative.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[10:15:00]
RIPLEY: CNN has learned that the Japanese government is now operating on the assumption they might, for everyone's peace of mind, have to test
everybody before they get off that ship. But you know what that means, Lynda. That the 19th might not be the actual day that people get to get off
and go home if they have to wait for those results to come back.
KINKADE: Yes, that is tough news to take. Certainly tough for those families on board as well. Will Ripley, good to have you covering that
angle for us. Thanks so much.
We've got to have to cover the sport's impact, of course. Our Christina Macfarlane is here on set with us in Atlanta. So certainly we have already
seen how the coronavirus has impacted the Chinese Formula 1 that's been postponed. The Rugby Sevens has been postponed. But the International
Olympic Committee says the games are set to go on.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, you know what? It feels like the elephant in the room right now. Doesn't it? We've got five months to go
until the Tokyo 2020 games. The Olympic torch relay is due to get under way in Japan next month and international sales are meant to start up in May.
So do we have a problem here? Well the head of the President of Tokyo 2020 -- as you ran the clip early on -- says absolutely not. He called out what
we said were irresponsible rumors circulating right now and said the cancellation, the postponement of the games are not being considered.
However, they have set up a task force to monitor and share information.
But you'd understand, Lynda, why people are getting jittery about this. Let's take a look at the number of events that have been impacted by the
virus in recent weeks. We've got the World Athletics indoor championships. The Chinese Super League and Asian Championship League, LPGA golf, Formula
E and of course, the big news yesterday, was the Chinese Grand Prix which is being postponed. We don't know until when. And now of course, the Rugby
Sevens in Asia.
And of course, it won't just impact events inside the region but possibly athletes outside as well because some of these events were scheduled to be
qualifying events for the Olympics.
KINKADE: It's an interesting move by the IOC especially considering how we've seen that massive spike in numbers overnight. We'll see how this kind
of plays out over the coming weeks and if they do change their mind. Christina, good to have you. Thanks for joining us.
MACFARLANE: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, there's one country bordering China that has not reported any cases of the coronavirus. That is North Korea. Severe restrictions on
travel in and out of North Korea may have prevented the transmission there. For medical experts, they're highly skeptical the virus has not already
entered the country. Our Paula Hancocks reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some experts fear the virus may already be inside the hermit kingdom.
NAM SUNG-WOOK, PROFESSOR, KOREA UNIVERSITY (through translator): About 90 percent of North Korean trade is with China. You can see so many people as
well as trucks and trains connecting the two countries on a daily basis at the border before North Korea shut its border. It's very likely North Korea
has infected cases already.
HANCOCKS: An outbreak of any kind could be very dangerous for the country with limited ability to test or treat patients. North Korea shut its
borders during the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the Ebola outbreak in 2014, suggesting Pyongyang is aware of the limitations on its medical system.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well you can also follow our coverage of the coronavirus online. Just go to our website, CNN.com for the latest numbers and an in-depth look
at what's at what's happening to those passengers and crew members on board the quarantined Diamond Princess as they endure what must seem like an
endless wait to leave that ship.
So the bottom line right now is the coronavirus continues to spread. The number of cases and deaths are spiking inside China. And Health officials
are warning there's no way to predict right now how bad it will get or when it will get better.
Let's bring you up to speed on some other news on our radar. We're following a major shake-up in Boris Johnson's government. Sajid Javid has
resigned from his position as British finance minister. Rishi Sunak will be the new Chancellor.
The boss of Barclays Bank is being investigated by British regulators over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Barclays says Jes Staley a Wall
Street veteran had no contact with the disgraced financier after Staley became CEO in 2015. Now Epstein died in jail last year awaiting trial on
sex trafficking charges.
Sudan wants a fresh start. From the ouster of its President to turning its back on terrorism, Sudan is looking to change its narrative and join the
international community. We've got a live report next.
Also John Kelly has mostly kept quiet about his time in the White House. But now he's speaking out against his former boss. We'll tell you what
sparked it, next.
[10:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. Take a look at these pictures. Almost 20 years ago, the USS Cole bombed in Yemen, 17 American sailors were killed. A U.S. court
later concluded that Sudan provided aid to al-Qaeda which carried out the attack in October 2000.
Now CNN says it's going to pay the families of the victims a $30 million settlement as it tries to move forward. Sudan also wants to close the books
on another terror attack. It tells CNN talks are ongoing for a settlement with the families of the 224 people killed when al-Qaeda bombed the U.S.
embassies in Kenya and Tanzania back in 1998.
Sudan is desperate to be taken off the state sponsor of terrorism list and that would mean debt relief for its struggling economy. This week the
transitional government also announced it would hand over former President Omar al-Bashir to the international criminal court. Already jailed in
Khartoum, he will face genocide and war crimes charges over Sudan's brutal crackdown in Darfur between 2003 and 2008.
Well CNN's Nima Elbagir has just returned from Sudan, a country she knows well. She's reported on extensively there for CNN. She joins us from
London. Good to have you with us, Nima. Certainly Sudan seems to be making a lot of moves to appease the international community. Why now? How
important is it for Sudan to normalize relations with both U.S. and the rest of the international community?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Essentially, Lynda, the very success of this transitional government, the very success of the
democratic experiment in Sudan is at stake. The economy has been crippled.
Sudanese in Khartoum and other cities report horrible fuel lines, shortages of basic goods. What they need is debt relief and they needed urgently. And
this is part and parcel of the U.S.'s backing Sudan getting that relief is this settlement for the families of the American victims.
But there's also something in it for the Americans. This gives the Trump administration huge political capital to have succeeded where previous
administrations have failed. Take a look at this, Lynda.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELBAGIR (voice-over): A tragedy far from home that would sow the seeds for the September 11 attacks on U.S. soil. More than 200 American Tanzanian and
Kenyan lives lost in the 1998 twin bombings of the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. Two years later 17 American servicemen murdered in the
attack on the USS Cole in Yemen. The U.S. blamed Osama bin Laden, but they said he had help from his then host nation of Sudan.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a constant reminder that people who wear our uniform make sacrifices.
ELBAGIR: An acknowledgment for the families of the American victims at least. Sudan justice minister, Nasar al-Din Abdel Bari, said Sudan has
agreed to pay victims' families $30 million. As part of our efforts to remove Sudan's name from the U.S. state sponsors of terror list, on
February 7th an agreement was signed with the families of the victims of the 2000 USS Cole attack.
We entered into this agreement out of a keenness to settle the historic allegations of terrorism created by the former regime.
Last year, we reported on the Sudanese regime's brutal crackdown on pro- democracy demonstrators.
[10:25:00]
Winning a settlement for American families has been a key priority for the Trump administration, even as the litany of torture and death grew, we
discovered the U.S. was continuing normalization talks with now deposed dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
For victims' families, this means closure. For Sudan, this is the beginning of the journey back in from the cold. In the aftermath of the country's
historic revolution, Sudan is desperately in need of a fresh start. The hope is that the settlements and renewed U.S. support will pave the way for
much-needed debt relief and a brighter future for the country and its people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ELBAGIR: And that debt relief, Lynda, it really can't come soon enough for the people of Sudan.
KINKADE: No doubt. So we know recently that the Trump administration announced that Sudan would be added to its new travel ban list. Given what
we're seeing, the concessions from Sudan, will that change that position on that list, do you think?
ELBAGIR: Well, that's certainly the hope of the government of Sudan and even when the announcement was made, certain sources within the Trump
administration said that this was the initial list.
That this list was very much open for negotiation and definitely House Democrats, representatives in the U.S. House have been pushing for that.
Because a strong united democratic Sudan in that region in the horn of Africa would be incredibly good not just for Sudan itself but also for U.S.
interests in counterterror activities in the region. This really is in everybody's favor.
It depends whether the Trump administration can be taken off the route of scoring political points in the lead-up to the election though. So
definitely in Sudan, the government is watching Trump's reaction to this latest agreement very, very closely -- Lynda.
KINKADE: All right, we'll see what comes of it. Nima Elbagir, as always, thanks so much.
ELBAGIR: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well one U.S. Senator says President Trump is on a retaliation tour. Starting with those who testified against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We sent him on his way to a much different location, and the military can handle them any way they
want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: It was that reassignment that got his former right-hand man speaking out. We're going to have details on that ahead.
Plus -- superstar athlete LeBron James is celebrating a huge win but not on the basketball court. We're going to explain the good news, coming up.
[10:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
Well we are expecting to hear from the World Health Organization any minute now with an update on the novel coronavirus.
[10:30:00]
We will bring you that as soon as it happens.
Well this hour, China is reporting a major rise in the number of confirmed cases. It's jumped by more than 15,000 in just a day. But the big question
is why? Well Hubei province has changed the criteria it's using to determine who is considered confirmed. Some are accusing China of trying to
manage optics. China's health officials say the change allows untested patients to get the same treatments as those who have been confirmed. But
the World Health Organization says it's routine to change the case definition over the course of an outbreak.
Well the man who once ran Donald Trump's White House is now standing up against his former boss. Now this comes after Mr. Trump went on what one
Senator calls his retribution tour. He's fired two impeachment witnesses from their White House jobs, including Lieutenant Colonel Alexander
Vindman.
John Kelly, the former White House chief of staff said he did exactly what we teach them to do from cradle to grave. We teach them don't follow an
illegal order and if you're ever given one, you'll raise it to whoever gives it to you that this is an illegal order and then tell your boss.
Well CNN has also learned that more career federal prosecutors may resign soon. Four already quit the Roger Stone case after the Attorney General
requested a sentence reduction for Trump's longtime confidante.
Suzanne Malveaux is following this story and joins us now live from Capitol Hill. Suzanne, President Trump certainly continues to retaliate after his
acquittal in the Senate.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to believe, Lynda, that it really has been just about a week or so since the President was
impeached and acquitted. There are additional questions now for members of Congress about the President's role, about the Attorney General's role when
it comes to trying to lessen the sentence of a close ally, a Trump ally Roger Stone.
Had a chance to talk to a lot of lawmakers, Democrats like Senator Cory Booker who says that he is appalled and stunned by the President's actions.
And then you have Republicans like Senator John Kennedy who are giving the President the benefit of the doubt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): President Trump thanking the Justice Department for intervening in the sentencing of his longtime confidante Roger Stone.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank the Justice Department for seeing this horrible thing. And I didn't speak to them by
the way, just so you understand.
MALVEAUX: Top DOJ officials overruling the initial recommendation set by prosecutors who tried the case. Now the timing of the sudden change coming
into question. The President has repeatedly projected how he felt in a series of tweets before and after the Justice Department got involved. Four
federal prosecutors quit the case after the stunning reversal.
TRUMP: You know what happened they all hit the road quickly. I'm not concerned about anything. They ought to go back to school and learn because
I'll tell you, with the way they treated people, nobody should be treated like that.
MALVEAUX: President Trump also thanked Attorney General William Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should
not have even been brought. On Capitol Hill, Democrats are accusing Trump of pressuring the Justice Department.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): This brazen assault on the independence and integrity of the Department of Justice is unprecedented.
SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): We cannot give him a permanent license to turn the presidency and the executive branch into his own personal vengeance
operation.
MALVEAUX: Democratic leaders from both chambers calling for emergency hearings and investigations into Trump and Barr's actions.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY) U.S. MINORITY LEADER: Left to his own devices, President Trump would turn America into a banana republic with a dictator
that can do whatever he wants and the Justice Department is the President's personal law firm.
MALVEAUX: Trump's allies are downplaying the controversy.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I have real concerns about overzealous prosecution more than anything else. I thought he had done something, had
it changed the outcome inappropriately, I would be the first to say.
REP. DOUG COLLINS (R-GA): This is just crazy. I mean, there's nothing happening here except Bill Barr, who is the adult in the room, saying,
look, look, we've got a problem here.
MALVEAUX: In the days since his acquittal, the President is targeting those who testified against him, dismissing two key witnesses in his
impeachment hearings. Now CNN has learned President Trump directly revoked the nomination for a top treasury department job for Jesse Lu, the former
U.S. attorney in charge of Stone's case. Democrats are fearful Trump is assaulting America's democracy.
REP. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): The foundation of our democracy that you can't use your official powers to try to preserve your power and that's what the
President is doing today on almost a daily basis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And, Lynda, it was just within the hour we heard from the Democratic Congressman, this being Steve Cohen, of the House Judiciary
Committee.
[10:36:03]
He was a person who brought the bucket of fried chicken to the last hearing where Attorney General Bill Barr did not show up. Implying that he was
scared or that he was chicken.
But we have actually learned there is an agreement between the House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler and Attorney General Barr for him to appear
and to testify before that committee on March 31st. And of course, what is going to be front and center, being grilled on what his role is, what the
President's potential role is in trying to lessen the sentence of this Trump ally -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Right. And Suzanne, also later today, a vote is set to take place in the Senate aimed at curbing Trump's war powers in Iran. And
interestingly, it's getting some GOP support. How unusual is it that Republicans might vote against Donald Trump here? And aren't they worried
about retribution?
MALVEAUX: Well you know, it's absolutely rare that this is happening. You have at least eight Republicans who are expected to side with 43 Democrats
on the Senate because they voted to move this resolution forward today. They just voted on it yesterday.
And one of the things that Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat of Virginia told me, he's one of the authors of this resolution. As he said, he didn't put
President Trump's name on the resolution. That it was not about the President. Doesn't mention the President.
Therefore, some of these Republicans who are taking a position here, whether it's a constitutional conservatives or those just against the
executive branch pushing a bit too hard on its own military powers. They had a little political cover, if you will, because they can take that stand
without saying it had anything to do with President Trump.
KINKADE: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, staying across it all from Capitol Hill. Good to have you with us, thank you.
MALVEAUX: Thank you.
KINKADE: Also speaking out is the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. She's warning about the State Department in her first public
remarks since retiring. In a speech at Georgetown University, she said the department is being hollowed out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIE YOVANOVITCH, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: The State Department is in trouble. Senior leaders lack policy vision, moral clarity and
leadership skills. Officers are increasingly wondering whether it is safe to express concerns about policy even behind closed doors.
One of the things that has sustained me is the support of all of you. You know, when you go through some things --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Diplomatic understatement.
YOVANOVITCH: Is that what it was?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well she has policy discussions are being replaced by decisions made from the top without any discussion.
Well CNN sat down with one of the chief architects of the Mr. Trump's Middle East peace plan. That interview coming up a little later in the show
so stay with us for that.
Right now we've got time for a quick break.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR (voice-over): They meet every month. Budding entrepreneurs and experienced business owners
from across Dubai. It's a chance to network, share stories. But, above all else, this is a celebration of one thing -- failure.
FARI ZOULFAGHARI, ENTREPRENEUR: Failure, to me, is purely a steppingstone.
DEFTERIOS: Fari Zoulfaghari, a serial entrepreneur, who knows a thing or two about failure. Describes these meetings as self-help for Dubai's
entrepreneurs.
ZOULFAGHARI: It's a support system. I believe in creating a sense of support. It's bringing people together. Sharing failures that we don't fear
them so much and look at them as more celebration.
DEFTERIOS: Statistically, most here are destined to fail at least once. Production delays. Cash flow problems. Plain bad luck. There's much to
derail, even the most dedicated entrepreneurs.
ZOULFAGHARI: My biggest failure, well this is can probably take a couple of minutes on its own. Probably the biggest failure was taking on a project
which I thought was easy to manage and I had a team to start with. What ended up happening was I became that dictatorial. I was driving people away
from the project.
DEFTERIOS: Tonight's event is about stripping away the stigma of asking for help. In big cities like Dubai, there's usually a wealth of advice and
support out there for budding start-ups. If they're willing to ask. As if to validate her attitude to failure, Fari just launched her latest venture,
Hubpreneur. Start-up number four for this serial entrepreneur.
ZOULFAGHARI: OK, so you come into Hubpreneur. Any entrepreneur, this is the place for you. So you explore different events that are happening and
start connecting to different ideas and business ventures. You collect different people, other entrepreneurs.
[10:40:00]
So it's LinkedIn meets Eventbrite.
DEFTERIOS: Undaunted by previous failure, Fari has high hopes for her new business. No doubt she'll run into problems. But this time she'll have a
community of entrepreneurs to call for help and advice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. Some amazing news for basketball star LeBron James. His inaugural class at his "I Promise" school in his hometown of Akron,
Ohio, has received full scholarships to university. That is all 193 students that will get free tuition for four years, plus free housing and
food for a year. All they have to do is maintain good grades and commit to community service by giving back.
Well let's bring in "WORLD SPORT" Amanda Davies. What an incredible gift for those students -- Amanda.
AMANDA DAVIES, WORLD SPORT: Yes, it's a great story, isn't it, Lynda. And this is what we mean when we talk about an athlete using their platform for
change. But interestingly, that wasn't the only education that LeBron was involved in on Wednesday night. He really gave the Denver Nuggets a real
lesson as well. So we've got news of that and of course, the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on sport coming up in a couple of minutes --
Lynda.
KINKADE: Plenty to follow. We will be watching Amanda. Thanks very much.
We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
DAVIES: -- That's just about it for myself and the "WORLD SPORT" team for now. Time to hand you back to Lynda -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Amanda Davies, good to have you with us as always. Thanks so much.
Stick around. We're going to have much more news at the top of the hour. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
