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Quest Means Business

U.S. Vows Crackdown on Manchester Intel Leaks; U.K. Cuts Off U.S. From Manchester Intel After Leaks; Montana Election Rocked by Body Slam Charges; Trump Set to Land in Sicily for G7 Summit;

Aired May 25, 2017 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:00] RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: Big ben. There it is, chiming the top of the hour, 9:00 in the United Kingdom. A very good evening from

outside the palace of Westminster. I'm Richard Quest.

Tonight, the U.S. government goes into damage control mode. The U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be heading to Britain on Friday as a

series of intelligence leaks have strained the special relationship between London and Washington. Secretary Tillerson is due to meet with the foreign

secretary Boris Johnson. The visit announced only a few hours ago as the U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he's taking appropriate steps to

end the leaks.

It's been a day of developments, as British officials say the disclosures by U.S. officials have put the bomb investigation at risk. And in a very

dramatic move, the authorities, the greater Manchester police have cut off the United States from new intelligence on the attack, even as the probe

widens. The mayor of Manchester told CNN the United States was warned about maintaining secrecy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY BURNHAM, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND MAYOR: Honestly, I find it unbelievable that we are in this position. Having asked for it to stop, it didn't stop.

That's why we're going public today. My message is a tough one. It is wrong. It is arrogant. And it is disrespectful to the people of greater

Manchester, but particularly to the families of those who lost loved ones and those who are injured. And so, I say to the U.S. government today from

the very top a clear statement must be made that this will stop immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: President Trump has called on the Justice Department to prosecute the leakers. The statement from the President warned the revelations are

deeply troubling and a grave threat to national security. Meanwhile Theresa May, the British prime minister, has warned trust between the U.S.

and the U.K. is at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: On the issue of the intelligence sharing with the United States of America, we have a special relationship

with the USA. It is our deepest defense and security partnership that we have. Of course, that partnership is built on trust. And part of that

trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently. And I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence that is shared

between law enforcement agencies must remain secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: So, CNN's Fred Pleitgen is with me, as is Elise Labott. Both tracking the latest developments from London and Washington and they joined

me now with two different perspectives. Fred, you have the British perspective, but Elise, to you first, in Washington, the decision to send

Rex Tillerson at the last minute, is this an indication of the seriousness with which the U.S. now takes of what is now a rupture in the special

relationship?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, Richard, you can only see it as that. Although I must say I think when it comes to

this particular incident, I'm not sure it's really something that's indigenous to the Trump administration, and it's getting kind of roped in

with the whole idea of intelligence and President Trump's discussion of classified Israeli intelligence to the Russians. Look, when an

investigation of this nature takes place, you know, it's usually U.S. officials that are talking early about the investigation to U.S. reporters.

I wouldn't necessarily say they're political officials. They could be long time career officials. But I think the way that it's resonated this

particular time in Britain, and because it obviously speaks to such a sensitivity of this investigation and what the British are trying to find

that it does speak to a rift in the relationship right now. That's why Rex Tillerson is going over to show solidarity with our British counterparts.

QUEST: Fred Pleitgen, the British are furious.

FEDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they certainly are. And you've really seen the tone that they've been choosing

change over the past couple of days. Because this leak didn't just start, it wasn't just the stuff that came up in "The New York Times," the photos

that really set all this off. But the Brits were obviously very angry when the name of the bomber appeared in American media before the Brits even

wanted to disclose it. In fact, they had said that they don't want to disclose it at that time because of the operational security, operational

secrecy which of course, is so very important in this key investigation. I think they've seen this as a series of leaks that have been happening. And

I thought that that statement by the mayor of Manchester was being damning, where he said, look, they're a liability right now in this investigation.

QUEST: Elise, a liability in the investigation, but if we look at what President Trump said in his statement.

[16:05:00] He refers to there is no more special and precious relationship than between the U.S. and the U.K., and yet at the same time, as you'll be

aware, he has this weird ironic situation where he himself is accused of leaking secret information.

LABOTT: That's right. Look, it's all taking on this political tone, as I said. And look, this is not the first time that the U.S. kind of has loose

lips when it comes to these investigations. You had it in France when there was that Paris attack. And you also had it in Belgium. U.S.

officials are, you know, kind of loose with talking to U.S. reporters. I wouldn't say they make an effort to not disclose classified information or

things that could jeopardize the investigation. Certainly, this time the Brits think that they did.

But when you have President Trump talking to the Russian foreign minister, leaking intelligence, it's kind of taken on this whole political tone that

the U.S. is careless with its intelligence, careless with the information and not treating its allies with the proper respect. I think, you know,

it's all being lumped into President Trump. But it's definitely an administration-wide problem that is not necessarily unique to this Trump

administration when it comes to these attacks, certainly for President Trump it is.

QUEST: Elise, I'll thank you so you can get back to your news gathering duties. Elise Labott in Washington. I'll continue with you, Fred, if I

may. The extent of the investigation, now we've got multiple arrests.

PLEITGEN: Yes.

QUEST: We've got multiple homes being searched. The police say now in Wigan, which is 40 kilometers from Manchester, they're finding things of

interest.

PLEITGEN: They may have found suspicious items, exactly. What we're hearing from our cruise on the ground there is apparently the search cordon

there has been expanded, which obviously, leads to believe that that's something t where they may be zeroing in on a property that they think is

important and maybe finding things that are important to this investigation.

Certainly, they're saying they think they may have found something at this point in time but it's not really clear. At the same time, we can see this

investigation is moving very, very quickly. We have I think eight people taken into custody so far. I think one of them has been released, two

people taken into custody today. They obviously believe there's a bigger cell that's behind this. It seems as though they're moving very, very fast

to try and question those people to see what they know.

QUEST: Fred, thank you.

The special relationship between British and American intelligence is broad, and it stretches back many decades. It was set up under fire during

World War II. It was formalized in the U.K./USA agreement in 1946 as the iron curtain descended across Europe, to use the phrase of Winston

Churchill. It encompasses the organization's tasked with uncovering terror networks. You've got the domestic security services in the case of the

U.S., the FBI, the MI-5. And then you've got the foreign intelligences, which is the CIA and MI-6. But you have much deeper than that. The

signals, listens agencies, NSA, the National Security Agency and GCHQ, the British equivalent. Sir Christopher Meyer, served as the British

ambassador to the United States. He joined me earlier and said the relationship will be repaired eventually.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER MEYER, FORMER BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: It's quite unusual, I can't actually remember in my entire career a moment when a U.K. agency

said we're not going to cooperate with the United States anymore because they're leaking like a sieve on the other side of the Atlantic. This is

unusual. It's a major squall, if you like, in the entire intelligence relationship. It will in the end blow over. But it's serious.

QUEST: Is it justifiable for the U.K. to take this stance, do you think?

MEYER: Absolutely justifiable. Absolutely. And we will continue to take it until it's no longer profitable to do so, to be perfectly frank with

you. What is desperately important for our law enforcement, I have a funny feeling you guys are exactly the same in the USA, is not to have a line of

inquiry prejudiced by the premature publication of information relating to it. That is why they're doing it, because they have no guarantee that it

won't happen again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Now, joining me, Fiona Mactaggart, a former member of Parliament representing, she sat on parliament intelligence and security committee.

When you hear this sort of -- I mean, you've been privy to much intelligence over many years, of a very high level. You be must have been

fairly, to use a phrase, gob-smacked when you learned that such data is leaked.

[16:10:00] FIONA MACTAGGART, FORMER BRITISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: It is inappropriate. A lot of our security depends on the five I's. That's the

relationship between the U.S., Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. We have a partnership to try to help keep our countries secure. And as

part of that partnership, we share intelligence with each other. But the basis of that is that you can never pass that intelligence on without

clearing it with the country which originated it.

QUEST: Yet it has to be seen in the bigger picture, doesn't it? It has to be seen in an environment in Washington where it seems all bets are off

with certain leaks in terms of information. So, for example even the President gave up information on Syria when he was talking to the Russians.

Does this disturb you, that the U.S. is perhaps becoming lax in some regards?

MACTAGGART: I think it is genuinely frightening if the United States is behaving like a child. And in some ways, it appears that it is in this

example. And the reason why it's important that this kind of information shouldn't just be scattered around is because for the police to make all

the contract tracing, for them to find all the potential people who have been involved, it's quite important that they don't know the lines that

they're following.

QUEST: Related to this, how concerned or what do you make -- I mean, it's clear that the police are now looking for a cell, a network. And the bomb

arguably is of a sophistication that there's a bomb-maker. We're in a different league here, now aren't we? This is the nightmare scenario of an

active cell within the U.K.

MACTAGGART: I'm not sure that you need a cell to be a nightmare scenario. Some of the most dramatic terror incidents before this one have been lone

wolf incidents where there hasn't been a cell. It is clear that there is a bomb-maker. And that I think is genuinely terrifying, because while

there's a lot of information on the internet and things like that, the security services are very good at interrupting that information, at

scattering slight misinformation in the middle of it. But clearly this bomb-maker knew how to make a bomb that would cause massive damage to the

children that were there. I think the existence of a bomb-maker is something that is the most terrifying.

QUEST: When and as this investigation now proceeds, it's a fascinating combination of intelligence, but also now old-fashioned police work up in

the north of England, going to the homes, going to those people, the known contacts, getting the computers, searching the properties.

MACTAGGART: Absolutely. And while the government has invested in increasing security personnel, it has cut spending on the frontline police.

And one of the risks that that's created, and I think it's shown in some of this investigation, is that the kind of on the street knowledge is

diminished because we don't have those community police officers that we used to depend on.

QUEST: I realize you're not an MP anymore, but I think I need to test with you how you think this factors into the election when campaigning starts

again probably after the weekend. I'm not really asking you is it good for the Prime Minister or bad for Jeremy Corbin. It's more subtle. I want to

know will this be an issue for the British people when they go to the polls?

MACTAGGART: I don't think it will be an issue in which party they pick. But I do think when people are scared, and people are, then they tend to

hold on for nurse for fear of worse, as it were. I think that when people have been terrorized, they're less bold and less optimistic. And that's a

terrible thing about terror. And one of the things we have to do, and actually Manchester is doing it, bless it, is that we have to get together

and recognize that our best strength in our solidarity and that our best strength is our democracy and we should celebrate that and celebrate the

free speech which makes Britain strong in the face of this kind of evil.

QUEST: Good to see you, thank you so much.

The police are conducting more raids as they race to uncover the terror network that led to the Manchester attack. We'll be live. We'll have the

latest. We'll be in Manchester after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:15:00] QUEST: CNN has just received confirmation from the RAF about an image that's been circulating online that shows the depth of the feeling in

the U.K. in the wake of Monday's attack. It shows what appears to be explosive ordinance, it's an RAF base, and the ordinance has on it "Love

from Manchester." A spokesman for Her Majesty's Royal Air Force has confirmed that the photo is genuine. We have no more details about that.

The police say potentially suspicious materials were uncovered in Wigan, that's about 40 kilometers from Manchester. The area is being evacuated as

a matter of precaution. And we're learning more about Abedi, the man who carried out the attack.

U.S. officials say it's likely that he traveled inside Syria and received training directly from ISIS. At the same time, Germany has confirmed he

traveled through Dusseldorf airport on his way to Manchester a few days before the attack. And Turkish officials say he moved through Istanbul's

Ataturk airport recently. More information, more pieces of the jigsaw.

The police raids are ongoing, as the authorities continue their search for the possible bomb-maker. A total number of suspects in custody now stands

at eight. Atika Shubert is on the ground in Manchester. Atika, you've been close to where many of the searches have been taking place. What do

we know if anything, and I realize facts are few and far between on this, but what do we know of what they found?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that some arrests have been made near those search sites. For example, the

apartment of his older brother was searched. And then the 23-year-old arrested nearby. We don't know what material was found inside. In the

last known address for Abedi, there were documents taken outside and other materials as well by forensics teams. The question is did they find any

trace of those explosive chemicals. That's why we've seen an uptick in the number of searches and raids. There's a lot of concern that there may be

more explosives out the there. And they're trying to figure out exactly where the bomb was constructed and if Abedi himself did it or if there was

a bomb-maker. They're really making sure that they're checking every single angle, whether it's here in Manchester or in Wigan or in any other

locations.

QUEST: OK. So, they're doing these searches, and one assumes that what they find in one leads them to the next. But this idea, I mean, from

talking to our previous guest, Fiona Mactaggart, this idea of a bomb-maker, for frankly want of a better word, on the loose somewhere in the North of

England or somewhere in the U.K. is terrifying.

SHUBERT: It is terrifying and unfortunately, it's not unprecedented. Remember after the Paris attacks, there was this search for the attackers,

and as it turned out, of course, there was this attack to come in Brussels that was linked to Paris. And again, we have seen caches of explosive

materials being found in other parts of Europe such as Brussels, for example. So, there's a lot of concern that there's material out there, is

there a person that knows how to put it all together, is it possible that Abedi himself somehow was trained in the construction of making a bomb? We

don't know at this point. And this is what investigators -- why it's so important to search these addresses and see if they can find the traces of

explosive materials, because that will ultimately lead them to who constructed the bomb.

QUEST: It's been interesting that we haven't really had full scale news conferences. The Manchester police have come out and made various

statements. But they haven't done a full scale take all questions type of -- and I suppose that's to be expected, barely three or four days after the

event.

SHUBERT: Exactly. I mean, British authorities are known really for keeping their cards close to the chest when an investigation is ongoing.

They were not happy when the name was leaked out. And now these photos that "The New York Times" has put out. But I think really what we're

talking about here is a terror network, but how exactly was he communicating to this terror network? Are we talking about mobile phone

communications, encrypted communications? And this is the kind of thing they don't want the public to know. So, they're making sure that

information or trying to make sure that information doesn't leak out. So, you haven't seen that kind of a mass press statement. But it could well be

that we'll get more information soon. At the moment, however, the investigation is just too sensitive as it's ongoing.

QUEST: Atika, thank you, in Manchester tonight.

The web of terror and the arrests that's now emerging shows it's not a local operation. Its clear investigators are looking at regional networks.

The police have eight suspects in custody, stretching from Manchester and Wigan in the north to Nuneaton in the west midlands. Let's talk about this

with Will Geddes, a security specialist and chief executive of ICP Group. Good to see you, sir.

WILL GEDDES, CEO ICP GROUP: Thanks, Richard.

QUEST: We keep going back to this idea of the bomb maker, because this was a sophisticated device or a relatively sophisticated device of heinous

power and destruction. What's your perspective on what the police are now doing?

GEDDES: Well, right now, as you've been saying, particularly across the piece, it's kind of creating the jigsaw puzzle of the various intelligence

pieces that they are gathering from not only the finding that they're getting from these apprehensions. And we've got to consider that many of

the individuals that have been arrested, if they do have some collusion in some shape or form, and it's highly likely they do, and that was why they

were targeted obviously, and selected for arrest. That they won't be obviously, providing that information straight away. So, they'll be

gleaning it from their various devices, certainly from their computers, to try and establish the links where they can.

QUEST: Hang on a second.

GEDDES: Yes.

QUEST: Those involved that are arrested, surely, they would have twigged that as soon as it was known Abedi had committed this atrocity, they would

have their collar felt by the authorities.

GEDDES: Not necessarily. Some do, some don't. And they would have possibly employing some degree of tradecraft to conceal their activities or

certainly their communications. But bear in mind we've got incredible capabilities these days which can retrieve data certainly from some of

their devices and also there's the metadata which can be drawn from their cellular communications.

QUEST: Within this idea, piecing the jigsaw together, because we've got a Libya connection which is where he went.

GEDDES: Yes.

QUEST: We're now getting confirmation two CNN that he also was in Syria. Now I find it extraordinary that this man -- Syria is not exactly an easy

place to get to at the best of times -- would not have been radar of the authorities or am I being naive

GEDDES: From what I understand, and information will be limited, and it will be limited for obvious reasons, Richard.

[16:25:00] That apparently, he was on the radar of the French in the U.S. authorities who probably have better intelligence capabilities particularly

in Libya in being able to track activities. As we know in Libya right now, Islamic state are gaining a lot of ground and very quickly down there. So,

there's every good chance that his connections with Islamic state down there, which I believe to have now been proven out, it would have been the

intelligence sources that would have passed that. And then subsequently, as is always the courtesy, that information would be passed back to the

country of origin.

QUEST: At some point the authorities here, the greater Manchester police, Scotland Yard, the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, whoever it is, is

going to have to brief the public and say, this is what we believe happens. There's a bomb-maker on the run or there's an active cell. The police said

they're looking at a network. But at some point, they're going to have to tell the British people what it is that's going on. Otherwise you end up

with fear everywhere.

GEDDES: To a degree, yes. Again, what Theresa May said, the Prime Minister, about keeping the threat level at critical of a high level, means

that the police are still obviously, following through their inquiries and the authorities are still following up on that intelligence that they have

and they're gleaning as they move along. What I'm seeing, and again, this is speculation on my part, this is somewhat of a surge process in picking

up as many potential links, connected or unconnected, for a variety of reasons, both intelligence trawling but also disruption.

QUEST: Good to see you, sir, thank you.

The legal fight against Donald Trump's travel ban has scored a significant win. The court used Mr. Trump's own words against him. We'll be in

Washington to find out the details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. We'll hear more about a Montana millionaire turned

politician who is accused of body slamming a reporter on the eve of the state's special election. And Donald Trump is about to arrive in Sicily

any minute. It'll be his first G7 summit. We'll have details. Before all that, you are of course watching CNN, and on this network the news always

comes first.

President Trump is vowing to end leaks of shared foreign intelligence. He released a statement after secret information about the Manchester suicide

attack appeared in "The New York Times." The British Prime Minister, Theresa May is warning that trust between the U.S. and the U.K. is at

stake.

The U.S. official tells CNN information gathered in Manchester shows that like the bomber likely received some ISIS training in Syria. We're told he

traveled there in the months before the deadly attack. The official tells us other members of his family are believed to have been radicalized.

[16:30:00] The Queen has reached out to some of the young survivors of the attack with a personal visit to the hospital. Her majesty stopped by one

of the eight hospitals where the injured are recovering to meet the victims. She met with the hospital staff and her majesty called the attack

very wicked.

A letter bomb has injured a former Greek prime minister in central Athens. CNN Greece says he opened the bobby trapped envelope as his car made its

way through an intersection. The hospital says he's in a stable condition. He led the caretaker government in Greece in 2011.

In Berlin, former President Barack Obama is defending globalism and speaking out against hiding behind walls. Mr. Obama addressed a crowd on

Thursday next to Angela Merkel. The former president also received the German media award and called on the world not to respond to change with

fear.

Now, the height of the troubles in Belgium and Brussels, candidate Trump once called the city a hell hole. Today, President Trump made his first

visit to Brussels for talks with NATO allies. The president followed up on a common complaint during the election campaign about defense spending and

he delivered a lecture while European leaders watched on and he scolded them for not paying their dues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying

for their defense. This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: The comments come at a time of great upheaval and stress for NATO. There is defense spending, and most countries, as the president rightly

said, do not meet the target of 2 percent of GDP. It's a guideline, it's not a rule. And the commitment is by 20 or 2024 that they will have

reached that. The NATO secretary general says from now he will ask all members for yearly updates on their spending plans. There's also the

Russian/Ukraine tensions. NATO is sending more troops to its eastern flank to deter potential Russian aggression particularly around the Baltics. And

terror and intelligence sharing. The U.K. and U.S. ties are strained over Manchester.

The U.K., U.S., Canada, and the five I's still have their intelligence sharing pact. The former U.S. permanent representative to NATO joins me

from Chicago, now president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Good to see, thank you for joining us. And look, very simply, was it tactful

for Donald Trump to basically do the "pay your bills" speech at a moment when NATO was dedicating itself to the commitment of the fight against

terror post-9/11 and of course, it's in your headquarters? It was a bit, I suppose some critics will say, tacky.

IVO DAALDER, FORMER U.S. PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO NATO: Well, it was. There's nothing wrong with the president of the United States in a public

statement like this, to remind allies of the importance of sharing the burdens of the common defense. Many presidents have done so before. I

think the kind of language we heard might have been better to have done privately. But that's his style and his want. It's what he didn't say

that is the problem. Because while NATO, European countries in particular, need to spend more on defense, the European countries were waiting to hear

from president Trump a recommitment to something that is at the core of the alliance which is the so-called article v commitment, the commitment to

regard an attack against one as an attack against all and to respond accordingly. He has never said that, neither as candidate Trump when he

called NATO obsolete, nor as president Trump. And they were waiting to hear that. They were also waiting to go hear -- go ahead.

QUEST: Yes, well, I just want to pick up on that. Do you believe the omission in the speech was deliberate?

DAALDER: Yes, I think it was deliberate. It was a deliberate message to tell the Europeans that the time for not fulfilling the guidelines, as you

rightly say, of 2 percent of GDP spending, have come to an end.

[16:35:00] But there was another mission that he had, which was to reassure the allies that the United States is still committed as it has been for the

past 68 years to lead the NATO alliance, to be a leader of NATO as it has been for 68 years in the common defense, and that the United States stands

shoulder to shoulder with our allies to deal with the threats that we face, including in particular the threat from Russia, just as allies stood

shoulder to shoulder with the United States after the 9/11 attack when hundreds of thousands of their soldiers went to Afghanistan over the last

16 years and dealt with that threat.

QUEST: Are you suggesting that any leader in NATO seriously doubts the U.S.'s article v commitment?

DAALDER: An alliance like this is built on trust. It's built on trust and confidence. And Donald Trump, when he was a candidate, called that

confidence and trust into question. He called the alliance obsolete. He said that it's old mission of deterring Russia was no longer valid. And as

a result, it is incumbent on him to reassure the allies that in fact he does believe that the alliance has a solemn commitment, and the U.S. has a

solemn commitment to article v.

QUEST: Right. But I guess the contradiction that is coming, for instance when Stoltenberg went to the White House, the president was quite clear he

no longer believed it was obsolete, he learned about it and said it wasn't obsolete, and talked about how it was moving forward. I suppose I can see

where you're coming from, leaders are saying, look, is it obsolete or is it not, what does the president believe today about NATO? How damaging is

that for NATO?

DAALDER: Well, I think it's quite concerning. When President Obama went to Estonia shortly after the Russians invaded Ukraine, he made clear that

article v is an unbreakable commitment of the United States, that the U.S. is unwavering in that commitment, and those are quotes. That's the kind of

language that allies like to hear from the leader of the alliance. It's what they've heard from Truman and Eisenhower onwards. And they would like

to hear it from Donald Trump in particular because of the way Mr. Trump talked about NATO during the campaign.

QUEST: Good to see you, sir, thank you for joining us.

A glorious evening in London, not too warm, not too cool. Big Ben behind me, a few more minutes before it will chime a quarter to the top of the

hour. We'll be back with more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. We're live in London.

[16:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Donald Trump's controversial proposed travel ban has been dealt what legal experts are calling a huge loss for the president. Citing Mr.

Trump's own comments during his campaign, a federal appeals court is upholding a ruling that blocks the ban from taking effect. Jessica

Schneider is in Washington, and Jessica, I freely admit at this point I am somewhat lost and confused by the number of different courts and appeal

courts, whether west in Hawaii or out east or wherever it might be, that are looking at this. This appeal court has said what?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Richard, I can understand your confusion, there have been a lot of court rulings on this. Let's put it

this way. All of these court rulings pretty much, except one out in Boston way back in February, all the rest of them have come out the exact same

way, and the same is true with this fourth circuit opinion today. Basically, they're saying this executive order that halts travel from these

six Muslin majority countries, these courts are saying that is just outside the realm of executive power. So basically, what happened today, it kept

things the status quo. It said that this travel ban that did ban travel from those six Muslin majority countries, of course it excluded Iraq which

was in the first executive order, the court now saying no, you still cannot go forward with this travel ban, president Trump, your executive order is

just too discriminatory, it discriminates on the basis of religion.

And these courts in particular have really focused on President Trump's campaign statements, when he was a candidate. It was way back in December

2015 when president Trump or then candidate Trump stood out there and said we are going to call for a complete and total ban on Muslins. That was the

main focal point of the decisions at the lower courts. And today in the fourth circuit, the court there saying the same thing, that look, these

were discriminatory statements, it goes to the aim and the purpose of this executive order, and it just cannot stand.

QUEST: Now, so far, so good. But humor me if you will, because if I remember correctly, there was another appeals court out west that is

looking into all this, correct me if I'm wrong.

SCHNEIDER: You're not wrong, you're correct.

QUEST: And based on the Hawaii case.

SCHNEIDER: Right.

QUEST: Could we end up with appeal, federal appeal courts in different parts of the country coming to different conclusions which of course they

would have to be resolved by the supreme court?

SCHNEIDER: Absolutely. Of course, that is often what leads to a case going to the Supreme Court, is when there's two different circuit courts

that rule differently. I'll tell you this much, the fourth circuit is arguably a more conservative court than the ninth circuit. The ninth

circuit is based out of California, it incorporates the western states. The judges out there are known to be a little more liberal. So, there's

less of a chance that they would find differently than the fourth circuit.

However, if they do find differently, say the ninth circuit were to say no, there's no discriminatory intent in this executive order, it can go

forward, then at that point we would have a direct path to the supreme court. And that of course is something that president Trump has promised

all along. He has repeatedly said we will see you in supreme court. So, it's possible that the ninth circuit when they come out with their decision

will rule differently, Richard. But I don't think so, because the fourth circuit is a bit more conservative and I think the ninth circuit will also

uphold this halt to the travel ban.

QUEST: Right. Thank you. You clarified that admirably and we can now move on.

We'll stay with President Trump. He's now in Sicily for the G7 summit, the final stop of his overseas tour. We'll be expecting to see Air Force One

touching down any time now. I'm bearing in mind of course earlier today in Brussels, he shook hands with the European Council President Donald tusk.

The atmosphere was described by EU sources as friendly and constructive. Nic Robertson joins me from Sicily. I often wonder in this situation, Nic,

is it a case where -- I mean, post the first part of the visit, in this part NATO and the EU and the G-7, expectations are rather low.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, I'm sure we'll hear the same refrain, that cordial and productive will be the nature

of the talks here. The issues that are going to be on the agenda for tomorrow are going to be security and politics.

[16:45:00] Then we'll get into some things that will likely cause a difference of opinion between the United States and Britain, France,

Germany, Italy, Japan are the G7 members, when they get on to sustainable growth. Sustainable growth is defined in the literature for the G7 here as

about trade. We know there are differences on how these different countries, particularly the United States and under Donald Trump, views

free trade and how his European partners here don't see eye to eye with him on that. Then another part of the sustainable growth is the climate.

We know there are extreme differences there between president Trump and the Europeans, particularly the French on that issue. And energy will be

another item that will be part of that framework. On Saturday, they get into sort of a bigger and perhaps more European issue, and this is what's

being termed as a sort of outreach day. And they'll be inviting some African leaders here, you'll have the Kenyan, Ethiopian, the Nigerian and

Tunisian leaders here, because there's a real understanding in southern Europe that unless you help that northern part of Africa, then you have

problems in Europe. And perhaps president Trump, that will be something where his partners here hope he understands and learns their predicament.

QUEST: A heavy agenda, Nic, with possibly limited outcome when all is said and done. I'm sure the communique will run to some two or three pages

starting with we, the members of the G7 meeting in Sicily, et cetera. I question whether anything productive comes out of Sicily.

ROBERTSON: I think one of the things that's happening here, and this is perhaps hard for President Trump because this is coming at the end of

what's been an exhausting few days, he enjoyed himself in Saudi Arabia but then he was into Israel, that was exhausting. He met the Pope, for him

that was enjoyable. He's had to deal with this thing with Britain on intelligence sharing and leaking, that's a taxing issue that he didn't

expect to come up on the agenda. But I think for the Europeans, particularly at the G7 where they'll sit around for longer than they did at

NATO, let's say Emmanuel Macron who had a handshake with Trump, the judgment they've come to so far is Trump is a president whose word doesn't

count for so much, whose America first, unilateral views don't gibe with Europe. This is a time when he will impress his partners here or they will

take away a different impression.

QUEST: Nic Robertson, thank you.

Manchester police say the cordon in Wigan has been lifted. Homes were evacuated in the area as a precaution. An eyewitness sent picture to CNN

showing there was a bomb robot on the scene. Police made an arrest at the address yesterday followed by a raid and search today. Those actions

triggered by the discovery of what the police are describing as potentially suspicious items.

We continue tonight on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS from London. It's election day in Montana, an extraordinary event last night. The Republican candidate

for congress charged with assaulting a reporter. Interestingly, this might help the candidate in today's vote. We're in Montana, next.

[16:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Markets are subdued in the wake of the attack in Europe. Paris and frank further edged lower and Zurich was closed. U.S. markets have made

decent gains today. The Dow Jones, a third of 1 percent. Retailers rose. Airlines climbed as oil prices fell on the back of the OPEC decision to

extend the production limits into next year. It was a record day on the NASDAQ and the S&P 500, extraordinary. 70 on the Dow, and both the NASDAQ

and the S&P closed at new highs. To give you some more details on that OPEC decision to lift oil prices, they're intending to have the opposite

effect. They actually fell 5 percent despite oil producers extending supply curbs to the end of next March.

A Republican millionaire is potentially heading to congress despite apparently being caught on tape body slamming a reporter from "The

Guardian." The incident happened hours before the polls opened in a special election in the U.S. state of Montana. Greg Gianforte has been

charged now with a misdemeanor assault. CNN believes and understands some people who cast their absentee ballots are asking to change their vote.

This confrontation with the reporter, Ben Jacobs, took place at the campaign headquarters. You can listen to the tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN JACOBS, REPORTER, THE GUARDIAN: -- the CBO scoring, because you were waiting to make your decision about health care until the bill came out.

GREG GIANFORTE, CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS, MONTANA: We'll talk about that later. I'm sick and tired of you guys. The last time you came in here you

did the same thing. Get the hell out of here. Get the hell out of here. The last time you did the same thing. Are you with "The Guardian"?

JACOBS: Yes, and you broke my glasses. You just body slammed me and broke my glasses.

GIANFORTE: Get the hell out of here.

JACOBS: I'll get the hell out of here and call the police. Can I get you guys' names?

GIANFORTE: You've got to leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Ryan Young is in Bozeman, Montana, and joins me now. Difficult to know, those who were there including a Fox News crew, they all suggest that

Ben Jacobs wasn't aggressive. But the statement put out by the candidate's spokesman, it's clear they say he was. He said/he said. Who is telling

the truth here?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's the big question, you have those eyes watching this from afar, you brought up the fox crew who was

watching this, of course they have made statements as well. That's something a lot of people want to talk about, Richard, when you listen to

those questions, they're not questions that would necessarily rile you up. People are asking what happened before this tape started that would get him

to where he would put hands on Ben Jacobs? One lady wanted to know is there more to the tape, what happened beforehand. I can also tell you, the

three local newspapers here have pulled their endorsement for this man. One Democrat drove over a few minutes ago and said they wished they had a

stronger candidate against him. But the conversation is all about the first amendment and so many people trying to defend the right of reporters

to ask a question. A lot of people scratching their heads. Like you said, the polls close sometime soon. They're wondering will this upset the Apple

cart in this state that votes red all the time.

[15:55:00] QUEST: QUEST: And that is the fascinating part in all of this. Is it likely that the bravado of him attacking and body slamming a reporter

will attract him votes and could be the deciding winning factor here?

YOUNG: Well, that's the sad thing. Of course, here's a few things here. We've talked to a few people who have said this has actually maybe pulled

them a little closer to him because they say they're tired of tough questions from reporters and they sort of like the idea he was standing up

for himself. Other people said no, they're calling the election office and saying they wish they could change those absentee ballots. Of course, they

can't do that. There's a little push and pull here. One guy told me what's great about this country is the idea that we can have debates, we

can have outward debates and not turn to violence, this is not where this country should be pushing himself, he was very upset about it. As a

reporter, if you look at the questions being asked, nothing made you go too far left or right about that. There was a news conference at the sheriff's

office, people were asking why he was allowed to leave the scene, the sheriff said he's not in custody, he just has to make sure he's at the

court date for the misdemeanor charge.

QUEST: Thank you. We'll have a Profitable Moment after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's Profitable Moment. The disagreement and row between the U.S. and the U.K. over leaked intelligence is serious, and a rupture. But

from everybody that I've been speaking to, they all tell me it should have no longer term implications, providing the United States gets its act

together and reassures the British. That's why Rex Tillerson is here today. Big Ben is chiming the top of the hour. That's QUEST MEANS

BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in London. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, as the hour strikes 10:00, I hope it's profitable.

END