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Quest Means Business
President Trump Fires Secretary of State Rex Tillerson; Russia Says it will not Respond to the U.K.'s Ultimatum without Evidence; A State Attorney in Florida Announces He will Seek a Death Penalty Against the Confessed Parkland School Shooter Nicholas Cruz. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired March 13, 2018 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00] (WALL STREET CLOSING BELL RINGING)
RICHARD AUSTIN QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT & HOST, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: Closing bell rang on Wall Street an hour ago, I'm
coming (ph), ringing the closing bell with the most remarkable gavel that you're going to see.
The bell (ph) is over and yes that's a good one, that's a robust one and the second one but you don't often play to the crowd quite like this -
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
QUEST: - ha, there you go.
Third gavel, didn't have any effect on the day but market was down, Dow was off (ph) as was the NASDAQ, trading is now over on Tuesday, it's the 13th
of March.
Tonight, taken down by Twitter, Donald Trump fires the U.S. Secretary of State.
And as #MYFREEDOMDAY companies snap into action to stop modern-day slavery.
I'm Richard Quest live from Atlanta's international airport, the busiest in the world the perfect place for us to begin #MYFREEDOMDAY and where of
course, "I Mean Business."
Hello, good evening and it is a special edition of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS live from the world's busiest international airport, Hartsfield-Jackson
Atlanta International Airport.
#MYFREEDOMDAY begins in one hour and Delta Airlines will roll out a massive global campaign here in Atlanta.
Donald Trump has stunned the world by removing his Secretary of State, he did so via a tweet, it was a brutal fall from grace from the former Exxon
chief executive, one of the most important CEOs in the world.
And some life pics to show you, President Trump pictures, a video, President Trump is now speaking in California. He's talking to Armed
Services in Miramar. We're going to monitor his comments and we'll bring you those if they become relevant to the issues at hand. We need to start
our day though in Washington.
Rex Tillerson says his priority now is to ensure smooth transition. His statement was delivered early hours after an abrupt, somewhat say brutal
firing and he says he will turn over his responsibilities today although he won't leave until the end of the month.
Mr. Tillerson said work remains to be done on Russia and he expressed appreciation for the selfless leaders at the U.S. State Department and in
the military.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REX TILLERSON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: All of us we know want to leave this place as a better place for the next generation.
I'll now return to private life, a private citizen but a proud American, proud of the opportunity I've had to serve my country.
God bless all of you. God bless the American people. God bless America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now notably the outgoing secretary of State did not thank the President Donald Trump.
Dan Merica is at the White House, we knew this was coming, they - we knew the men did not get on ever since the moron comment but why now Dan, why
now?
DAN MERICA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER, WHITE HOUSE: Yes. I think it is very significant that Tillerson did not mention President Trump in that brief
statement because it gets at their deteriorating relationship.
Rex Tillerson was just on a weeklong tour of African nations, got back last night at four - in the morning at 4:00 a.m. and then wakes up seemingly in
Washington and around 9:00 a.m. is publicly told by Twitter, by President Trump's often used Twitter account that he's out as secretary of State.
Why now, is a very good question and it seems that it is just - it was too much, their relationship was too much, they're - too much had happened and
President Trump wanted to make a move and really create a cabinet that he's always wanted people who are - surround him who are somewhat more in line
with his thinking.
And the president Trump said that on the South lawn earlier today saying that he agreed or he saw Mike Pompeo, Rex Tillerson's replacement as
someone who saw eye-to-eye with him more than Rex Tillerson did, who he noted - they disagreed on a number of issues namely the Iran deal.
So, it seems like President Trump is just trying to remake his cabinet in his you know, in his image that he is long wanted and that lends itself to
possibly more departures from the Trump administration in the coming months.
QUEST: There'll be those who say that losing Tillerson actually is a benefit in the sense of if he gains a secretary of State with whom he can
work better than that must be to the betterment of foreign policy, others will say it's just evidence of chaos, which is it?
MERICA: Hey, it's a - it's a very good question and it's - it seems to be that early on President Trump always embraces whoever he nominates for a
certain post [0:05:14], he will certainly do the same with Pompeo.
But the reality of this administration is, over time the president gets sick of people and what we have seen through his first year in office is
you know, President Trump just last week tweeted that there is no chaos in the - in the White House in the Trump administration but in the last two
weeks there have been five high-profile departures including Rex Tillerson his top diplomat -
QUEST: But -
MERICA: - and Gary Cohn his top economic advisor so as much as President Trump is going to embrace Mike Pompeo, there has to be some thought in the
back of his mind that President Trump doesn't hold an opinion on someone for very long.
And at some point, you have to imagine Mike Pompeo is going to do something that is going to get on Donald Trump's wrong side and this could all happen
again so as much as it is reported right now that he's embracing Mike Pompeo that he's looking forward to working with Mike Pompeo, that as
someone who has covered the White House for the first year, that might be short-time news if - once Mike Peo (ph) - Mike Pompeo takes over the job
and actually does things or carries out the administration's policies.
QUEST: Thank you. Dan Merica, Dan later -
MERICA: Yes.
QUEST: - in the week I want to talk more about you - with you on this idea of Donald Trump, a CEO who said he was so good as a CEO -
MERICA: Yes.
QUEST: - and we'll have a bit more detail later in the week, exactly -
MERICA: Let's do it.
QUEST: - you know, as such a good CEO how many employees has he managed to lose.
Dan Merica is at the White House.
Let's stay with this idea though, that Dan was just talking about, this idea of `globalists' and people who have been in posts such as Gary Cohn.
Steve Bannon has texted, a report that this is the end of the `globalists.' The highlight of the rise of the `nationalist' voice.
Now Gary Cohn at the NEC and Tillerson at State were free trade advocates, at odds with Donald Trump arguably, Jared Kushner the son-in-law, Ivanka
the daughter, and McMaster the NSA Director are the only senior `globalists' left, take a look at the map and you'll see exactly what I'm
talking about.
And Donald Trump's reportedly unhappy with H. R. McMaster so with that Patrick Gillespie from CNN Money who is in New York, if this is the case on
the question of tariffs Patrick, we know Gary Cohn was against them, we know Rex Tillerson was against them so who are we left with that can do the
`globalists' free-trade argument?
PATRICK GILLESPIE, CNN MONEY REPORTER: Richard, this is a critical time for President Trump's trade policy and it's taking a decidedly
protectionist bent (ph) on the leadership front when it comes to free - when it comes to the administration's trade policy, it's really U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Lighthizer who has been a trade hawk throughout his career, who is really leading the way.
He is the point of contact on these steel and aluminum tariffs. He is leading the NAFTA negotiations. And he also according to multiple reports
that is giving recommendations for Trump to hit China with tariffs on this case regarding intellectual property theft.
So, really the leadership on the trade front is becoming considerably more protectionist right now Richard.
QUEST: OK, that - but if that's the case the talk is that Larry Kudlow of CNBC might replace Gary Cohn. Listen to what the president said this
morning and we'll pick up on the other side?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We don't agreement with everything but in this case, I think that's good, I want to
have a divergent (ph) opinion. We agree on most.
He now has come around to believing in tariffs as also in negotiating for it. You know, I'm renegotiating trade deals and without tariffs we
wouldn't do nearly as well.
But Larry has been a friend of mine for a long time. He's a very, very, talented man, a good man and I think Larry Kudlow has a good chance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now let's ignore the fact that he's turned it once again into a reality show, `is he, is he; will he, won't he' Patrick Gillespie, but the
reality is though Larry Kudlow is a free-marketeer and a free trader.
GILLESPIE: Absolutely Richard but let's think about this, Larry Kudlow is on CNBC, the network that he goes on all the time saying earlier this week,
he agrees with targeted tariffs with strategic kind of surgical approach, hit China hard, hit the bad players wrong.
Trump is proposing a steel and aluminum tariffs that would hit almost every country in the world so it's hard to see how Larry Kudlow can step in,
overstep Lighthizer was been really taking the leadership front and Peter Navarro who is ascending in the White House in terms of his profile right
now and convince President Trump not to go with these wide, sweeping tariffs that could risk a trade war, could risk retaliation Richard.
So, it will be tough for I think Kudlow to convince Trump to go to a surgical approach as opposed to a sweeping across-the-board approach.
QUEST: Patrick Gillespie, our man on tariffs. Thank you.
As we continue tonight, after the break, well obviously we are not in our normal studio, Patrick Gillespie is keeping the seats nice and warm.
Instead we are at the [0:05:14] world's busiest airport, don't be fooled by perhaps seemingly quiet, remember at Atlanta, most of the activity is way
on the other side; it's Deltas headquarters and hubs and after the break, the cabin crew are trained to spot signs of trafficking and we'll find out
what those signs are in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Whatever else we do and whatever else we tell you in the next 24 hours, probably what we are now going to do is amongst the most important.
In less than an hour from now you'll see the clock on the screen, CNN will mark #MYFREEDOMDAY. There is a chance for you and me to speak up against
modern-day slavery.
And we are here in Atlanta which is the world's busiest airport by passenger numbers. Like any other major operation Atlanta has to
constantly guard against the scourge of human trafficking.
Companies like the ones based here understand it is now their responsibility to take part in this fight so how does this actually in
reality work out?
Well first of all it's the transportation methods used by traffickers, planes and trains; the networks they use to communicate whether it's
phones, emails, WhatsApp's, the bank accounts they store their money in and pay for tickets and (INAUDIBLE) on the credit cards.
Put it this way, we're in - we're a business show, industries cannot stop trafficking with good words, platitudes, and nice wishes, it's time for
action and tonight we are proud to share the work of companies with the world.
Airplanes and airports, now key points - think about it this way, if you're going to traffic people at some point you've got to move them overseas
whether it's by boat or by plane.
Delta Airlines teaches staff to spot the signs of human trafficking, more than 50,000 employees have received training, Allison Ausband leads, the
SVP, the Senior Vice President and Explained Delta's connection.
ALLISON AUSBAND, SVP IN-FLIGHT SERVICES, DELTA AIRLINES: Delta's been involved in the fight against human trafficking really since 2011 and last
year we decided you know what, we want to get our customers on board with us, we want to get over 80,000 employees on board with us to join in the
fight to eradicate human trafficking.
So, for us it's about educating our employees, raising awareness with our customers too.
QUEST: You'll agree this is a tricky, difficult, unsavory subject that's crucially important?
AUSBAND: Yes.
QUEST: And you tend to find many corporations shy away from this particularly if you're selling teen (ph) vacations and wonderful flights -
AUSBAND: Yes.
QUEST: - and luxury -
AUSBAND: Yes.
QUEST: - seats and beds and things but Delta has decided this is so important [0:05:13]?
AUSBAND: Yes. It's a dark topic -
QUEST: Yes.
AUSBAND: That's -
QUEST: Thank -
AUSBAND: - right.
QUEST: - you, thank you. You put your bags there (ph).
AUSBAND: It's a dark topic, most companies don't want to get involved but when we took a step back and said we've got 80,000 employees around the
world, global reach, we carry 200 million customers a year, there's hoping the topic. There's hope if we can get in the fight, raise awareness, and
help eradicate.
QUEST: It's a dark topic. Now experts say the warning signs that you need to look out for, so for example, the traveler may not be dressed
appropriately, for instance clothes the wrong size and have few personal items; seemingly be unaware of where they are or where they are going.
They are unable to move freely around the airport or indeed the aircraft, the movements appear to be controlled by another for no obvious reason,
parent or daughter or a son, no obvious understanding.
And most important they can't discuss travel details, they can't even tell you where they're going or why.
It's all about the practicalities, Mathew Palmer puts this into practice, a Flight Attendant with Delta. Good to see you.
MATHEW PALMER, FLIGHT ATTENDANT, DELTA AIRLINES: Good to see Richard.
QUEST: We talked a lot, we heard from Allison about the grand ideas of this but if we just come down to the everyday looking at things and doing
something about it, so what do you train people?
PALMER: We train our people, partnering with Polaris to recognize the signs you just talked about. Flight attendants are an incredible resource,
we travel all over the world and we sleep in the hotels where these folks go as well so knowing the warning signs, knowing to rely on each other,
taking that resource that you have on the flight deck to talk to the ground to know the information that we have on the passengers.
QUEST: Do you have examples either of your own airlines or others of where this has been successful, where does actually somebody has spotted
something and it has worked?
PALMER: Going back to the flight attendants being a resource, I think the best thing that I've learned over dealing with this, issue is women who
were coming into the country, going to a large city, they supposedly go into New York for modeling jobs.
When they arrive in that city, they're getting on a bus to go to that city. Flight attendants you know, talk to - among themselves over the course of
time and you realize you don't come from that country to that city to get to New York and certainly not by bus.
So, that they were able to raise that flag and ended up breaking up a sex trafficking ring.
QUEST: How difficult is it to make that decision, do I challenge or not? If I'm wrong how am I going to cause an incident, which side is it best to
err on?
PALMER: Well those flight attendants can absolutely count on the company to have their back but our passengers expect that as well so we train our
flight attendants to spot the signs. I think that we would rather be wrong than let someone slip through the crack.
But it is very, a very, very delicate situation, we have about four tests (ph) going back to the flight attendant relying on each other, did you see
the same thing I saw? And then going through the process of making sure that the folks on the ground here in Atlanta can help us as well.
QUEST: Mathew - did you ever think that this was a big issue?
PALMER: No.
QUEST: And that's really interesting -
PALMER: Yes.
QUEST: - because every time we start talking about my Freedom Project, the Freedom Project, #MYFREEDOMDAY it's very difficult to make people
understand that this is a real issue because it's so out of the realms of anything that we deal with in Western everyday life.
PALMER: No. No, I didn't think it was a big deal. I didn't think it happened here. I thought it was an over-there, problem and through the
work of Polaris and Street Grace and other organizations, you understand it happens right here in Fullerton County, in Atlanta, throughout the state.
There is you know, traffickers, I live in D.C., there's traffickers that get kids from Georgia and traffic them up to D.C. because they're - they're
more valuable product up there unfortunately.
QUEST: There's a camera. Look straight down the camera, and tell us - actually take that one there, take that camera, there is a camera; take
that camera straight down there and tell me what freedom means to you?
PALMER: Freedom means to me empowering our flight attendants who serve our passengers and take responsibility for the victims and to let them know
that when you're on a Delta flight you're going to be protected, we're going to stand up for you and we're going to take care of those
traffickers.
QUEST: And tomorrow you're inviting all your flight attendants to tweet - to tweet and send message -
PALMER: To tweet --
QUEST: Hashtag?
PALMER: - and give every - #MYFREEDOMDAY and #GETONBOARD.
QUEST: Thank you.
PALMER: Thank you, Richard.
QUEST: Thank you.
Now we know how to spot the signs, the quick-witted Uber driver helped saved a 16-year-old from sex trafficking. He overheard the passengers'
conversation, Uber featured him in a video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNKNOWN): This young girl she was wearing this really short skirt, it was really inappropriate for her age and one of the older girls was yelling at
her, "You've got to get your priorities straight. We need to make this money."
So, I had to get this little girl out of that situation. And as I was (ph) observing, one of the passengers say the room number so I just started
repeating it in my mind over and over just so I wouldn't forget it. [0:05:15].
Before I called the police I kind of drove away just enough in that area that was safer.
When I told the police officers the room number, they found the guy who had ordered the services.
(IN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Tracey Breeden is the Global Safety Communications Lead at Uber, and a former police officer, joins me from Sydney in Australia where there
is a good long delay between us, so I apologize for that.
We're talking about now the way in which companies, it is the role of companies to become involved. You accept that, and you accept your part in
this, don't you?
TRACEY BREEDEN, GLOBAL SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS LEAD, UBER: We do. Everyone plays a role in this and we want to be a part of the solution. You know,
experts are telling us that traffickers use the tourism and transportation industry to move their victims so this is about doing the right thing and
we know that.
We've been told that we can make a difference in this space and we have eyes and ears all across the world, thousands upon thousands of drivers,
they are out there on the road, that are uniquely positioned to help identify victims of human trafficking.
QUEST: So, when you try and put the principles into practice, how do you go about that, where do you start, is it more just a case of telling your
driver's this - in the same way we've heard from the flight attendants, these are the signs this is what you do about it? Because you have a vast,
vast network at your disposal?
BREEDEN: We do. We have a huge global scale and a huge global community so it starts with talking to the experts and learning about this issue and
how we can use our technology to actually get this information out there so that's what we have at Uber.
We have the ability with our technology to send information through the app, directly to riders and drivers. We can - we can provide information
in our partner support centers, we have driver events where we invite our national partners as well as local law enforcement to come and talk about
this issue.
But where we really come- in - what we really see that we're doing that's amazing is using our technology, not only to get that information out there
but to also help and assist police because with that technology we are able to track, GPS track every ride, we have valuable information that police
can use in an investigation to help stop -
QUEST: Good (ph).
BREEDEN: - these traffickers from doing what they're doing.
QUEST: Tracey, you've got the last word here, tell me, look into the camera and tell me what freedom means to you?
BREEDEN: You know, freedom means to me to be able to travel, to be able to move freely without fear and without concern for my safety and every child
and every person deserves that.
QUEST: Good to see you Tracey. Thank you. It's early morning for you in Sydney, we appreciate it, you joining us on this.
To the markets, our regular diet of conversation, U.S. stocks closed lower, the Dow is off a hundred and seventy-two points, it was tensions with
China, it was obviously Tillerson but look at the way the day moved, so during the early part of the Tillerson day the market was actually up, it
sort of evaporated by midafternoon the NASDAQ was off by one percent.
Wall Street has a role to play in the fight for freedom. Now trafficking is not just a case of watching it physically happen, we've heard from Uber,
we've heard from Delta, you've heard about the ways in which this can be spotted.
Well financial institutions are able to spot the signs, Peter Warrack is an Anti-Money-Laundering Expert who joins me now.
The sums involved are vast, there in the tens of billions of dollars on a worldwide basis so adding financial institutions to this fight is
important. What do you think?
PETER WARRACK, ANTI-MONEY-LAUNDERING EXPERT & FORMER (ph) HEAD OF INVESTIGATIONS, AML FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT, ROYAL BANK OF CANADA:
It's crucial. And it's a recent phenomenon. Up until a couple of years ago certainly in Canada, law enforcement didn't consider the financial
transactions as of importance in their - in their investigations and now patterns of finance points strongly to not just the traffickers but their
victims.
QUEST: But you know, legitimate transactions I mean anyone of us was done transactions globally knows the difficulty, the bank asking lots of
seemingly pointless, box-ticking, questions and then you end up with the (INAUDIBLE) [0:05:14] and you end up with Bitcoin. So, how far or how
difficult is it for financial institutions to keep up with the human trafficking money-laundering?
WARRACK: Well certainly human trafficking is somewhat unique and probably easier to spot than say a normal type fraud situation. Traffickers and
also their victims just have particular patterns of activity that are actually quite easy to detect when you take in combination all the various
indicators that for you or I might be normal, if we display one or two of those but in combination they point strongly to trafficking taking place.
QUEST: The thing that always astounds me whenever I do stories about this, the sums of money involved, the tens of billions of dollars a year both in
money that people are paid, that are paid to be moved, and when you put it in those terms you realize that the financial community not only can do
something but has a duty to do something?
WARRACK: No. I would agree with that. Every institution particularly the financial institutions have a social responsibility and they also have a
regulatory requirement to identify and report suspicious transactions and that applies to human trafficking.
And you know, certain then the last few years where certainly in Canada where we really started to become aware of what that actually looks like
and then very quickly, we are able to spot it and feed that information through our financial intelligence unit through law enforcement and it's
been exponential the difference that has been made.
QUEST: Thank you for joining us from Rome tonight, we appreciate it.
An example here of course #MYFREEDOMDAY, coming up at the top of the hour but the importance that we place on this here at CNN.
When we come back we're going to talk about Rex Tillerson who was fired.
And again, we'll look at the industry here, there you have it, "WELCOME ABOARD" but how can you be `welcome aboard' when there is the potential for
what we're talking about. We'll talk about that in #MYFREEDOMDAY as we continue [0:02:45].
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest, more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment live from Atlanta, this is CNN, our home and our headquarters. And
on this network in Atlanta, the facts always come first.
The outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has defended his achievements in the hours after he was fired by President Donald Trump. He
also said he spoke with Mr. Trump after the president tweeted that he was replacing him with the CIA director.
Rex Tillerson is said to leave his post about the end of the month. President Trump has been speaking to marine, that's an air station in San
Diego, California, after touring the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
The president spoke about the Korean war and said that North Korea, we always have to be prepared for anything, but I really believe something
very positive could happen.
Russia says it will not respond to the U.K.'s ultimatum without evidence. The Kremlin has been given until midnight on Tuesday to explain how a
Russian-made nerve agent was used to poison a former Russian spy and his daughter last week on British soil.
Moscow's London embassy is calling for a joint investigation and has warned any threat against Russia would be met with a response. Meanwhile, a
Russian exile has died in unexplained circumstances in Britain. He's a businessman Nikolai Glushkov who was found dead in his London home earlier.
Glushkov was acquainted with other Russians who have died mysteriously in the U.K. The police say a counter-terrorism team will lead the
investigation. A state attorney in Florida has announced he will seek a death penalty against the confessed Parkland school shooter Nicholas Cruz.
Cruz has been charged with 10 different counts of pre-meditated and attempted murder in the deaths of 17 students and teachers that were killed
at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February the 14th.
So now going Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been defending his record in the job he was fired via Twitter from the president. Donald Trump says
they disagreed on key issues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We got along actually quite well, but we disagreed on things. When you look at the Iran deal, I think
it's terrible, I guess he thinks it was OK. I wanted to either break it or do something and he felt a little bit differently.
But we were not really thinking the same. With Mike Pompeo, we have a very similar thought process, I think it's going to go very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: John Kirby is in Washington with the assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and joins me now. And what do you make of it, John? I
mean, we can deal with the methods in which it was done. He was warned on Friday, he was booted out on Tuesday.
We can talk about that, but I mean, the loss of a secretary of state on the back of the -- of the head of the National Economic Council, on the back of
a director of communications. What do you make of it?
JOHN KIRBY, RETIRED MILITARY OFFICER: My personal view, Richard, is that President Trump, know he's going into a tough 2018, he can't shake the
Russian investigation, the Stormy Daniels, things keep chasing him.
I think he is out to make his year too more aligned, and he is going to cut off the people that are around him that are not completely a 100 percent
aligned with him. And I think this is just one -- I think there will be more to come, but I think he's on a mission here to surround himself with
people that are more in-line with his thinking.
And look, as president, that's certainly his right, to pick his secretary of state and to have a cabinet official around him that is more aligned
with his world view. What worries me is that in Secretary Tillerson as well as in Secretary Mattis and some others, that he won't get sort of
pushed back to some of the more dangerous ideas or more impulsive things that he wants to pursue.
QUEST: OK, that -- I mean, yes man or women are always dangerous when you have a powerful leader and you need somebody against. But if you take Rex
Tillerson, I mean, this man was CEO of the largest oil company in the world.
KIRBY: Yes --
QUEST: He was humiliated, some would say muted, some would say embarrassed and now he's been fired, and probably a great personal financial cost he --
KIRBY: Yes --
QUEST: Went into this job in the first place.
KIRBY: Oh, yes, look, I mean, you know, he didn't have to take this job, he was headed towards retirement in a very comfortable way, and I think he
should be applauded and commended for that public service and for being willing to take it particularly with this president at this particular time
in world's history.
[17:35:00] And the way in which that he was let go was the most ungentlemanly, unkind way I have ever seen in more than 15 years of service
here in Washington D.C. and working for two different administrations.
This is pretty brutal. This is as bad as it gets. And you'll notice in his speech today at the State Department, Richard, he didn't really mention
the president and he certainly didn't thank the president for the opportunity to serve --
QUEST: Right --
KIRBY: For these last 13 months.
QUEST: John, I'm going out on a limb here, the president seems to choose one of two types of people. He either chooses his cabinet, those who can't
believe their good luck that they manage to rise so far and so fast.
Or he chooses trophies like Rex Tillerson, like Gary Cohn; former president of Goldman Sachs, but he couldn't show off --
KIRBY: Yes --
QUEST: And show how powerful he is to have these very powerful men or women in their own right doing his bidding.
KIRBY: Yes, Richard, but I would say that what we're seeing now is a change of transformation in Trump's thinking to get away from the more
marquee names, the ones like Tillerson and Cohn, Jim Mattis that you mentioned at the top there.
And he's now moving towards now your number two under a lot of pressure, wants to get more things done, wants more people aligned with him, and I
think you're going to see him move away from those marquee names a little bit, and the people that are going to be more in keeping with the way he
wants to get things done and not push back on him quite so much.
And that's a dangerous place for any president to be because -- look, policy differences are normal. Under the last administration, I worked for
secretary of defense and the secretary of state. To say that my bosses were always in-line with President Obama would be -- would be a lie, they
weren't.
But they had a policy-making process that allowed for opinion and debate and discussion and even argument when the -- to get to the president and to
get him to make the best possible decision. Where I worry here is that President Trump assumes policy disagreements mean personal differences.
But it's against him as an individual, he continues to conflict himself with the Oval office, and that's a real dangerous place for us to be.
QUEST: And we're grateful for your insights and that's exactly why you were with us tonight on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Thank you, good to see you -
-
KIRBY: Thank you --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: On tonight, thank you.
KIRBY: Thank you.
QUEST: As we -- as we continue tonight, the Angie Sachs(ph) trafficking a bill, we're going to be talking to Polaris chief executive exactly about
the ways in which everyone of us can take a role and can be involved. That's the way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Welcome back, it's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS live from the Hartsfield- Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Ivanka Trump at the White House has been hosting a round table, all about online sex trafficking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: One of today's most prevalent forms of trafficking is the buying and selling of the young boys and girls.
[17:40:00] This is a hidden crime. And while the numbers are hard to track, we are all very well aware that this is a multi-billion dollar
industry impacting the most vulnerable members of society.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now discussing Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, the bill would make tech companies liable if they normally facilitate trafficking, some
groups are opposing this on the grounds of free speech.
Let's talk to Bradley Myles; chief executive of Polaris; a non-profit organization helping corporations end human trafficking. Good to have you
with us, sir.
BRADLEY MYLES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, POLARIS: Good to have you.
QUEST: You also run the national hotline in the United States, North --
MYLES: Yes --
QUEST: America --
MYLES: Yes --
QUEST: To -- for this. How many calls do you get?
MYLES: With dossier, we got about 26,000 calls, right now, we're entering 150 a day from survivors, from community members, from people calling in,
from flight attendants, from Uber drivers saying we think we saw something, this is how we're discovering trafficking in America.
QUEST: And you have the network available to be able to follow up on that.
MYLES: Three thousand non-profits across the country that we've partnered with and over a thousand law enforcement. So in any community across
America, we can refer the case and activate people very quickly after receiving a tip.
QUEST: OK, so we've heard from Delta and we've heard from Uber early(ph), we've heard from -- we're going to get to Airbnb. But we're a business
program, and I need you to discuss with me the role that -- the proper role that you think corporations can play.
MYLES: Sure --
QUEST: Because this is next in my view -- this is the next step in the fight --
MYLES: It is --
QUEST: Against human trafficking --
MYLES: Precisely --
QUEST: It is the role of businesses --
MYLES: Precisely. So traffickers, they use businesses, they use Uber, they might use Airbnb, they might use banks, they might use flights and
hotels. So businesses can step up and increase risk to traffickers and decrease their profits by understanding their role and understanding how
traffickers might be using them.
And Polaris' data on the national hotline can be shared with those businesses to say here's where your risk is, I mean here's how you could
step up and do something about it.
QUEST: You have broken this down to 25 categories, from those calls you know where to target. Tell me some.
MYLES: Yes, so we've looked at over 40,000 cases of trafficking, figured out there's 25 major types in America, domestic workers, agriculture,
Carnival workers, late-night janitors in the sex trade.
Illicit massage businesses, women in truck stops, women in cantinas, so at least 25 types. Then you can clear the matrix and understand which of
those 25 types intercept with these businesses.
Which ones use banks? Which ones use Uber? Which ones use Facebook? And therefore those corporations can be major partners in the fight against
trafficking when they understand which types intercept with them.
QUEST: Right, but this is much more forensic than just observing, isn't it? You are now going into deep research and its tabulation(ph).
MYLES: Sure, so the first one, the Polaris is operating the national hotline, helping survivors getting survivors connected to help. The next
part of Polaris is analyzing data to deeply understand how the traffickers work and then create strategy to fight them, and those strategies involve
partnering with business in a big way.
QUEST: How do you convince businesses -- look, the real problem or one of the problems you've got is everybody pays great lip service dreadful talk
of terrible awfulness, terrible things happening.
But do they want to be the ones as Allison Osborn(ph) said it's a dark subject.
MYLES: Right, well --
QUEST: How do you convince them?
MYLES: So I've been doing this for 15 years, I was there for the 10 years of businesses telling us it's a dark subject. Now the tide has turned and
the businesses are saying we see real potential and the roles that we can play here.
So in the past few years, we've seen Delta and Uber and Airbnb and plenty of other hotels and plenty of other groups and banks stepping up and saying
what can we do? Facebook is saying step up, what can we do?
So businesses are at the table now, and that's a big shift in the trafficking fight I'm glad you're featuring on your program, it's
wonderful.
QUEST: Well, we're taking to -- obviously, it's -- we are a business broker. But the issue becomes once you've got them involved, what do you
need? Do you need money? Do you need people? Do you need resources?
I suspect you always need money. But what is it you really need now to get businesses more on board?
MYLES: For the mission, the businesses need to understand the data of what is their true risk and their true intersection with the issue. They need
to really have that forensic data and then they could get very targeted about what they can do about it.
And they could be much more informed about what they could do about it. So we're out of the realm of general public awareness, this might be out
there, we're now into the realm of very specific --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: You see, that's a fascinating --
MYLES: Yes --
QUEST: That's a fascinating part about this because we can -- we can helicopter the issue -- I'm talking ground terms --
MYLES: No more about this --
QUEST: This is really got to be granular, down to the nitty-gritty of the --
MYLES: Right, you've got banking analysts working on this, you've got Polaris analysts working on this. It's informed by hotline data. The
traffickers are getting smarter and better and you're going to see major improvement in the coming years.
You're going to see it --
QUEST: Nice having you on the program, thank you, good luck again --
MYLES: All right, thanks Richard --
QUEST: We'll talk more about this.
MYLES: All right.
QUEST: We're talking about Airbnb, just then Airbnb is vowing to end sex trafficking and rentals.
[17:45:00] Earlier, I spoke to Nick Shapiro; the global head of Trust and Risk Management, and particularly they know what you just heard, so come on
Airbnb, what can you do?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know this is a challenge throughout hospitality, but at Airbnb, we're taking steps to prevent it from actually happening and
becoming a big problem in our community.
We have a lot to our advantage, and we have a lot of technical know-how. We use machine-learning, predictive analytics, behavior analysis to
actually assess the risk of each reservation.
We're looking to create partnerships, that's why we just signed a partnership with Brad and Polaris. We want to use their technical know-how
to help better inform our machine-learning models to help prevent this from happening in the first place.
So again, our challenge is to make sure that we're doing everything we can to prevent it from becoming a problem at Airbnb, as big as a problem it's
been for hotels and the rest of the hospitality community.
QUEST: You're selling dreams, you're selling vacations, you're selling people's bucket list destinations. But you have to accept, don't you, that
this is a dark subject that needs to be confronted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is, and it is something that we can't be afraid of talking about. Because talking about it is one of the only ways that we're
going to get to solve this problem.
I'm here today to send a message to the bad actors, to the folks who commit these abhorrent acts that Airbnb is not going to be a place that's going to
allow this to happen.
Again, we're trying to get in front of this issue, we're very excited about the partnership with Polaris, we're going to do a number of things with
them. They're going to help inform our data scientists and our machine learning and our predictive analytics.
They're going to help us train our staff to best spot the science for these things, to help support survivors, but also to prevent it from happening in
the first place. And with Polaris has helped -- we're going to work very closely with law enforcement to share all the intelligence we have, to
share our best practices, to again help hospitality writ-large, you know, eradicate the scorch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Well, you all are just about ten-twelve minutes away from the start of "MY FREEDOM DAY" on Cnn, 24 hours coverage. We are proud and privileged
to be the program that's leading into the day, and as we approach it here on this airport, the perfect place to be, the frontline, the head of
security is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Back to QUEST MEANS BUSINESS live from the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. We are making my freedom day here, highlighting some obscene ends
exclusive reporting on slavery.
It's made the goals of this project even more urgent. Our senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir has uncovered the modern day slave
trade in Libya.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Big strong voice for farm watch, he says.
[17:50:00] Four hundred, 700, 800, the numbers roll in. These men are sold for 1,200 Libyan pounds, 400 apiece. You are watching an auction of human
beings.
(on-camera): I honestly don't know what to say, that was probably one of the most unbelievable things I've ever seen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now, welcome back to -- talk to the security question. We talked journalism -- good to see you.
JAN LENNON, DIRECTOR OF SECURITY, ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Thank you for having us on behalf of --
QUEST: You are the head of security --
LENNON: Yes --
QUEST: Quarter of a million people a day, well over a 100 million through this airport.
LENNON: Yes --
QUEST: What's your challenge on this question of human trafficking -- because I see the sign outside, what's your challenge?
LENNON: The challenge is we have -- as you stated over a 100 million passengers a year. We have on a daily basis 280,000 passengers, people
that we do not know, and then we have our 63,000 employees.
But the challenge is to educate and bring awareness and attention to this crime of human trafficking.
QUEST: All right, you can tell people as much as you like --
LENNON: Yes --
QUEST: But they've got to do something, and once they've got it, your staff out to help them deal with it.
LENNON: Yes. So we have trained prepared staff -- when we receive information and the trained staff will go and investigate them. So
therefore, we can determine the calls and then send it to the appropriate personnel.
QUEST: You know, I see the signs, human trafficking --
LENNON: Yes --
QUEST: Is not welcome, if you're in trouble -- and I just wonder how many people take advantage of these things? How many people either say, come up
to a police officer or whatever and say hey, I think I've seen something I'd like you to look up or somebody comes up and says I'm in trouble.
Do people do this?
LENNON: Yes, they do, believe it or not, I just had a meeting with FBI today and our print media has been really resourceful. People calling that
hotline, calling the numbers that they see in our concession and explaining to them some experiences that they all have or either a person who have
experience at themselves.
QUEST: Really?
LENNON: Yes.
QUEST: What sort of choice are they seeing?
LENNON: You know, talking about stories exactly how they may have met a friend, someone they got in a situation, we went to a party and then I was
in a compromised situation and I don't know what to do.
Or therefore, someone gave me money to do a solicited ad, and now I'm finding myself continuously doing, and they're underage, they're children.
QUEST: We've talked about it being a dark subject. It's not the sort of thing one discusses in polite dinner party company, and yet we have to.
LENNON: Yes, we do, we have to. We have zero tolerance to human trafficking. We are committed to helping and educating people about human
traffic.
QUEST: But you see, I can't imagine you, I think at Los Angeles airport lack because I think of JFK, London, Heathrow, I think all the -- those
were major international gateways, and yet, Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world.
LENNON: Yes --
QUEST: You can make a difference too.
LENNON: Absolutely and we are making a difference. We're making a difference through our stakeholder engagement, we're making a difference
through our community outreach.
We are making a difference with our training, and that is how we are --
QUEST: But how much -- but how much of this has to be you have to convince people -- this is happening in 14 counties, it is happening. And the
reason it's important to be somewhere safe for example in Atlanta is because there will be many people in this region who don't think it happens
on the door-step.
LENNON: Absolutely, but because of our influence and because of our brand, when we say it, it happens and people buy into it and want to be a part of
it.
So that collaboration for us has been a number one resource for us as well.
QUEST: Do you -- can you feel that you're making a difference?
LENNON: Yes, I do every --
QUEST: Really?
LENNON: Single day, yes, and we will continue to make that improvement and to make people aware and -- again, we signed a code pledging our commitment
to ending human trafficking --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: What is it going to take? What is it going to take?
LENNON: It's going to take us continuously educating the masses globally to end and prevent the trafficking.
QUEST: Which is what you're doing now of course --
LENNON: Yes, what we're doing now and we will continue that footprint because it's working for us and we will continue it until we end human
trafficking.
QUEST: You're pretty determined about this.
LENNON: I am determined.
QUEST: Why?
LENNON: Because it is a passion. This is our next generation. It is our opportunity to be the voice for the speechless, we have to be the strength
for the powerless and we definitely have to give hope to our victims.
QUEST: Look into the camera -- let's take that camera over there --
LENNON: OK --
QUEST: Look straight into that camera --
LENNON: Yes --
QUEST: And tell me what freedom means to you?
LENNON: Richard, it is simple: freedom is humans are not for sale. Not been, not now, not ever. Thank you.
QUEST: Here you go, blow the whistle.
LENNON: Blow the whistle --
QUEST: Hashtag, not for sale --
LENNON: Not for sale.
QUEST: Think about it for a little bit, a little bit --
LENNON: It's looking small -- OK --
QUEST: You could -- you stick to the --
(LAUGHTER)
[17:55:00] Good to have you on the program --
LENNON: Thank you so very much --
QUEST: Thank you so much --
LENNON: Thank you, I greatly appreciate you --
QUEST: Lovely to be here, good night --
LENNON: Thank you, bye-bye.
QUEST: We continue tonight, there will be a profitable moment after the break, hashtag, not for sale.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's profitable moment, we've obviously talked a great deal about what's happening here at Atlanta and elsewhere. But we also have now
understood that the key to the future in my freedom project and indeed ending human trafficking is the role that companies will play.
The role that governments and companies can come together because it is companies that will ultimately be involved and will create the necessary
force for actual change. So let me finish with as everybody has been tonight, what does freedom mean to me?
Well, I could give you some high fluent and grandiose sounding answer about what freedom means. I could talk about democracy, freedom of speech, life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The house so freedom really only becomes valued when one has it experienced of it being challenged and potentially lost. So freedom for me means one,
firstly, the right to worship a religion, my religion as I wish without fear or favor or prejudice.
It also means the right to love the person I choose and marry him without worry or trouble. The right to say I'm a Brexiter or a remainer and for
you to respect my decision. In short, freedom means that I value the right for you to live your life as you wish without harming others and expect you
to do the same for me.
That's what freedom means and my freedom day starts right now!
END
