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tv   CNN Newsroom Live  CNN  December 4, 2017 12:00am-1:00am PST

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lashing out. donald trump goes on a twitter tirade after his former national security adviser pleads guilty in the russia investigation. military might. u.s. fighter jets begin joint military drills with south korea. and lured by false promises, we will look at why so many nigeria are trapped in human trafficki trafficking. hello and welcome the our viewers joining us here in the united states and of course all around the world. i'm rosemary church and this is
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"cnn newsroom." as the russia investigation gets ever closer to president donald trump's inner circle, he is lashing out at his own law enforcement agencies. first some context for you. on friday, mr. trump's former national security adviser michael flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about conversations with a russian official. flynn also said he is now cooperating with the russia investigation. now that investigation is focused not only on russian election meddling, but also whether president trump obstructed justice when he fired james comey. in june comey told lawmakers the president fired him after asking him to go easy on flynn. when mr. trump is lashing out on twitter after years of comey running the fbi, its reputation is in tatters.
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worst in history. but fear not. we will bring it back to greatness. now comey responded by tweeting this. i want the american people to know this truth. the fbi is honest. the fbi is strong. and the fbi is and always will be independent. meanwhile, the president's lawyer says he drafted a tweet that brings out questions about what mr. trump knew about michael flynn's lies to the fbi and when. jeremy diamond has the details. >> reporter: well, the president is especially active on social media this weekend after his former national security adviser michael flynn pleaded guilty to charges of lying to the fbi. he is now cooperating with federal investigators. and all of that, of course, is casting a pale over this white house. the president clearly stewing over this investigation over the weekend. but one of the tweets that he put out, his personal attorney john dowd is now claiming that it was not authored by the president, but authored by this
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attorney, john dowd himself. this tweet, though, is the one that has caused the most problems for the white house this weekend because it has once again raised the specter of obstruction of justice. in this tweet, the president appeared to suggest that he knew that michael flynn, his national security adviser had lied to the fbi while he was still a senior white house official. but now the president's attorney john dowd signaling that the president did not in fact know that. and that the tweet was simply an attempt for the white house to continue to try to put some distance it seems between michael flynn and the president. this of course has dominated the weekend. but it's a weekend during which the president should perhaps instead be celebrating. the senate of course on friday night passed a tax reform bill, the first major legislative accomplishment of this president's time in office so far. but now again he will head into this next week as the senate and the house seek to reconcile those two bills instead with this investigation once again looming over his head.
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>> and the top democrat on the senate judiciary committee predicts an obstruction of justice case is in president trump's future. >> i think what we're beginning to see is the putting together of a case of obstruction of justice. i see it in the hyper frenetic attitude of the white house, the comments every day, the continual tweets. and i see it most importantly in what happened with the firing of director comey. and it is my belief that that is directly because he did not agree to lift the cloud of the russia investigation. that's obstruction of justice. >> and president trump's own tweets threatened to cause more legal headaches for him. let's take a closer look at those statements and the fallout. we're joined by james davis, dean of the school of economics and political science at the
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university. thank you so much for being with us. >> morning, rosemary. >> now in his weekend twitter storm, president trump slammed both the department of justice and the fbi and then admitted in probably his most controversial tweet that he had to fire his former national security adviser michael flynn because flynn lied to both the vice president and the fbi. so according to this tweet, mr. trump appears to suggested he knew all along that flynn lied to the fbi, although his lawyer john dowd now claims he wrote that tweet. what damage might this cause the president in the end? and is this closing in on the president and his advisers? >> right. well, i think it is closing in on the president. and the reason is that the president's story keeps changing. the president would like this to be a discussion about whether or not there was collusion. i think if we want to look at that part of the story we need to go back to the guilty plea of mr. papadopoulos, which clearly
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points to collusion during the campaign and effort to get information on hillary clinton, the discussion and the fbi's document is about thousands of e-mails and coordination between mr. papadopoulos and the campaign. and then we have the question of obstruction of justice. it seems to be highly unlikely that mr. flynn was engaged in all of these activities with the russian ambassador and others without anybody in the campaign knowing that. both the charges against mr. papadopoulos and the charges against mr. flynn point to coordination with high level officials in the campaign. so who are these people? and if they're very high senior levels, aren't they also probably speaking with the president? so this tweet does raise the question of whether the president knew about flynn's lies to the fbi before he fired him. and if that's the case, then he knew about them when he spoke with mr. comey. then becomes a question do we
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believe mr. comey or do we believe mr. trump. and given mr. trump's history of difficulties with the facts, i think most people will believe mr. comey. >> and as we just reported in the wake of this particular tweet, democrat dianne feinstein says sees an obstruction of justice case developing against president trump. do you agree? and how strong is this case? there is still a long way from collusion. but what about this obstruction of justice point? >> well, i'm not a lawyer. so how strong the case is from a legal standpoint, i can't say. but from a political standpoint it's clear that if the president knew that mr. flynn lied to the fbi and then goes to the director of the fbi and says go easy on him, that's an effort to change the course or to effect the course of justice in a way that's inappropriate. it's a political interference in the legal process. and at least from a political
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standpoint, it damages the president. >> yeah. a matter of proving all of this, of course. and how political damaging could this prove to be for the president, if he continues to tweet on sensitive legal issues like this. could it ultimately be his downfall? >> you know you have to ask yourself what the legal strategy of the white house is. mr. dowd now claims to have written this tweet, which has caused a lot of trouble for the president. is it the practice of normal lawyers to conduct the defense of their clients by means of twitter? it seems odd to me. so i just don't think the story adds up. either we have very poor legal advice making its way to the president, or this lawyer is somehow taking the fall for yet another of mr. trump's outbursts. >> we don't know the answers to those questions at this point. james davis, thank you so much for joining us with your perspective and analysis.
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we appreciate it. >> thank you, rosemary. and you may remember the "access hollywood" tape then presidential candidate donald trump used lewd language in that videotape which surfaced just weeks before the election. >> i'm automatically attracted to beautiful -- i just start kissing them. it's automatic. just kiss. and when you're a star, they let you do it. you can do anything. >> well, now former "access hollywood" host billy bush is breaking his silence after reports that president trump doubts the authenticity of that tape. bush has written a "new york times" op-ed that says in part president trump is currently indulging in some revisionist history reportedly telling allies, including at least one united states senator that the voice on the tape is not his. this has hit a raw nerve in me. i can only imagine how it has reopened the wounds of the women who came forward with their stories about him and did not receive enough attention.
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billy bush there. of course he was on that tape as well. well, now to the north korean nuclear crisis. and for the first time, the u.s. is sending some of its newest stealth fighter jets to join aerial drills with south korea. as expected, north korea is condemning the annual exercises as a dangerous provocation. less than a week ago, pyongyang tested what it claims to be its most advanced ballistic missile. cnn's paula hancocks joins us from seoul, south korea. paula, do these joint air drills signal any move towards some level of war footing on the part of the u.s., given white house national security adviser h.r. mcmaster insists the u.s. and north korea are close to war? >> well, rosemary, what we're hearing officially from u.s. forces korea, they released a statement a few hours ago saying this happens every year. it is an annual drill. it is a comparable size to
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previous years. it's it's some 130 aircraft, 12,000 personnel. so it's a significant drill. but they also say it's not in response to any incident or provocation. that being said, they yacht often say this when it comes to annual drills. but they do insist it is annual. the fact that you have the f-22 raptors, the stealth fighters, the top of the line stealth fighters coming to the korean peninsula, they arrived over the weekend. they're carrying out these military drills above the korean peninsula and around it right now that of course is going to strike a nerve when it comes to north korea. these are the kinds of fighter jets according to experts that would likely lead any kind of military action against north korea. it's the kind of fighter jets, stealth fighter that if it goes into north korea, if it degenerates to that point where there is a military conflict, north korea wouldn't know it about it until that target has
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been hit. they have specified in stoemplts weeke statements over the weekend and to the foreign ministry that clearly trump is begging for a nuclear war. they say it's an open act of provocation that may lead to a nuclear war at any moment. we're hearing increased concerns from both sides certainly that this is closer to war. but certainly from the u.s.'s point of view, this was planned and it is an annual drill. rosemary? >> yeah, there is a lot of nervousness here in the united states and across the globe. what about in south korea? how do people feel there? what are they saying? >> well, i think concerns here in south korea are higher than they have been in previous years there is no doubt about that. if you'd asked me that a year ago, i would have told you it's business as usual. the missile launches that you see from north korea have very little impact on the day to day south korean life. but certainly we have seen concerns increasing. not just because the north
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koreans are closer to getting that intercontinental ballistic missile capability. because remember, that threatens the united states. south korea has already been under threat from north korea for decades. but also, when you see this increased talk of war, this increased rhetoric just from the north korean leader, also from the u.s. president, any kind of talk of military conflict on the korean peninsula will inevitably make people here uneasy. this is going to be the one place that is hit the hardest by north korea. there were hundreds of artillery units pointing towards south korea underground, in some cases along the dmz. certainly no one here in south korea wants a military conflict. >> absolutely. paula hancocks bringing us that report live from seoul in south korea where it is nearly 5:15 in the evening. many thanks. we'll take a short break here. still to come, there are fears of violence if the u.s. recognizes jerusalem as israel's capital. a live report from the disputed
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city still to come. plus it's deal day for the british prime minister. she is looking for a brexit breakthrough at a crunch meeting in the coming hours. we will show you why so much is at stake. we're back in a moment.
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welcome back, everyone. the world is waiting for donald trump's jerusalem announcement. sources say he might formally recognize the city as israel's capital this week. palestinian officials had warned against the move and say it could plunge the region into more violence. cnn's ian lee is in jerusalem and joins me now with the very latest. if mr. trump overturns that a policy, what are the likely consequences here? >> rosemary, past u.s. presidents didn't move the embassy or recognize jerusalem as the capital because they understood the ramifications in the absence of a peace deal. we've heard from plo secretary
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sa it jeopardizes the peace talks. also saying this could trigger anger across the arab and muslim world, as well as fuel tensions and jeopardize the peace process. israeli officials have been quiet on this. but in the past, they have enthusiastically advocated for this move. on the streets of jerusalem, though, we found a stark divide. at one level it's a city like any other. people sell. people buy. but jerusalem's old city is special, and this is the best vantage point, here on the mount of olives. the dome of the rock in all its magnificence. a keyholely site for muslims. behind it, if you know where to look, the church of the holy sepulcher.
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built on the site where many christians believe christ was crucified. and out of sight from this vantage point, the western wall. holy to jews, supporting the mount where the temple once stood. it's not jerusalem's significance that's in dispute. it's its status. after nearly 20 years divided by barbed wire, israeli forces took control of the whole city east and west in 1967. the international community did not recognize what israel called the unification of jerusalem. embassies stayed in tel aviv. and east jerusalem was accepted by the international community as the capital of a future palestinian state in a negotiated settlement between israelis and palestinians. this area is called abu tor. and it's a bit of a rarity in jerusalem. that's because it's a mixed
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neighborhood. people who live on this part of the street identify as palestinians. >> inside i am palestinian. and i'm a muslim. and i'm proud about that. >> translator: i don't think it's a successful step to move the embassy, hamid tells me. and it's not the time to do it. but the israelis and the americans have other agendas that we can't change. a bit further down the road, and let's talk to some folks here. >> i'm an israeli woman. i live in jerusalem. i love jerusalem. >> reporter: palestinians say they want east jerusalem to be part of their capital. what do you think about that? >> i don't like to talk this. i think jerusalem is israeli for jewish. >> reporter: what are your thoughts on the united states moving the embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem? >> great, great. first of all, it's not going to be a palestinian country.
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and it always was israel. >> reporter: some israelis who didn't want to be on camera told us they don't support moving the embassy. whatever president trump announces, the position of the vast majority of the international community remains clear. east jerusalem is considered occupied territory. all settlements are illegal. their view likely won't change quickly, even if the u.s. embassy changes addresses. >> rosemary, jared kushner told the saban forum yesterday that president trump hasn't made up husband mind yet. we do know, though, that u.s. diplomatic missions are bracing. they have increased security ahead of any potential announcement. rosemary? >> certainly a lot at stake here. we will await to hear the president's decision on this. ian lee joining us from jerusalem. many thanks.
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well, monday is looking like a make or break day for british prime minister theresa may to fulfill her brexit wish list. she is set to meet with eu leaders to hammer out the remaining issues in the so-called divorce. the eu has warned that this is the last day for britain to negotiate before they will enter trade talks. and for more on what's on the table, let's get straight to cnn correspondent erin mclaughlin in brussels and bianca nobilo at 10 downing street. great to see you both. erin, let's start with you. and prime minister theresa may is set to hold these critical brexit talks with jean-claude juncker in just a few hours from now. what are the expectations? what's at stake? >> hi, rosemary. well, the expectations, the original hope was that theresa may would arrive here in brussels with a comprehensive offer in hand that would cover the three main areas that matter
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most to the eu, the financial settlement, the rights of eu and uk citizens and the northern ireland issue. and the hope was that that offer would be sufficient to pass to the next phase of negotiations, the future relationships, the transitional agreement, something the uk has very much wanted to do. but that does not seem the case at this point. sticking points remain chief among those sticking points, the northern ireland issue. the irish government wants assurances in writing from the united kingdom that there will be no hard border as a result of the brexit process as a result of the uk leaving the eu. and that really at this point is no small feat. i was speaking a short while ago to a spokesperson for the irish government who said that there is still some way to go on this issue. he also told me that he is hopeful of a deal. but it's difficult to make a prediction at this point.
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so it will be very interesting to see what comes out of the meeting between prime minister theresa may, the president of the european counsel and jean-claude juncker later today, rosemary. >> it certainly will. thank you so much for that, erin mclaughlin. bianca nobilo, let's go to you now at 10 downing street. while the prime is in brussels, what's on the agenda at the house of commons for the next stage of brexit. why is it so hard to come up with a decision on northern ireland? >> there is still plenty of brexit movement here in the uk today. in fact, the brexit bill is having its fourth day of scrutiny in the house of commons. and on the agenda for today is discussing how leaving the eu is going to affect the other parts of the uk besides glend. so wales and scotland. and ministers there are really concerned that powers which once resided with brussels are going to go back to westminster instead of going to their devolved administrations. that's a really big problem for
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ministers in wales and scotland because it's chief -- chiefly important for them that they have control over several of their affairs which the eu currently controls. and they don't want that power going back to westminster. so there is pressure from the devolved administrations on the uk government today. and then you mentioned northern ireland. and that is a huge issue. theresa may's government is propped up by the democratic unionist party, the dup. that is the largest party in northern ireland. they're pro brexit. but they're also putting pressure on the prime minister to ensure that there is no hard border between ireland and northern ireland following brexit from the eu. so there is a lot of pressure on the prime minister today. but eu officials are sounding encouraging the progress will be made. >> and we will of course be watching to see the outcome of that. bianca nobilo and erin mclaughlin, many thanks to both of you for your live reports. appreciate it. and with four indictments
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and two guilty pleas, the russia investigation is getting closer and closer to donald trump. so who is the next person in the crosshairs? we will take a closer look when we come back. stay with us. i mean wish i had time to take care of my portfolio, but..
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well, what are you doing tomorrow -10am? staff meeting. noon? eating. 3:45? uh, compliance training. 6:30? sam's baseball practice. 8:30? tai chi. yeah, so sounds relaxing. alright, 9:53? i usually make their lunches then, and i have a little vegan so wow, you are busy. wouldn't it be great if you had investments that worked as hard as you do? yeah. introducing essential portfolios. the automated investing solution that lets you focus on your life. wifiso if you can't live without it...t it. why aren't you using this guy? it makes your wifi awesomely fast. no... still nope.
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now we're talking! it gets you wifi here, here, and here. it even lets you take a time out. no! no! yes! yes, indeed. amazing speed, coverage and control. all with an xfi gateway. find your awesome, and change the way you wifi. everyone welcome back. to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world, i'm rosemary church. it's time to update you on the main stories we've been following this hour. the u.s. and south korea have begun scheduled aerial drills on the korean peninsula. as expected, north korea is condemning the exercises. they come less than a week now to pyongyang testing a ballistic missile, which flew higher and longer than ever before.
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top palestinian officials are warning the u.s. not to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. one even says washington could lose its role in the peace process. u.s. officials say president trump could announce a decision on the israeli capital as early as tuesday. the u.s. president's personal lawyer tells cnn he crafted a tweet that appeared on donald trump's twitter account about the firing of michael flynn. the tweet said mr. trump fired the former national security adviser because he lied to the vice president and the fbi. that came one day after flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi in the russia investigation. with all the allegations and indictment, the russia investigation appears to be getting closer and closer to donald trump's inner circle. so who will be next on the hot seat? shim sh has the latest.
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>> reporter: the special counsel has two people cooperating and providing information to investigators on the russia probe. communications director hope hicks to be interviewed by the special counsel investigators. now she is key for investigators in the obstruction probe. she is said to be close to the president and was aboard air force one and helped draft a misleading statement from the president about a meeting that donald trump jr. helped put together from a russian woman claiming to have dirt on hillary clinton. now that meeting taking place at trump tower. so naturally, the special counsel has now included that into their probe into russia meddling, and whether or not anyone on the campaign or people close to the president were part of that. the next big question obviously is who else could perhaps face charges. who else will cooperate perhaps or indict. and that all still remains to be seen. and now with michael flynn's cooperation, it opens doors and avenues for the special counsel that he may have not had before
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michael flynn. all this in spite what some who are close to the president are saying that the investigation is winding down. it certainly doesn't appear that that is the case. especially now that we have michael flynn, the former national security adviser and someone who was close to the president cooperating in the investigation. >> joining me now is cnn legal analyst page pate. he is also a criminal defense attorney and constitutional attorney. page, always great to have you on the show. thanks. let's start with the controversial tweet from president trump that caused quite a legal firestorm. and of course he sent this out, this was about the firing of his former national security adviser michael flynn. a tweet that the president's lawyer john dowd now says he wrote. and that is what it says. i had to fire general flynn because he lied to the vice president and the fbi. that's the critical part.
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"he has plead guilty to those lies. it is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. there was nothing to hide." so page, when you read that tweet, what do you think of the legal ramifications for the president, and how does that change now that we understand john dowd, his lawyer wrote that tweet? >> well, first the tweet itself. i think it was incredibly -- surely there wasn't a strategy behind it, because it's harmful. it's not helpful ought all. by saying that he fired flynn because he lied to the vice president and the fbi, the president trump, he is basically admitting at this point that he was aware that flynn had committed a federal crime at the time he talked to jim comey and said you need to let him go. so if trump is aware that flynn committed a federal crime and is trying to lean on the fbi director to not prosecute him, that can be obstruction of justice. the other thing that is interesting about this tweet is he claims flynn's conduct was lawful and he had nothing to hide.
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but what that raises is the question of why did he lie? why would you go to the fbi, make a false statement, face five years in prison if you hadn't done anything wrong there must be a reason behind this. and because of this tweet now i think that's what the special counsel is going to be investigating. >> i want to come back to that. but before we leave this specific tweet, some people are raising doubts as to whether john dowd really did send that tweet out. and we don't know, of course. but i do want to read this out from walter shaub. he is the former director of the office of government ethics and a cnn contributor. and he said this. i dare you to tell mueller you logged in to the president's twitter account and wrote "pled," pled and the rest of that. i dare you. do you think president trump did?
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does it matter legally if it came out of the president's account? >> let's assume for a second that dowd wrote it. i don't think it comes down to whether he said pled or pleaded. i've been a criminal defense lawyer. i've been one for almost 25 years. i use pled. i don't use pleaded. i think that's more common for trial lawyers. i don't know that mr. schaub does a lot of criminal work. we use pled all the time. that's not too surprising a lawyer could actually have written that does it matter? well, it matters if dowd was the one to say it. but that's not who said it. we know even if it was drafted by someone else, it went out under the president's twitter account. the president has adopted that as his statement. even if somebody else prepared him for it, helped him write it, talked to him about it, ultimately he will be held accountable, the president will, for things he puts on his twitter feed if he adopts that as a statement. >> and as a lawyer, look do you double the down the road, what's the legal jeopardy here? >> well, it's obstruction, number one.
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if the special counsel's office decides trump was having that meeting with james comey in an attempt to keep him from further investigating michael flynn, and we know the special counsel's office is looking into that meeting. they've interviewed several people who had knowledge of the meeting. they probably talked to james comey about it. if the special counsel's office thinks the point of the meeting was to obstruct the investigation, that's possibly a crime. the other thing that could be interesting, as the investigators are talking to people in the white house, they may be getting two different stories. we know that jared kushner has said things about his discussions with michael flynn during the transition period that now michael flynn may be saying something inconsistent. so the false statement crime that we saw michael flynn plead guilty to could pop up again to somebody else. >> what is your gut feeling legally as to what might happen? >> i don't think -- and i wrote something for cnn.com on this. i don't think that the president or really anyone in his family will ultimately be prosecuted and sent to prison over this particular conduct. there may have been a logan act violation.
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and that's a law that we -- it's on the books here in the u.s., but no one has really been effectively prosecuted for it. even if the president obstructed justice, it's really hard constitutionally to indict a sitting president and remove him from office. the only way this will have any consequence at all for trump is if he is impeached. and i think ultimately the special counsel's investigation, that may be the ultimate impact. because they're going review the evidence. they may lay out a case of obstruction and then serve it up on a silver platter to congress and say you want to do something about it, it's really in your court. >> page pate, always great to get your legal analysis. many thanks. >> thank you. >> and we'll take that short break here. but still to come, cnn's freedom project takes us to a city in nigeria where some traffickers use faith to track their victims. how one woman is fighting back. that's next. she's nationally recognized
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for her compassion and care. he spent decades fighting to give families a second chance. but to help others, they first had to protect themselves. i have afib. even for a nurse, it's complicated... and it puts me at higher risk of stroke. that would be devastating. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. once i got the facts, my doctor and i chose xarelto®. xarelto®... to help keep me protected. once-daily xarelto®, a latest-generation blood thinner... ...significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. it has similar effectiveness to warfarin. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least 6 blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. for afib patients well-managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor,
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cnn's freedom project is committed to shining a spotlight on the horrors of modern day slavery and amplifying the voices of victims. a recent exclusive reporting on slave auctions in libya has sparked outrage and action. >> 400. >> 700. >> 700? >> 800. >> reporter: the numbers roll in. these men are sold for 1200 libyan pounds. $400 apiece. >> and furthering that push on reporting of modern day slavery, this week the freedom project is bringing you a five-part series on slavery within the africa
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europe migration crisis. in benin city in nigeria, many women have been tracked by traffickers who use their faith against them. and we want to warn you, some viewers may find the accounts in this report disturbing. cnn's arwa damon has the details. >> reporter: he blows on a leaf and places it on a bottle. she has come to the chief priest to guarantee safe passage to italy. she knows it's a dangerous journey, but she is desperate. do you have kids? >> yeah. >> reporter: are they going with you? >> no. >> reporter: but you must miss them. you'll miss them. >> i'll miss them, yes. >> reporter: the ritual will
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culminate in a juju oath, where she'll pledge to repay the cost of travel to her sponsor in europe. we're forbidden from filming this final step. so powerful, says the priest, that when he finishes, if blessing breaks her promise, the spirit will appear in her dreams and cut her. do you know how much you're going to have to pay back? >> i don't know. >> reporter: she has put all her trust in her sponsor and her faith, and it's a potent combination that has sent a record number of nigerian women to europe. the international organization for migration estimates that in 2014, around 1400 traveled. this past year, the numbers spiked to 11,000. the vast majority come from here, benin city, where the economy runs on remittances from abroad, and women are regularly approached with false promises. you trusted him? >> yes, very much. i trust all the times.
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there are things i tell you i don't tell my parents. >> reporter: she is talking about her deputy pastor who told her he had a vision from god that she traveled overseas. then he said his sister in russia could get her a job in a hair salon. sandra went willingly, but for added insurance, he took items from her. >> my pants, my bra, the hair from my head, my armpit and my private part. he said it is a form of our dreaming so when i get there, i'm not going run with the money. >> reporter: when she arrived in russia, the sum was more than she could ever have imagined. >> the first thing she did, she took away my passport. unless i finish paying her money for $45,000. >> reporter: $45,000? >> that's what she said. >> reporter: and the only way to pay that off was prostitution. bound by the spirits in a strange city for the next three years, sandra's life was hell. she lost count of the men per night, at times, 10, 15, 20,
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even more. >> most nigerians lose their live. it's not every girl that can withstand the pressure of ten men. >> reporter: she thought of killing herself, if only to spare herself being killed. >> there were four, four and five in numbers. they asked me to sleep with them and i told them i can't do that. >> reporter: they pushed her out a second story window and she broke her wrist. but she didn't go to the authorities. the trafficker had given the items he took from her to a priest in nigeria. and like so many, she was afraid of the power of the juju. >> it's like a danger we girls are very careful. mostly you got to do with the sensitive parts of your body. they might use it against you. >> reporter: it took sandra three years to pay off the debt. >> we can't have any place yet. >> reporter: when she got back to benin city, she reported the man and his sister who trafficked her. and they are now on trial. >> they were shocked because they never expected they would
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see me in nigeria. they thought i was dead. >> reporter: this is the church where sandra was approached. the church has's head pastor says the man was a member, but not a deputy pastor. and there are numerous disturbing reports of other churches manipulating and abusing faith. >> i don't call them pastors. i call them doctor in suits who would do such. >> reporter: the betrayal that stretched across two continents is now even closer to sandra. >> even my own father said i'm not his daughter. >> reporter: still, she believes her daughter will see her strength. >> when he sees my story has changed in a different way, maybe he'll be the one to reconcile with me and call me this is my best child. >> reporter: she is publicizing her ordeal so that others don't have to go through it. turning her nightmare into power. arwa damon, cnn, benin city, nigeria.
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>> cnn's in-depth five-part freedom project series continues tuesday when arwa damon travels to one of the harshest places on earth, the sahara desert to find migrants stranded in starved isolation and searing heat as they try to get to europe. >> reporter: we're on a mission with the nigerian army to rescue stranded migrants. our convoy will stop when one struck is in trouble. the smugglers carrying the migrants will not. finally, after ten hours driving through the desert, my signal. the might grants have been stranded here for three days after their struck broke down. there are about 30 in all, left to die. >> and you can see arwa's full report on cnn international tuesday. that's at 9:00 p.m. in hong kong, 8:00 p.m. in london. we'll take a short break. but still to come, parts of
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australia have been battered by a weekend of strong rains and flash floods. we'll check the weather forecast for you. that's next.
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parts of southeast australia are picking up the pieces after
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record rains impacted the region. pedram javaheri joins us again this hour to talk more about this. real problems for victoria and tasmania. >> absolutely. the federal government stepping in, giving each resident the equivalent of $1500 u.s. that has been impacted by us. we're talking 3,000 people who have had significant damage or lost much of their homes because of this flooding. all coming after it was really a dry season in november too. so the changes have been rather stark. you look at what is going on from sydney, work your way towards brisbane, bundberg getting tremendous rainfall in. the trend heaviest across the southeastern corner of australia from victoria on into parts of tasmania as well. look at the numbers. this is about a month's worth of rainfall in the first or second day of december. incredible amounts when you consider that it's a dry portion of australia. it's a relatively dry portion of the year as well. and we're picking up a month's worth of rainfall. and it just continues.
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but it is displaced towards sydney now into the mountains. that's what we expect the next couple of days. some improvement. in hobart, nine consecutive days in november of 26 degrees. about 80 degrees fahrenheit. 26 celsius for nine straight days in november. that's how mild it was, how dry it was, and the trend has changed dramatically. and of course the meteorological summer getting under way. the warmth and the heat beginning to build across the southern hemisphere and the trend expected to continue into this week. opposite stories shaping up. we had it be very mild across much of the united states, from the midwest down towards the southeast. incredible to think temps in chicago in december are comparable to the gulf coast states as you work your way into southern alabama. 60s across the board. drama change in store here. that's about 20, 25 degrees above normal. for monday, look what happens with the cold air back behind this. arctic air unleashes out of portions of canada. highs in the 20s and 30s from the 60s and teens possible
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across the northern portion of the u.s. widespread 40s and 50s across the southeastern united states. for those that think win it wasn't going to come around, it certainly is there even though the official start is a couple of weeks away. that's about two million people under win it weather advisories. how about a blizzard warning? the winds have to be at least 35 miles per hour for three straight hours with snow heavy coming down. and there you go. snow map lights up. we're talking 4 to 6 inches of snow. and just like, that rosemary, whether you like it or not, wintry weather has arrived from the north to the south eventually with snow potentially there for the state of georgia as well. >> wow. my children will be thrilled. all the children will be. >> it looks at least the very northern portion could get a dusting. >> just incredible after all this warm weather. >> absolutely. >> pedram, always a pleasure. thank you so much. finally, a political reimagining of the dickens holiday classic "a christmas carol" into a tale about donald trump and his former senior aide michael flynn.
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♪ >> donald j. trump, donald j. trump! >> you're going to get me, i knew it. its muslim stuff, right? >> no. >> it's for calling mexicans rapists? >> no, pocahantas? no. no wait making fun of the handicapped reporter like this? >> i'm michael flynn, the ghost of witness flipped. mr. president, i came to warn you. it's time for you to come clean for the good of the country. >> "saturday night live" does it again. the american comedy show got lots of laughs with the sketch. but it was based on a disturbing reality, flynn pleading guilty friday to lying to the fbi. and thank you so much for your company this hour. i'm rosemary church. remember to connect with me any time on twitter. "early start" is next for viewers here in the united states. for everyone else, stay tuned for more news with our max foster in london. have yourselves a great day.
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president trump directs his wrath at the fib after michael flynn pleads guilty lying in the russia probe. now charges to hinge on a tweet that raise questions why the president fired james comey. >> the tweeting comment regarding an on going investigation at your own peril, i'd be carol ifeful if i were y mr. president. >> a bruising battle over taxes moves on to the next phase.

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