Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Stormy Daniels Details Claim of Affair with Donald Trump; Siberia Mall Fire; Russia Spy Poisoning; Saudi Arabia Intercepts 7 Missiles Fired From Yemen, Military Officials Say; Zuckerberg: Sorry We Didn't Do More To Protect User Data; Orange Snow Covers Parts Or Russia & Eastern Europe; First Australia To Britain Direct Flight. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 26, 2018 - 02:00   ET

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


[02:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): She says she was threatened to stay silent but Stormy Daniels gave her first extended interview about the relationship 2006 affair with Donald Trump Sunday. And she's not done with the president yet.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Plus CNN speaks with a former senior KGB agent who says that he was warned just weeks before Sergei Skripal was poisoned but he dismissed it as a joke.

CHURCH (voice-over): And "sorry" is the word being heard now from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. Later this hour, the solutions Facebook laid out in bold letters in U.S. and U.K. newspapers.

Hello and welcome to our viewers joining here in the United States and across the globe. I'm Rosemary Church.

HOWELL (voice-over): And I'm George Howell from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. NEWSROOM starts right now.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

HOWELL: Around the world, good day to you.

We start with the new developments in a scandal involving Donald Trump before he was President of the United States, an adult film star now telling her story of an alleged affair with Mr. Trump.

Stormy Daniels saying that she is speaking to set the record straight shortly before 2016, the presidential election, Mr. Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels -- real name, Stephanie Clifford -- $130,000 to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

CHURCH: Cohen says he made the payment with his own money and that is raising questions about whether campaign finance laws were violated. In an interview on the CBS program, "60 Minutes," Daniels explained why she signed statements denying the relationship after news of the payment came out. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: If it was untruthful, why did you sign it?

STORMY DANIELS, PORN STAR: Because they made it sound like I had no choice.

COOPER: No one was putting a gun to your head.

DANIELS: Not physical violence, no.

COOPER: You thought that there would be some sort of legal repercussion if you didn't sign it?

DANIELS: Correct. As a matter of fact, the exact sentence he uses was, "They can make your life hell in many different ways."

COOPER: They being...

DANIELS: I am not exactly sure who "they" were. I believe it to be Michael Cohen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Cohen denies ever threatening Stormy Daniels and the White House denies any affair ever occurred. Here is Brian Stelter now with more on Daniels' highly anticipated interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNNMONEY SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there. Yes, a porn star breaking her silence about an alleged affair with now President Trump. This allegation dates back to 2006 when Trump was the star of NBC's "The Apprentice."

A woman named Stephanie Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels, described the alleged affair in a sit-down with CNN's Anderson Cooper. The interview was broadcast on CBS' "60 Minutes," the highest rated news program in America, which means tens of millions of people are likely to see this interview.

Now Daniels talks about having sex with Donald Trump. She said she was not attracted to him. She did it as a business deal. She says at first she kept it a secret.

But in 2011 when she spoke to the magazine, "In Touch," a tabloid magazine, the story was buried. And then she says she was physically threatened. Here's how she described the incident to Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIELS: I was in a parking lot going to a fitness class with my infant daughter. I was taking a seat facing backwards in a backseat with the diaper bag, you know, getting all the stuff out. And a guy walked up on me and said to me, "Leave Trump alone. Forget the story."

And then he leaned around and looked at my daughter and said, "A beautiful girl. It would be a shame if something happened to her mom."

And then he was gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: So that alleged threat dates back to 2011. And then in 2016, in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election, Daniels accepted a payment of $130,000 from one of Trump's personal attorneys. It has been described as hush money, essentially buying her silence.

But now Daniels says that was inappropriate. It was invalid. The contract is not legal. She says she should be able to speak freely to defend herself.

So now there's lawsuits and countersuits, questions about campaign finance and in the middle of all this, the U.S. president and a porn star. Now we don't know for sure if President Trump tuned for the interview, even though he's a frequent TV watcher.

But we do know he was at the White House while wife, Melania Trump, the first lady, was at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

We have not heard from Melania Trump either but we did hear from her spokeswoman on Sunday night after the interview aired.

The spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, tweeting the following, quote, "While I know the media is enjoying speculation and salacious gossip, I'd like to remind people there's a minor child whose name should be kept out of news stories when at all possible."

Daniels also has a child, a daughter -- adding the question that's raised by these interviews now broadcast on television, first with a woman named Karen McDougal, who alleged an affair --

[02:05:00]

STELTER: -- with Trump in the mid-2000s; now with Stormy Daniels who's making similar allegations.

The question is, what will people tell their children about the U.S. president and his apparent sex life?

These are stories that are actually in some ways reminiscent to the 1990s when Bill Clinton was in the news. There was a lot of sympathy back then for Hillary Clinton. Now the same is true for Melania Trump.

And we head into a work week here in the U.S. with questions of whether the President will say anything more or whether his lawyers will say anything more about Stormy Daniels -- Brian Stelter, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And though Daniels did not refer to Michael Cohen when describing the alleged threat in the parking lot, Cohen's attorney says his client had nothing to do with the incident and does not believe it even occurred.

HOWELL: In a letter to Daniels' attorney sent after the interview aired, Brett Blakely (ph), the attorney for Michael Cohen, wrote this, "I hereby demand that you and your client cease and desist from making any further false and defamatory statements about my client, that you immediately retract and apologize to Mr. Cohen through the national media for your defamatory statements," end quote.

CHURCH: Analyst and attorney and legal affairs commentator, Areva Martin, joins me now via Skype from Chicago.

Stormy Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, has implied he has pictorial evidence of the alleged affair with this tweet posted just days before the "60 Minutes" interview went to air.

And he says in this, you see the picture there of the CD next to a vault and he says this.

"A picture is worth 1,000 words. How many words is this worth? #60Minutes, #PleaseDenyIt."

And then he tweeted this early Sunday, "Note, A, not all of our evidence will be mentioned displayed tonight. That would be foolish. B, we are not sure what CBS will include but we know a lot from the full interview will have to be cut because of the time allowed. C, tonight is not the end. It is the beginning."

So what impact could such evidence have on the president and the outcome of this story legally, if there is any such evidence?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: , Well, clearly, if there are text messages, photographs or any kind of evidence that corroborates Stormy Daniels' story, that is going to give more credibility to her loss and to her claims.

I think all of us were waiting with bated breath tonight, thinking that the "60 Minutes" interview would share some of that information.

We know that Stormy Daniels' attorney has been talking a great deal through text -- through tweets about this evidence. And I think the American public wanted to see some of that evidence.

He started this morning by telling us he's not going to reveal all of (INAUDIBLE). I don't think that's unusual for a lawyer. There is litigation that will probably be pretty expensive in this case.

So we will to wait as that evidence is rolled out. But I think today she made a pretty compelling case for the fact that she had a sexual encounter with Donald Trump and his team, Michael Cohen and company, went to great lengths to prevent her from sharing that information just about 11 days before the presidential election.

CHURCH: What did you make of the alleged threat that Stormy Daniels referred to?

She said that man approached her in Las Vegas, told her to leave Trump alone and to forget the story. Her lawyer tweeted that there can be no question where this threat came from.

What did you make of that from a legal perspective?

And is that the case?

It could have been simply a Trump supporter, could it not?

MARTIN: And Stormy Daniels, I think, was clear in not trying to place blame on Donald Trump himself with respect to that threat. She says she vividly remembers the man that made the threat.

But she doesn't have any way of knowing whether that individual is directly related to Donald Trump, if he had anything to do with the threat, he somehow orchestrated the threat.

I think the most important part for me from that statement is that Trump and Company and not necessarily making physical threats but they are making efforts to prevent her from telling her story.

And from a legal standpoint, what's interesting to me, Donald Trump threatened to sue all of the women that made allegations about him, whether they made allegations that he had affairs with them or that he sexually harassed them.

He threatened to sue these women and presumably those lawsuits would have been defamation (INAUDIBLE). He hasn't sued Stormy Daniels for defamation. He hasn't gone into court and said she is telling a lie. She is misrepresenting the facts.

What he has done, however, though, is to file a lawsuit to enforce a nondisclosure agreement. And I think we have to ask ourselves, why isn't he suing her for defamation if this affair, in fact, did not occur?

I do not think there is any answer to that, other than the fact that the affair did occur.

CHURCH: They have not yet but now that we've --

[02:10:00]

CHURCH: -- seen the "60 Minutes" interview with Stormy Daniels and, of course, Karen McDougal spoke with CNN just days ago.

So how legally vulnerable are they both, now that they have gone public with their stories?

MARTIN: Well, Stormy Daniels acknowledged that she was facing potential legal jeopardy by telling her story. We know that Trump and Team has already accused her of violating the nondisclosure agreement and that she could potentially be liable for $20 million in damages.

The liquidated damages clause in the nondisclosure agreement calls for $1 million every time she makes a disclosure, not clear where they're getting the 25 that she alleges was disclosed the affair.

But she is in danger of being sued and being forced to pay the liquidated damages in the clause. That's if the nondisclosure agreement is deemed valid. Stormy Daniels' attorney maintains as he did so tonight in the "60 Minutes" interview that that nondisclosure agreement is not valid because it wasn't signed by Donald Trump.

So according to her attorney, she has no obligation under that agreement and that she's free to share her story and to tell her story.

CHURCH: All right, well, we've yet to see what the outcome is legally on that.

But what sort of legal jeopardy might these two interviews put Donald Trump and his lawyer, Michael Cohen, in, do you think?

MARTIN: We heard the former chairman of the Federal Election Commission talk about that. He talked about the fact that the payment by Michael Cohen of $130,000 could be an illegal, in-kind campaign contribution to the Donald Trump team. And he made a lot of the fact about the timing of that payment by Michael Cohen. He made the analogy to John Edwards and the fact supporters of John Edwards made payments to the mother of the child that he had outside of his marriage.

And he thought that this case, the Trump case, was even more credible, more significant than John Edwards because of the timing, 11 days before the election Michael Cohen paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 to prevent her from talking about the alleged affair with Donald Trump.

According to that former FEC commissioner or chairman, that is substantial and could result in fines for Donald Trump from commission and possibly an investigation by the special counsel, who's looking into the bigger issue of Russian collusion.

CHURCH: We will be watching very closely for the legal outcome of this story. Areva Martin, always great to have you on the show. Thanks so much.

MARTIN: Thanks, Rosemary.

HOWELL: And it appears Michael Cohen is letting his attorney do the talking. We have not heard yet directly from the "60 Minutes" interview.

CHURCH: And U.S. president Donald Trump, who is never shy to use Twitter, gave a Twitter shoutout to a book but said nothing about Stormy Daniels. A source tells CNN the two men had dinner at Mr. Trump's Mar-a-lago

resort on Saturday night. A source says there were other guests but Ms. Trump was not among them.

HOWELL: Let's put all of this into focus now with Scott Lucas, Scott, a professor of international politics at the University of Birmingham, live this hour from the United Kingdom.

It is always good to have you here on the show with us, Scott. Let us start by putting this into the big picture perspective, what this means for this U.S. president, embroiled in two very public scandals involving a porn star and a former "Playboy" model and the news that other women are also considering suing Mr. Trump.

What effect do these scandals have politically, heading into the midst of an election?

SCOTT LUCAS, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM: On the political surface, I actually do not think they have much effect. Ronald Reagan was the first American president who was divorced. Bill Clinton was the first American president who admitted to multiple affairs, albeit being impeached for that.

Now I think the idea that a president had multiple affairs, including just after his youngest son was born, I think that causes barely a ripple with those who are dedicated to supporting Trump.

But I think it is the wider political implications as this rolls on and that is, if Stormy Daniels was bullied into being quiet yet 11 days before the election she was paid not only $130,000 -- we know that -- by Michael Cohen but if that money turns out to have come from the Trump Organization or even the Trump campaign, then that, of course, raises political and even possible criminal implications, at least in the sense of a fine by the Federal Election Commission.

But the broader thing is that when you combine this with the Trump Russia investigation, when you combine this with other uncertainty within the White House and when you combine this with other key issues -- because let us not forget that only 48 hours ago, hundreds of thousands of people marched for gun control --

[02:15:00]

LUCAS: -- in the Marches for Our Lives, that real symbol of what people are feeling in the run-up to November's elections, that's what poses problems for Trump.

HOWELL: Well, I want to talk about this in terms of voting blocs. Let us start by talking about women, independent women.

How might this affect them?

We understand from a source familiar with the president's reaction to the general coverage around Stormy Daniels that he is agitated by these stories.

Is this a concern about women who supported Mr. Trump?

LUCAS: Again, I think, just on the specifics of how women will react to this specific allegations over Stormy Daniels, I'm not sure it shifts much. But if it continues to be linked to the fact of Donald Trump's behavior towards women generally, the accusations from 16 women of sexually inappropriate behavior, and then if that is linked to other concerns that women have.

I mean, this is the year not only of #MeToo; this is the year of women's marches raising economic and social concerns. And if it appears that the president is more concerned about basically being a hotel room with someone who is not his wife and in dealing with those concerns, I think there are some women who could be influenced in their vote coming up in November.

HOWELL: That leads into my second question here. We're talking about evangelical voters because, again, this alleged affair happened during his marriage. Evangelicals have been staunchly supportive of Mr. Trump.

So do they continue to support him?

Or is this a bridge too far?

LUCAS: Well, now, as a bloc, I do not think this shifts things very much because -- and I have relatives who are evangelical Christians. They are with Trump come hell or high water. And when you've got advisors like Franklin Graham who are defending Trump's behavior and urging their followers to vote for him, I am not sure that moves.

But are there specific evangelical Christians who rethink what they are considering in terms of morality, ethics and issues?

It's at that one by one level and we just do not know how it will pan out, not only in Alabama -- last December in the special election -- but across the U.S. We will not see those ripples until Election Day in November.

HOWELL: Brian Stelter raised this in his report. The President of the United States, typically seen as a role model, as a moral authority. But you remember the questions that many parents were raising back during the Clinton administration during that scandal.

How do you explain this to your kids, the same question being raised now?

Look, I've got a 3-year-old, so not a lot to explain at this point. But for those parents who, their kids, their students will go to school talking about this.

How do you explain it to kids?

LUCAS: Presidency is no longer a role model. Presidency is a spectacle. It's, in many ways, a circus.

In terms of how I would explain that to my kids, last October, Michelle Obama, in the midst of other scandals around sexually inappropriate behavior and wider issues about respect for men and women, simply said, for our young boys, for our young girls, we have got to raise them differently. We've got to raise them where they see each other as an equal and not as someone to be demeaned.

And it is at that personal level, with your kids, with your friends, that you maintain those values and you maintain that dialogue, even if others don't do so.

HOWELL: Scott Lucas, live for us in Birmingham, England, thank you so much for your time and perspective. We will stay in touch with you.

LUCAS: Thank you.

CHURCH: And we'll take a very short break here. But still to come, 53 people are dead and others are missing after a deadly fire ripped through a shopping mall in a Siberian city. Now relatives are demanding answers.

Plus:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can put me on the electric chair. I will not reveal his name even there.

HOWELL (voice-over): A former KGB agent is not giving up the source who warned him about an attack on another former double agent, ahead, why he says Russia is responsible. Stay with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:00]

(SPORTS)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CHURCH: The death toll after a fire ripped through a shopping mall in South Central Russia keeps rising. Authorities now say 53 people have died; earlier, officials said 16 people were missing.

We do not know yet what caused the fire on Sunday in the Siberian city of Kemerovo. Investigators believe the fire started in the cinema hall. The flames caused the roof of two movie theaters to collapse. About 47 people were injured.

HOWELL: That shopping center at the time was packed. When the fire started, more than 100 people were evacuated. Witnesses say some people jumped from windows trying to escape the flames there. Officials say the families of the victims will each receive 1 million rubles -- that is about $18,000 -- for each relative killed in that deadly fire.

In the coming hours this Monday, the Trump administration could decide whether to expel a group of Russian diplomats here in the United States. Sources say that the National Security Council recommended the expulsion in response to the poisoning of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in England.

CHURCH: Last week, the U.K. ordered 23 Russian diplomats to leave after blaming Moscow for the attack. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has issued a statement, urging the U.S. to show restraint, saying in part, "Russia-U.S. relations are so multilayered, strategic stability of the entire world depends on it. They should not be taken hostage by such clearly staged stories."

The chemical attack in England has prompted a former senior KGB agent to come forward.

HOWELL: He says that he was warned that something bad would happen to him and Sergei Skripal just weeks before Skripal and his daughter were poisoned. CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, has details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Three weeks before Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned with a nerve agent, this man, Boris Karpichkov, a former senior KGB spy, got a warning his life and Skripal's were in danger.

KARPICHKOV: First time, when I was communicated, I took it --

[02:00:00]

KARPICHKOV: -- as a joke.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): One week after the poisoning, he told the U.K.'s premier breakfast show he didn't bother telling the police because his live had been threatened before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're watching this interview, I would imagine they would want to talk to you as a matter of urgency.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Now three weeks after the poisoning, he says police have yet to contact him. He's telling us more details about the warning.

KARPICHKOV: I received a phone call from only one person who could call --

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTSON: Somebody you know and trust.

KARPICHKOV: Yes. Yes. He's still deep undercover. Senior field officer of Russian secret service called FSB.

ROBERTSON: What's his job?

KARPICHKOV: Sorry, not even a hint because, you know, just because man would be killed because if I give slight indications I can't do that. You can put me on electric chair, I will not reveal his name even there.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): However, he says he was uniquely placed to get the call.

KARPICHKOV: What is their reason?

ROBERTSON: Because he's your friend.

KARPICHKOV: No, no. It's much more simple. Once, such (INAUDIBLE) happened, I saved his life. (INAUDIBLE).

ROBERTSON: You saved his life?

KARPICHKOV: Yes. That's it. That's it. It's understandable. Is it not?

ROBERTSON: Karpichkov says he spied for and against the CIA before Russia's intelligence service, the FSB, turned against him, planned to kill him. He fled to the U.K. 20 years ago.

Twelve years ago, on a trip to New Zealand, he says, he was poisoned by Russian agents. Since then, he says, he's investigated hundreds of others killed by the Soviet and Russian state over the past hundred years, including the murder of Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko in London by Russian agents in 2006.

KARPICHKOV: We've written an inquiry. I ran my own investigation and the result of this investigation clearly states that Putin didn't give an order but Putin was aware that Litvinenko is going to be taken out.

Some senior figure within FSB came up and they put it with this much attention. He doesn't care. He just expressed, you know, ok if he deserves, it should be done.

ROBERTSON: So do you believe Sergei Skripal's poisoning would have been something that Putin was aware of in advance?

KARPICHKOV: Yes. It could be the case.

ROBERTSON: So he could have stopped it?

KARPICHKOV: Yes.

ROBERTSON: And he didn't.

KARPICHKOV: I know Putin.

ROBERTSON: What you're saying is that the state has a system of disposing of its enemies --

KARPICHKOV: Yes. ROBERTSON: -- by murder overseas.

KARPICHKOV: Yes. It's --

ROBERTSON: And can that possibly be without Putin, do you believe?

KARPICHKOV: It's not Putin. It's about system.

ROBERTSON: But then they seem not responsibility for the system.

KARPICHKOV: He is responsible. He's creator of system.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Karpichkov says he is ready to help U.K. investigators. He has knowledge of how Russian spies use nerve agents.

ROBERTSON: You were trained in these --

KARPICHKOV: I was instructed, not trained, instructed because you know, just to carry out some precautionary measures -- that's it.

ROBERTSON: British officials tell us "We are unable to discuss who we may or may not have spoken to in the course of any ongoing investigation." And they've given no hint whether Karpichkov can expect a call from them in the near future -- Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Nic, thank you.

Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, another White House shakeup may be in the works.

Which cabinet secretaries could soon be, well, out of a job?

Stay ahead.

CHURCH: Plus voting will start soon in Egypt's presidential election and the race is already being criticized. We'll explain when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:32:25] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We're coast to coast across the United States and live around the world this hour. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. It is always a pleasure to have you with us. I'm George Howell.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And I'm Rosemary Church. We want to update you now on the main stories we've been following this house. Saudi Arabia says it intercepted seven missiles fired into its territory from Yemen on Sunday. A Saudi official reports all the missiles were destroyed but an Egyptian national was killed by falling debris. Riyadh accuses the Iranian-back Houthi rebels of launching the missiles. HOWELL: Barcelona, Spain's deported the former Catalan President and

separatist leader Carlos Puigdemont clashed with police after news that he had been detained in Germany. The scene there you see in Barcelona. Spain accuses Puigdemont of sedition over last year's independence referendum.

CHURCH: An adult film star says she was threatened into keeping quiet about an alleged affair with Donald Trump before he became president. In an interview on the "CBS" program "60 Minutes", Stormy Daniels said a man approach her and her infant daughter in a parking lot in 2011 and suggested something could happen to Daniels if she hold her story. The White House denies the affair.

HOWELL: Another Trump cabinet official could be on his way out. A source telling CNN, the U.S. President has indicated he's ready to show the Veterans Affairs Secretary ?David Shulkin to the door.

CHURCH: A rift between Shulkin and the White House has been growing but he's not the only official whose job could be endangered. CNN's Boris Sanchez has the details.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A source said at Mar- a-Lago this weekend telling CNN that the president was having private conversations with close associates about the future of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin specifically that he would be leaving the administration potentially as soon as the end of the week. Now, Shulkin and the president had disagreements before on the private sector's potential influence in the V.A., but really the main point of speculation about Shulkin's future has been this lavish trip to Europe that he took on taxpayer dime. It was a $122,000 trip that included airfare for his wife, an expensive sightseeing again on taxpayer dime. There was a report put out about that trip in February that generated negative headlines for the administration. It's something that sources tell CNN that the president did not like. Christopher Ruddy, a close associate of President Trump who said that he spoke with him over the weekend was on one of the Sunday morning talk show. Ruddy of course is the head of Newsmax Conservative News Outlet and he hinted that could be potentially more changes coming to the administration soon. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:35:09] CHRISTOPHER RUDDY, CEO OF NEWSMAX MEDIA: The president told me he's perplexed by all of these reports. There's chaos at the White House or mass staff changes. He told me that he thinks the White House is operating like a smooth machine in his works. He did say that he's expecting to make one or two major changes to his -- to his government very soon and that's going to be it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Of course David Shulkin not the only cabinet member under scrutiny for spending lavishly with taxpayer money. Ben Carson, the head of Housing and Urban Development recently was in a hot water over a dining set that he purchased that cost more than $30,000. That order was eventually canceled but then there was speculation about his own future. Also, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, the rumors swirling about his own luxurious spending on travel and misused of taxpayer funds, so there are questions about his future. Now, the question is, how soon could this announcement about David Shulkin can and could we potentially soon see more changes for the president's cabinet? Boris Sanchez, CNN not far from Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida.

HOWELL: All right. Boris, we will have to wait and see what happens there. All right. In the meantime about half an hour time, polls will open for the first day of Egypt's presidential election. Voters there will -- have three days to cast their ballots.

CHURCH: Now, there's little doubt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will win a second term and that's partly because serious contenders quit the race early. Ian Lee has more now from Cairo.

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's take a ride around the streets of Cairo. If you haven't noticed, Egypt is having a presidential election. A kaleidoscope of campaign posters, wallpapers in this city. But you might have noticed something missing, the opposition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not my fault Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in an interview, I swear to God, I wish there would have been candidates for people to choose who they want. But they were not ready yet. There's no shame in this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: There were high profile contender, but Egyptian authorities arrested former Army General Sami Anan on a number of charges. Ahmed Shafik, a former 2012 presidential candidate withdraw a mid-reports of intimidation. Human rights lawyer Khaled Ali withdrew after saying he was under pressure from authorities. Mohamed Anwar Sadat, the nephew of late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat also says he felt pressure to withdraw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMED ANWAR SADAT, FORMER EGYPTIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: An election ran under the emergency law, protest law, and the terrorist law. Whereby, I was a bit scared that all my campaign representative in different government they might be in a situation where by get difficult time or be stopped, detained, abused.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: After searching we finally found the subtle posters of Moussa Mustafa Moussa, a last minute and little known challenger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOUSSA MUSTAFA MOUSSA, EGYPTIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: (INAUDIBLE) a democratic election (INAUDIBLE) President Sisi was going alone in this game and if he falls, we all fall. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Moussa is accused of being a stooge of the government, a tool to give the election the veneer of legitimacy. He denies this and insist his platform makes him the better candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOUSSA: I want to tell the people I' here for real. I'm here as a candidate winning, and wishing, and wanting to win, and so people can understand that I'm not brought as a puppet for anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: No one doubt Sisi will win. The real challenge is voter apathy. His get out to vote campaign aims to drive Egyptians to the polls and give him the broad mandate he needs for another four years. Ian Lee, CNN Cairo.

CHURCH: After this short break, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is apologizing again, this time with full-page newspaper ads. Well, Facebook is promising to do to protect the personal data of its users. We'll back with that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:42:39] CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. The whistleblower who's accusing the official Brexit campaign group of breaking spending rules says he will present more evidence Monday to back up his allegations. That's according to the British Press Association.

HOWELL: The former Brexit volunteer alleges the Vote Leave Organization used another group to spend over the authorize campaign limit. Our Nick Paton Walsh reports.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is an extraordinary story, the real (INAUDIBLE) Britain's vote to leave the European Union. A Canadian company accused of a huge advertising blitz to promote that and a current advisor to British Prime Minister Theresa May who had a brief relationship with Shahmir Sanni, a former Leave campaigner whose now turned whistleblower on what he says his campaign finance irregularities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAHMIR SANNI, FORMER BREXIT CAMPAIGNER: And in fact they used Leave to overspend and not just by a small amount. By, you know, two-thirds of a million pounds. They overspent and the impact of that, you know, the difference between people -- the difference between Leave winning over Remain was just a few percentage points, you know, and that almost a million -- almost two-thirds of a million pounds makes all the difference and it wasn't legal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Now, that's a drastic conclusion. But here's what Sanni alleged to British media. In 2016, the Leave campaign hit its legal spending limits, so they gave us surplus to youth activist believe who had to give it to Canadians AggregateIQ for pro-Leave digital advertising. That is illegal. Sanni and some experts say if there's still coordination with the Leave campaign, Sanni says, e-mails and shared drives prove coordination. The Leave campaign deny any wrongdoing and said they got electric watch dog permission to pass the money on AggregateIQ, also deny any wrongdoing. U.K. electoral officials haven't said what they conclude of the evidence they had been passed by Sanni.

All these really exposes how fully equipped British campaign finance law is along with those who had meant to enforce it. The last law was passed in 200 when Facebook and high speed internet really didn't exist. The issue though remains so polarizing in the U.K. and the margin in which it voted to leave the E.U. so tiny to allegations like this just ignite fury. The votes weren't really a solid reflection of British democratic values and instead influence by new and other hand technology. Theresa May Senior Adviser Stephen Parkinson, a former Leave official has been criticized for outing his gay relationship with Sanni, as part of his response to the allegations in which he said he stayed within the law at all times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:45:23] MARK ZUCKERBERG, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, FACEBOOK: I remove bad actors and all their contempt from rivers.

WALSH: And emerge just Britain was willing from the allegations of Facebook allowed private user data to allegedly influence U.S. voters. Facebook damage control lead to a series of full-page jumper into U.K. papers of the weekend. The pages of old media used to apologize for the sins of the new yet distrust son and damage the fragile Democracies already done. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Nick, thank you for the report. Now, as Nick mentioned, the Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is apologizing again. This, after the Cambridge Analytica firm reportedly access the personal data of about 50 million Facebook users. That information, then, allegedly used to target voters here in the United States.

CHURCH: Yes, the full-page ads in the Sunday editions of major newspapers in the U.K. also appeared in the U.S. Zuckerberg write his story, "Facebook didn't do more to protect user's data." He says Facebook is now limiting the information of applications able to access about users.

HOWELL: To talk more about this, let's bring in Dennis Yu. Dennis, the Chief Technology Officer of BlitzMetrics, a digital marketing company that partners with schools, live via Skype from Gilbert, Arizona. It's a pleasure to have you with us on the show here.

From an insider perspective, an industry inside or like yourself. I'd like to get your thoughts about Zuckerberg's apology, saying that they didn't do enough at the time. DENNIS YU, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, BLITZMETRICS (via skype): George, it wasn't much they'd really could have done because when we need change the graphic behind there is no way that by sharing someone else's data -- you know, when apps are collecting data on users, that, then, using at footprints of done information. But they made a change four years ago were giving of someone else had this information, there is no way they could have used that for targeting, it was only available to the particular app.

They didn't have a security or a privacy breached, the issue was that someone shared the data that wasn't even really usable, right? So, Facebook had to apologize for breach of trust but there wasn't a privacy issue. So, there are trying to apologize for something where there's not a clear problem or issue to solve.

HOWELL: OK. So, Zuckerberg, responding to outrage and all of this now, but fair to say, the devil is always in the details in terms of service because there was a time span where Facebook allowed groups to mine for data through apps not just getting the data of people who consent it but also the data of all of their friends. Should Facebook have been more transparent about these with users or is it also up to users to know the details before clicking yes?

YU: But Facebook launch the F8 platform back in May 2007. The way that these games took off and became bond, was that you can invite someone, George, like your friends to a game. And then, all of your friends will be there. And that's how it was so easy to be able to participate in earning coins and points and all of these.

And Facebook didn't realize the extent what was possible. I have a couple conversation to Zuckerberg, where he said, "I had no idea that people will take this apps tokens and build add systems. And build -- you know, other things with that data. There was no way to flash their data 24-hour rule. Where you have to flash the data if you got that from the users but there is no way to enforce that. They only did that at two years later.

HOWELL: This isn't all on -- go ahead, please.

YU: Yes. So, when you sign up for a supermarket loyalty card when you sign up for any kind of points programs on airline, then you give your data in exchange to some kind of discount, nobody needs a fine prints. Right? So, Facebook (INAUDIBLE) did dispose all of that. And I think they did the right thing when they launch the platform, but they never intended that other people when used the data in the way that was being used, nor did they really have a way to educate users to know what's possible with the data.

HOWELL: So, Dennis, online certainly, you see this a lot with people. Many on defense about what to do with their Facebook apps. To delete or not delete. Aside from the #DeleteFacebook movement, what steps can people take to protect their data?

YU: Number one thing is any app that you are using, you (INAUDIBLE) Facebook and see a list of them and understand what permissions you are using? A lot of web site, will have a login to Facebook or log in the Google.

The number one way to log in right now which is 61 percent of the internet, is logging in the Facebook credentials. Be careful because it will stay, this app would like to get your -- you know, a lot would like you to log in the Facebook and like your e-mail, and like your phone number, and like this all the things. Make sure that you actually want to get that app permission, and Facebook has been more transparent of what information --

HOWELL: all right, I think we just lost Dennis there, but certainly, good advice basically, to pay very close attention to -- you know, what those apps want to take from you. The devil always in the details.

[02:50:00] CHURCH: Yes. And don't feel compelled to answer every single question that asked online, think about it and stop.

HOWELL: Absolutely.

CHURCH: You know, gauge when you need to deliver that information. All right, we're going to take a short break here. But next here on CNN NEWSROOM, on a historic flight that with nearly round the world. All in one goal. We'll explain when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Severe weather season slowly and quietly waking up here across portions of the United States' South Central region of the U.S. we go where the best weather, best case for severe weather at least is in place across this region. Could see a few thunderstorms begin to pop up some heavy rainfall, certainly possible in places like St. Louis, points slightly to the north. You've got to work your way towards Minneapolis for some wintery weather to begin to enter the picture across that region. And in places like Denver, Colorado, some afternoon showers possible.

11 the best we can do for you. Atlanta, one of the cooler days left in the forecast for the remainder of spring and, of course, summer as well. Nine there, same score out of New York City's sunny skies, gorgeous day there in Montreal. About six degrees though with chilly temps in store. And notice, it will want to warm up over the next couple of days, Boston. Gorgeous perspective (INAUDIBLE) and significant snowstorms recently and same story for New York City makes it up to the teens. But all of that, it is short-lived. Look at this, by Saturday into Sunday, as we approach, of course, the final days of the month of March, that's wintry weather and that's cool temps beginning to really dive in south. And we'll how far south the cold air eventually makes but it really looks like an impressive spell for this time of year.

Down to the tropics we go Nassau around 28, Belize City, one better at 29, while on to areas around South America, Manaus at 32 degrees, La Paz got a few morning showers up around 12. Salvador, it comes in with some morning thunderstorms 28 degrees.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOWELL: There is white snow and black ice there. Take a look, but right now, what you're looking at, orange snow in parts of Russia and Eastern Europe now.

CHURCH: Yes, meteorologist say, this happened because of a part of sandstorm that blew in from northern Africa. One skier said it look like Mars. (INAUDIBLE)

HOWELL: It's interesting, I think the people -- snow is well yes. Flying from Australia to London usually requires long stopovers and nearly a full day of travel. But now, one airline has found a way to make that trip a little easier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN JOYCE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, QANTAS: It's a historic day for aviation, a historic day for Qantas. Because today, it will be the first link to train Australia and Europe as I have recurred non-stop in aviation. We're so excited.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:54:56] CHURCH: On Sunday, a conscious planes accessibly completed a direct flight from Perth to Heathrow. It took 17 hours, nearly three hours fewer than the regular route. The plane travel just shy of 15,000 kilometers. That's more than 9300 miles.

HOWELL: The colorful entourage greeted the boarding Dreamliner passengers at Heathrow Airport. Some said the direct flight made travel lot easier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excellent, really good. Yes, space big different spanning all the way through a non-stop. It turned quite a few flight inspectors and (INAUDIBLE) but span to say, on the plane -- let -- beautiful plane. The plane is really good, really comfortable, biggest economy, safe, I've ever had on the plane, and I have to get -- could slate this well, and it will be refresh, and big difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Australian officials hope access to direct flights will encourage more tourist to visit the country. Waiting for the Atlanta, straight to Sydney flight.

HOWELL: That would be a nice flight.

CHURCH: And the next one, right?

HOWELL: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, still ahead. I'm George Howell.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. We'll be right back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: We now know she does not like being called a liar, she does like being called a victim. Just ahead, more on Stormy Daniels' first extended interview about her alleged affair with Donald Trump, before he became president.

CHURCH: Meanwhile, polls are open --