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Isa Soares Tonight
Israel Claims Of Killing A Senior Hezbollah Commander In New Missile Strike; U.S. Secret Service Addresses Security Failures In First Assassination Attempt On Donald Trump; At Least 37 Women Accuse Mohamed Al- Fayed Of Sexual Assault; Scattered Author Aamna Mohdin Talks Race And Refugees In U.K. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired September 20, 2024 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, Israel claims it killed a senior
Hezbollah commander in a Beirut strike today. On the ground, search and rescue teams are combing through the rubble of the aftermath.
Also ahead, the Secret Service has just announced its findings into the investigation of July assassination attempt on Donald Trump, we'll bring
you the very latest. And we've heard for more alleged victims of the former owner of Harrods, Mohamed Al-Fayed. Some have called him a monster.
I spoke to the legal team representing these women, that conversation is coming up on the show. Now, the U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon says
the world is witnessing an extremely dangerous cycle of violence with devastating consequences. And we begin as you can see with breaking news
from Beirut this hour.
Israel says it killed the leader of an elite Hezbollah unit in an airstrike today, along with some ten other commanders. The IDF bombed a crowded
residential area in Beirut's southern suburbs, destroying an entire building as you can see there. Lebanon's Health Ministry says at least 12
people were killed and 66 others wounded.
The Lebanese Prime Minister says the attacks were quote, "akin to genocide", and Iran's embassy in Lebanon is condemning what it calls
Israeli madness that crossed all lines. But Israel's Defense Minister vows that attacks in this, quote, "new phase of the war will continue until
Israeli residents can return to their homes along the Lebanese border."
I want to go to our Ben Wedeman who is in Beirut, been following all the details. So, Ben, the IDF been claiming that it's killed Hezbollah's
Ibrahim Aqil, we're still I'm guessing, waiting for confirmation from Hezbollah, but if true, Ben, how much of a blow would this be for
Hezbollah?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It will be a significant blow, and yet, the latest in a series of --
SOARES: Yes --
WEDEMAN: Blows going back to the 30th of July assassination of Fuad Shukr, who was the senior commander for Hezbollah. We've seen on Tuesday the pager
blasts which killed ten people and injured thousands of others. Then on Wednesday, the walkie-talkie blasts, and now this today on Friday.
So, four days have seen three major attacks that have dealt severe blows to Hezbollah. Now, we, as you mentioned, it's important to stress that we
still don't have any confirmation that Ibrahim Aqil was killed from -- any confirmation from the Lebanese government or Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, obviously is in a state of high alert at the moment and not being very communicative. But of course, along with this strike, which took
place in the afternoon in the Jamous neighborhood in the southern part of Beirut, which has a very strong Hezbollah presence.
But it's also home to tens of thousands of ordinary Lebanese civilians. This was a strike on a residential building which was completely
flattened as a result of this blast. Now, oddly enough, we're not far, we're just a couple of kilometers from the place where the strike occurred.
However, we heard nothing. I rushed, we -- when it was clear something had happened, I rushed out and saw a large plume of dust and smoke rising from
southern Beirut. So, it was a very pinpoint strike. But of course, as a result, we understand that in addition to Aqil been killed and according to
the Israelis, as many as ten other commanders in the so-called the Radwan Force, which is Hezbollah's elite commando unit.
But it's clear that there were many others killed and injured in this attack including civilians. And as a result of this attack in a very
crowded neighborhood of Beirut, the rescue crews continued to try to find more people, more survivors under the rubble. And you know, we're hearing
stories of people desperately looking for relatives they can find.
[14:05:00]
There are some reports that there was a nursery in the building as well, so, there are reports of children being killed or injured as well. The
Ministry of Health says these numbers that they've put out, 12 killed, 66 injured, nine of the injured in critical condition are preliminary figures
at this point. Obviously, this, you know, third attack in four days has the country completely on edge, and there's things like right for the last hour
or so, I've been hearing a drone, clearly an Israeli drone flying overhead.
This is all part of this psychological warfare to keep the population of Beirut on complete edge. Isa?
SOARES: Yes, a state -- a state of high alert and Hezbollah in a state of disarray as well. Ben, appreciate it, thank you very much indeed. Well,
we're following a very disturbing story out of the occupied West Bank. And I do want to warn you, the next video we're about to show you is
disturbing.
It's really hard to watch in fact. The Israeli military says it's investigating soldiers for throwing bodies off a roof top during an
incursion near Jenin. Now, CNN can't confirm whether the men were already dead, but their bodies as you can see are motionless and appear lifeless.
Israel calls it a serious incident that does not coincide with IDF values.
It did not identify the bodies, but says it killed seven militants during clashes in the area. Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti calls it a
barbaric act that shows a degradation and brutality of the Israeli army. Our Jeremy Diamond is following developments and joins us now from Tel
Aviv.
And Jeremy, that video, it is incredibly hard to watch, just give us -- tell us a bit more of what the IDF is saying. What more do we know?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it. I mean, you see in this video what is happening appears to clearly be in
violation of international law. Three Israeli soldiers standing on the rooftop of a building in the area of the city of Jenin in the occupied West
Bank, which has been the site of multiple Israeli military operations over the course of the last several weeks.
And you see these soldiers take one body after the next, and either push or kick them off of that roof, three bodies in total over the course of about
a minute or two in this video, very disturbing footage that the Israeli military says is an incident that they are now investigating. They say that
this is a quote, "serious incident" that they say does not coincide with IDF values and the expectations from IDF soldiers.
It would be one thing though, if this was a one-off incident, but unfortunately, we have seen numerous incidences involving Israeli soldiers
in both the West Bank and Gaza over the course of the last year in which they appear to be carrying out various acts that would violate
international law.
We have seen videos of Israeli soldiers in Gaza, for example, vandalizing properties, burning homes -- I have spoken -- myself with Israeli soldiers
who had blown the whistle and said that soldiers were burning homes without any reason. We have seen more serious incidents, of course, as well,
including the shooting of civilians who were waving white flags in Gaza.
The Israeli military after many of these incidents, has called them grave, has said that they will investigate them. And yet, we have only seen some
investigations actually carried out by the Israeli military, but very little actual accountability thus far. And that of course, raises questions
about, as we have seen, numerous human rights advocates and lawyers today, raising questions about whether this is actually a situation of bad apples,
of bad behavior among a few select soldiers or whether this is something far more grave, far more systematic in the Israeli military .
SOARES: It is very concerning, Ben, like you said, it's a sight that we have seen before, but it's being investigated as we've been told. Let me
return Jeremy, to the attacks in Beirut because the tit-for-tat, of course, has been ongoing now for months. But the last week -- in particular, the
last three days as we've been reporting in the show, we are seeing an escalation in these attacks, taking the battle from a long, you know, the
border to the capital, Beirut.
Just remind our viewers what the end game is from Israel, and what the mood is inside the country to obtain -- to get to that end game?
DIAMOND: Well, the end game is to ultimately return security to northern Israel, which has faced constant barrages of rockets from Hezbollah since
the day after the October 7th attack, when Hezbollah claiming -- in solidarity with the Palestinian people joined in -- joined Hamas in firing
rockets on Israel.
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And since then, there has been a constant back-and-forth of these cross- border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah. But we have now arrived at a situation where it appears that the Israeli government and the Israeli
military wanted desperately change that dynamic to return security to northern Israel, to return the roughly 60,000 Israeli residents who have
been displaced from the north back to their homes.
But in the way they're looking to do it is not through a diplomatic agreement. They don't see that pathway being open anymore, instead, it
seems that they are willing to quickly climb up this ladder of escalation, one that risks throwing this entire region and certainly Israel and
Hezbollah into all-out war.
Whether that actually happens remains to be seen, part of it will depend on Hezbollah's reaction to all of this, but part of it could also simply stem
from Israel continuing to ratchet up, ratchet up, ratchet up. And we know, of course, where that could ultimately lead if they continue to go up that
ladder --
SOARES: Yes --
DIAMOND: Of escalation. Isa --
SOARES: Israel possibly losing patience here on that front. Thanks very much, Jeremy, appreciate it. Well, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is
vowing to continue hostilities with Israel until the war in Gaza ends. And yet, there is no end in sight. Dozens of deaths are reported today after
new Israeli airstrikes across Gaza.
Witnesses and hospital officials tell CNN, women and children are among the dead. Rescuers are still on the scene of airstrikes that hit a refugee camp
in central Gaza earlier this week. Civil defense officials yesterday said more than 50 people are reported missing or trapped underneath crushed
buildings.
CNN has asked the IDF for comment. I want to bring in Matthew Levitt on all these strands. He's a Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Middle
East Policies, the author of "Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God", and he joins us from D.C. Matthew, great to have you on the
show.
So, it seems as you've been seeing the breaking news in the last hour or so, the IDF is claiming another top senior Hezbollah commander has been
reportedly killed. That's on top of course, of Fuad Shukr that we saw several weeks ago. How significant is this? How much of a blow is this for
Hezbollah? Blow and humiliation for Hezbollah here.
MATTHEW LEVITT, AUTHOR & SENIOR FELLOW, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR MIDDLE EAST POLICIES: Leave the humiliation aside, which is significant, but this
is one body blow after another. Today, reportedly, Ibrahim Aqil has been killed. Ibrahim Aqil was the successor to Fuad Shukr. Fuad Shukr, Ibrahim
Aqil and one remaining person, Ali Quraki(ph) were the three main people leading Hezbollah's Jihad Council, its highest military command.
Two of those three are now dead, and in today's attack, reportedly, the Israelis also killed up to 20 commanders of Hezbollah's Radwan Special
Forces. So, their communication systems are shut, trust in the system is shut and leadership in their gear, the Israelis have carried out preemptive
strikes against their launchers in the past few weeks when they've been plotting to launch rockets at Israel, they did a special forces raid about
a week ago into Syria to target Iran's ability to provide missiles to Hezbollah.
At every level here Hezbollah is reeling, and its ability to carry out coordinated and long-term fight in a real war is severely diminished today
compared to what it was just a few days ago.
SOARES: So, it's reeling perhaps in the state of disarray physically, but also in terms of comms or trying to get anything done. Where does this
then, Matthew, leave Nasrallah; Hezbollah's leader? Because we remember him talking yesterday, he said that Israel had crossed all the red lines. He
hinted at retaliation.
Can he retaliate now? I mean, is he more isolated, given that he's lost several senior commanders?
LEVITT: I told you of your colleagues just before Nasrallah speech to expect that Nasrallah would bring a lot of fire and brimstone.
SOARES: Yes --
LEVITT: He has to talk tough because there's not much he could do. That was before Ibrahim Aqil was assassinated. Hezbollah can still fire rockets,
but they are less prepared, far less prepared to contend with the Israeli response than they were before. And so, what the Israelis are doing is
taking out Hezbollah's ability to continue fighting as they have, the Israelis want the now-almost one year, almost daily, Hezbollah rockets into
northern Israel to end.
The diplomatic effort to do that would have been preferable, but wasn't going anywhere. And so, now, with their war against Hamas, as they put it
nearly over, they've been focusing on the northern front to enable their 60,000 or so plus displaced civilians to be able to go back to their homes.
SOARES: So, do you think that Israel's strategy here, this -- you know, the center of gravity as it says is moving north. You think that will bring
Hezbollah to the negotiating table?
[14:15:00]
And because it seems that on the negotiating front, on any sort of diplomacy, it seems to have stalled. I mean, the "Wall Street Journal"
reporting today in this exclusive report, quoting "senior U.S. officials who are privately acknowledging basically that they don't expect Israel and
Hamas to reach an agreement before the end of President Biden's term."
That's just between both of them. But so, first of all, does it surprise you at all that we are here because for so long, of course, Matthew, we've
been hearing, you know, we're enormous there, we're 90 percent there. Well, what is your assessment? Is there a path forward for diplomacy here?
LEVITT: My assessment is primarily frustration. We have been at 90 or some even say, over 90 percent for some time. That last 5 percent to 10 percent
is the big push. I think neither Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel nor Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar really wanted to cross that last threshold with
the latest problem being Sinwar demanding more senior and larger number of Hamas people being released in the first round, likely anticipating that
there wouldn't be a second round.
I feared that the diplomatic track on the south and the diplomatic track on the north are stalled. Hassan Nasrallah; the head of Hezbollah has said for
a long time now, including just yesterday that he would continue firing in Israel until there is a ceasefire in the south.
So, from Israel's perspective, it appears they've decided to do things to prevent Hezbollah from being able to continue to carry out these strikes,
and to make it more difficult for it to escalate or do things even in the intermediate that might draw bigger Israeli response that Hezbollah
wouldn't be prepared to deal with.
So, this is definitely ratcheting things up, but no one should be surprised, the Israelis have been saying --
SOARES: Yes --
LEVITT: Publicly for months now, either the diplomacy works or we're going to have to forcibly re-deploy Hezbollah from the border.
SOARES: Look, I think it's looking like a very dangerous moment. It does feel like we're at the precipice of something much bigger. Matthew, I
really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Matthew Levitt there from Washington D.C., thank you, Matthew --
LEVITT: Thank you for having me.
SOARES: Thank you. And be sure to stay with us right here on CNN as the U.N. Security Council holds an emergency session less than an hour or so to
address the recent developments in Lebanon, obviously those attacks we've been seeing for the past three days. Israel's ambassador and Lebanon's
Foreign Minister will both be speaking to the Council. Still to come tonight, disturbing accusations against a Republican running to be the next
governor of a critical swing state.
Could they derail Donald Trump's hopes of capturing the White House? What a bombshell CNN report has uncovered. We'll bring that to you. Plus, dozens
of women made disturbing allegations against Mohamed Al-Fayed; the late Egyptian billionaire and owner of London's Harrods Department Store, they
accuse him of sexual assault and rape. We'll have much more for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
SOARES: The U.S. Secret Service admits their communication failures between agents when former President Trump was wounded in assassination
attempt in July. And just a short time ago in the last hour or so, Ronald Rowe; the acting director of the agency, told reporters complacency on the
part of some on that day in Butler, Pennsylvania, led to what he described as breached protocol.
He's promising accountability, and vows there will be organizational changes. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD ROWE JR., ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE: The Secret Service did not give clear guidance or direction to our local law
enforcement partners. There were communication deficiencies between law enforcement personnel at the site.
Line of sight issues were acknowledged, but not properly mitigated. Issues were encountered the day of the visit with respect to line-of-sight
concerns, but they were not escalated to supervisors. We're at a pivotal moment in history of the Secret Service, and that a pivotal moment in
history of our country.
We cannot be stagnant, and we must be weaned off the reliance of partners within DHS to assist us --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, let's bring in CNN's national security reporter, Zach Cohen. So, Zach, just talk us through first of all what else came out of that
Secret Service meeting and hearing investigation. So, just talk us through that, but also what do they mean by organizational changes? What are we
looking at here?
ZACH COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, it was frankly a little bit shocking to hear the acting Secret Service director say complacency is
one of the reasons that the former President and the current Republican nominee for President was almost shot and killed just about two months ago,
I think it's a top line, that's really notable that he was speaking to sort of an institutional problem at the Secret Service.
Speaking to also a lack of how the personnel for the Secret Service, the people who are providing protection, not just to Donald Trump, but to the
sitting President of the United States as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, that they're stretched very thin right now, and that, you know, the
lack of an incident in previous years and months has led to this complacency.
So, I think that's a very notable top line, but in terms of specific breakdowns, he did go through several that were identified over the course
of this investigation, both in the days leading up to the Butler rally on July 13th and on the day of -- and I think one of the notable ones has to
do with the venue.
He said that the Trump campaign did choose the venue, the Butler Farm venue, and the Secret Service raised concerns about it. They said they saw
it as a challenge, and they also specifically on the day of the rally raised concerns about the rooftop where that shooter was ultimately perched
when he fired eight rounds on Donald Trump.
Acting Director Rowe said the Secret Service raised concerns about the line of sight, the fact that somebody could have a direct and clear line of
sight at Donald Trump from that rooftop. But yet, that concern was never elevated to supervisors and ultimately never communicated as a concern more
broadly to tell the local law enforcement that were on the scene that day.
And also the communication breakdowns that occurred between local and Secret Service in those minutes leading up to the shots. That's a really
important moment that happened. The warning about a person on the roof minutes before shots were fired was never communicated to Secret Service,
and ultimately, Secret Service was on the phone trying to figure out what was going on when those shots rang out. So, really a troubling finding of
this investigation.
SOARES: Zach, appreciate it, thanks for laying it all down for us, thank you. And we have some breaking news we've been following out of the U.S.
battleground state of Georgia. Their election board has just approved a controversial new rule. Counties in Georgia will now be required to hand
count ballots cast at polling places on election day.
The vote was 3 to 2, with three allies of Donald Trump supporting the move, and this ruling comes despite bipartisan objection from election officials
as well as poll workers. Among them, the Republican Georgia Secretary of State. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: You start breaking up the ballot boxes after you close precinct. You won't be getting those election
day votes until maybe 1 O'clock, 2 O'clock or 4 O'clock in the morning. And we just don't believe that's healthy for, you know, the Republic, and we
don't think it's healthy for people of Georgia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get our Marshall Cohen on this because he's been following the story and he joins us live from Washington D.C. Marshall, good to see
you. Just so, first of all, explain to our viewers right around the world, Marshall, why the election board pushed for this and what the real
implications are here, Marshall, on election day?
[14:25:00]
MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Well, the bottom line for election day is that this could very well cause delays in the reporting of the results from
this critical battleground state, which is something that nobody wants, especially after all the chaos and confusion and disinformation that
flooded the zone four years ago in Georgia and in so many other states.
So, this is the state election board in Georgia. There are five members, three of the members who are a majority are Trump loyalists, Trump allies
who pushed this through in a vote several hours ago. The other two members, one of them is an independent who was appointed by their Republican
governor and a Democrat, they were unified in opposition, but of course 3 to 2, it passed.
So, the proposal here was passed over the objections of the Republican Attorney General of Georgia, the Republican Secretary of State of Georgia
and bipartisan and non-partisan election officials throughout the state that said it's going to really cause problems, it's going to create a
massive burden for the local officials who have the task of counting the ballots.
This new rule, if it's not blocked by a judge, and if it does go into effect for this election, would require every county in the state to do a
hand count of the number of ballots that were cast on election day to make sure that, that number of paper ballots matches up the number of ballots
that the machines tell them were cast in that polling place as well.
So, they tried to reconcile the numbers. In theory, it's not a terrible idea, Isa, but the officials that warn against it said number one, it's
just so close to the election, you really shouldn't be messing with the rules and procedures so close to the start of voting. And number two, it's
going to slow things down.
Some of these counties have hundreds of thousands of voters, imagine sitting in a room once the polls close in the evening and trying to tally
up hundreds of thousands of votes, it does not set up a situation for success. And that was the warning from the chairman of that board, who is
an independent.
He voted against it and he was pleading with his colleagues to stand down. Listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN FERVIER, CHAIR, GEORGIA STATE ELECTION BOARD: The overwhelming number of election officials that have reached out to me have been opposed to
this. Several things concern me about this. Number one, I do think it's too close to the election. I do. Most importantly, I believe that this is not
supported at all in statute.
We have received guidance from the Secretary of State and from the Attorney General's office, they say it's not supported in statute. If this board
votes to implement this rule, I think that we put ourselves in legal jeopardy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. COHEN: He's not some liberal, he was appointed by the Republican governor, but besides his concerns, the rule passed and we will have to see
how it all plays out. Isa.
SOARES: Important context there from our Marshall Cohen, thanks Marshall, good to see you.
M. COHEN: Me too.
SOARES: Now, Martin Luther Jing Jr. on steroids is how Donald Trump once described a man who is now the focus of a political scandal. CNN has
discovered a long history of shocking remarks Mark Robinson made -- the current Republican nominee for North Carolina governor posted on the forum
of a porn site more than ten years ago.
The CNN investigation found Robinson describing himself as a quote, "black Nazi", and saying he wished slavery would be reinstated. Robinson denies
that he wrote the post, saying it's all tableau lies. Here's what he had to say to CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ROBINSON, REPUBLICAN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA: Look, I'm not going to get into the minutiae of how somebody manufactured this all,
these salacious tabloid lies. But I can tell you this. There's been over $1 million spent on me through A.I. by billionaire's son who's bound and
determined to destroy me. But things that people can do with the internet now is incredible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mentioned A.I., are you saying that somebody was somehow manufacturing biographical details to exactly match you using your
username?
ROBINSON: Look, I have no idea how this was done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, well, how do you explain some of this being on the internet web archive, something that can't be made --
ROBINSON: We are -- we are. I've made my position clear and we are done with this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And he says he is staying in the race. We'll stay across that for you. And still to come tonight, dozens of women have accused the late
former owner of Harrods, Mohamed Al-Fayed of sexual assault. I'll bring you my interview with Gloria Allred; a lawyer for the alleged victims.
Plus, it's time for our book club. I speak to author and reporter Aamna Mohdin, she talks about the inspiration behind her book, "Scattered" and
some of the challenges she's faced in her career.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AAMNA MOHDIN, AUTHOR: There's a specific bit in the book where all of their reporters are removed because they're white and assumed to be
reporters. But I was left behind as they were rounding people up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Welcome back everyone. Mohamed Al-Fayed was a prominent figure in the world of business and celebrity in Europe. For decades, he was the
owner as well as chairman of London's high-end department store Harrods and he owned the Fulham Football Club and the Ritz Hotel in Paris. He was also
known for his proximity to the British Royal Family is portrayed in an episode of the Netflix series you can see there, The Crown. His son Dodi
became romantically involved with the late Princess Diana with whom he died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
But a new BBC investigation has unveiled decades of alleged abuse suffered by female employees at the hands of Al-Fayed. The report claims that Al-
Fayed assaulted and in some cases raped dozens of Harrods' female employees, even forcing them to undergo medical gynecology screenings. The
investigation also claims the department store knew about this. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He start to sort of get closer and closer and closer and he's pushing himself onto me and pushed me down on the sofa, you know,
putting his hands down my top and up my skirt and he was getting heavier and heavier and heavier. I'm scared. And he just pushed himself on top of
me but I'm strong and I started kicking him. And I kicked him and I kicked him and I kicked him and I kicked him off and I kicked him really hard.
I thought he's going to rape me. Definitely thought he was going to rape me. His trousers coming down and I said, get him off, get him off, get him
off, get him off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, Harrods has apologized to alleged victims saying that the organization today is a very different one from the one owned by Al-Fayed
between 1985 and 2010. The legal team of the alleged victims described Al- Fayed who died in 2023 at the age of 94 as a serial sexual abuser.
Well, earlier, I spoke to a prominent member of the legal team representing the alleged victims, Gloria Allred. Let's have a listened to what she had
to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Gloria, just remind all our viewers around the world of the allegations here, what these women have had to endure. I mean, I've watched
the documentary. I saw the press conference. I mean, this is chilling stomach-churning stuff.
[14:35:15]
GLORIA ALLRED, LAWYER OF THE ALLEGED VICTIMS OF MOHAMED AL-FAYED: Yes, it is. And the allegations by many of the women are rape, attempted rape,
sexual battery, and child abuse, child sexual abuse in the case of certain minors. So, all these are very serious. Also, the fact that they were
employees of Harrods, that Mohamad Al-Fayed recruited them and -- you know, it's really difficult for women in the sexual harassment situation, sexual
abuse. I've dealt with many of them. And they're in a no- win situation.
SOARES: And today, Gloria, at the press conference, we heard from one survivor. Only the first name was given. I think it's Natacha from what I
remember. And just finding the courage to speak out publicly against this - -
ALLRED: And I've said at the press conference, courage is contagious.
SOARES: Right? It is contagious. We've seen this, right?
ALLRED: The women overcome the fear and find their own strength and courage to move forward whether it's publicly or in a confidential setting with
barristers or attorneys where they can feel safe. They're doing something important not only for themselves. It's empowering other women around the
world --
SOARES: Yes, indeed.
ALLRED: -- to know, wait, I can find the courage too.
SOARES: So, let's listen to a tiny bit. I want our viewers to listen to a tiny bit of what Natacha had to say. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATACHA, FORMER HARRODS EMPLOYEE: The chairman prayed on the most vulnerable, those who of us who needed to pay the rent and some of us who
didn't have parents to protect them. A forced kiss, his hands gripping your face to his lips, or pulling you down on his up where his hands were free
to explore any part of your body that he wished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And Gloria, I mean, how did this go on for so long? We're talking 20-plus years here.
ALLRED: Many reasons. One of them is that Mohamed Al-Fayed threatened them, intimidated them, and he did it in a threatening manner. And again, he --
you know, he tried to make his own rules and he underestimated these women. He thought -- and he did for a while intimidate many of them. And of
course, it didn't help when one went to the police and they didn't do anything about it, and said there wasn't sufficient evidence or whatever
excuse they gave.
Women victims are often in fear that no one will believe them. That if they go to the police, that it won't be prosecuted.
mated But let's talk about Harrods because Harrods got new owners, it was bought off the -- I think from 2010, right? That they bought Harrods from
Mohamed Al-Fayed. Now, they have apologized. We've seen their statement, apologize for failing women. And I want to read part of what they said. You
have seen this as well.
"We are utterly appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Mohamed Al-Fayed. We also acknowledge that during this time as a business we failed
our employees who were his victims and for this we are sincerely apologize." They all go on to say, "Since new information came to light in
2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Al-Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding
lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved. This process is still available for any current or former Harrods employee."
Just your reaction first of all to this statement and what happens next here?
ALLRED: By the way, they seem to suggest that they didn't know about it --
SOARED: Did you buy that?
ALLRED: -- when they -- when they purchased, invested in Harrods. Well, according to the documentary on BBC, I mean, there was a person interviewed
who said everyone knew or most the employees knew. No, it wasn't a secret that Mohamed Al-Fayed seemed to be targeting young women who worked there,
attractive women, and then you know, that he took advantage of them.
And so, if it was widely known, I mean, why didn't the new purchasers of Harrods know. I don't know if they did know or didn't know, but all I can
say is, you know, I'm glad that they are acknowledging that a wrong happened there. And now, I'm a believer in deeds not words. Words are fine
but they need to be followed by deeds. So, yes, they need to provide justice for these victims. And justice can be in the form of meaningful
compensation to them, so in a civil manner it doesn't have to be a court case. This can be resolved.
I've also said just as we say in the United States, justice delayed is justice denied. It's been delayed for these victims for many years, for
decades. Now is the time to step up and do the right thing for the victims.
[14:40:14]
SOARES: So, that's what justice and accountability would look like. But I just want to give our viewers a bit more context in terms of the statement
from Harrods because they added, the Harrods of today is a very different organization to the one owned and controlled by Al-Fayed between 1985 and
2010. It is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.
So, for you and for many of these women, Gloria, you're looking for justice, you're looking for accountability, and that looks like what in
detail. Just give us a sense of what you're looking to get out of this, women are looking to get out of this because, of course, he's dead.
ALLRED: I think the process is important. It's empowering to the victims. So -- but now, they understand that they can move forward to seek justice
in the civil matter and that's what we're looking for. And you know, we're looking
forward to Harrods, now that we've done the press conference, now that they know we -- that the legal team represents 37 victims that have retained
them, and more and more are contacting in every day, so we'll see what happens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And that was Gloria Allred. We will see what happens. We'll be across -- that was an attorney of course representing the alleged victims
of Mohamed Al-Fayed. We'll stay across that story for you.
And still to come tonight, it's time for our book club. I speak to Aamna Mohdin. She's a journalist and author of Scattered: The Making and Unmaking
of a Refugee. You do not want to miss that conversation. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Joining us on the book Club Today is Aamna Mohdin. She has written Scattered: The Making and Unmaking of a Refugee. It's your debut novel and
it's -- you know, it is so raw, so personal, and I imagine kind of painful and cathartic at the same time for you reading it. Just explain why you
felt you had to write it, why you felt the timing was right for your story to be told.
MOHDIN: Yes. The idea of the book really came to me while I was covering the Black Lives Matter protest because I was among really young Black Brits
asserting themselves in the British story in British history. It really kind of started me on this journey of well, what is my personal history?
How do I fit into this country?
I've always been really embarrassed growing up being a refugee and being an asylum seeking and migrant. And I
wanted to do as anything that as what all kids want to do is just desperately fit in. So, I put that into a box, you know, that past and put
it in the back of my mind. I just didn't engage with it at all.
[14:45:02]
SOARES: I remember reading that you didn't want to be pigeonhole.
MOHDIN: Yes.
SOARES: So, was that the moment that you decided actually this is so -- such an important part of my identity, I need to embrace it, I need to own
it.
MOHDIN: Definitely. It was then when I thought, OK, I want to focus on this more intensely that big question of race, that big question of, you know,
who do -- who are we as a country, who belongs who doesn't, and who gets the right to say that. So, I decided to do it through telling my own story.
And I think we're the best to tell our own stories. And yes, the product is Scattered.
SOARES: Expand on that because viewers won't know it tells a story not just your story, it's your mother's story and your father's story and the
lengths and the fight to get to the U.K.
MOHDIN: Yes. So, my mom was pregnant, heavily pregnant with me when the Somali Civil War broke out. And I was born in midst of the Somali Civil
War. We moved to Kenya among hundreds of thousands of other refugees and lived there among these kinds of illegal encampments, and then later in my
life lived in a refugee camp. So, she waited I think in for more official resettlement scheme to happen but it just wasn't happening. So, then this
is a political and legal decision I made where I was honest that my parents came here regularly how I'm reporting on refugees now, getting on boats or
you know, getting on trains and ferries.
SOARES: You cover the European migrant crisis probably more in depth. I mean, I covered it 15 years ago. The story hasn't gone away. It's still
huge issue. It's still a political issue as you've seen here in the U.K. But I wonder whether your coverage of this be it in France or elsewhere,
whether that was the moment of realization also for you.
MOHDIN: Yes, that was definitely the start of more personal realization that this is something I have to confront. So, it was after those
experiences of being a reporter out for a publication like The Guardian covering the refugee encampments in Northern France. And there was --
there's a specific bit in the book where all of the reporters are removed because they're White and assumed to be reporters, but I was left behind as
they were rounding people up.
And it was a real big question of why do I get to be there as a reporter with my British passport in my pocket, while there were other Somali
refugees there, you know, fleeing the same war as I did. So, that started me more of a personal journey of really quite confronting some of the
things that happened to me. You know, I wanted to be honest in the book that I did start therapy as a result of those experiences. But then there's
something very therapeutic about just sitting down and writing as well.
SOARES: When you went back home after that trip there, what did you tell your mother? I mean, how did your
mom react to, one, you covering the story and what you took away from it?
MOHDIN: Me and my mom are so incredibly close. I make a joke that we're like the Gilmore Girls but Black and so much more trauma. But coming back,
I -- the first thing I did was just hug her and I got to my feet and kissed her feet because I just felt like she was this huge champion for me. She
could have given up on us on so many times and I wouldn't have blamed her if she did, but she never did. And I think it's easy to see someone like my
mom who's a former refugee, Hijabi, who might not speak English as strongly as I do, and not see her strength.
SOARES: A little except from your book which really struck out, stuck up to me -- I'm going to give you that, page 222. Read that for us if you don't
mind.
MOHDIN: Yes, of course. I was around 15 when my mom passed a U.K. citizenship test. When she passed, something dramatic quietly happened to
me. I stopped stop being a stateless person. I realized that night that I'm at a Midway Point looking at a life split in two. Half lived as a refugee,
a stateless person, and half as a citizen of one of the richest countries in the world. Every moment after this coming birthday, every day every
hour, every minute that follows will mean I have lived longer as Aamna, the British citizen than anything else. The distance between me and the refugee
I was and those in the camp today were grow wider and wider.
SOARES: And correct me if I'm wrong, you went back to that camp. I think it was the Kakuma Camp, right?
MOHDIN: Yes.
SOARES: What was that experience like?
MOHDIN: That bit of the book in Kakuma was very uncomfortable because I had to really reckon with my childhood self. Some of my earliest memories is
running through that camp. But there was also this real sadness because there were people who were still there who hadn't left since that time. You
know, I met refugees who were like I came here in 1992. That's when I was born. So, they were -- my entire life they've lived in this camp.
SOARES: You mentioned briefly -- well, you hinted at the politics of it all. We're seeing the rise of the far-right in parts of Europe .We've seen
in France. We've seen it in my own country of Portugal. We've seen in Spain, Germany. How worried are you not just about the rhetoric that we're
hearing but also the policies that we're hearing from some of these governments?
MOHDIN: Yes. I'm really, really worried because I think a lot of mainstream parties make the decision that if they are also come across as hard line on
the question of our borders and security and immigration, that they will stop the far-right from growing but all you do is end up legitimizing them
and create a scenario in which, you know, someone died trying to cross the channel yesterday, someone else the week before. You know, we're having
several people die now in a month. That is staggering and not something that used to happen before.
SOARES: Aamna, I'm going ask you to do us the pleasure of signing your book.
MOHDIN: I'd be honored.
SOARES: There you go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And our thanks to Aamna Mohdin for that conversation. And on our book club next time, bestselling author David Nicholls. Of course, he shot
to fame with the massive bestseller One Day. Yes, I read that a long time ago. And that was made into a major film recently and a Netflix series.
Now, he's out with a new book You Are Here: A Romance Set in the English Wilderness. He told me a bit about the inspiration for the novel. Have a
listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID NICHOLLS, AUTHOR: When I did the walk myself over about 10 days, I found myself kind of Imagining the characters in very specific situations
and trying to work out what the rain, what the beauty of the landscape, what the terrible pub would mean to them at that particular time. So, the
novel was very much devised on location.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And it's a fabulous novel. For much more, of course, book club content. Why don't you go to my Instagram as well. There you'll find fellow
CNN anchors and reporters of what they are read reading. And here's this one from our Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Isa's Book Club! It's Kristie in Hong Kong and I just finished this. This is Filterworld by Kyle
Chayka. And in this book, he argues that algorithms which are everywhere are flattening culture. Basically, algorithms are spoon feeding us trends
and vibes that end up homogenizing culture and in turn society. So, we have to push back and we have to assert our own personal choice. It's a really
interesting read. I recommend it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: You can see what the rest of correspondents are reading on my Instagram page. Still to come in the meantime in the show, dogs in disguise
or the real thing. We look at the animals causing, yes, I'm sorry pandemonium at a Chinese zoo. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:55:00]
SOARES: Well, the outlook is grim for key glacier in Antarctica. That's one of the key takeaways from a report published on Thursday. It reveals how
the so-called Doomsday Glacier is melting at an accelerated rate. Since 2018 science have been studying the glacier in Antarctica which is the size
of Florida. They've been using robots like these to predict how it could collapse within the next 200 years, and the consequences for coastal
communities could be devastating. The next step is to learn more about the glacier and figure out if it's too late to save it. Hopefully not of
course.
Now, to a zoo in China where the star attraction is causing well quite a stir. These poochies have gone viral online. I'm sure you've seen them
after the strange animals and cute pets Paradise Zoo admitted that its so- called panda dogs were in fact Chow Chows with dyed -- with dyed fur. The animals have gone viral online with videos being shared more than one
million times on Chinese social media. Regardless, they are incredibly cute. I know the cheating and everything but they are cute.
That does it for us for tonight. Thanks very much for your company. Do stay right here. "NEWSROOM" with Jim Sciutto is up next. Have a wonderful
weekend. See you next week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
