Return to Transcripts main page
Isa Soares Tonight
IAEA Arrives In Zaporizhzhia; Russia Halts European Gas Supplies; Tributes From Around The World Pour In For Former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev; U.S. Justice Department Says Trump Likely Made Efforts To Obstruct Probe; U.S. And South Korea Stage Largest Military Drills In Years; Global Well-Being Plummets As Temperatures Rise; Mourners Mark 25th Anniversary Of Princess Diana's Death; Queen Elizabeth Will Not Appointment New U.K. Prime Minister At Buckingham Palace. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired August 31, 2022 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
LYNDA KINKADE, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, I'm Lynda Kinkade in for Isa Soares. Tonight, U.N. nuclear inspectors
arrive in Zaporizhzhia ahead of their high stakes visit to the Russian- occupied power plant. We'll go live to Kyiv. Then more headaches for Europe as Russia halts the flow of gas in its Nord Stream 1 pipeline for
maintenance.
So, how is the continent coping as Winter approaches? And tributes from around the world pour in for former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. We'll
look at the life and legacy he leaves behind. We're watching and waiting. A team of nuclear experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency have
arrived in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, and are preparing to inspect Europe's largest nuclear plant.
It follows weeks of concern about the safety of the Russian-occupied plant where fierce shelling has triggered warnings about a potential nuclear
disaster. The team expects to be granted access Thursday. And Russian- backed officials say they'll have just one day to complete their work. But the man leading the team, Rafael Grossi, says they'll need longer than
that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: Well, the mission will take a few days. And if we are able to establish a
permanent presence, or a continued presence, better said, then it's going to be prolonged. But this first segment is going to take a few days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the visit comes as Ukraine claims success in the south as it tries to retake territory in Russian-occupied Kherson. The Ukrainian
official there says they're bearing down on Russia in at least three areas. But Moscow denies this, claiming that it has inflicted heavy losses on
Ukraine's forces. Well, our Melissa Bell joins us live from Kyiv. Good to have you with us, Melissa.
So, let's start with the inspectors from the IAEA, who are now in the region, near that power plant. Is it -- and do you have any indication
right now as to how long they'll have to carry out that inspection and what will come from it?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've had conflicting information from the authorities in charge of the area in which the plant finds itself,
in those Russian-occupied parts beyond Zaporizhzhia itself, where the nuclear power plant is. Suggesting that the inspectors would only have a
day now to carry out their work.
But we've also been hearing from Rafael Grossi, on his way to Zaporizhzhia, and again, once he arrived earlier today in the city itself, saying that he
in fact hoped that he and his team would be there for a few days, and that beyond that a permanent mission would be set up. So, an IAEA mission inside
the plant that would stay more permanently.
So, we expect that the 14 strong team will make it to the plant by tomorrow morning, and then we wait to see whether he will be able to carry out that
inspection and leave the mission as he hopes to. But clearly, this is a mission that everyone had been hoping for in so far as it is that crucial
first step of being to ascertain -- being able to ascertain exactly what damage has been done by the fighting so far.
But also, as President Zelenskyy expressed yesterday, the hope that this inspection could mark the end or the start, rather, of a pause in
hostilities around the plant. The problem, say the Ukrainians, is that Russian forces, they say, they have been using it as a military base. Now,
that, Lynda, is backed up by American Intelligence.
So, it will be really interesting to see exactly what the inspectors find and whether President Zelenskyy's wish that this marks a pause in
hostilities is actually realized, Lynda.
KINKADE: And Melissa, speaking of fighting, that counteroffensive continues in the south. This was a region that was seized at the start of
the war. And there are some indications of how U.S. weaponry is being used in that counteroffensive.
BELL: That's right. We've been learning more details about those aid packages. Now, they've been widely reported, the last couple of American
aid -- military aid packages to Ukraine. But it is the facts that they were so carefully targeted in terms of the ammunition, in terms of the types of
weapons that were delivered to Ukrainians, with a particular view, Lynda, on this counteroffensive that is now been going on for two days.
[14:05:00]
And it appears if -- according to the Ukrainians, and that is a side where we've been hearing a little bit about we're not getting access to that
frontline, we're not getting a great deal of images, but we are beginning to hear from them, that they say that successes are beginning to come
through, not just the taking of several villages, but also their ability to target some of the infrastructure that allows Russian forces to cross the
Dnipro River and bring supplies and extra men and equipment to their forces now occupying Kherson.
That is the focus of this counteroffensive for the time. That city of Kherson, the only part of Ukrainian territory now in Russian hands that is
beyond the Dnipro. If they can take that back, they will have achieved something considerable. And that is their aim at the start. As this
counteroffensive begins, British Intelligence also suggesting they've managed to push the frontline back substantially in some parts, Lynda.
KINKADE: Certainly, some successes at this stage. Melissa Bell for us staying across all the developments in Ukraine. Thanks very much. Well,
loved abroad, but mixed reactions from home, as the world responds to the death of the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. U.S.
President Joe Biden described Gorbachev as a rare leader who made a safer world with greater freedom.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised Gorbachev for opening a path to freedom for Russians. And former German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who was
a member of the German parliament when the Berlin wall fell, said Gorbachev showed how a single statement can change the world for the better.
Well, CNN's Christiane Amanpour had a chance to interview Mikhail Gorbachev multiple times. She joins us now live. Pleasure having you on the show,
Christiane. So, Gorbachev had some pretty significant accomplishments. What stands out to you as the most important during his five years in power? And
how did he reflect on his time in power when you interviewed him?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: So, his admirers would call him one of the most titanic, giant figures of the 20th century.
He achieved something along with President Reagan of the United States, that was extraordinary. And he raised the iron curtain, he allowed, you
know, countries that had been under Soviet influence and basically imprisoned in the Soviet bloc for decades to break free freely and
peacefully.
And particularly, the fall of the Berlin wall highlighted that. So, he has huge achievements. The end of the cold war, the end of, you know, communism
as a political, you know, structure, really, a governing structure in Russia. And also, the idea that he joined President Reagan in trying to
reduce certain nuclear weapons and trying to -- he hoped -- President Gorbachev hoped, trying to avoid any kind of nuclear disaster.
So he's kind of the anti-Putin, if you like because he presided over this dissolution. He didn't want it necessarily in the way it turned out, but
nonetheless, this dissolution, this peaceful dissolution of a tyrannical project in the Soviet Union. And that's what he wanted to see. The
democracy, freedom, and as one of his long-time associates said, moral leadership basically survived inside Russia.
KINKADE: Yes, Christiane, I want to ask you more about that difference between what Gorbachev wanted to create, and what Putin is doing right now
with his war in Ukraine and what has followed, in terms of the unprecedented sanctions and the mass exodus of global companies.
AMANPOUR: So, I interviewed as you said, Gorbachev several times. The last time was in 2012. And that was just as Putin had been re-elected. And he
had coined, Gorbachev, this phrase that he said was imitation democracy. And that's what he basically labeled Russia under Putin. He already could
see, even in 2012, the trend towards authoritarianism rising there. And it pained him a lot. This is what he said to me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: You've called Putin's democracy or the current Russian democracy, an imitation democracy. Do you think that President Putin is
committed to any kind of reform? And will the people's voice be heard under his presidency?
MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, LATE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE SOVIET UNION (through translator): I said on the eve of the elections that if the president and
his entourage in the future will just continue to try to fool the people with this imitation, that will not succeed. People are protesting, and
people might protest in much stronger ways if he just continues his old ways.
I think it will be hard for him, given his nature, to do this. But there is no other way for him, but to move toward greater democracy in Russia,
toward real democracy in Russia.
[14:10:00]
Because there is no other way for Russia to find the way out of its dead- end in which it is now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: And Lynda, of course, that dead-end is facing Russia right now. All these values that Russia says it wants to achieve, and that the West
says, it wants to achieve are at play on the battlefield in Ukraine. Interestingly, as you know, his reputation, Gorbachev's, is divided inside
Russia.
You know, some say that he was to blame for what's going on in terms of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the very difficult economic times they had
right after the end of the cold war. But I did speak to Gorbachev's long- time translator and colleague and associate, Pablo Poroshenko(ph), who said this evening that actually they're getting floods of comments and
condolences and sympathies from Russians inside Russia on Gorbachev's death.
And particularly from young people, and those who want to see a better future for their country, and who don't want to end up in that dead-end
that you heard Gorbachev talk about. Lynda?
KINKADE: Yes, it is interesting seeing that reaction out. Christiane Amanpour, we are going to stay on this story. Our thanks to you joining us
from London.
AMANPOUR: Thanks.
KINKADE: With the reaction to Gorbachev's death, as Christiane was pointing out, has been quite mixed in Russia. Vladimir Putin has clashed
with Gorbachev over the years, said the former Soviet leader led our nation during a period of complex dramatic changes. But a Kremlin spokesman was
less diplomatic.
He said Gorbachev's romantic view of Russia and the West working hand-in- hand did not materialize. Well, I want to talk more about this with CNN national security analyst, Steve Hall. He was once the CIA chief of Russia
operations. Good to have you with us, Steve.
STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to be here.
KINKADE: So, his legacy is complex. Internationally, Gorbachev was certainly revered as somewhat of a heroic figure. But Mikhail Gorbachev's
popularity in Russia certainly plummeted after the fall of the Soviet Union, even when he ran for president in 1996. He got just .5 percent of
the votes, 350,000 out of some 70 million. Why did he become so unpopular in Russia?
HALL: I think he became unpopular in Russia because there is this Russian need, almost a societal, sociological need, you know, to be a great Russia,
to be a -- to be a great power. And there are many who view the demise of the Soviet Union as the death of that dream. But I think it's interesting
that the Kremlin's words, the romantic -- you know, I think there's a bit of romanticism going on in the West right now with regard to -- with regard
to Gorbachev.
I mean, he came up through the communist system. He held many very important roles in the communist party. Yes, the Soviet Union ended under
his leadership, but I don't think that's the way he wanted it to end. I think if you had given him the opportunity to say, look, don't worry, we're
going to fix the economics, we're going to fix all the sociological stuff that's going on inside the Soviet Union, which is making it difficult for
it to continue as a country.
He would have very happily kept it as the autocratic -- as the autocratic communist nation that it was. I mean, we have to remember that Gorbachev
was the guy who supported Vladimir Putin annexing Crimea. In 2006, he was the one who said, look, you know, communism really not such -- not such --
not such a bad thing.
So, he had no choice, really, when you ask why did it end under Gorbachev, he had no choice but to try to -- try to fix it. He couldn't fix it in a
communist way. So, he tried to take it in a little bit different way, but that's not the way I don't think he wanted to do it.
KINKADE: So, just explain a little bit more about how that relationship between Putin and Gorbachev changed over the years. Because certainly, in
recent years, he didn't -- certainly, this year, he didn't support the invasion of Ukraine.
HALL: Well, you know, he didn't -- again, he's -- where you stand on Gorbachev I think depends on where you sit. So, Putin, of course, venerates
the Soviet Union, wants to create even a larger empire, I would argue. And so, anybody who was responsible for somehow the downfall of that empire is
not going to be viewed by somebody like Putin as a positive thing.
So, that accounts for the animus that Putin had, I think towards Gorbachev, notwithstanding the polite, you know, condolences that he sent. But you
know, Gorbachev himself went back and forth, he supported the annexation of Crimea, but then he said, well, I'm not so sure about Ukraine.
But one thing is -- I just think is sure is, is that, again, if you gave Gorbachev the opportunity to say, look, we can fix all this, you can
continue on as the Soviet Union, I think he would have accepted it. Yet, that's why he made these changes. And why was because his back was up
against the wall and he didn't really have a choice.
[14:15:00]
KINKADE: Yes, you wrote an interesting piece in the "Washington Post", describing how Putin should fear his fellow spies. And you identified some
of the parallels between the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of Gorbachev, and what is happening in Russia right now, in terms of the
unprecedented sanctions, the economic strain that has followed as a result of Putin invading Ukraine. Talk to us a little bit about those parallels
you see playing out.
HALL: Yes, I think that -- I think that Vladimir Putin, you know, takes a lesson because he recalls what happened in 1991 when there was a coup
against Gorbachev. He had very hard-line KGB types who weren't convinced that Gorbachev was going to try to maintain the system that had existed in
the Soviet Union.
So, essentially, they kind of took him captive ironically in Crimea, at the time part of the Soviet Union, and held him there for a number of days,
while they tried to carry off a coup, which was -- which was essentially unsuccessful. But I think Putin has to worry that if things don't go well
in Ukraine, that a similar type of thing -- and of course, Putin is a student of history, specifically his own and Russia's history, Soviet
history.
So, he knows that if he's not careful, this Sluzhba Vneshney, these people who are surrounding him that are his sort of strong men, the chief of the
Intelligence Services, the chief of the army and so forth, could indeed turn against him under certain conditions, sort of like what happened to
Gorbachev in 1991.
KINKADE: Interesting perspective. Steve Hall, great to have you on the program. Thanks so much.
HALL: Sure.
KINKADE: Well, still to come tonight, pressure piles on Europe as Russia cuts even more energy supplies amid record high inflation. We'll tell you
who's facing the latest energy threat. And the U.S. Justice Department says classified documents were likely concealed and removed from a storage room
at Donald Trump's home amid a criminal investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade, good to have you with us. Well, EU leaders have decided to fully suspend an agreement that gives Russian
citizens preferential treatment when they apply for European visa. The move will significantly reduce the number of new visas EU member states issued
to Russians, and make the application process longer and more difficult.
It's the bloc's latest efforts to sanction Putin's Russia for its aggression in Ukraine. The proposal will now be put to member states for
approval.
[14:20:00]
Well, meantime, Russia is causing a dilemma for Europe as well, cutting even more energy supplies to the euro zone. Russian energy giant Gazprom is
again closing a key pipeline, the Nord Stream 1, this time for three days, saying it's for scheduled maintenance. The shutdown is forcing the region
to find supplies from other sources as it stocks up on fuel for Winter, while amid record-high inflation across Europe.
CNN's Anna Stewart joins us now from London following this story for us. Anna, good to have you with us. So, this gas applies suspended today, the
suspension will continue until September 3. And it comes after Russia already reduced supplies in recent weeks. So, how is this move going to
further impact Europe's supplies?
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: I think it depends just how long this pipeline is shut down for. As you say, supplies were already actually very low
through it, around a fifth of the capacity that pipeline can normally run. It is a key pipeline for Russian gas heading into Europe.
And of course, there are fears that while Russia says it will switch the taps back on, on Saturday, a three-day shutdown only it says, there are
fears that it could not do that. It could continue to shut down for longer. And that would seriously jeopardize how Europe will cope this Winter.
Now, ever since the invasion of Ukraine, Europe has worked really hard to try and reduce its reliance on Russian energy, particularly Russian gas.
And it hasn't been easy. But it's interesting to note that in terms of storage facilities, which they've been trying really hard to fill before
this coming Winter, they're actually doing better than they planned.
They set a target up, 80 percent for storage facilities to be full by November 1st. They're actually already there two months ahead of time. The
problem is Europe uses way more gas through the Winter than it can actually store. So, in terms of the storage, that accounts around 25 percent to 30
percent of the gas consumed on an average Winter.
And of course, at this stage, we don't know how mild the Winter will be. So then, you get to the question, Lynda, of where do you get gas from
elsewhere if the worst fears are realized, if this pipeline doesn't open again, or if Russia continues to reduce its gas further and further?
Can it get enough gas from other sources, other countries, like Norway, the Netherlands, LNG from Qatar and the United States? Can it find alternative
sources of energy, like solar or wind or even of course, coal? Lots of coal plants being turned back on, particularly in the likes of Germany. And if
not, what does it do then?
And all the experts I've spoken to now for many months, since the invasion of Ukraine, just keep hammering home the point that it's not just about
supply, it's also about demand. And reducing consumption of energy right now in Europe is critical before the Winter period. And actually, the EU
has agreed a voluntary target of cutting its consumption of gas by 15 percent between August and March of next year.
But it really remains to be seen whether it will achieve that, and that would be critical to ensure that it can get through this Winter potentially
without any Russian gas at all. Lynda?
KINKADE: Wow, yes, ambitious targets. All right, Anna Stewart, we will stay on the story. Thanks so much. Well, for more on what these
developments will mean for Europe, I want to bring in Thomas Waitz; he's a member of the European parliament and co-chair of the European's Green
Party. He joins us now live. Good to have you with us.
THOMAS WAITZ, MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Hello, Lynda.
KINKADE: So just explain how Europe, in particular, Germany, became so reliant on Russian energy and the strategic problem now at play.
WAITZ: Well, Russia is supplying gas to Germany and other European countries, western European countries, but also very much the former
eastern European country since the 50s, basically. And the gas supply was always to secure a source of energy. And it was a very cheap source of
energy. But as we have seen, Russia already aggressing Ukraine around the Crimea invasion, 2014.
The surprising thing is that many European states, Germany, Austria and others, have even increased their dependency on Russian gas because it was
so pricey. And also, there's a big push towards reducing the amount of coal that is used, especially for energy production, and the plan, more or less,
was to replace coal by gas, well, it's a fossil fuel as well.
But one that has less pollution, that emits less pollution, less CO2, as a kind of a bridge technology towards the renewables, towards the energy
transition. And this high dependence now is heavily firing back. Vladimir Putin and his regime is using energy sources as a weapon. It is using gas
to destabilize the European Union.
He's trying to divide the unity in the European Union when it comes to the sanctions, to uphold the sanctions, and this is the situation we're finding
ourselves in, very high inflation, skyrocketing prices for gas supply. And this is causing quite some political troubles here on the European
continent.
KINKADE: Russia, of course, claims that the cut of gas flowing through Nord Stream 1 is because of maintenance, technical work. What's your
party's view of that explanation?
[14:25:00]
WAITZ: Well, as many energy experts that know the scene pretty well, we doubt that this explanation is even close to the truth. It is a strategic
move to further increase prices for the gas, which increases also the income for Vladimir Putin's regime, and to increase the pressure on the
European states.
You can see already that the public support for the sanctions is dropping. It's still well above 60 percent, but you can see the numbers of support
going down. And some of the EU countries are already starting to debate whether these sanctions are all too useful. And this political pressure
will increase on the governments and the EU Commission.
In the moment Winter comes, when it gets cold, citizens are scared of having any gas supply probably, or even if they have one, well, whether it
will still be affordable. And energy poverty is something that we've seen in, let's say, less wealthy eastern European countries in the past. But
now, all EU states are heavily confronted with this phenomenon.
And we need to react on this urgently. And you have mentioned it already, there's quite a push to reduce energy consumption, especially European
industry is heavily relying on gas for the production, steel industry, car industry, and their industry urgently needs to replace gas wherever they
can and the processes with other energy sources, so we can reduce consumption as much as possible, so we have enough gas to actually heat
households.
KINKADE: And inflation, of course, in Europe today hitting another record- high of 9.1 percent, fueled mainly by those soaring energy prices. So if Europe is seeking to lessen its reliance on Russian energy, what are the
solutions, what are the options on the table right now? And how quickly will Europe be able to diversify?
WAITZ: Well, in the short term, we need to diversify our gas supply. So, we need to find other sources, and we do find other sources on the global
market for import, mainly LNG gas. But in the long run, we are pushing a lot of investments towards renewable energy, towards wind, towards solar.
Hydro may not be the perfect solution because we seem -- due to global warming and climate crisis, that, in this Summer, even the supply from
hydro energy has dropped substantially. We had droughts across the European continent, even nuclear was not able to supply proper amount of energy
because the water -- missing -- of the European Union. So, the investments go into renewable energy, solar and wind, also geothermal sources --
KINKADE: We see --
WAITZ: Are very interesting at the moment -- yes, and we see some companies, energy-producing companies having huge amounts of profits. We're
debating windfall taxes at the moment to tax these extra profits. And with this finance, the support for less income households and for the change
towards renewable energy.
KINKADE: A couple little break-ups near the end, but you made some really good points. Thomas Waitz from the European Greens. Thanks very much.
WAITZ: Thanks for having me.
KINKADE: Well, still to come tonight, we know now more than ever about what exactly the FBI found during a search of Donald Trump's home and what
crimes it thinks may have been committed. Plus, the U.S. and South Korea staging their largest combined military drills in years. We'll give you an
up-close look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE (voice-over): Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us.
The U.S. Justice Department has made its strongest public case yet about the potential crimes that led to the FBI search of Donald Trump's Florida
home. It says more than 100 classified documents were recovered from Mar-a- Lago this month, including these papers, some clearly marked Top Secret.
It says some documents were so sensitive that FBI agents had to get additional security clearances to review them. The Justice Department is
making it clear this is not just a case about the mishandling of presidential records, which are government property.
It says some of the documents were likely concealed and removed from a storage room to obstruct a criminal investigation. The DOJ is urging a
judge to reject Trump's request to have a special master or third-party attorney appointed in the case.
Trump's team has just hours left to respond. Let's break it all down with CNN security correspondent, Josh Campbell. He's also a former FBI special
agent.
Good to have you on the story for us, Josh. It's really fascinating that the Trump team, legal team said all materials were handed over under that
subpoena. All these additional documents, top secret documents were found during this Mar-a-Lago raid at his property. Explain what the photographs
tell us.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: That's right. A stunning photograph just released by the U.S. Justice Department show what the FBI
recovered in part during that dramatic raid of the former president's home, where they were executing that lawful search warrant.
Again, it's one thing to read that in a court document; it's another thing to actually see the documents themselves. You've seen this picture -- this
is actually edited by the FBI, these white spaces that you see here, that's where these Top Secret documents are. This information, you can see just a
collection there.
Interestingly over here as well, there is a box full of "Time" magazine covers the former president had. The point there showing this highly
classified information was commingled with all kinds of other documents.
Just to walk you through what this is. We are talking about Secret information and Top Secret information. The definition, by the U.S.
government, of Secret information, that's the type of information that, if it is released, it will cause serious damage to national security.
Top Secret information, the definition for that, we are talking about grave damage to national security.
The whole issue here is the former president, who does not have a security clearance and other staffers around him, why did they have his information
in his resort hotel in Florida?
That's part of this investigation. Quickly, what was in this information, this is a cover sheet. It sits on top of classified intelligence. It alerts
the person handling it what is actually in this material.
You see here, Secret information. I want to drill down. In the U.S. intelligence community, there are layers and layers of classification. This
particular document, there are these acronyms we see.
HCS, that stands for Human Controlled System. We are talking human sources, run by the CIA, the FBI. Donald Trump had documents in his home that
referenced that type of information.
He also had what's called Special Intelligence.
[14:35:00]
This refers to the collection by the U.S. National Security Agency. We are talking about wiretaps and intercepts. Again, these cover sheets, they are
referencing this type of information.
This, here, is really so troubling. Talent Keyhole, that is a code name for a highly classified U.S. government intelligence satellite program. Again,
that potentially part of this tranche of documents.
You can see very troubling for the U.S. intelligence community, for this information to be in an unsecured space. As you mentioned at the top,
Lynda, such a key point, even the FBI agents who went to Donald Trump's home, they didn't have permission to actually seize this information.
They had to get additional authorization just to see what was behind those documents.
KINKADE: Just baffling, Josh.
In terms of a hearing, there's going to be a hearing tomorrow, Thursday. It's to decide whether a special master would be appointed to review the
documents seized in this raid.
What can we expect from that?
What can we expect to hear when Trump's team responds later tonight?
CAMPBELL: Donald Trump has been asking thru his lawyers that the court appoint what's called a special master. This is an independent third party.
Trump wants that person to be able to review all this information and decide if there is stuff the FBI should not have, such as information
regarding executive privilege, his powers as the former president, as well as attorney-client privileged information.
He says there might be information in the records seized by the FBI that talk about his discussions with his attorney, which under U.S. law is
actually shielded. The U.S. Justice Department is saying that's not necessary.
We already had an independent filter team that went through all this. It is up to this judge to decide what will actually happen, whether this person
will be appointed.
It's so fascinating, in this information released yesterday, Lynda, we actually learned quite a bit about the government's case. I will show you
one particular quote here that is of particular concern.
It says, "The government also developed evidence that government records at Mar-a-Lago were likely concealed and removed from the storage room Donald
Trump had and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation."
Two points I want to focus on here: developed evidence; that's government lawyer speak for someone inside Trump world is talking to the FBI. They are
providing them with information about how this classified information was actually secured.
Last word, obstruction; the U.S. Justice Department is saying that this was not sloppiness, not mishandling. They were alleging that the Trump team is
actively working to obstruct a criminal investigation, Lynda.
KINKADE: Serious allegation. Josh Campbell for us. Good to have you on the story. Thank you.
CAMPBELL: Thank you.
KINKADE: South Korean and U.S. troops launched a major live fire exercise a short while ago just a few dozen kilometers from the North Korean border.
These are the largest field exercises for the two allies in years.
They are facing criticism even in South Korea and the U.S. Pyongyang, which has been growing its nuclear arsenal during the past few years, is calling
these drills a rehearsal of war. CNN's Paula Hancocks gives us a firsthand look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These kinds of combined live fire drills have not been seen for some time here on the Korean peninsula.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): The scenario or joint U.S.-South Korean counter attack to an invasion by an unnamed enemy around 30 kilometers 80 miles
south of the demilitarized zone and North Korea. It's not hard to imagine who that enemy might be.
COLONEL BRANDON ANDERSON, ROK-U.S. COMBINED DIVISION: Although the greater the threat, the greater although alliance and the greater the training and
the purpose of training that focus at training. And I think that threat is we're all here for a reason, all clear and ready to conduct counter attack.
Shell goes in, goes up. And this is the safety handle.
HANCOCKS: Now both militaries are at pains to point out that these are defensive in nature. But it's simply not the way that North Korea sees
them. They believe that these are a test rehearsal for an invasion.
We've had Kim Jong Yang, Kim Jong-Un's sister, calling them anti North war exercises. Now we haven't seen this for some time, partly because of COVID-
19. There were many simulated exercises during that time but not these large live fire drills.
And also back in 2018 then U.S. President Donald Trump put these kinds of drills on hold, saying that he wanted to give diplomacy a chance calling
them war games, saying that they simply didn't have a place while he was talking to them to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): With new leadership in both the U.S. and South Korea came a decision to expand these exercises in the face of missile
launches and feared seven nuclear tests from North Korea.
HANCOCKS: North Korea making it clear it's a no mood to talk to either the U.S. or South Korea. So these drills will continue both sides, saying it's
very important that they have more chance to fight together and to train together so they have readiness for whatever may come -- Paula Hancocks,
CNN, South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:40:00]
KINKADE: Still to come tonight, soaring temperatures, droughts and wildfires. How extreme heat is impacting the planet as well as our sense of
well-being.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE: Welcome back.
Data indicates less than 1 percent of the world's planet-warming gases comes from Pakistan. And yet, the country is facing one of the worst floods
in living memory. Almost 1,200 people have now died and many are homeless.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE (voice-over): You are looking at photos taken by a satellite, showing the difference between now and at the same time last year. Some
areas have seen five times the normal levels of monsoonal rain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
And from the U.S. and Western Europe to China and the Horn of Africa, extreme heat is impacting millions of people worldwide. And a new report,
shows that, as temperatures climb, our overall well-being is plummeting. A Gallup world poll found a decrease by almost 7 percent, as people faced
escalating temperatures.
It appears it's only going to get worse. By 2030, as the climate crisis worsens and we see hotter days, global well-being could decrease by a
whopping 17 percent.
CNN's chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, joins me now live.
Bill, this is an intriguing study. Just looking at this correlation between weather and well-being.
How do you quantify well-being and how it's affected by the weather, considering this study was done in 2020, in the midst of the global COVID
pandemic?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: A valid point. That's a weight on people's well-being. First, let's define this. Gallup has been asking
people now for 15 years, close to 2 million of them, in 160 different countries, about the five pillars of well-being.
There's personal, health, do you have enough energy and health to get through the day, there's financial, there is social well-being, your
relationships, then, of course, career.
Do you feel a sense of purpose?
And then there is community. They looked at the answers and correlated them with days where the temperature was well above pre-industrial averages.
They saw this correlation, where if one person had one extremely hot day, their wellbeing score dropped by a half point.
It depends on geography and status on this planet is the case with this story.
[14:45:00]
For example in the Mekong Delta, where they went through a year of, drought between 2014 and 2015, people's well-being fell by 11 percent.
So you can look at what's happening around the world, from the droughts in Spain to China to the Western U.S. and imagine the stress those folks are
going through, not just physically getting through the day, especially the elderly, especially the more vulnerable.
All the other trickle down effects of what that does to your finances and your opportunities and your sense of purpose, if you are dealing from one
emergency to the next.
KINKADE: That mental toll, it's often overlooked. Of course, when you consider everything that's happening right now, you've been reporting on
the rivers that are drying up in the U.S. We're seeing the drought in China, heat waves across the Europe and record flooding in Pakistan.
Are these all examples of climate change in real time?
WEIR: They are --
(AUDIO GAP)
WEIR: -- in recent years as things have gotten worse. But yes, the water cycle that we built the modern world around, this sweet Goldilocks epic
that all of human civilization evolved during, that's in the past.
Now all of us are living on a planet that's hotter than any humans walked on. And trying to understand how that affects all factors of life in
transportation, to growing food, to getting through the day.
What's happening in Pakistan is stunning when you consider an area the size of Colorado is underwater. But they expect in a couple weeks they'll be
back to drought status there because the parched Earth is not soaking it up. There's not enough infrastructure to hold on to the water. These are
new days indeed.
KINKADE: Really tough times. It's interesting, when you focus on Pakistan, which caused less than 1 percent of warming gases, that it's seeking
climate compensation, needs a lot of help right now. That'll be a debate in the future. Bill Weir in New York, good to have you.
WEIR: You bet.
KINKADE: Still to come tonight, a big constitutional moment and a big departure from tradition. Why the queen won't be appointing the new British
prime minister from Buckingham Palace.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade.
It's a legacy that lives on. Tributes are pouring in for Britain's Princess Diana, who died 25 years ago today. In London, mourners paid their respects
at the gates of her former home, Kensington Palace.
And in Paris, where she was tragically killed in that high speed car crash in 1997, Isa Soares takes a look back at the life of the people's princess.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A family broken, a nation in mourning, the world in shock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Britain's Princess Diana has been killed in a car crash.
SOARES (voice-over): And 25 years ago, Diana, Princess of Wales and mother of a future king, died in Paris.
Offering a human, personal and often glamorous face to the British monarchy, she captured the hearts of people in Britain and around the
world.
DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES: HIV does not make people dangerous to know. So you can shake their hands and give them a hug. Heaven knows they need it.
SOARES (voice-over): She died as she had lived, under the harsh glare of paparazzi flashes and the intrusive presence of the media.
A year after her divorce from Charles, the Prince of Wales, her life and lovers were still front page news. In a relation with Dodi Al-Fayed, the
son of then owner of London's luxury department store, Harrods, Diana was hounded by photographers at home and abroad.
CCTV images from inside the Ritz hotel that night show the measures the couple took to avoid ever present photographers. Hiding near a back
entrance, a decoy vehicle out front, the couple rushed out to a car and sped off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the car then pulls away.
SOARES (voice-over): Moments later, the paparazzi realize they've been outwitted. After a high-speed race through Paris, tragedy struck. Diana's
car struck a central pillar of a tunnel by the Seine.
In the wreckage, lay Dodi al-Fayed and his driver, with Diana fatally injured. Although hurried to a nearby hospital, after doctors spent hours
trying to save her, Diana died in the early hours of August 31st.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): She died at 4:00 am this morning.
SOARES (voice-over): A French investigation said that the driver, drunk at the time, was responsible for the crash. A later British inquest ruled that
the pursuing vehicles were also partially to blame. Diana also wasn't wearing a seat belt.
But despite the tragic end to Diana's life, from her pioneering work, campaigning for AIDS sufferers, to the fight against land mines, her legacy
lives on, most noticeably in the monarchy that has embraced the human connection.
Fittingly, Diana Spencer is still remembered as she wanted to be, the people's princess. As she once said, the queen of the people's hearts --
Isa Soares, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: By this time next week, the U.K. will have a new prime minister. But the way this normally happens will look very different. The queen will
not travel to London to receive outgoing British leader, Boris Johnson, and then his successor. CNN's Bianca Nobilo joins us now from London,
Bianca, this is the first time in 70 years Britain's will have a new prime minister and the queen won't return to London to meet the successor at
Buckingham Palace.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: A big break from tradition, Lynda, I believe the first time since Queen Victoria's reign that they
won't be received in London, either.
So usually we see the prime minister go to the queen, resign and then the new prime minister be appointed by the queen at Buckingham Palace or
perhaps Windsor Castle. So in the south of England.
This time it will be happening at Balmoral, the queen's estate in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. So that's about a nine- or 10-hour drive from
London. And Boris Johnson will go first and then Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak, whoever the next prime minister may be, will follow behind. And the queen
will then appoint them as prime minister.
This is possibly her greatest, most significant constitutional role that still remains with the monarch, to appoint the prime minister. It's
ultimately constitutionally at her discretion to do so.
Naturally this is raising questions about the queen's health, her mobility issues, because we knew that the prime minister changeover would be
happening on this date for about two months now. So the fact that the queen has decided to stay and her staff has made this decision, they say, is to
help the prime minister and the new prime minister's diary.
[14:55:00]
The fact that they will have certainty that this will be going on in Scotland rather than in England, there'll be no last-minute changes but
royal watchers and others who will be concerned about the queen do see this perhaps as a sign that she's feeling a little frail at the moment.
KINKADE: Certainly indicates that.
So who's going to be the next prime minister, Bianca?
Certainly Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, seems to be the favorite.
NOBILO: She seems to be the front-runner from about the beginning of when it got down to the final two between Rishi Sunak, the previous chancellor,
and Liz Truss, the foreign secretary.
That's because she plays very well to the Conservative Party base. It's quite unusual for one of the world's leading democracies. The next prime
minister of Britain will be actually chosen by less than 1 percent of the electorate. That's a sliver of people, about 160,000 Conservative Party
members.
Generally thought to be older, wealthier and whiter than the average voter. Liz Truss has been playing to that base by taking a hard line on
immigration, talking about tax cuts and channeling their hero, Margaret Thatcher.
Rishi Sunak's also blamed partly for wielding the knife and precipitating Boris Johnson's demise. So if polls are to believed, it looks like the
prime minister will be Liz Truss.
KINKADE: All right, good to have you with us, Bianca Nobilo. We will tune into your show.
Thank you so much for watching, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Stay with us, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
END
