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Quest Means Business
Hamas Responds To Trump's Gaza Ceasefire; Sean "Diddy" Combs Addressing Judge In Sentencing Hearing; Asset Prices Soar Despite Increasing Uncertainty; Investors Flying Blind As U.S. Economic Data Gets Delayed; Richard Quest Assembles An IKEA Chair With CEO Of Ingka Group; Sean "Diddy" Combs Sentenced To Four Years And Two Months In Prison. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired October 03, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:19]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Good evening to you. I am Richard Quest in London.
The breaking news I am bringing to you. Hamas has been responding to President Trump's proposal to end fighting in Gaza. The group says it has
submitted a response to the U.S. President's peace plan. It has been submitted to mediators.
President Trump had set last night or Sunday evening, I beg your pardon, as a deadline for Hamas to agree to the deal. The U.S. President warned all
hell would break loose if the group did not agree to the deal. You'll remember, of course, the terms that are being put forward by the U.S. and
Israel and been agreed by other nations include a complete release of all hostages, alive and dead; disarming -- a total and utter disarmament of
Hamas and an agreement to play no role in the future political life of Gaza.
And related to that, of course, would be questions of setting up an international force that would manage Gaza into the future.
Now, those are the demands. We don't know specifics yet, at least I don't believe we do.
Jeremy Diamond is with me, he joins me now.
We know -- well, you tell me, Jeremy, you've got the information.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Richard, we have this statement now from Hamas and this is their response to President Trump's
20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. The top line is that the response is positive from Hamas. They say that they are ready to release all of the
living and dead hostages being held in the Gaza Strip at the outset of any ceasefire here, and based on the exchange formula presented by President
Trump, meaning the numbers of Palestinian prisoners that Hamas would receive in exchange, Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli
jails, and they say that they are ready to immediately enter into negotiations to discuss the details of how that hostage release and
prisoner release would actually take place.
They also say that they are prepared to hand over power in Gaza to a "Palestinian Authority of independent technocrats based on Palestinian
national consensus" that is close to what is presented in President Trump's 20-point plan, although it doesn't say anything here about that overarching
international authority that would oversee any Palestinian governance of the Gaza Strip.
Then things get a little bit trickier here with Hamas' response, Richard, because Hamas then says that regarding other issues related to the future
of the Gaza Strip, including what they call the "inherent rights" of the Palestinian people, which could be seen as a reference to Hamas' weapons,
something that they have described in the past as something they view as their legitimate right to hold those weapons against and to use them
against the "occupation."
They say that that is something that they would like to discuss in connection with this Palestinian national framework. And that is where, you
know, we are going to have to see how the United States and how Israel respond to this, because what we are getting from Hamas here is not a
resounding yes to this 20-point comprehensive plan.
It seems to be a yes, but or a yes with certain omissions. Other than this notion of the inherent rights of the Palestinian people, there is no
explicit mention to the critical issue of Hamas disarming, Gaza being demilitarized, which is at the crux of this proposal, which is why Israel
agreed to this 20-point plan and something that Israel has laid out as a necessary condition for ending the war.
And the fact that Hamas doesn't address this here raises questions about whether or not that is something that they are indeed on board with, and it
is important to note here, Richard, that President Trump said that there needs to be a deal by Sunday, 6:00 P.M. Eastern Time, meaning not just
Hamas responding and subsequent negotiations, but basically Hamas needs to say yes by Sunday and so we now have, you know, about 50 hours, I guess,
between now and that Sunday deadline.
And so a lot is going to need to happen in the meantime, if indeed they can actually get to an agreement here.
QUEST: In many ways, the response we've got from Hamas is exactly what everybody thought and/or feared. It would sort of give 60 percent, 70
percent, 80 percent, 55 -- it doesn't matter the number.
[16:05:09]
It was never going to give 100 percent, and it is that missing component, where the focus of attention will be.
DIAMOND: Absolutely, and it is also important to keep in mind that this is a statement meant for public consumption from Hamas. We don't yet know the
details of the actual response that Hamas has submitted to the mediators. What kinds of messages they may have conveyed to the mediators that are not
included in this statement, so that is also important to keep in mind.
There could be details that we don't yet know about in Hamas response to all of this that could either make things even closer to a potential deal,
or make clear that a deal is not going to come together by Sunday evening.
The bottom line is, at this point, Richard, we simply do not know whether this response from Hamas, which is largely positive but lacking some key
details here, whether or not it will actually lead to a deal, and in particular whether it will lead to a deal by President Trump's new Sunday
6:00 P.M. deadline.
QUEST: Does anybody realistically expect Hamas to hand over its arms?
DIAMOND: Well, the Israelis certainly do, and I can tell you from speaking with sources involved in the U.S. plan as well, that they do as well. You
know, one thing that was told to me this week is that the United States is willing to negotiate and listen to reasonable Hamas counterproposals to the
20-point plan, but they would be discussing how Hamas would disarm, not whether Hamas would disarm. That has very much been presented as a red
line.
But keep in mind, these are broad principles. How that disarmament actually takes place, what the mechanisms are for doing that, how effective those
mechanisms are, you know, all of those things are different ways in which you can kind of have both sides be happy with a proposal and perhaps having
a different end goal.
QUEST: Forgive me, Jeremy, I am being remiss here because, I must focus on the hostages and that very clear requirement demand that all hostages alive
and dead be released and/or returned to Israel.
DIAMOND: Yes. That's right, and that is the first point that Hamas makes in this statement. They say that they announced their "agreement" to release
all living and deceased prisoners of the occupation. They are referring to the hostages there, of course, based on the exchange formula presented in
President Trump's proposal, and by providing the necessary field conditions for the exchange process.
You know, this isn't all that surprising. Hamas has signaled in the past its willingness and its readiness to release all of the hostages if its
conditions are met, meaning an end of the war, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and that is obviously part and parcel of this plan is to see the
war end, to see Israeli troops gradually withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
And so it is not all that surprising that Hamas is agreeing to this, but obviously, the fact that it comes within the context of this 20-point plan
that they are being positive about other aspects of this as well, including giving up power in Gaza. All of that very, very notable and could signal an
opening here for a deal to happen.
But once again, there are a lot of things that are omitted in this response. There is a lot of points that they clearly don't fully agree
with. A lot of negotiations that will need to take place in order to make this a reality.
QUEST: Jeremy, stay with me.
Joining me, Daniel Levy, former Israeli hostage negotiator.
So we've just been hearing -- we are still looking for the details and the various machinations of what Hamas has agreed to, but it does sound like
they've gone a considerable way towards agreeing to the U.S. -- the Trump peace plan.
DANIEL LEVY, FORMER ISRAELI HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: I think what they have done is said they will engage to try and make this a formula for ending the war,
for the exchange -- Israelis held in Gaza, Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli withdrawal and to bring this to closure, which is the correct
response and the response that the mediators were trying to secure.
And if I may, I think the mistake we've all been making since Monday is to pretend that President Trump put a plan on the table. He didn't put a plan
on the table. He put vague generalities on the table, which are not implementable and I am not talking about the long term colonial formula for
governance of Gaza or this pretense that there is a path to eventual peace, I am talking about the very immediate question of the ceasefire, the
hostage prisoner exchange, et cetera, and I think Hamas have said, if we can put meat on the bones of what is not serious, it doesn't have
timetables, it doesn't have clarity, it doesn't have how you actually guarantee an Israeli military withdrawal.
If we can flesh that out, we are up for it. That's the correct response. And I think now the test will be were the Americans and the Israelis
serious about trying to get to an end game, or was this another move in the blame game?
QUEST: So assuming -- and I am just looking here that they -- you know, that the headline in a sense that they've agreed the immediate 20
negotiations for the release of all hostages based on the exchange formula, but it is going -- what do you think, Daniel, is going to be, if you will,
that whether it be five, ten -- whatever percent it is that they do not agree with or are not prepared to go along with in the U.S. proposal that
could sort of I don't want to be pessimistic, but could scupper it.
LEVY: Right. So what they have said is all the hostages, tick that box, a box they've been willing to tick all along. The formula for Palestinian
prisoners to be released in exchange, especially a significant cohort of live prisoners, tick that box. The boxes that remain to be ticked are will
Israel actually withdraw from Gaza militarily? Because what you don't have is the formula for that withdrawal. Any commitments to that withdrawal.
The Israeli Prime Minister stepped out of the meeting with Trump and said, we are staying in Gaza. Full stop. So if that is the position, I think we
are stuck. If we can come up with a formula and they've been achieved in the past, they've just not been implemented by Israel, if we can come up
with that formula, then I think it can happen.
I wrote, if I may, Richard, earlier today in Substack, I said that in the likely event that Hamas and the mediating parties respond with necessary
clarifications and revisions, the encouragement should be to engage with that and I think that's the crucial thing.
Will we see Trump say, well, it is a take it or leave it or not, because that's the only way you get the hostages out as well.
QUEST: Okay. But back to Jeremy Diamond, who is also with me, we will take this from both of you, Jeremy, first.
Jeremy, at the end of the day, whichever way we slice a mediation and an agreement, the goal is to remove Hamas both as a military and a political
entity with any power or force in Gaza. Now, is that likely to actually happen from what you can see so far?
DIAMOND: Well, you know, Richard, last week when I interviewed, Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official, he made quite clear to me two things. One,
that Hamas was willing to give up power in Gaza. He talked again about this Egyptian proposal, which is different from the American one, for the
establishment of kind of an independent, technocratic transitional authority in Gaza that Hamas, he said, would be happy to hand over power
to. So check on that first point.
Then on the second point of disarmament, he made very clear that that remained a red line for Hamas, that the only context in which he could
envision Hamas disarming would be in the context of the establishment of a Palestinian state, in which case the weapons of these various militant
forces, such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, et cetera, would be handed over to the state, the Palestinian state, in that question.
This proposal from President Trump is very different. It talks about Hamas disarming and handing over their weapons to this international force that
would be taking over security responsibility for the Gaza Strip and there is nothing in this statement from Hamas tonight that suggests that they are
on board with that. Instead, again, there is no explicit reference to disarmament. They talk about the "inalienable rights of the Palestinian
people," which could potentially be interpreted as talking about Hamas' weapons and their right to weaponry in the context of an Israeli
occupation.
And in that case, they talk about those inalienable rights needing to be discussed with that Palestinian transitional authority in the context of a
Palestinian national conversation. That's very different from agreeing to an international force coming in and taking their weapons away.
And so, again you know, we don't know what is being said beyond this statement at this point. There could have been messages conveyed by Hamas
that they are either open to that despite this statement or very much not open to that idea.
We are just going to have to wait and see over the coming days.
QUEST: All right, thank you Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv and Daniel Levy, we will talk more as the hours move on and we get more details. But I am
grateful to both of you for putting that perspective into it.
[16:10:14]
Other stories that we are following on what is an extremely busy day getting busier by the moment.
Sean "Diddy" Combs is addressing the judge in a Manhattan courtroom right now, as he is awaiting sentence for the charge relating to prostitution and
the other charges of which he was found guilty, three charges.
The court has already heard from prosecutors who have asked for a sentence of more than 11 years. The defense attorneys have argued for a more lenient
sentence, essentially, time served, whilst lauding his musical talent and describing him as remorseful.
The court has also heard from several of Combs' children.
Leigh Waldman is outside the courtroom. Leigh joins me now.
So we are at that point where last words are being spoken before sentence will be given.
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Richard, we are hearing those final words from Sean "Diddy" Combs himself, and this seems to be a strategy from the
part of the defense here. They offered their argument to the judge. The prosecution had their rebuttal. And now we are hearing from Sean "Diddy"
Combs.
He thanked the judge for finally letting him have his space to offer his words. Now, immediately, he offered an apology to Cassie Ventura, who is
seen as the star witness throughout the course of this trial. She shared throughout the course of their 11-year relationship, the abuse that she
suffered, that video of her that shocked everyone from 2016, where she is seen being dragged and kicked by Combs, was played over and over again.
Combs, apologizing to other domestic violence victims, saying he understands how triggering that action may be.
And Richard, he also is saying he lost his business, he lost his career, and he destroyed his reputation. His seven children are in the courtroom
and he turned to them during this speech to the judge and apologized to his children, saying, "y'all deserve better."
He also spoke to his mother, who was inside that courtroom, telling her that he is sorry. At that moment when he apologized to her, his voice began
to break. He started to show that emotion -- Richard.
QUEST: Leigh, just one other thing before we move on. According to other reports in there, he says his actions were disgusting, shameful and sick --
he was sick from the drugs, as you said, "I was out of control." What is interesting is this shift in position, which is quite common, of course,
once you've been found guilty of something, you shift from saying, I didn't do it to I am sorry, I did it.
But now, of course, it is really up to whether the judge is going to go with it.
WALDMAN: Absolutely. So we are seeing this shift from him apologizing for those actions that he was convicted of, talking about how he has pursued
better for himself throughout his course in jail, saying he is teaching a class to other inmates there. He is taking counseling for his mental
health, for his substance abuse disorder that he has admitted now that he has.
But what the prosecution is pointing to here, Richard, is they are saying he is apologizing for everything else except for what he was actually
convicted of. They're saying he is not remorseful for that transportation to engage in prostitution charge, the charge that he is facing sentencing
for today. That is where the argument comes from, that he needs a harsher sentence. Eleven-year recommendation from the prosecution.
The judge has accepted the probation court's recommendation of less than six years, up to a little more than seven years. So we are all eager to see
what he actually comes out with today.
QUEST: I am grateful. Thank you.
I'm joined now by former U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin.
Judge, now, it is always interesting, because the actual sentencing is a very complicated process between what the mandatory sentence, what the
discretionary bid. You add up three, you then see the discount for this. So you take a bit off that. I mean, it really is a mathematical equation. It
is not done.
So what -- since the judge has already done much of this before they go into court, what purpose does this all serve now?
SHIRA SCHEINDLIN, FORMER FEDERAL JUDGE: Yes, the answer is absolutely yes. I must have imposed. I really think, a thousand sentences in my 22 years on
the bench. And every time I had a sentence, I would spend hours at home or at the office writing out exactly the calculation that I was going to use
and the sentence I was going to impose and every once in a while, with a pen in my hand, I reduced it a little and I said, oh, I was going to give
55 months, I think I will make it 50, because I was moved by the statements that I heard, but it was pretty rare. So I did come into the courtroom
ready and knowing what I was going to give as the sentence.
[16:20:05]
So all the hours and hours that this judge has heard, unusually long amount of time, he heard from the government, he heard from people who were
bringing civil suits, lawyers for them. He heard from the defense lawyers, five of them. Then he hears from the defendant. He heard from the children
of the defendant. How will that all impact him? It is hard to know, but we will know very soon.
Now, one of the interesting arguments is that if he is sentenced purely on the charges for which he has been found guilty, and none of the evidence of
the other two charges is brought in, then the sentence shouldn't be that high. I mean, it should be what -- six --
SCHEINDLIN: Well, that is not so. I did some research as to average sentences for the Mann Act violations. And, you know, the way the
sentencing guidelines work, which are not mandatory any longer, you have an offense level. The offense level here is 14. You have a criminal history
category. He falls in criminal history category one because he has no prior convictions.
So that sentence would be 15 to 21 months; if he was 14, level 14 category one. But then there are, as you said, many, many enhancements that the
probation department should said should apply, such as an aggravating role in the crime, leadership, organizer, obstruction of justice, multiple
victims. There were at least two that we know of -- Ventura and Jane Doe -- but there were more than that probably.
So if you start applying all of these enhancements, then you get to the sentence that the Probation Department recommended of five years and ten
months, up to seven years and three months.
So I don't think the judge is going to give 11 years, because the maximum per count is ten years and it is very rare to have sentences consecutive.
So I don't think it is going to be 11 years. It is going to be less than ten, but I don't think it is going to be 14 months either, because the
judge can consider some of the other conduct because it relates to the crime of which he was convicted.
QUEST: Right, so the beauty of your answer that you've just given me, ma'am is that you started elegantly with the sort of the number 14 to 16 or 15,
and then you added in all of these other things which really there is no guidance per se, you know, well, for the aggravated --
SCHEINDLIN: But there is plenty.
QUEST: The aggravated bit, you'll add this and for this you'll add that?
SCHEINDLIN: Oh yes, it is all in the sentencing guideline manual. It says you add three levels for multiple victims. You add two levels for
obstruction of justice. You add two levels for being an organizer and leader. So there is a lot of guidance. That's why I became very
mathematical in the days when the sentencing guidelines were required to be followed. We didn't have discretion. And then that ended about 10 or 15
years ago when the judges got discretion again.
They don't have to apply the guidelines, but they have to consider them.
QUEST: So I promise you, Judge, I will not hold this against you. What do you think it is going to be?
SCHEINDLIN: Oh, that's a tough one. I think I am going on a limb that it will be the low end of the Probation Department's recommendation, which
would be about six years. That's my guess. This is a new judge who has not imposed a thousand sentences. In fact, for all I know, he hasn't even
imposed 20 yet. I doubt it.
So the Probation Department recommendation is going to carry a lot of weight, a lot of weight and I don't think he will deviate all that much
from the recommendation, which, remember, is five years and ten months on the low end and seven years and three months on the high end.
QUEST: Judge, I am grateful to you. Thank you. Thank you very much.
SCHEINDLIN: My pleasure.
QUEST: When we return, our business agenda, although of course, if we get more information on the Hamas response, we will bring that to you as well.
But imagine flying with very little information about where you are going and what is happening. Well, that's the effectiveness -- leaving investors
flying blind. Mohamed El-Erian is going to guide us. He will be flying the plane or sort of, in a moment.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Good evening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: It is a mad, mad world! Think about it. The U.S. government is in shutdown. The White House is considering mass firings, never mind layoffs.
The dollar is at a multi-year low. Trade tensions are everywhere, with tariffs and the U.S. hiring has slowed to a crawl. And yet the Dow and S&P
500 are hitting fresh record highs. Both are on multi-day winning streaks, avoiding the autumn downturn, and the NASDAQ is trading near a record.
Gold! The safe haven, you may expect gold to dip in that case, it is also at record highs, and that usually signifies worries and uncertainty. And
Bitcoin, which is on a bull run of its own. Goldman Sachs' David Solomon spoke to Bloomberg in Italy, where he said the economy is actually gaining
strength.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID SOLOMON, CEO, GOLDMAN SACHS: The U.S. economy is in pretty good shape and there are some very, very strong tailwinds that have really had a
profound effect and there are also some things going on that are creating headwinds and are probably leading the economy to underperform its
expectation at this time, but I am optimistic that we are probably going to see an acceleration as we continue to head into 2026.
I think that we've got competing forces between labor and inflation and how they balance, which is still a little bit uncertain, will have an impact on
whether we get one more cut or we get two or three more cuts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: So investors are navigating that murky environment without government data. Let's say I am flying a plane and this is my cockpit.
You've got the miles per hour. You've got the altitude. You've got how much gas we've got. And you can see exactly how high or low we are flying at the
moment.
These are the economic numbers, but you get the idea. Now, if we continue through until October the 15th, then we won't find out one of the important
numbers on inflation and that adds to confusion around the next Fed decision, because the BLS or the Department of Commerce won't provide that
information.
Consumer spending is in our wind speed. Is it going forward? Do we have tailwinds or headwinds? And then as we continue, as the government remains
shut on Halloween, then it is the Jobs Report and consumer spending that we won't get the information, and on and on and on it goes until eventually we
are not exactly flying blind, what is happening, but we are sort of groping our way forward, trying to work out where exactly we are going and ensuring
that we don't -- well, you get the idea.
Joining me now, our goal is to make sense of this seemingly contradictory market signals. Mohamed El-Erian is the chief economic adviser at Allianz.
He joins me from Connecticut.
Mohamed, we are not quite flying blind, but -- and there is plenty of private economic data, but it is getting harder at a crucial moment, isn't
it, to understand what's happening?
[16:30:14]
MOHAMED EL-ERIAN, CHAIR, GRAMERCY FUNDS MANAGEMENT: You're absolutely right. First of all, we are missing the most comprehensive data we get
every month. Today was an example, the jobs report, as you pointed out, in the next 12 days we also get inflation.
And importantly, Richard, what's also stopping is data collection. So, even if we come back on stream, we would have gone a period without collecting
data. So, it's going to have a tail, if you like.
Fortunately, we have partial, and I want to stress the word partial, private sector data, so you have a sense, but it's a sense that subject to
a much wider margin of error than we would have otherwise.
And all this, as you say, is coming at points of inflection in the economy, potentially in markets and also in policymaking,
QUEST: If you add into this, which I know you were writing about on Substack, one of the other crucial points, not only are we missing data and
flying semi blind, but the actual slow down itself has a drag on demand, even if post reopening, everybody still gets paid.
EL-ERIAN: Yes, there's about 900,000 federal employees right now that are likely not going to get paid at the next paycheck.
And in addition, they keep on hearing that the administration, like you said in the beginning, are trying -- are thinking of turning furloughs,
where you stay home, but you expect to come back into permanent layoffs, where you lose your job, and therefore you lose your income security. You
would expect them to spend less given that they're not going to be earning their salary and they're worried about the future income.
So, you start having the drag on that side. Also, the government isn't spending right now. That's another drive.
QUEST: You talked in a recent article about geo-economics and the way in which it plays a role. And as I read the article, my first instinct was to
say, oh, come on, man, geo-economics has always played a role in terms of this, there's always been an element of economies responding and investors
responding. So, but as I understood further, you're saying it's much more prevalent and more serious.
EL-ERIAN: I would go further. It is dominant. You cannot understand what's happening in markets. You cannot understand what's happening in the economy
without starting with the presumption that it's all about national security and it's all about domestic politics.
You see it in tariffs, you see it in the attacks on institutions. You see it in industrial policy. You see it in how the administration is picking
winners. It's all over now.
And the market has made a very important decision. It says, I understand that this is messy. I understand that the sovereign side is messy, but I
love what I'm seeing on the corporate side.
My daughter puts it really well. The market is saying I'm willing to go long U.S. enterprise, and I'm shorting the mess on the sovereign side.
QUEST: History shows that usually is a mistake, I believe, because, if -- because, ultimately the geopolitics swamps the corporate. I mean, the CEOs
may, you know, I see no evil, I hear no evil, but eventually the policies affect them.
EL-ERIAN: They do. You and I would never buy a good house in a deteriorating neighborhood. We would know that the neighborhood matters.
But the market right now is so focused on the good house, and this good house has lots of bells and whistles, has fundamental changes in artificial
intelligence and life sciences and robotics that they have completely fallen in love with the house, and they're not looking at the neighborhood.
But you and I know that ultimately the neighborhood matters. The question is, how long will it take? Because you may lose a lot of -- leave a lot of
money on the table in the journey to when, ultimately the neighborhood matters.
QUEST: You see, that's the real -- that is the problem facing every investor at the moment. Everybody knows, well, when I say they know, in a
sense, that this market has got some pretty serious problems and a correction at some point. But as you know, people have forecast -- I
forecasted 27 of the last three recessions and for -- and market collapses. It's almost impossible. What do you do?
[##:35:01]
EL-ERIAN: So, it depends on what mistake can you afford to make. That ultimately, what it depends on. Certain professional investors that are
judged on a quarterly, weekly and a daily basis think that they cannot make the mistake of leaving money on the table.
But if you're an individual investor, you have to ask the question, what will hurt me more, missing on returns or losing some capital, because the
last thing you want to do is sell when the market has a drawdown. And what we've known is behaviorally, people tend to make mistakes when suddenly
they're down 10 percent and that could happen because valuations are so rich right now.
QUEST: Mohamed El-Erian, I'm so grateful. Thank you, sir. As always, I'll fly with you at the controls of a plane any day. Good to see you, sir.
Thank you.
Now, as we continue, I wonder if Mohamed El-Erian is any good at putting together IKEA furniture. There's a question.
The CEO of INGKA, which owns IKEA, says his legacy includes bringing the company into the future. Jesper Brodin and I, yes, we actually built an
IKEA chair in the spot. He did most of the work. I sort of watched along in the C-suite in the sky. The philosophy of democratic design.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESPER BRODIN, CEO, INGKA GROUP: It's five things, it's form, function, quality, sustainability, and then the most tricky one of all, low price.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's a lot more. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'll be building furniture with the chief executive of IKEA as he's
preparing to step down. And every week seems to bring a new change in the world of A.I., I'll be talking to the designer and the futurist, Nick
Foster about where it's all going.
Just a moment, we'll also have, of course, the sentencing of Diddy, but that comes in a moment after the headlines, because this is CNN, and there
the news -- here, I should say, the news always comes first.
Hamas says it's agreed to immediately enter negotiations for the release of all hostages in Gaza. It's also agreed to some of the other 20 points laid
out in President Trump's peace plan. The militant group added it's ready to hand over the governance of Gaza to a Palestinian Authority of
independence.
[##:40:03]
Sean Diddy Combs has begged the court for mercy at his sentencing hearing in New York. The following music mogul was convicted in July of two counts
of transportation to engage in prostitution, he was acquitted on more serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. Prosecutors
have asked for a sentence of more than 11 years.
Yes, government shutdown continues and is expected to stretch into next week, with senators today failing to pass short term funding proposals from
both sides. The stalemate centers largely on extending enhanced healthcare subsidies.
IKEA's largest retailer is expanding its real estate portfolio with a push into Lower Manhattan. It's part of the INGKA Group's $2 billion expansion
plan. The group operates more than 400 IKEA stores. The new building gives them a second location in the city after investing on Fifth Avenue last
year.
INGKA's outgoing CEO says his biggest legacy will be bringing IKEA into the future. I spoke to Jesper Brodin in the C-suite in the sky, explained how
IKEA furniture has been made more durable, and the box -- the chair that we were building, fresh out the box.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: I'm having palpitations.
BRODIN: This is going to be a chair in a few moments.
QUEST: Just let's share it. These are impossible to put together. Challenging.
BRODIN: Incorrect, and we shall prove it. Let's see.
QUEST: We have three implements.
BRODIN: Here we go. And you've got to be in charge of the assembly instruction.
QUEST: Number one.
BRODIN: Yes. Can I tell you what's good number one? Make sure we have all the screws. OK.
QUEST: This is going to get embarrassing even before we started.
BRODIN: And you open this one.
QUEST: It's open. Yes, it's open.
BRODIN: Yes, I would like to see them here.
QUEST: Oh no, fall on the floor.
BRODIN: OK, OK, let's see.
QUEST: Actually, no, I mustn't argue. I must not argue with the CEO of IKEA. He does actually know what he's doing.
BRODIN: We will see that in a moment.
So, we're going to start with the legs, actually.
QUEST: Take the legs.
BRODIN: Yes, we take the legs.
QUEST: And we want the bit with the two holes at the bottom.
BRODIN: Right. So which way are they going to go?
QUEST: It goes -- yes, that bit, the prongs point --
Breaking news to bring to your attention, the judge is now giving the sentence to Sean Diddy Coombs, and he's been sentenced more than four years
in prison over conviction of prostitution related charges. The variety of charges -- forgive me for looking away from you as I read it, the judge has
described it as a substantial sentence must be given. I'm going to join my colleague Laura Coates as our coverage continues.
LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST AND ANCHOR: But also notes that Combs will have a life after prison. After 50 months, this is demonstrating to
the court the gravity of the crimes and the conduct, Kasie. Here you have it, 50 months for the two charges, transportation for the purpose of
prostitution, the Mann Act violations. They tried very hard at the defense today, Kasie to suggest that would be a high sentence, given the fact that
they say the defense says he did not financially benefit and profit from these so called prostitution acts. The judge rejecting that. Rejecting it
almost out of hand, sentencing the music mogul convicted in July by a jury of his peers to 50 months in prison.
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: And Lisa France, I'd like to talk to you for a second about kind of the big picture of what this means, because as we've been
covering this, we saw the judge touch on and we saw the defense talk about what Sean Diddy Combs' contributions -- positive contributions have been to
society.
Obviously, during the trial, we talked quite a bit about the negative contributions that he is now being held to account for. But what is this
going to mean for the millions of people who have been following this trial? What more does it say about where we are?
LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Well, Kasie because of the positive contributions, it's the reason why so many people feel so very
strongly about this, having seen the video, having heard the testimony, it is a huge disappointment to a lot of his fans, because this is a man who
has had a career that has spanned music and fashion and restaurants and spirits.
I mean, he was someone that, as they like to say, got it out the dirt. You know, came from the hood, and really elevated himself as a young man who,
you know, went to Howard University and would jump on the train and go back to New York City and work as an intern and worked his way up from an intern
to founding his own record label and Bad Boy Records.
I mean, it was the soundtrack for so many people's youth.
[##:45:02]
So, when you saw what was alleged against Sean Combs, and then when you followed this trial, it was a complete and utter devastating disappointment
to a lot of his fans who expected much more of him.
Now, I've said this before on air for those of us who have covered him for years. This was not a surprise, these allegations. We had heard rumors. We
have heard people saying that they were afraid of him, that, you know, he had a lifestyle that not everybody would approve of.
And so, I think now hearing the verdict, there are going to be some people who absolutely continue to support him. There are still people, even having
seen the video, who say that, you know, Cassie Ventura was someone who, you know, participated and but also there are people who say that it's
absolutely disgusting.
And I thought it was interesting that Sean Combs used that word when he was referencing the videotape. He said that it was disgusting, you know, and he
appeared in his remarks to try to take ownership, to also try to sound contrite, but at the same time, you know, to Laura's point, he was very
careful about not saying anything that might cause a problem when he tries to, you know, get back into court and get this revisited, you know, by
appealing this.
So, you know, I think that we're always going to have a split. That's always the case when you have things like this. Today is the 30th
anniversary of the acquittal of OJ Simpson. And while these are two very different cases, we're still having conversations about what it means when
you have a successful, famous Black defendant in these cases, can they really get a fair trial? You know, are people going to view them
differently? Will he be able to have the type of life that he could have, you know, after he gets out.
And so, you know, these conversations continue. It's very historic. And you know, I had plenty of people hitting me up earlier today saying, you know,
what's your over under? What do you think? Do you think he's going to be able to, you know, maybe just get out in a couple of months? Do you think
he's going to get years?
I think at the end of the day, people will just, you know, some people wanted to see justice, and some people thought much like, I think Mr. Combs
thought that after he was acquitted of the more serious charges that he was going to be walking out of that courtroom and heading back home to Miami
and going back to, you know, the lifestyle in some ways, that he enjoyed before, not the dark parts that we heard about, but absolutely the fame,
the fortune and the being a celebrity.
HUNT: Yes, well, and we're also just learning here that the judge imposed the maximum half million dollar fine against Combs here.
And Laura Coates, can you help us understand from a legal point of view? Obviously, there will be a process that continues on here. Assume there
will be an appeal. How much of more time do we expect based on the sentence that he'll spend in prison?
COATES: He has been serving some time in the jail, not a federal prison. It's a holding over location in anticipation of trial and of course of
sentencing, which means that the time he has served under the auspices, of course of the Bureau of Prisons will be applied to the sentence he has.
He also can have the benefit of some sorts of federal programming for somebody who is having their first official sentence and good time served,
etcetera, good behavior participation, excuse me, on a number of programs geared at going against recidivism, a fancy legal way of saying you're not
to do crimes again. That will all be factored in his overall sentence.
But they talked about the resources that are going to be had been available to him. That's why he has that penalty of half a million. We're talking
about a man with an empire that was worth more half a billion or more. That's a very important point, because had they convicted him on RICO the
government's hands come out, they want the money that could be associated with anything to do with a crime related to enterprise that went away, but
he still now has this sign, and he still has civil suits to contend with.
Those do not go away. They are not paused while he is in a federal prison, and they also have a lower standard than the criminal court. Remember, the
criminal court beyond a reasonable doubt a civil suit, the preponderance of evidence, meaning more likely than not. Referencing the OJ trial that my
colleague Lisa mentioned, remember, that was a case, there was an acquittal at the criminal level. He still had a, what, 33 I think, million dollar
fine in the civil suit from the family of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson as well. That is possible for all of the, I think more than hundred
if my counts are accurate right now, that have been filed. Not sure how many are still in existence here.
But I will say the judge also referencing not only Cassie Ventura, but also the pseudonym victim Jane, who testified. Remember, those two women were
the subject of the people listed in those prostitution related charges.
[##:50:06]
The judge said, Ms. Ventura and Jane speaking to them. They were not in the courtroom. You have been through abuse and trauma that most of us cannot
imagine, and thank them for coming forward.
To miss Ventura, Jane and the other victims here who came forward, I can only say your families are proud of you, and your children, when they're
old enough, will be proud of you, and I am proud of you for telling the world what really happened. You spoke -- you were speaking to the millions
of women out there who have been victims but feel invisible.
I mean, going on to talk about and the powerlessness as well. This is really important here, because earlier today, we knew that the prosecution
was berating the defense team for what they believe was bullying behavior that forced, they say, one of the women who testified in this case to not
speak as a victim impact statement provider in this courtroom. That's an important point here.
But ultimately, again, here is the rub in our criminal justice system, Kasie, and you and I have talked about the policies and beyond.
But listen, even though he's convicted with an appeal ahead of him, he never has to admit to the charges against him. He can always maintain his
innocence throughout the course of the appeal, and frankly, for the rest of his life.
But in this instance, the judge said, I don't believe that your profession at innocence outweighs what the jury found. That's why 50 months in prison
will be appropriate they say, for this person.
HUNT: Well, Lisa France, let's talk for a moment about the victims here. I mean, and the judge, as Laura reported, as we're seeing on the screen,
thanked them for coming forward and said that we heard you and that, of course, you know, for a lot of these women, probably meaningful.
Of course, also worth noting that some of the most serious charges that Sean Diddy Combs faced, he was found not guilty these charges that were
left that he's being sentenced for today, not some of the most serious ones that he did face. But can you talk a little bit about these women and what
this may mean for them?
FRANCE: Yes, forever they are going to be marked because, you know, while Jane was not named, you know, social media, of course, has their thoughts
about who they believe it to be, and you know, Miss Ventura, she has been open ever since she filed the lawsuit.
And so, these are women who, for the rest of their lives, are always going to be associated with this. They are always going to have people who are
going to second guess their motivations for coming forward. They are always going to have people who believe that they were in this for money, that
they were in this for fame.
And again, this is something that I've said before. I don't know any woman who wants to be famous for being beaten on, any woman who wants to be
famous for saying, you know, that they were sexually assaulted or anything like that.
And so, these women have been heralded, you know, Miss mentor, especially because she has been -- you know, she stood up strong. You know, she's not
allowed the victim shaming that is very prevalent in this culture to keep her down.
I mean, she came and she testified when she was extremely pregnant. I mean, think about how stressful something like that is, just for someone who is
not pregnant. She was heavily pregnant, and she had to, you know, relive some of the worst times of her life. She was a very young woman when she
connected with Mr. Combs and Jane also, she had to come forward and share things that were utterly humiliating for both of these women.
And so, I think that they have been -- both of them have been hailed as heroes when it comes to the story. And even though the more serious charges
he was acquitted of, I think that what I at least have seen and gotten feedback from my sources is that both of them should be very proud of the
fact that they were able to stand up and come forward and speak their truth.
HUNT: And Laura Coates, I mean, what do you expect we may hear from some of these victims in response to this, anything, or is there an eagerness to
put it behind them?
COATES: I think there's probably a combination of both. The judge certainly wanted the victims to hear his words of encouragement, saying that all the
letters that he saw show that a lot of people in the universe want to sort of lift to address these issues, not only praising the people who are
supportive Sean Diddy Combs, but also the idea of women behind closed doors, grappling with some of the horrors that Lisa has articulated. And of
course, that Sean Diddy Combs also mentioned in part during his own statements and appearance talk.
[##:55:09]
But this is far from over in terms of a legal matter. Yes, the criminal case is now behind Sean Diddy Combs, remember, just last week the judge
denied his even for a new trial. Now the civil process will begin, and it will continue even while he is incarcerated.
Now, the question is, where will he be incarcerated? That will be the next jockeying for position of counsel here. The Bureau of Prisons will be in
control now, but he does have some options, given the length of the sentence and the application of time served, from waiting for the trial and
waiting for the sentencing, it might fall with under a threshold where he could go to what some people have pejoratively described as a camp fed.
Now, this is one of the moments we're waiting for. Where will he go next? It's not out this front door, but which prison.
HUNT: All right. Laura Coates, thank you so much for spending so much time reporting with us, and I know you're going to be back throughout our
coverage, including the top of the next hour.
Lisa France, one aspect of this case as well was the widespread discussions of other celebrities that it might have touched and obviously, we've seen
with the sort of more intense charges, ultimately not sticking some of that fade into the background. But this is something that is has really crossed
the entertainment universe that you cover day in and day out.
FRANCE: Absolutely, and part of the issue is that people who had been affiliated with Combs in the past definitely did not want to be connected
to this.
I mean, he launched so many careers in the music industry, and the silence was deafening for many of them. They said absolutely nothing. No one came
to his defense.
And to a lot of people, that spoke volumes, because if you had this man who helped to make you a star, if you believed him to be innocent, why wouldn't
you speak up? And I think especially once that video came out and came to light, people really walked away from him.
And then you had people like Kid Cudi, who had to testify. And again, Kid Cudi is a very, very private man. He is not someone who you would envision
would enjoy having to come up and talk about, you know, some of the allegations like, you know, what he says happened with his car and his
relationship with Ms. Ventura and things like that.
So, it's been very fascinating to watch how in this industry, people have, you know, if they have feelings about it, they kept it, they kept it to
themselves. It was almost like they didn't want to be painted with a brush of guiltiness by association.
And so, it's been quite interesting Kasie, to see the way that people actually have not rallied behind Combs given what a huge star maker he was,
and what a huge star he was himself.
HUNT: And Lisa, we're just obviously continuing to see the judge is still talking here, as he has handed down this sentence of four years and two
months to Sean Diddy Combs, but he's now reassuring the artist that while he's facing dark times, he and his family will get through it.
And he also says these letters, all those letters I saw, show you have a universe of people who love you, and you've really spoken to that the base
of his fans, Lisa.
COATES: Yes, I mean, and also people like Yung Miami, who's a rapper who was involved with him, she sent a letter of support. So, he absolutely does
have support.
You know, I don't want to paint it as that he is someone that everyone has turned against. It's just that those who we associated him with, especially
in the industry, those are some of the people that have been quiet.
But he's had a broad level of support from the beginning. It's just not been as vocal, but as we got to the point where he was about to be
sentenced. You know, there was, I'm sure, solicitation of letters from people who knew him best. There was also, let's not forget about victim
number three, who, you know, sent in a letter who said that she was not a victim and that she felt like the prosecutors were trying to push her to be
a victim.
So, this case has been, you know, interesting, layered and very upsetting on a lot of levels. And even I feel like even now, as Laura pointed out,
this isn't over legally, and I think this is still going to continue to resonate in the industry.
HUNT: Lisa, the judge is concluding here. He says, I'm counting on you to make the most of your second chance. We're obviously approaching the top of
the hour. But what do you think that second chance looks like for Sean Diddy Combs?
FRANCE: I think it looks like whatever he makes it look like as he's in jail if he doesn't get out on appeal. I think it is whatever he decides
he's going to be when he gets out.
Of course, this is always going to be a stain on his career and his legacy and I think, but also at the same time, America loves a comeback story.
And so, I think that we are -- you know, there might be some leverage there, some opportunity for him, maybe not to be as famous and have, you
know, the career that he had before he went in, I don't think that's at all possible, but I don't think that he's going to be completely shut out.
But, you know, we never know. We don't know what's going to happen in the next two years.
END
