captioning sponsored by newshour productions, ll >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, prepare for an outbreak. the centers for disease control warns americans to expect coronavirus to spread in the u.s. then, on the ground in south carolina, the next state to make its primary choice, where former vice president joe biden's longtime support may be slipping. >> i think if joe biden doesn't show well in south carolina, then everyone will make the assumption that he's beyond his, beyond his time. >> his time has passed >> his time has passed. >> woodruff: plus, inside venezuela. as the crisis-torn nation's alth care system unravels, the sick and vulnerable fear for their lives even within the hoitals.

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>> woodruff: new urgency is rising over the risk of china's viral outbreak spreading to the united states. top federal health officials said today that americans should brace for a possible pandemic. and, wall street reacted with another big sell-off, despite president trump's claim that things are under control. meanwhile, the virus has peaked in china, but other hot spots are emerging, including iran, where the deputy health minister appeared ill at a briefing on monday, and confirmed today he is infected himself. in all, 16 people have died in iran. back here in the u.s., much of the attention today focused on new language and concern from the u.s. government about how covid-19 could spread more widely here; what that might mean for daily life, and whether the trump administration is asking congress for enough money to deal with the outbreak.

lisa desjardins joins me now. hello, lisa-pi. >> woodruff: a lot to unpack here. the day started out, a briefing for u.s. senators and a briefing for reporters. you were on that call. it all added up to a rising sense of concern about what's going on. then you have essentially the centers for disease control saying it's not whether this virus is going to spread, it's when. so put it together. >> it's astounding. those are the exact words we heard from c.d.c. and h.h.s. officials. they are ready the say it's in the a question of if. it's a question of when the virus will hit here and how severely it will pact americans. what we heard from them today is a call saying that the pandemic has not arrived here, but a call for americans to pay attention and to start preparing as if a pandemic could arrive. we don't know where, which city. some cities may be harder hit than others. we don't know how long it would be. but this is a call for community

preparation. we heard this, preparation advisoryies from the c.d.c. they're advising us to start consider, that we need the raise our own level of hygiene, including washes our face, washing our hands, covering our mouths and noses when we cough and sneeze. they think americans should start considering in the long term options if they need to work from home or options if schools or childcare facilities close. why did they change this? why is this level of concern higher? they say because they're seeing how this is spreading in other countries. it is not spreading here now, but they say this disease is spreading in a way that they believe may make it now not just likely but almost inevitable that it will come here. >> woodruff: this will get everybody's attentiosome this is a briefing by one set of officials. other administration officials somewhat different tone. what's going on? >> these early in th day

briefings kind of raised alarm bells on capitol hill. and elsewhere. later in the day we had health and human services officials sort of have a sort of more sober tone, say, listen, we want people to be prepared. i want to play a sound bite from that later in the day briefing. see if you can hear the difference in tone. >> i think to help americans frame what to expect, it's helpful to think about a bad flu year, the idea of exactly what that will look like in the united states is hard to say, and, of course, the images we've been seeing from china from hubei province are quite different from what we would expect in the u.s. context. >> my public health worker knows this is a tricky moment. they don't want people to panic. they do want people to prepare. but they are raising the alarm level. that's why you saw these two different tones, wanting to make americans aware of a concerns and then dialing it down to make sure they don't go too far. >> woodruff: make sure people don't panic in effect. >> yes. >> woodruff: meanwhile, separately from all this, you

have now what appears to be a conflict between some members of congress and the white house, the administration, over how much money is going to be needed to deal with what may come. >> woodruff: that's right. the president has requested $2.5 billion in authorized funds. we'll talk through the breakdown of that money. it's important. but he's also expressing confidence in where the u.s. is right now, which is different than what many senators felt after they exited their briefing, especially democratic senators. let's play a sound bite from president trump in the last day when he was in india and then from democratic senators about how they think things are going. >> it's very simple. let's see how it all works out, but i think it's going to work out fine. i hope some we're working very hard. we've spending a tremendous amount of money also. >> i just have to say, i'm very concerned about this administration's attitude toward this. if a pandemic is coming and

we're disregarding scientific evidence and relying on tweets d an emergency supplemental without details, then we're not stockpiling those things we know we high need for this or for any future pandemic. i'm deeply concerned we're way behind the eightball on this. >> the president could have been meant to be we ashiewrlg, but democrats and others thinks he's not going far enough. let's talk about the money he's requesting. the white house is requesting $2.5 billion, but only $1.25 million is new money. he wants the take funding that would go to prevent an ebola outbreak. there is another $500 million, it's not clear where the white house would get that from. he would move that from other health program, you ditch. members of congress say, that's not necessary. we will give you more money. you should request more money. it's in the clear why the whe house is taking this exact stance, and until the white house sorts out exactly what it

wants from congress, this money is not going to start coming. >> woodruff: is it clear what the public health sector needs in order to deal with what's coming and what the price tag is? >> we're starting to get a picture of one of the priorities, vaccines and trying to work through vaccines. but today dr. anthony fauci told reporters also that it's going to be a year to a year and a half for a vaccine for the coronavirus to be available. he also said this astounding thing, and he said, "we think the virus will still be here in a year or a year and a half." so this is a long-term situation for the united states. another big priority is public health workers that. is the front line, and they are the most vulnerable, getting protections for them and also making sure they have the ability to test in their communities. right now testing kits for this virus are not in many places in this country, and they all have to go back to the c.d.c. soon they're hoping to expand the testing ability in this country. >> brangham: >> woodruff: we have seen in other outbreaks like this, the

folks on the front line in the public health sector are often the ones who become ill themselves. >> that's right. >> woodruff: lisa desjardins, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >>oodruff: in the day's other news, wall street was convulsed again by fears of economic disruption from the coronavirus outbreak. the dow jones industrial average lost 879 points, closing at 27,081. it is down a record 1,900 points in the last two days. the nasdaq fell 255 points, and the s&p 500 gave up 97. president trump wrapped up his visit to india tonight, with a state banquet in new delhi. earlier, he toured t grand palace, with first lady melania trump and praised their reception. he declined comment on new violence over a citizenship law that excludes muslims.

but in new delhi's streets, cars were charred and fruit stands wrecked after hindu mobs attacked muslims. at least 10 peopleied in the last two days. the president also attacked two liberal justices on the u.s. supreme court today. sonia sotomayor had complained the court is too often intervening in the administration's favor, before cases play out. ruth bader ginsburg criticized then-candidate trump back in 2016. the president suggested they should not hear cases involving him. >> i just don't know how they can not recuse themselves for anything having to do with trump or trump-related. the right thing to do is that, now as a supreme court justice is a different standard, but at the same time, i think it's a higher standard in a certain sense. >> woodruff: later, the president tweeted that the judge and jury foreman in the roger stone case were "totally biased."

the trump ally was convicted of lying to congress and witness tampering. the supreme court today barred a mexican family from suing over a cross-border shooting that killed their son. a u.s. border patrol agent, standing on the texas side of the border, killed the unarmed, 15-year-old boy in 2010. the court's conservative majority ruled 5 to 4 that regulating the conduct of border personnel could undermine national security. in syria, fierce fighting rocked idlib province again, with both government forces and rebels capturing key towns. the assad regime's offensive in idlib, backed by russia and iran, has displaced nearly a million people since december. displaced syrians near the rkish border organized a protest today, amid desperate conditions. they waved opposition flags and chanted songs. >> ( translated ): today our protest, we are gathered here to tell the whole world, that even if there is just one inch of

syrian land left, we will continue to say "down with bashar al-assad, down with russian criminality, down with iranian criminality." >> woodruff: idlib is the last rebel stronghold in syria. turkey has demanded a halt to the syrian offensive there. the u.s. state department says afghanistan will postpone the inauguration of president ashraf ghani to a second term. bo ghani and his main rival claimed victory in last september's election. it has been widely reported that u.s. officials fear the dispute could disrupt ace efforts with the taliban. former egyptian president and longtime u.s. ally hosni mubarak died today. foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin reports his passing came almost a decade after he was ousted from power in the arab spring uprising. >> schifrin: in january 2011, the edifice of hosni mubarak's egypt crumbled. he'd been called a modern-day pharaoh.

but the millions who filled cairo's tahrirquare exposed a country weakened by decades of his corruption and cronyism. and the following month, many egyptians celebrated his fall as the birth of democracy. >> ( translated ): everyone in egypt is so happy now, a new change, freedom and democracy. today we feel that this country is really ours. >> schifrin: but like much of the arab spring, elation preceded oppression. a democratically elected president was overthrown in a coup by former army chief and today's president, abdel fattah el-sisi. mubarak outlived the revolution that overthrew him, but was only seen in court. and while he was humbled, to the end he was defiant. he rose to power in the air force and became vice president to anwar sadat, taking over after sadat's 1981 assassination. he was initially considered a charismatic reformer, and fashioned himself the only guarantor of egypt's and the middle east's stability, as he told newshour host charlayne

hunter-gault in 1993. >> the stability of this part of the world cannot bmaintained without egypt. i don't think that it will be in the interest of the west or the united states that egypte unstable. >> schifrin: but mubarak's stability was autocracy. he jailed political opponents without trial, and his police committed widespread torture. poverty increased, and the availability of bread plummeted. and when that deprivation combined with corruption to spark the 2011 protests, his security forces killed hundreds of demonstrators. in 2012, mubarak defended himself from his sickbed. he was sentenced to life in prison but successfully appealed. he later was sentenced to three years in prison on corruption, but was released in 2017. he died today in this hospital, remembered most not for his autocratic rule, but the protests that ended it.

for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. woodruff: hosni mubarak was 91 years old. back in thisountry, an investigation of opera star placido domingo has found extensive allegations of sexual harassment. more than two dozen people told a union for opera performers that they witnessed or fell victim to the misconduct while domingo led the washington and los angeles operas. he apologized in a statement today. the drug-maker mallinckrodt is the latest to announce a major settlement involving opioids. the english company said today it will settle hundreds of u.s. lawsuits for $1.6 billion. it is also filing for bankruptcy protection. mallinckrodt is one of the highest-volume producers of opioids sold in the u.s. 39 states opened an investigation into e-cigarette maker juul labs today. the effort will examine whether juul targeted young people and made misleading claims about

nicotine content. the company is already facing a battery of lawsuits. and, thousands of revelers filled new orleans today for mardi gras. itame after two people had been killed by floats in earlier parades. today, there were no incidents. instead, bystanders waved and cheered as marching bands performed and elaborate floats moved through the city. still to come on the newshour: south carolina voters make up their minds as the democratic hopefuls take the stage tonight in the next debate. questioning the attorneys on both sides of the case of convicted rapist harvey weinstein. and much more. >> woodruff: former vice

president joe biden has long staked his claim on winning south carolina. but vermont senator bernie sanders has been steadily gaining on him in the polls there. and as our yamiche alcindor reports, voters in the "first in the south" democratic primary are grappling with who they will pick this saturday. >> alcindor: south carolina, long-considered joe biden's firewall. but, is it still? the former vice president has been hoping black voters would give him the momentum win the nomination. in this state, they make up 60% of democratic primary voters. but since the fall, biden's support here has dropped nearly 20%. >> we are putting together an unprecedented multigenerational, multiracial political movement. >> alcindor: sanders, the race's frontrunner, is now within single digits of biden in the palmetto state. >> we are very energized because it's very rare we see somebody

with a track history that bernie sanders has. and somebody like that, it makes us very passionate. it makes us very hopeful. >> alcindor: some of biden's most faithful supporters sound concerned. >> i would have followed joe biden right up to the gates of hell. >> alcindor: jake ferguson is a 64-year-old black veteran, father of six and grandfather of five. older voters like him are central to biden's base. in 2016, jake wanted biden to run for president. but now, he's not so sure. >> my inference is that he is not showing the desire or the want to be president. he's kind of thinking he's entitled to this democratic nomination and even more so than that because he was barack obama's second chair. he thought he was automatically entitled to the african-american vote. it don't work that way. >> alcindor: his 34-year-old son, emmanuel, disagrees. >> i for one, i personally am backing joe biden because he

seems like he's best positioned to defeat donald trump. >> alcindor: still, emmanuel said he understands why millennials like him are more likely to support sanders. polls show biden with a 25-point advantage over sanders with voters 50 and up. but sanders is 40 points ahead of biden with voters under 35. >> i love to hear bernie sanders speak. i think he is putting his finger on the pulse of the average american and can read that heartbeat very well. i think at this point, bernie sanders is making a lot of wonderful promises but doesn't have the ability to back them up. he's writing checks he can't cash. >> alcindor: emmanuel and jake also have their concerns about other candidates. on former south bend, indiana mayor pete buttigieg: >> he has some issues in one being experience that i can't reconcile at this point. >> marijuana arrests for african-americans increased under his tenureship as mayor. >> alcindor: and minnesota senator amy klobuchar: >> i do think she's got to make

sure her ideas on prosecution or criminal justice reform are clearly stated. >> alcdor: but the younger ferguson adms he's also worried about biden. >> i think if joe biden doesn't show well in south carolina, then everyone will make the assumption that he's beyond his, beyond his time. >> his time has passed. >> my job is to take on mr. trump and kick his ass on the economy. >> alcindor: jake says he likes how billionaire tom steyer goes after president trump directly in his political ads. those ads have been filling south carolina's airwaves for months. this past sunday morning, biden tried to bring some of the fire jake has been looking for to black churchgoers in north charleston. >> you have in your hands the power, unlike any time in a long time to determine who the next democratic nominee will be. >> alcindor: after the service, biden tried to calm concerned moderates in south carolina, and beyond.

a narrow win in south carolina would also mean that you would be willing and ready to fight substantially to win in super tuesday. >> i'm not going to-- >> alcindor: voters shouldn't be worried. >> i'm not. i'm not going anywhere. i'm going to stay in this for the long haul. i think we'll do well here. i think we'll win here. and i think this could end up being a race between me and bernie before it's over. >> alcindor: he also weighed in on young voters who are fueling sanders' rise. why do you think you're not doing better among young voters, especially voters of color and young black voters here in south carolina? >> bernie has had a campaign going now for four, six years. he's been working as a good organization. and i started very late in terms of young voters. that's been his base where he got started. and so but i'm going to compete for that. >> alcindor: that will be a tough competition for biden. >> i don't see joe biden as our new future, as our new president. i don't think that his values are where my generation of people want to see the world go to. >> there is no way to progress without being radical. >> alcindor: first-time voters

kristen graham and reagan williams say their experiences as queer, black women have shaped their support for sanders. >> it was expected that i get an education. but there was no financial background or backing for me to get there. >> alcindor: that includes sanders' plans to cancel student loan debt, address systemic racism and implement medicare for all. graham says she lost an aunt because doctors didn't take her heth problems seriously as a black woman. >> she kept going to the hospital and kept going to doctor visits. something was wrong and she didn't know what it was. she had an ulcer in her intestines and then it ruptured. and she's no longer with us today. >> alcindor: with sanders inching toward the democratic nomination, super tuesday can't come soon enough for both women. >> i see that the momentum is definitely on his side. and i just am very hopeful that he keeps that up. >> alcindor: if sanders does get

to the nomination, that worries the fergusons. >> bernie sanders can't beat trump because bernie sanders is not a democrat. he is in the process of hijacking the democratic party. >> alcindor: jake is most concerned about sanders' medicare for all plan. >> i've had two shoulders replacements, two hip replacements, and it all happened under obamacare, okay? and now this guy sanders, this independent, until it's no longer convenient to him, comes along, he says we'll all want to get medicare for all. >> alcindor: but, for him, the choice will be clear in a race between senator sanders and president trump. >> i will have to eat my words and vote for bernie sanders, but please don't put me in that position. >> alcindor: still, jake remains undecided. and he's not alone. one in five democratic voters here haven't made up their minds. but, there's no questioning, this state will play a pivotal role in the 2020 race. >> woodruff: and yamiche alcindor joins me now from

charleston, south carolina. yamiche, hello. so you clearly have talked to a lot of voters while you've been down there the last few days. what else are they telling you besides their views of the candidates that is important to them in this primary? >> black voters in south carolina want people all over the country to understand that african american voters not a monolith. they have a range of concern, everything from healthcare to education to women's issues. the divisions i'm seeing in south carolina are both working in favor for and against joe biden, who is seen as the front-runner here in the state of south carolina. of course, he's up against bernie sanders, who has also been making gains nationally and in other races. what you see is if you're someone who is a fighter, someone who wants to see someone get in the mud with donald trump, who wants to see somebody defend himself and who wants to see somebody radically change the systems around us, then you're someone who likes bernie sanders. if you want someone who you'refa statesman, who seems more reserved, you're someone who

likes joe biden. those are the decisions we're seeing here in south carolina. >> woodruff: so the debate tonight, yamiche, i know you have been talking to some of these candidates, to their campaigns, what should we expect? >> well, if the first debate was a contentious one with small battles, what we expect tonight is an all-out war on bernie sanders. he's going to be center stage, judy. he's going to be banked on his right and his left on elizabeth warren and joe biden. on the ends of the stage, you will see two billionaires, tom steyer and michael bloomberg, and all of them are focused on making people understand that bernie sanders is too radical and he's trying the hijack the democratic party. i spoke to tom steyer and pete buttigieg who are making sure they want folks plain the people that they think bernie sanders is polarizing. they also think they have put out ads to explain to south carolina why they should not be voting for bernie sanders. i have talked to aides to bernie sanders, who tell me that he's ready. he understands that he's the front-runner. he understands he's going to have target on his back. we should also expect bernie

sanders to push back very, very hard when he's attacked tonight. >> woodruff: and yamiche, one othething i want to ask you about, prominent south carolina democrat congressman james clyburn, he's of course in the leadership in the house of representatives, he is expected to endorse joe biden tomorrow. what are people saying about that? how much difference is that expected to make? >> joe biden was calling south8 carolina his fire wall for months, scene in the last few days he stopped using that language and he stopped using that language because he understands that his lead has narrowed substantially. now he's up against bernie sanders who has made aloft gains with young voters here. he's looking for someone to help him get over the finish line here. losing south carolina would be detrimental to his campaign, aides tell me. jim clyburn, endorsing him tomorrow, which is what we expect him to happen, is going to help him among establishment democrats who see jim clyburn, a longtime south carolina democrat, who they look to and say, if jim clyburn is backing joe biden, i'll go with him, too.

i was at state party dinner last night, there was a lot of love in the room for jim clyburn, and joe biden and jim clyburn embraced very long in front of these democratic voters some you're seeing in jim clyburn trying to help joe biden, who is strug until south carolina even though he's expected to win a state by a nor row margin. >> woodruff: interesting the timing coming the day after the debate and just a few days before the primary. all right. yamiche alcindor reporting for us from charleston, thank you. >> thanks so much, judy. >> woodruff: stay with us, coming up on the newshour: inside venezuela-- a healthcare system in tatters as patients fear to go to the hospital. a day after harvey weinstein's conviction by a new york jury, there's a larger conversation happening about what it could

mean for the legal pursuit of other sexual assault charges, and whether it changes how judges, juries and prosecutors approach these cases. amna nawaz spoke with two key figures in the trial about this case and the larger picture. a warning: this segment includes sensitive subject matter. >> nawaz: judy, weinstein was convicted on one count of rape and on a second count of committing a criminal sexual act. but he was acquitted on three other counts, including the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault. cyrus vance jr. is the manhattan district attorney who brought the case. he joins us now from new york. district attorney vance, thanks for being with us. we are talking about one of the most famous, most powerful men certainly in hollywood, maybe the country. to the defense's point, do you think it is possible that harvey weinstein got a fair trial? >> i do think harvey weinstein got a fair trial. the judge was very careful in extensive voir dire or

questioning of the jurors to make sure that they explored whether there was bias or inability for jurors to provide an impartial review of the evidence, and the jury was selected as a result of their answers. i have no indication that the jurors did anything but this their jo which was focus on the evidence or lack of evidence and come to a decision. >> nawaz: you spoke yesterday of the impact you think this verdict could have. you said that in this day and age, attorneys won't be able to question alleged victims in the same way in future cases. what did you mean by that in. >> in the examination of the survivors during the weinstein trial, there was a lot of victim blaming, a lot of harsh questioning of the survivors, which i don't think, number one, was particularly effective. i also think really was cowlt productive to the defense. the survivors who were asked

these questions, they obviously responded with honesty, often with emotion. it was a difficult and a grueling experience for them, and at the end of the day, i don't believe that is necessarily the most effective way to cross-examine a survivor of sexual assault as a defense attorney, having been a defense attorney for 2 years myself. >> nawaz: we should mention, you had a chance to prosecute harvey weinstein back in 2015 and you declined to do so. that was despite having an audio recording in which weinstein admitted to groping model amber guttierez. back then it was part of an nypd sting operation. you said at the time there was insufficient evidence. what evidence did you have today in this case that you didn't have back then? >> well, what we had in this case were clear indications of and reports of sexual assault, including rape and oral unwanted sexual contact, which is the basis of the criminal sex act.

so we had some very compelling evidence from six survivors, and a range of documentary and other witnesses to testify. so i think the case -- this case that we just tried with mr. weinstein was a difficult case, no doubt about it, and yet it's a case that we had confidence in that were we to take this to a jury, that the jurors would be able to see through the myths that were thrown up about victims of sexual assault and listen to the women and as the jurors did, believe th. >> nawaz: but back in 2015, you had an audio recording and you had witness testimony. was it a mistake not to prosecute him back then? >> i think the 2015 case was evaluated by the head of our seconds -- sex crimes bureau who had 40 years experience. she did a thorough investigation. the case had more information that was relevant to it beyond

the recording itself, and her recommendation revealing all the evidence was that it was a case that we should not bring. that was the by sis of the decision. secondly i think we're dealing with two different time periods. 2015 and now 2019. and what was known about harvey weinstein in 2015 is certainly not what is now known about harvey weinstein since 2017. >> nawaz: well, i think a lot of people out there, women who have come forward with allegations in the past who would disagree with that statement. they would say mr. weinstein's alleged crimes were known for years and years. you said he was committing these crimes for decades. the question is do you think if someing is different, what exactly is difficult? >> the evidence we had and built during the course of our investigation is different. the number of survivors who came forward is different. and i also think that the way the public and a jury receives this evidence at a trial is

different. we have seen in the last several years in our sex crime prosecutions that there is i think a greater awareness by jurors and those who are evaluating evidence that victims of sexual assault, survivors don't always react in the same or predictable way. some continue contact with the abuser, and we saw that in the weinstein trial that just ended. so i think there has both been a public shift in understanding and other significant differences between now and 15. >> nawaz: that was five years ago. that was before really "me too," the movement. as we know it today had taken hold, before more than 80 women in that time period came forward with allegations against mr. weinstein. do you think today it is easier in some way to prosecute these kinds of crimes? >> jurors listening to evidence are going to be better educated and more understanding of the

ways in which survivors of sexual assault behave after an assault. rape doesn't occur principally between strangers. 85% of those who are sexually assaulted are, in fact, known to be abuser. there are many instances, as i said, where those who are the ctims of sexual assault maintain contact with the abuser new york some instances because of work-related responsibilities. so, yes, i think it is a -- i think the atmosphere and the landscape is more open to listening to survivors of sexual assault and peefg them. >> nawaz: i need to ask you, d.a. vance, those statistics have been around for years. we've all known them. that's always been the case about the way survivors of sexual assault, they know their attackers and tend to stay in contact with them. do you think failing to prosecute those crimes earlier allowed for more crimes to be committed in the meanwhile? >> well, our office prosecutes

about 6 sex crimes a year. over the course of ten years, that's about 6,000 sex crimes that our office has prosecuted. i think we are an aggressive office. we have very experienced sex crimes prosecutors, and we do the very best that we can on the evidence that we have, most of the members of the sex crime unit are women who are career prosecutors who have committed their professional life to doing this work. so the n answer to your question, i think we do the very best that we can with some very professional and very good trial attorneys. >> nawaz: that is manhattan district attorney cyrus vance joining us from new york today. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> nawaz: now let's discuss this with one of weinstein's defense attorney, donna rotunno she joins us from new york. donna, welcome to the news hour. in response to the verdict you said in a statement there are issues in the trial that "prejudiced" your client's ability to have his case fairly

judged. you are taking this up with a higher court we should point out, but in what way do you think the jury or this court were prenl dissed toward mr. weinstein. >> i don't know if mr. weinstein could have found fair jury anywhere frankly with the media coverage that has happened for the last two years with the fact that especially in new york every day he's a headline, he's on the cover of the "post," he's a headline in the "new york times," "the daily" news, "the daily beast," buzzfeed." it was very difficult. when we questioned jurors, not one of the jurors had not heard of mr. weinstein out of the weeks of jury selection. so i think we were nut in a difficult position from day one. >> nawaz: but he was convicted on two charges. they also acquitted him on two charge, so is it fair to say they prejudged him when they acquitted him? >> they i acquitted him on three charges actually and convicted him on two. what this was about was the evidence was not there to support a conviction.

i've said that from the very beginning. i know when i first got involved in this case everyone thought that was a crazy statement to make, but i think once the trial did plaout and the witnesses did testify, i think tt became a little more clearer. a little more clear i should say. in this case the pressure i think on the jury made them look at this case and not worry about the lack of evidence, and they worried more about the court of public opinion. what i found most interesting was as the jurors were walking out, they didn't look at harvey, they didn't look at the prosecutors, they looked at the press. that told me a lot. i think they were concerned about coming back with a finding of not guilty on all counts. i do think that the sort of split verdict shows us that there was definitely some doubt back there. >> nawaz: there was a lot of attention paid, you're right about that. i want to ask you about reports that came out mid-trial, because you were criticized about the way you were questioning some of those witnesses. people said you went very, very hard, in particular after jessica man. at one point she was crying so

hard the proceedings had to stop. you were questioning her about why she continued to be in touch with mr. weinstein even after the rape, asking him for professional help and staying in touch with him. why did you think that was an important line of questioning? how did that help your defense? >> well, i don't know how it is not important. of course none of us know what happens in those rooms. we have no idea. we're not. there i'm not there. you're not there, the judge, the jury. what we do know is every piece of evidence that we had documented after the fact. and so to not look at the totality of the circumstances to determine what really took place in that room seems remiss, and, you know, as a criminal defense attorney, i go into court and i have to defend my client. i have to ask questions that ha not been asked. i have to ask questions that are difficult. i have to present evidence that wasn't presented. when you look at how these cases get to the point of going to trial, there's a grand jury process. and when the prosecutors brought jessica mann before the grand jury, she didn't tell those

grand juries that she had had sexual relations with him after the fact that were consensual in 2016. she didn't tell the grand ury about the e-mail communications. so, you know, they told this story in a vacuum. the first time we were able to bring the full picture to light was the trial. at that point so much had already been written on it it was almost as if it was an afterthought. >> nawaz: you mentioned some ings we know. we also know statistically that most sexual assault survivors know their attacker in some way. we also know you can have a consensual sexual relationship with someone and still be raped by them. what is do you think the appropriate level of contact between someone like jessica mann and mr. weinstein? >> i don't know who can say what's appropriate and what isn't appropriate, but we have a five-year period of communication that continued after the fact, and this is no something where, you know,e talk about domestic abuse situations which don't equate in any way to this. that's someone who lives in a home with somebody, that maybe has children with somebody, that maybe financially dependent on somebody.

that's not the case here. jessica mann, you know, benefited from mr. weinstein in certain way, but definitely not in ways that affected her ability to live a life or have a job. you know, she asked him for help in multiple different avenue, whether it was help me get a job or help me get into a private club or help me with my car, and so, you know, the continued contact, seeking out, the way she spoke about him to other people, the way she spoke about him to thairnses, the way she defended him to her boyfriend. this was not incidental conct that someone has because they feel like they ned to maintain a decent relationship. this far surpassed that. >> nawaz: related to the trial but not directly, you got a lot of attention for an interview you gave to "the new york times." it was about the case and about the trial, but she ended the interview by asking you if you had ever been the victim of sexual assault. you said, "no, i have not," and then you said, "because i would never put myself in that

position." i have to ask you, do you believe who a jury decided were raped and assaulted by harvey weinstein, put themselves in a situation for that to happen? >> well, i have to say, that question was asked to me solely. that question was not asked to me about other people. it was not a commentary on anyone else. it was not a commentary on, you know, specific victims in any way. that was a question asked to me and, you know, for me, i would rather fight to my death than be put in a circumstance where somebody was going to sexual assault me. that's an answer from me, you know, having nothing to do with anyone else. >> nawaz: let me ask you about what manhattan district attorney sy vance said. in this day and age, he said things are different how people view sexual crimes. things have changed in the last three and four years. do you believe this verdict, and i ask you because you've defended a number of people accused of sexual misconduct, do you believe this verdict changes how sex crimes are viewed and

handled in our legal system in. >> i hope not. i hope not, because if we don't look at individual cases on their merits and we don't look at evidence particular to a specific defendant and a specificase and we start putting things under some umansky in a way we should do things, that would be scary for you, scary for me, andkai already pi anyone charged with a crime in this country. >> at the same time, we know that allegations of rape and sexual crimes are vastly underreported. don't you believe there should be some weight given to the credibility of women when they come forward with these allegations? >> well, you know, we have a presumption of independence in our country, and thpresumption of innocence is that someone charged with a crime has the right to be viewed as an innocent person. there is not a prurm shun that someone is telling the truth. so to say that we should just walk enter a courtroom and let someone tell their story or their version of the events without questioning that version puts us all in jeopardy. i don't think we should be able to give more credibility t

someone just because they say they were sexually assaulted. i will always refer bacto the duke lacrosse team. if we did that in that case, you would have that whole entire group of young men at the time sitting in the penitentiary. so i think we have to be very careful. it's a slippery slope. >> woodruff: donna rotunno, defense attorney for harvey weinstein, joining us from new york. thank you for being with us. >> i appreciate it. thank you. >> woodruff: we now return to our series, inside venezuela. the south american country is in the midst of a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis, and under that weight its healthcare system is collapsing. with support from the pulitzer center, special correspondent marcia biggs went undercovero film this report. and a warning: this story contains disturbing images.

>> reporter: this photograph was taken just five years ago. happier and healthier times. do you remember this day? but now, jose rodriguez is dying. two years ago, he was misdiagnosed with tuberculosis and only six months ago found out he was actually suffering from a different lung infection. his daughter paula conchila is a nurse but stopped working to take of her father. >> ( translated ): that's why i feel so angry because i've tried to help him but it's impossible. i don't have the supplies. >> reporter: jose is on a treatment with several different medications, including an antibiotic that costs around five dollars, the monthly minimum wage in venezuela. >> ( translated ): if we spend money on the medicine, then we don't have any money for his supplies. plus, with the cost of transportation when i have to take him to the doctor. we don't have money to pay for all this. we have different jobs but it's not enough. this country is killing us.

>> reporter: and venezuela's health care system is incapable of saving them. a shortage of drugs, doctors and nurses, and even clean water has led to an epidemic of illnesses, a lack of treatment-- a complete breakdown. and families like jose's no longer trust the system. >> ( translated ): that patient you're describing-- he's one of thousands. we as doctors have observed this, before they went to the hospitals. now they prefer to die at home. >> reporter: dr. dora colmenares is a general surgeon in maracaibo, the second largest city in venezuela. once an oil boom town, now in ruins, paralyzed by a gas shortage. and rolling blackouts, which leave the city in the dark on a daily basis and are catastrophic for a hospital. >> ( translated ): we are living like we were living in the 19th century, when the hospitals didn't have water, when there was no elericity. >> reporter: she took us undercover into a public hospital to show us just how bad it's gotten.

we had to conceal our identities and shoot on cell phones and hidden cameras because of government-supporting vigilantes called colectivos stationed in hospitals. they're often armed and monitor who comes and goes. >> it was risky for me, of course, but i don't have anything else to lose, i don't have anything else to lose. >> reporter: this is the emergency room: overcrowded with people, only open during the day and lacking proper supplies or even air conditioning. often patients are forced to navigate up and down staircases, sometimes climbing as high as nine floors, with no functioning elevators. in one maracaibo hospital, the elevator was working but a dialysis patient was crushed last october when the elevator plunged as she was trying to exit. >> ( translated ): the elevator cut her in half. alof this because of the lack of maintenance. to go there is threat, and nothing changes, she died and

that's it. one more. >> reporter: was there any investigation or anything done about this? >> ( translated ): no, no, no. they tried to keep everything under wraps. and in time it just disappears. >> reporter: we reached out to the ministry of health but received no respon. back in the hospital, we found empty shelves, broken equipment, the ceiling was caving in, and a pharmacy with almost no medicine. entire sections are locked and abandoned, the remains of a functioning healthcare center. many of the doctors have left too. at public hospitals like this one they earn less than $10 a month, and faced with these conditions, many have already joined the almost five million venezuelans who've fled their couny dr. colmenares says of lt year's graduating class of 800 doctors at the university where she teaches, only 80 remain. and that's not to mention all the techs, nurses, and support staff who have also left.

>> ( translated ): 90% of the labs in this state are closed because there are no lab chemicals, and most of the professionals who manage the labs have left. x-rays, in this state, 95% don't work. we don't have scanners or m.r.i.'s. >> reporter: and it's not just in maracaibo. in the country's capital, caracas, again undercover, we visited an oncology center with dr. gabriel romero. there was only one functioning x-ray machine and one ultrasound for the entire hospital. there was no running water. no soap no water to keep things clean, that's why it smells so bad in here. this has been shut for a year because of water damage. this is empty. the radiotherapy department is empty of patients. dr. romero says this technology is antiquated. this machine came from argentina 15 years ago and only serves as palliative care.

some machines don't work at all. dr. roro says there is no money for service, so machines and technicians sit idle for years. >> i don't have the key. >> reporter: you don't even have the key to this room? >> no. >> reporter: how long has this door been shut? >> five years, seven years. >> reporter: five years? and th100 or so patients that used to be there daily are gone to another hospital or not getting treated at all. in this room, women receive chemotherapy, but for a treatment that requires a consistent drug regimen, there is not a consistent supply of drugs. "my brother had to bring chemotherapy medicine from houston because we don't have it here," says this woman, who has lung cancer. all these women brought their own supplies-- rubber gloves, intravenous tubing, even hospital gowns. this woman is doing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. she had to bring her own water. her own toilet paper, and her own chemo medicine.

and her own cup to go to the bathroom in. the women say they are too afraid to use the throoms, for fear of infection. this is all a far cry from the system hugo chavez promised in 1999, when he became president, and enshrined free healthcare into the country's constitution. he made progress when times were good, but today, in this crisis, everything depends on what a patient can afford. and this health crisis is affecting the people chavez championed: the country's most vulnerable. for children, rising malnutrition a the lack of vaccines and treatment mean a rise in preventable diseases like dengue fever, malaria and scabies. 13 year old jenire loves minnie mouse, rabbits and the color pink, but right now she can barely speak. a few months ago, she developed a lump in her eye.

her mom took her to a hospital in maracaibo, but because there were no specialists on call, she was told to wait and see. >> ( translated ): and all they said was: "let's wait. let's wait. but while waiting, it grew more in her eye, until they realized it wasn't what they thought, but rather an aggressive tumor, something like cancer or so. >> reporter: while they are grateful that she is finly getting treated here in caracas, it's too late. she will lose her eye. how do you feel knowing that this could havbeen prevented? >> ( translated ): well, this is quite a difficult situation for me. and i took her to see doctors and more doctors, and nothing happened. it's hard to see her like this, see her suffer and cry for so much pain. that's truly not easy. it's an experience that i really hope no one else has to live through. >> reporter: back in maracaibo, at the rodriguez home, the family is desperate for help. jose has trouble swallowing food and is wasting away.

>> ( translated ): if you know somebody who can help us, i will really thank you. we need help. we need an oxygen tank, a bed with an orthopedic mattress. i need a mattress for him to avoid bedsores and i need the food supplement; this is the most urgent. >> reporter: we asked dr. colmenares where they could find an oxygen tank in maracaibo. she wrote back that she didn't know. a week later, we learned that mr. rodriguez died. dr. colmenares says he's just one of thousands who are too sick, too poor, or too afraid to come to the hospital for treatment, and so won't be counted in official statistics. she blames the regime of president nicolas maduro for what has become of venezuela's healthcare. >> ( translated ): i think that our hospitals have become extermination cas. the people that go there know they are going to die there. >> reporter: what you're describing to me sounds like things i have only seen in war zones. >> ( translated ): and this is war, we are at war. but this is something unseen -- you don't see grenades but the

are killing us. they are killing our future, they are killing our children. >> reporter: she says she stays to fight for change the regime of president nicolas maduro, and to keep caring for this vulnerable population. for the pbs newshour, i'm marcia biggs in maracaibo, venezuela. >> such an important >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> collette guides travelers to experience the world in more than 160 destinations, across five travel styles, like small group explorations. their inclusive tours feature local guides, cultural experiences, meals and accommodations. since 1918, colette has guided travelers around the world. learn more at collette.com/smallgroup

>> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.

thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access gup at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> you're watching pbs.

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