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Quest Means Business

Trump Picks Kevin Warsh to be Next Fed Chair; Georgia Fort: Being Arrested Because "I Filmed a Protest;" Exploring Seville's Rich History and Thriving Economy. Tourism Boom Driving Seville's Growing Economy; 3M Pages Along With Thousands Of Photos And Videos Released; Country Celebrates Growth After Severe Debt Crisis; Teatro De La Maestranza Celebrates Its 35th Year. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 30, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[00:00:21]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on Wall Street at the same time, the bell in the cathedral behind

me, also chiming the top of the hour. It is 10:00 at night here in Spain's southern, magnificent, beautiful city of Seville. The market is just

closing. The Dow is down quite sharply, as you can see, and has been for most of the session, although it has pulled off the lows of the day. We

will get to all the reasons why the market, Spain and everything else.

Those are the markets and the main events of the day: The battle of the Kevins is over. President Trump has picked Kevin Warsh to be the new

chairman of the Fed. His path to confirmation, that's a question of how smooth it will be.

Millions of newly released documents shed light on Jeffrey Epstein's interactions with the rich and the powerful.

And we will take a close look at Spain's economic resurgence and there is no better place to look than through the lens of Seville and its famous

oranges.

We are tonight live in Seville on Friday, January the 30th. It is also QUEST MEANS BUSINESS 17th birthday, 17 years of me saying I am Richard

Quest and I mean business.

Good evening or buenas noches as you would say, if you were in this city. Good evening from Seville.

The Spanish city known, of course, for the wonderfully bitter oranges that make spectacular marmalade, there is a whole host of opera and flamenco of

its own particular variety. You'll hear from all three on the course of tonight's program.

We will also take you on a tour of the city from the orchards to the opera house and we will discuss Spain's economic comeback. About a decade ago, it

got a massive loan from Brussels. Now, it is the E.U.'s fastest growing major economy and what could go wrong with that superb cathedral behind me?

It is all over the course of a Special Edition of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. We are here, by the way, because we are filming "World of Wonder."

Now, first we must begin with President Trump who has picked Kevin Warsh, a former Fed Governor, to lead the Central Bank into a new era. He will take

over, if confirmed, from Jay Powell in May.

Warsh is seen as, one level a safe pair of hands, but also a controversial choice because although he served on the Board of Governors during the 2008

financial crisis, and his selection does end months of speculation, apparently there are up to a dozen people at one point.

Donald Trump said Warsh is the best candidate to succeed Chair Powell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: In the whole country, I would say that this was the perfect candidate. This was not a

surprise or anything. This was the man that's most qualified, top student, best schools. Everything was like, perfect.

The youngest person ever to serve on the Fed, got the whole package. Looks don't mean anything, but he has got the look.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Despite Warsh's acclaim, markets fell sharply after the announcement, but that could be on some perversity over whether or not

Warsh is likely to cut interest rates. He is a known hawk, although he has got a bit of a dove about him at the moment.

The Dow was down as much as 500 points before recovering. We take today's market movements with a pinch of salt because -- even the NASDAQ, nearly

one percent, earnings was also a factor involved in it.

Gold and silver both fell sharply, indicating a selloff in traditional safe havens.

Kristen Holmes is at The White House. Kristen, from your understanding, good evening from Seville, from your understanding, by the time the

decision was made, was it all a close-run thing?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And by the time the decision was made, President Trump seems to have completely decided on

Kevin Warsh. We knew just a few days ago that it was unlikely to be Kevin Hassett, just by kind of a flip remark that Trump had made during another

event, saying he likes Kevin where he is, he doesn't want to lose him, praising his capabilities on television.

And it is true, Warsh has a very impressive resume. I mean, he is 55 years old. He has been -- he was appointed to the Fed for the first time under

George W. Bush and this is kind of a comeback for Warsh, given the fact that President Trump actually passed him over the first time when he chose

Jerome Powell, which I am sure came up in some of these behind closed door meetings.

[16:05:21]

And President Trump continues to say he is right out of central casting. And, of course, for the President, he says, kidding aside that looks don't

matter, but looks are very important for President Trump, who now multiple times has said that Kevin Warsh is right out of central casting when going

through his resume.

We also know that education and what schools that someone went to are important to President Trump. And of course, Warsh went to both Stanford

and Harvard Law as we heard mentioned there when he mentioned those schools.

There are a lot of questions still as to what exactly Warsh had agreed to behind closed doors. President Trump was asked today if Warsh guaranteed

and promised that he would slash interest rates, he wouldn't answer the question directly, saying essentially that he didn't ask him or he didn't

direct him to do anything but that, of course, he is somebody who wants those interest rates lowered.

So, something we are watching closely there, but at least now, this kind of long saga that we've seen play out for the last several months is over, or

at least coming to a close.

QUEST: So, at the end of the day, I mean, there is no question, Kevin Warsh is qualified. And, you know, the President is entitled to have his person

and Warsh is absolutely qualified academically, intellectually the whole lot. He has got the resume.

But there is this overarching issue that you've just talked about of whether or not he will do the bidding and that's going to be a little

tricky when it comes before Congress.

HOLMES: Well, a couple of things. Yes, that's going to be an issue. We already heard Thom Tillis essentially talking about this, saying that he is

not going to approve anyone. He is a senator, a Republican who is not running for re-election until they drop the Department of Justice

investigation into Jerome Powell. So, that'll be one hurdle that we are going to see, not only Tillis, but probably several Democrats kind of throw

their bodies in front of, as they work towards this.

The other part of this, as you note, is, can they keep the Fed independent of The White House? And that is something that is very important to

Congress. It is something that's very important to the justices on the Supreme Court, as we just saw last week when this case was brought forward

in terms of Lisa Cook, who sits on the Federal Board of Governors in this case, that they had brought against her for mortgage fraud.

So, this is going to be a real issue, and there are going to be quite a grilling on Capitol Hill when Warsh goes inevitably and meets with these

various senators as to what he is promised to President Trump in terms of their working relationship moving forward.

QUEST: I am grateful. Thank you. Have a good weekend. Kristen Holmes at The White House.

Mr. Warsh was known as an inflation hawk for much of his career. For those not familiar, that's somebody who likes tight monetary policy, higher

interest rates, making sure that you have strong monetary control.

He believed there was excessive Q.E., quantitative easing, during his time as a Fed Governor, that was, of course, during the eight, nine, ten, eleven

when of course Q.E. came in because of the Great Financial Crisis, the GFC. He pushed for higher interest rates at the time. And more recently, he has

argued that inflation isn't a severe threat.

In "The Wall Street Journal," a few months ago, he wrote: "A.I. will be a significant disinflationary force, increasing productivity and bolstering

American competitiveness." It is the argument that says don't worry about inflation, productivity will make up the difference.

Jared Bernstein is with me, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under Joe Biden. Familiar, of course, with Kevin Warsh.

Jared, we have to say, look, the man is eminently qualified for the job. He knows the business well. Has this hawk suddenly turned dovish, in your

view?

JARED BERNSTEIN, FORMER CHAIR OF THE UNITED STATES COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: Well, that is a key question. He certainly turned dovish in order

to get this job. Some people are accusing him of shape-shifting based on his long-written record, which is not only quite hawkish on interest rates,

but would really like to reduce the footprint of the Federal Reserve in the overall economy.

Now, he is not alone in arguing that point, just to be clear, but he certainly pretended to be someone who is quite different than his writings

to get the job.

Obviously, he did a convincing portrayal of a dove. In fact, if there is an Oscar for a monetary hawk who did the greatest job portraying a dove, he

should probably get it -- talk about central casting.

[16:10:08]

But we will have to see which Kevin Warsh shows up when his appointment begins.

QUEST: Of course, the interest rate side is incredibly important, but he is only one vote on the FOMC. And of course, he doesn't want to be in a

minority or on the losing side. But again, he is only one vote.

It is also this area of regulatory issues. The role of Q.E., the role of the Fed and its balance sheet. Now that -- you know everything I've ever

read now about the Fed suggests it is the chair who alters those, who puts the Fed back on the rails in a sense, that's going to be the true legacy of

the next chairman.

BERNSTEIN: Well, everything you read about the Fed typically -- largely predated Donald Trump. There is going to be a lot of consideration among

the other 11 voters of the Federal Open Market Committee, not to mention the other Governors in place in the Washington institution. As to whether

this is Donald Trump's appointee who is going to compromise the independence of that institution, or whether this is someone, again, in the

case of Kevin Warsh's writings, who understands the critical importance of Fed independence.

So while he has, in fact, as you say, been quite forthright in suggesting that the Fed should have a smaller, less interventionist footprint, should

do less to accommodate Washington's fiscal policy, fiscal easing, all of those go exactly against who Trump thinks he is hiring.'

In fact, I would argue that the Federal Reserve that Kevin Warsh envisions in his writing is diametrically opposed to the one that Donald Trump

believes he is appointing him for. So, that's going to be a balancing act. I think ultimately, I don't think we should down-weight his writings, but

he also knows who his boss is, and he knows that Trump is perfectly capable of picking up the phone.

QUEST: And Jared, come off the fence, a good pick or not?

BERNSTEIN: I think given the choices that Trump had in front of him, this is a pretty good pick. And I say that, wholly from the perspective of Fed

independence. I think there are other candidates who would have been much more enthralled to the President's remit, would have done his bidding much

more assuredly than I think we will get from Warsh.

So I think there is, you know, I think and hope we are going to get the independence that the Central Bank requires.

QUEST: I am grateful to you. As always, sir, thank you.

Any moment now, the former CNN anchor, Don Lemon, is expected to appear in a federal court in Los Angeles. Now, Mr. Lemon and the fellow independent

journalist, Georgia Fort, they were arrested in connection with a protest at a church in St. Paul in Minnesota earlier this month.

They were live streaming as demonstrators rushed into the church to denounce the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, I beg your

pardon.

Mr. Lemon and Fort say they were there as journalists, not protesters. Fort live streamed her arrest Friday on Facebook.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGIA FORT, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: Agents are at my door right now. They're saying that they were able to go before a grand jury sometime, I

guess in the last 24 hours and that they have a warrant for my arrest.

This is all stemming from the fact that I filmed a protest as a member of the media.

All right, you guys, I've got to go. They're knocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Brian is with me. Brian Stelter joins me.

Brian, there is a certain -- there is a huge leeway for journalists under the First Amendment, but it is not absolute when we are covering stories.

We are not allowed to break the law. We are not allowed to interfere, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, and that is what this is going to be about,

isn't it? Whether Don Lemon crossed the line.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, and the government -- the government is going to make the case in just a few minutes, actually, I

think we are going to see this indictment get unsealed. CNN has reviewed a sealed version of this indictment, and Don Lemon is about to appear in

court before a judge in L.A. to start this process, this legal process.

His attorney, Abbe Lowell, one of these D.C. mega lawyers who has become a favorite lawyer of figures targeted by the Trump administration. Abbe

Lowell has already said Lemon is going to contest this vigorously. He is going to fight this out in court.

In some ways, this might even raise Lemon's profile even more. You know, he has been doing a live stream -- he has not been doing -- his show, his

online YouTube show, his Instagram show has been streaming all day, bringing on his friends, talking about the, you know, the nature of this

case.

[16:15:13]

But set that aside for a moment, it is a major test of the First Amendment in the U.S. Here we are, another one of this tests, and this is about the

right to report versus the right to freely assemble and worship.

You know, these churchgoers were at church two weeks ago when their church was stormed by these protesters. The government says Lemon was a part of

that plot, and he says he was not. He says he was only there to report -- Richard.

QUEST: But Brian, from your look, from your vision of this, is this a touch and go case, or is it one where, at first blush, the First Amendment

defense looks highly robust?

STELTER: This is complicated because it involves a law that's not normally applied to journalists or the act of reporting. This is a law that is

normally applied to access to abortion clinics. So, this is an unusual use of the law and it is an unusual set of circumstances because Lemon walked

into private property into a church service, into something that's considered very sacred in the U.S., but his live reporting was very

valuable.

I watched it on YouTube. I heard from the worshipers and the protesters, and it was beneficial that he was there. So, I would argue in defense of

his reporting, because viewers benefited from his reporting. But that's not going to be what the law is about. If this gets to a jury, it is going to

be whose First Amendment rights were most important.

And here we are, Richard, yet another day, when outside observers are warning about an authoritarian creep in the United States. Groups like

Amnesty International saying arresting a reporter, this is straight out of the autocratic playbook. We are hearing that for many press freedom groups

and Civil Rights groups.

But you know what else were hearing? Lots of cheering from Trump's base, lots of MAGA loyalists saying, damn right, he has been arrested. This is

what we wanted for two weeks.

There are people on Trump's side who want this kind of retribution campaign, and that's how they see it. So, that's a little bit of the

examples of the tension that are going on right now.

QUEST: Brian, I am grateful for you. Thank you. Have a good weekend, Brian.

Brian Stelter in New York and forgive me for the pun, but from lemon to oranges, I could not resist it.

I've eaten so many of these things. Well, naturally, you know, to be honest, not Seville oranges, because, as you'll discover, I might just turn

into an orange. I wish I could say I haven't met an orange that I didn't like, even a Seville orange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're bitter. That's why they're called bitter oranges.

Yeah, you're not supposed to, but --

QUEST: It smells nice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rough.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:20:26]

QUEST: And we are here, of course, in Seville, it is the view from the terrace at the Hotel Casa 1800 Seville and I promise you, as a positioning

of a hotel -- I mean, it is just spectacular. Who could -- who could not adore that particular view?

In fact, wherever you are , you've got the Palace over there, the gardens with the lights coming up, you've got the Cathedral. Magnificent. Got the

lot.

Now, we are in Seville tonight and there is a real cultural mixture, a hodgepodge, if you will, of its 2,000-year history.

The rich past has left its traces everywhere. Obviously, the buildings behind me, but there is the music, the art and don't forget the Port of

Seville or at least the river port of Seville. This was central to Spain's grand age of exploration, trade, we talk enough about it on this program.

Well, trade, Seville is the place where you talk about trade and the role in the region's identity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST (voice over): It is a typical afternoon and the sounds of Seville are everywhere. Flamenco dancers tapping as guitars strum, and everywhere there

are oranges falling off the trees with their sweet aroma filling the air, the symbols of Seville abound.

In the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, Seville sits along the Guadalquivir River. It has served as a gateway to the rest of the world,

and little wonder, because it is from here that Ferdinand Magellan began his voyage around the world.

In its two millennia history, the Port of Seville brought in textiles from other parts of Europe; gold and silver from the Americas; and now, it

exports Spanish goods -- cork, olives, wine, and of course, those famous Seville signature oranges.

QUEST (on camera): The urge to come up to one of these trees and pick an orange and eat it is overwhelming. But as I have discovered to my cost, the

Seville orange is extremely bitter and is really just best left to marmalade.

QUEST (voice over): The buildings here tell the story of Seville's past, part Spanish, part Moorish, part Roman, and each culture has left its mark.

At the center of it all, the Seville Cathedral. Here is the resting place of Christopher Columbus. The Cathedral is a major tourist attraction,

drawing in two million visitors last year alone.

And speaking of masterpieces, some of Spain's most famous artists called Seville home. Diego Velazquez painted the city's Golden Age. Miguel de

Cervantes wrote "Don Quixote" while locked in the city's jail.

Today, Seville focuses on its future, investing in sustainability and climate efforts while still maintaining its historic charm, and perhaps

along the way, you will certainly make time to stop and taste those oranges.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Now, talking of those magnificent oranges and believe me, they are bitter. You think it is very clever to eat one until you actually taste it

as you saw.

This city has the most oranges than anywhere else in the world. I suspect, actually, in the city center. So, I couldn't help but visit one of the

orange groves, the orchards, and the owner showed me how to spot a Seville orange. I found out the bitter truth.

Seville oranges are best left, along with Paddington to marmalade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are Seville oranges and you can tell, for example, the form is completely different. I mean, this one is more round and this

one is more squeezed. It is more like a mandarin, okay. And then even the shape and the -- it looks like a -- it looks like a large mandarin. This is

a mandarin, for example. And you can see that the skin is very similar, at the bottom, it is very similar also.

[16:25:09]

In fact, the Seville orange is a mutation between pomelo and a mandarin. That's why it looks like a mandarin, okay?

QUEST: But these, as I have discovered when I've tried to eat them, are not sweet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they are bitter, that's why they're called bitter oranges.

QUEST: Can I?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. You're not supposed to, but you can give it a try.

QUEST: Oops.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See, it is very much like a large mandarin.

QUEST: Yes, but the mandarin is nice and sweet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Well, I am going to take the mandarin. You take the Seville orange.

QUEST: All right, this is Seville orange. It smells nice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rough!

QUEST: Oh!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get some sugar.

QUEST: But here, this must make you almost cry. This is your profits.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no! These trees have been --

QUEST: We should pick them up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, these trees have been picked up already, but they always leave some fruit because they grow really fast.

QUEST: But you don't go round in the morning and pick them up?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. This is probably waste, plus, plus I mean these are on the floor because of the wind, okay.

So, if the foliage -- because they have some defect or they are already not for consumption.

QUEST: So, you can't pick them up and use.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not these.

QUEST: You grew up with oranges all around you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty much. I mean, we used to come here always for Christmas and we always had the season for Christmas. So, for us, Christmas

was always a lot of work basically. And we've been doing this business for -- next year is going to be 60 years already.

And we've exported every single year, the oranges.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: So oranges play a major role for the marmalade and the pulp and all of those sort of things, but it is not only the oranges, of course. Tourism

and oranges, everything -- it is all part of the larger economy. Most people here work in the service sector, and that includes tourism. The

other job sectors include industry, construction, agriculture -- all the things you'd expect. They are much smaller.

It is the growth of tourism and its benefits that are truly essential and that raises the question of overtourism, of course, as seen in other parts

of Spain, such as the Costa del SOLOMON:.

Santiago Garcia-Dils de la Vega is the head of Cruises at the Seville City Office. You also join me. You're also head of the U.S.-U.K. LGBTQ tourism

sector. Good to have you. Thank you for joining us.

SANTIAGO GARCIA-DILS DE LA VEGA, HEAD OF CRUISES AT THE SEVILLE CITY OFFICE: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

QUEST: Wonderful to be in your magnificent city.

DE LA VEGA: Thank you.

QUEST: Shame about the wind tonight, but there we go. We are talking about -- the significance of tourism, Seville is growing, but it still has got

some way to go compared to the other major tourism destinations in Spain.

DE LA VEGA: Of course, we have to think about the fact that Seville nowadays is the third most visited urban destination in Spain, right after

Madrid and Barcelona. We welcome about five million tourists per year and 78 of that figure is international.

QUEST: Right. But we think of this part of Spain, this southern part of Spain, as being very much sun and beach, whereas Seville gives you the

opportunity of adding another element to it, beautiful in the summer. But there is a lot to do here in the winter as well.

DE LA VEGA: Of course, Seville is a city for the whole year. Well, it is very popular, especially in the springtime, in autumn. But we have a

wonderful weather, 300 days of sunshine and it is a good combination to have the biggest coastline in Spain, which is the coastline of Andalusia.

We have the Atlantic and Mediterranean and the culture and history and legacy of all the different people who have been in this city.

QUEST: So what does the city need? What do you need to get to the next level? And by that, of course, it is a difference between overtourism and

just having a well-rounded, well-structured year-round. What do you need?

DE LA VEGA: That's a very good question because from the municipality, from the Seville Tourism Board, depending on the local government, we've been

working several years in order to fight to prevent the city from falling in tourism, tourismophobia and growing in terms of quality versus quantity.

QUEST: Yes, you see, that's the problem. Everybody wants quality, not quantity. The reality is, though, here in Europe, in Southern Europe,

you've got the low-cost carriers, the Ryanair, EasyJet, Wizz and all of them. They are bringing large numbers of people in here all the time.

DE LA VEGA: But the thing is that Seville, different to other areas of Spain, for example, Costa del Sol, we don't depend that much into

operation, but more FIT, more individuals, luxury consortia like Virtuoso Pro Travel, international brands who give you this sign of luxury

destination.

[16:30:05]

We are actively promoting the destination, Seville, in the best source market, which bring more benefit to the city. People who stay longer, for

example, the U.K. market is one of the most beneficial ones for the city.

(CROSSTALK)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Did you -- did you find the U.K. holding up, bearing in mind, Brexit? Is it still as popular?

GARCIA-DILS DE LA VEGA: Growing a lot. We are growing in a 21 percent. I mean, Seville is a destination, because, if there is a big difference

between Seville as a city, as a destination, and the other areas of Spain and Andalusia, U.K. is the best -- the main market for the Spain, for us,

is the fourth market. Very punctual.

QUEST: There we are. I'm afraid that --

GARCIA-DILS DE LA VEGA: That this was the first public clock in Spain.

QUEST: That was the first public clock in Spain,

GARCIA-DILS DE LA VEGA: Yes.

QUEST: And it's the one that just chimed and told me you're finished. I'm very grateful to you, sir.

GARCIA-DILS DE LA VEGA: Thank you. Thank you.

QUEST: Thank you for joining us.

GARCIA-DILS DE LA VEGA: Thank you for having me.

QUEST: But you really have never -- You've never eaten (INAUDIBLE).

GARCIA-DILS DE LA VEGA: Never, never ever.

QUEST: Oh, have that one for me.

GARCIA-DILS DE LA VEGA: Thank you.

QUEST: And I do you (INAUDIBLE). Thank you very much, indeed.

As we continue tonight, millions more pages of documents from the Epstein files are finally being made public. What this batch of documents are

revealing and what the survivors say they hope will follow?

QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight, live from Seville.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: I'm not loud, but they will think --

Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There is more QUST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment, when we'll discuss how Spain pull itself out of its economic mire

and has got the comeback for the ages. And I'll discuss The Barber of Seville, with an executive from Seville's famous opera house, only, of

course, after the headlines, because this is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first.

The U.S. Justice Department says it has released the last batch of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

[16:35:01]

Some information remains under seal because of redactions and ongoing investigations. The documents contain references to President Trump and

other powerful figures, including Elon Musk and former President Bill Clinton.

President Trump has chosen the former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the central bank. It needs to be approved by the

Senate. It's unclear how Warsh would proceed in terms of policy. He is both been hawkish on rate cuts, but recently changed his mind and is in favor of

more cutting.

The actress Catherine O'Hara has died at the age of 71. She was known for a role in comedies like "Beetlejuice" and "Home Alone". Most recently, she

won an Emmy and a new generation of fans for her turn as Moira Rose on the T.V. show, "Schitt's Creek".

So, 3 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. That's what's involved in the latest final batch of the Jeffrey Epstein files released

today. They are shedding light on his final days in a jail cell in New York, and some of the powerful figures who were part of his orbit, who

stayed at his home and even asked him -- and for advice and for loans.

Evan Perez joins me now from Washington. Evan, you know, there is lots of tidbits. There is lots of bits of interesting, oh, have a look at this. And

this is rather -- did you know about XYZ? But is there the blockbuster? Is there the killer piece of paper in that you would think?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: No, and we weren't anticipating that there would be. Look, there -- these documents have

bedeviled the department. They have been, frankly, a debacle for the past year, as they have in fits and starts, tried to figure out how to release

these documents to satisfy the critics.

But a lot of the documents are things that were never -- were allegations that were never corroborated by the FBI. For instance, there is an underage

girl who made an allegation against the president of the United States, Donald Trump, alleging that he had raped her some years earlier.

Donald Trump, of course, has said repeatedly that while he was friends with Epstein and associated with him, they had a falling out many years ago, and

he has also denied that he had any under a -- any -- anything -- any wrongdoing with regard to some of Epstein's crimes.

And so, what we are seeing here, though, is plenty of some of these FBI reports, Richard, these are what known -- what's known as 302s. And not the

FBI does is someone makes a -- makes a claim, they write it down, and then, they spend time trying to corroborate it. In almost all of these cases,

they haven't been able to.

There is also -- there is also a document about Elon Musk, where, if you remember, Elon Musk has said that he refused any offers from Jeffrey

Epstein to come to visit his island in the Virgin Islands. Well, there is a 2013 e-mail in which Elon Musk is asking Epstein when he can come visit.

So, it's clearly contradicting what Elon Musk has presented in the past.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: All right.

PEREZ: So, those are the types of things that we're seeing today.

QUEST: A quick question to you before I let you go. The U.S. Deputy Attorney General Blanche, also announced the Justice Department is opening

a civil rights probe into the death of Alex Pretti, but not Renee Good.

PEREZ: Right.

QUEST: Which is interesting. He is the man, of course -- Pretti was the man who shot and killed by federal officials in Minneapolis, sparking the

widespread outrage and the administration. What do we think has caused this? Bearing in mind, to a large extent, Evan, these civil rights

investigations, particularly in these cases, were certainly not on the cards.

PEREZ: Right, exactly. And he had previously said, as you pointed out, that there was no indication, or there was no predication, for there to be a

civil rights investigation of the Renee Good shooting. But in this case, what has happened, Richard, is you see the outcry. You see -- you have seen

the videos. You have seen what they show.

And what has happened in the last few days is a pullback from the administration. The FBI has now become the lead of this investigation, and

so, that you could see now that the administration is trying to at least show that they are interested in finding out what exactly happened, whether

any wrongdoing occurred, and so, that is a significant retreat from the position that the administration has taken on this case.

QUEST: All right. Evan, I'm grateful. Thank you.

PEREZ: Thank you.

QUEST: Evan Perez, joining us.

Now, coming up, about a decade ago, Spain was one of the hardest hit countries during European debt crisis. Now, it is one of the continent's

fastest growing economies.

[16:40:00]

The view tonight over from where we are standing, over to the palace gardens, from our vantage point, where you can see the lights over in the

far yonder.

It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. We are on the roof, in the roof of the hotel 18 -- Hotel Casa 1800.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Spain has been -- success story over the past 10 years, and no one can deny that. It was one of the hardest-hit during the sovereign debt

crisis, along with Portugal, Ireland, Italy, and Greece.

The government pushed through deeply unpopular austerity policies that cause widespread protests. Now, it is one of the fastest growing economies

in Europe, driven by tourism and other services.

Patricia Gabaldon is the economist, the I.E. University, joining me now.

And I read a couple of reports today, and you know, they all say that Spain's economy now is fundamentally sound and programmed for faster

growth. Do you agree with that?

PATRICIA GABALDON, ECONOMIST, I.E. UNIVERSITY: I do agree with that. Good afternoon -- good evening, everyone.

I do agree with that. I mean, it's super interesting, because the case of Spain, I mean, as you have been telling, Spain was lagging behind the first

of the countries in the European Union, and as of now, is the fastest growing country within the European Union.

Is been announced today that GDP growth in Spain has been 2.8, 2.8 percent of the GDP. And prices are under control, consumption by households is

growing, and it seems to be very stable.

QUEST: So, has it? What's done it? Was it wise use of E.U. bailout funds. Was it the restructuring of the economy by not only this government, but

previous governments and the austerity, or was it just a jolly good bit of good luck?

GABALDON: No. No, it wasn't good luck. It's been -- it's been many years that Spain has been growing into, first of all, increasing productivity.

Second, has been increasing productivity as well into exports, especially tourism and even most importantly, is very integrated within the European

Union. So, trade with all the countries within the European Union has been very successful as well.

[16:45:01]

This have been the most important drivers of growth. And I have to say that recently, Spain has been reducing the unemployment rate quite a lot, which

has been the main driver of all the growth.

QUEST: The thing about it is though, Spain is one of those incredibly important industrial and economies, but I wonder whether it always manages

to either get the respect or pulls its full weight compared to, say, the other, I mean, before Brexit, U.K., Britain, Germany, and France, Italy.

Now, of course, U.K. Does Spain stand high amongst those other countries?

GABALDON: Well, Spain is not only big, like in size, but it's also a very important country, and it's getting, as I said, you know, the level of

productivity and the level of sophistication of the production is moving away from tourism, and is now becoming way more sophisticated, especially

in manufacturing and pharma as well is becoming very big.

So, yes, I mean, the diversification has been making Spain not to depend that much on tourism, but we are grateful to have tourism as well.

QUEST: And then, you end up with the unemployment issue, which has always bedeviled this country.

GABALDON: Yes.

QUEST: Now, the whole -- if you like, the headline number of unemployment, never told the full story because of the way it was counted, the way people

worked, all those sorts of issues. Is there now a feeling that unemployment has been, if not, conquered, at least being tamed?

GABALDON: I don't have that feeling. I mean, the number of jobs that have been created during the latest years has been very high, and Spain has been

reaching level of unemployment under 10 percent for the very first time in many years. I think it's 2016 -- I mean, for many years, Spain hasn't had

such a low level of unemployment, and this has been pushing as well consumption. So, it seems pretty stable.

QUEST: Right. I guess, my point on the employment question was whether or not that unemployment number now can be regarded as genuine, because of

there is actually more jobs created, more people in the workforce.

GABALDON: Both. OK. So, we have more people in the workforce, and also many more people -- many more people is working, and many more jobs are created.

So, both things are happening at the same time. Yes, absolutely both.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Thank you very much. I am grateful for you --

GABALDON: What is really interesting as well is that Spain has been able to produce -- yes.

QUEST: Yes. Thank you very much for joining us tonight. I have to apologize. We have a bad delay. I may be in Seville, you may be in Madrid,

but it seems like we are on other sides of the world together. I'm grateful for your time tonight. Have a lovely weekend.

Now, at the beginning of this program, I promised you three Seville staples: oranges, flamenco, and opera. Of those three I still have -- well,

there is the orange. We've always had the other. So, I still got one to deliver. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS after the rest -- after the break.

It's the only opera house in the Andalusian region, the Teatro de la Maestranza. I'll talk to the executive assistant after the break. QUEST

MEANS BUSINESS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:51:00]

QUEST: Now, in this magnificent setting here, I feel the need to be somewhat theatrical -- you will forgive me.

"Where there is music, there can be no evil." Well, that was the quote from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.

It's believed to have been the work masterpiece that he wrote while imprisoned when he started in the Seville jail, not far from where I'm

standing.

Seville is a city of music, that much is obvious. It's not just flamenco, but opera. Most famous of all, of course, Rosina's Barber of Seville, and

fans of that opera follow up to one particular spot here in the city.

So, I did a bit of investigating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Walk through Seville, and eventually, you'll end up here at Rosina's balcony. It's said to have been the inspiration for Pierre Beaumarchais'

play The Barber of Seville that Rosina then made into the opera.

But the truth is, of course, very different. Firstly, when the play was written, this wasn't even been built. Never mind actually being the

inspiration.

And secondly, apparently, Beaumarchais never even came here to Seville. So, he couldn't have even known about it, even if it had existed.

Now, the reality is it looks exactly like the balcony that the count would have climbed to meet his lover. The only problem is, it never actually

happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Never mind that. The Barber of Seville is only one of the famous operas. It's been featured at the Teatro de la Maestranza. The Seville's Teatro is

the only opera house in the Andalusia region, and it was opened by Queen Sophia of Spain, 35 years ago, the theater played a key part in Seville's

earning the first ever city of music title in 2006.

Joining me, with me, Anna Julia, come on in. The executive assistant at the theater. Barber of Seville is one thing we think of, but opera is so

ingrained in this city.

ANA JULIA, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT, TEATRO DE LA MAESTRANZA: It is so. It is so. You are correct.

Opera is part of Seville, and Seville is part of the opera. Throughout the years, mainly, throughout the 18th and 19th century, lots of music

composers, Gaetano (PH) Donizetti, the most famous --

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Why? What was it about this part of Spain, though?

JULIA: Well, I assume that, well, I think they fell in love with -- they got interested in the mystery of the city connected throughout the

literature. Because most of them fell in love with the stories that Tirso de Molina, Lope de Vega, or Beaumarchais, wrote about Seville.

So, it's this exotic idea, mystery, of passion, and -- I don't know, excitement,

QUEST: And you have this opera house.

JULIA: We do.

QUEST: Which is just extraordinary and stands as a beacon, in a sense, for culture in this part of the -- of the country.

JULIA: Definitely, definitely. We have a wonderful opera house, but we do not only perform opera. We do symphony concerts. We do a lot of dance. We

do flamenco. We are, I mean, almost everything.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Why do I always think of flamenco as being two people dancing in pain?

JULIA: Well, there is -- there is -- there could be a little bit of that. It's not -- I'm not an expert, but there is much more to it.

QUEST: And, of course, here you have the Sevillanas, which is different.

JULIA: Definitely.

QUEST: Would you have a -- do your own version of dance?

JULIA: Yes, yes. Well, it's a type of dance. You know, flamenco is lots of little dances, and Sevillanas are own --

QUEST: Are you good at Sevillanas?

JULIA: Yes, yes. Everybody, everybody dances Sevillanas. Almost everyone in the city can do it. You learn it. You live it. It's not only something that

you see in a -- in a -- in a tablao, in one of this flamenco houses that are apart, and not only for tourist, flamenco or sevillanas dances, it's

part of the family also.

QUEST: Because we -- I actually have learned some sevillanas. I'm not going to do a demonstration now.

[16:55:01]

JULIA: Oh, that would be nice.

QUEST: No, no, no. No, no, you'll see that on QUEST --

(CROSSTALK)

JULIA: You have a partner here.

QUEST: Thank you. No, no! Restrain myself because I was learning how to do it. And then -- and then, we went out to this exhibition where, of course,

people are buying their dance --

(CROSSTALK)

JULIA: Right. The dresses --

QUEST: Their outfit for the festival.

JULIA: Of course. Of course.

QUEST: And it is coming up.

JULIA: Of course.

QUEST: And what I'm interested is it's the way in which opera is not just for the elites here.

JULIA: No.

QUEST: It's not just -- it's for everybody.

JULIA: That's correct. That's correct. Opera in Seville is -- well, look, I guess, like most opera houses in the world, we have a strong interest, and

especially, we do that in Seville very deeply, to connect with the city, to connect with the youth. That's extremely important. That's something we've

been longing for and working very hard.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Right.

JULIA: We have these premieres only for youth, for 10 euros, you can buy your tickets. And they are packed. They are so amazing.

QUEST: I'll tell you what, I promise, next time, let's dances the Sevillanas together.

JULIA: Pinky promise?

QUEST: Pinky promise. Thank you for joining us.

We will take a "PROFITABLE MOMENT" after the break. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight. We are live in Seville.

Good evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Good evening. I'm Richard Quest here at the World Economic Forum, live in Davos in Switzerland. But let me say --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: 17 years ago, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS took to the airwaves for the first time. That was our first show, which was in Davos in Switzerland. And

we have been with you pretty much non-stop ever since.

So, we have a wonderful cake tonight, a classic Spanish Andalusian civilian cake to celebrate our 17th birthday.

And it's a moment for me just to reflect on all the places we've done, and we keep trying and pushing and going further and further.

For instance, what we call O and As, out and about. The opportunity. We have been doing them for the last two years or so, the opportunity to bring

QUEST MEANS BUSINESS to parts of the world and bring them right to your doorstep.

They are an important part of our central mission, which has not changed since our first day.

The most important things amongst them in our lives, how we earn, earn, and spend our money.

[17:00:01]

And that's what we aim to do every night in our nightly conversation. But the truth of it all, it would be for naught if you weren't there. So, for

the last 17 years, some have, some haven't, some will, some won't, I'm very grateful.

Thank you for joining us. And here is to the next 17, because that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. There is the bells. The bells. That's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS

for this Friday night. I'm Richard Quest in Seville.

Whatever you are up to in the hours ahead, I hope its profitable. I'll see you next week in Dubai.

END