Return to Transcripts main page
NEWS STREAM
World Headlines; Three American Detainees Released From North Korea; Outrage In Iran After Trump Promises Sanctions; U.K., France, Germany, U.S. Decision On Iran; Turkey's Erdogan Fears New Crises In Middle East; Oil Prices Swing After Trump Decision; Pompeo In Pyongyang Working On Summit Plans; Mueller Questions Russian Oligarch About Payments U.S. Company Made To Trump's Lawyer. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired May 9, 2018 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and welcome to News Stream. Iran's supreme leader on a Twitter tirade after
Donald Trump pulls out of the nuclear deal. And the U.S. allies are criticizing the decision.
Back in Pyongyang, the U.S. Secretary of State is meeting with top North Korean officials ahead of a landmark summit. And questionable payments,
the Mueller investigation reportedly asks a Russian oligarch how hundreds of thousands of dollars led in a bank account run of Donald Trump's
attorney.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Iran is lashing out at the U.S. for dropping out of the nuclear deal, and its supreme leader, not mincing words on Twitter. He is blasting
President Donald Trump, the U.S., and the E.U. as well, saying that they can't be trusted.
Meanwhile, Iranian lawmakers set the American flag on fire after Mr. Trump made his announcement. And Iran's parliament is set to vote on a motion
that could call for proportionate and reciprocal action. Now, America's European allies are doing their best to save the agreement with the French
Foreign Minister insisting that the deal is not dead, but Mr. Trump remains defiant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today's action sends a critical message, the United States no longer makes empty threats. When I
make promises, I keep them. We will be instituting the highest level of economic sanction. Any nation that helps Iran in his quest for nuclear
weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States. America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: CNN is covering every angle of this story from around the world. Let's get more on the latest reaction on Iran with Frederik Pleitgen. He
joins me live on the line from Tehran. And, Fred, I mean, all out anger in Iran directed squarely at the U.S. Tell us more about the reaction there.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Yes, absolutely right. I think directed squarely at the U.S. is specifically, of course, at
President Trump after that speech that he gave last night. But I think it's also somewhat evolves as well. I thin you did have the (Inaudible) of
lawmakers in the Iranian parliaments set the American flag on fire.
By the way, a (Inaudible), a nuclear flag was also set on fire there as well. They are saying that they think the United States can't be trusted.
And that obviously, all of this is squarely on the United States. But then you have President Hassan Rouhani who came out, and he said he believes
that potentially, a version of a deal might be able to survive.
And that would be the same terms (ph) of the original nuclear agreement, minus the United States. Now, the Iranian defense, they won't guarantee
that a deal like that could actually work. And they said they're going to give it a few weeks. They will see if the Europeans are really committed
to it because they're really the most important ones with that.
It's European companies right now that again (Inaudible) -- because they feel they could quickly expect the retaliation from the United States on
these European countries out committed, and they can't keep the deal alive, but whether or not that visibly a reality in this phase of American threat
is something that remains to be (Inaudible).
It's interesting because even Iran (Inaudible) European nations, he does seem to be digging some sort of leak to President -- to Hassan Rouhani to
see whether or not a smaller version of the Iran nuclear deal might be possible. But yes, they're a lot of anger here. There's a lot of
disappointment here. And as you can see some of the comments that are coming out, there's a lot of retaliations as well. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Fred Pleitgen live from Tehran, thank you. As Fred mentioned, the big question now, could there be a new deal. We have Atika Shubert in
Berlin now where the European leaders are reacting at the prospects of another new deal.
Atika, U.S. sanctions can be very punishing for European countries. So do E.U. leaders really believe that somehow the Iran nuclear deal can be
preserved without the U.S. on board?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. As the Foreign Minister of Germany Heiko Maas said last night, this deal is not dead. And in fact we
heard from Chancellor Merkel -- Angela Merkel just a few minutes ago, she held a press conference, and what she said was that we must make sure Iran
adheres to its obligations in the agreement.
Iran has so far stuck to its obligations, and then she addressed, you know, whether or not there would be new deal. She said rather than questioning
the Iran deal currently, we need to talk about a broader deal that goes beyond it.
So, her view very much in line with what France and Britain have also been saying is that this current deal, the JCPOA, must be preserved, but there
is scope to try and expand upon it.
[08:05:02] That it's not a perfect deal. But it needs to be kept so that we can -- they can keep Iran to its obligations, and then make it bigger,
make it broader. That's Germany's position, and it's in line with both France and Britain.
LU STOUT: What Trump did can be seen as a really bitter defeat for America's top allies in Europe including Germany. And they have been
ignored by Trump. They have been alienated by Trump. What does this mean for the relationship between the U.S. and the E.U.?
SHUBERT: Well, this is a huge transatlantic risk. I mean, both Chancellor Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron had gone to the White House,
and trying to convince President Trump to keep the Iran deal.
They work together intend among this, and clearly their efforts failed. And now President Trump by pulling out of the Iran deal has really left it
up to Europe to try and salvage what remains.
So it's really up to Europe now to convince Iran to basically ignore the United States, to stick to its restrictions in the deal, and at the same
time, try and keep protect its own companies which may now be hit by U.S. sanctions.
So, what President Trump has done is rather than put pressure on Iran. He's actually put tremendous pressure on his E.U. allies, and it's now up
to Europe to try, and hold it together.
LU STOUT: Yes, and for Europe, a very complicated fight to hold it together. Atika Shubert reporting live from Berlin, thank you. Now, the
President of Turkey says the U.S. decision to withdraw won't just affect the region, but the entire world, and he's worried that it could trigger
new crises in the Middle East.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan sat down for an exclusive interview with Becky Anderson. And she joins us now live from Ankara. And, Becky, just how
concerned is Mr. Erdogan about the geopolitical and economic fallout from Trump's decision on Iran?
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very, I think the answer to that is. Look, it is no surprise that some key U.S. allies in this Middle Eastern
wider region are applauding Donald Trump's moves, mainly Saudi Arabia and Israel, but it is clear that these could drive a significant wedge between
Washington and its key NATO ally, Ankara.
I sat down with President Erdogan at what is an incredibly important time for this region. When it feels like the very order of the Middle East is
at stake. And I put it to him, I asked him, what do you think the impact of the U.S. pulling out of this Iran deal will be on this region. This is
what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRESIDENT OF TURKEY (through a translator): This nuclear deal was previously called unattainable, but it was rendered
possible after years of negativity raising hope all around the globe in the end.
And Trump in the hat turning this deal around and retrieving from this deal possibly is not just going to impact the region, but also the entire world.
The whole economy is at stake, and that is the reason why (Inaudible) will be hit.
And the United State might gain some certain positivity of the withdrawal from this or the rising oil prices, but many of other countries in poverty
will be hit even harder and deeper, and at the same time we hear new crises will break out -- would break out in the region. We don't new crises in
the region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: So here is what we know, the most immediate effect of this decision by Donald Trump to violate the rules of this deal will be
reimposition (ph) at some point seeing over the next couple of months well it seems of sanctions against the oil, and banking sectors.
Upon of what the President of Turkey was telling me there was simple this. And we saw this yesterday. The upping, the serge in oil prices ones this
decision was made. Now look, Turkey and Iran have upped the stakes so far as trade volumes are concerned between the two countries over the past
couple of months.
And a lot the oil that imported into Turkey for example comes from Iran. But I think he was talking about the wider picture here. What will be the
effect on oil prices as when the Iranian oil sector is sanctioned once again. So that is one issue.
But I think the wider issue that he was talking about is want to hear that those in Washington and in capitals in the west will be worried about.
This is the increasing influence that we've seen across this regional, of Turkey, along with Iran and Russia at the expense of influence of the U.S.
[08:10:00] Many people in this region quite simply say there is a complete vacuum of U.S. policy in the Middle East into which Iran, Russia, and
Turkey are stepping.
We have seen Turkey on a collision of course with Washington over the past few months or so at the U.S. support for anti-regime troops on the ground
in Syria and Turkey says terrorists, the tit-for-tat hostage, diplomacy that we're seeing.
The U.S. evangelist pastor here being held in detention on terrorism charges, the Turks saying they won't fit to (Inaudible) extradited of
course from the U.S., the Muslim critic, that the president here accuses of closing the coup -- the attempted coup in Turkey last year.
So there is a lot of sort of infrastructure issues between Washington and Ankara at the moment. Some will say this is a collision course and this is
not doing that relationship any favors whatsoever, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Becky Anderson live in Ankara, thank you. And tune in later today for Becky Anderson's, again, exclusive interview with the Turkish
President. Coming up on Connect the World 4:00 p.m. on London, and 7:00 p.m. Abu Dhabi time, that's 11:00 p.m. here in Hong Kong only on CNN.
And Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader is still on Twitter. Moments ago he said this, quote, if we agree with them on the issue of our presence
in the region, and our missiles, the U.S.' problem with Iran won't be over, and the U.S. will create a new problem.
And oil markets, they have seen wild swings since Donald Trump made an announcement that the U.S. is going to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
For more on that, the economic impact of the decision, John Defterios at CNNMoney joins me now live from Bahrain. And, John, what has been the
overall economic fallout of Trump's decision.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, couple of interesting twist to this, Kristie, the financial market fallout is quite limited, but all the
attention is really on the oil market after the decision by President Trump. We're right near a four year high that we saw overnight, $77 on
international benchmark which is ICE Brent, and WTI or NYMEX out of New York, trading around $71 a barrel.
This reflects the course of future supplies of Iran. For context here, Iran has added nearly 1 million barrels a day since the sanctions were
lifted in 2016.
Under the sanctions, they were limited to just over 1 million barrels a day who would replace that supply at how quickly without supply drop-down
because of the U.S. sanctions is a huge question mark. We know the White House is trying to face in tougher sanctions over the next six months.
We don't think 1 million barrels a day is going to come off to the market, but it could be $200 to $300, U.S. is even thinking about incentives
against those who are importing that Iranian oil would get them to look for different supplies going forward.
We have to watch the OPEC, non-OPEC agreement that was struck at the end of 2016 which took 1.8 million barrels a day off the market to sop up the
extra crude that was out trading in the market, the biggest supplier is Saudi Arabia.
If Iran's supplies drop with Saudi Arabia fill the void or some in Riyadh would like to see higher prices ahead of the Saudi Aramco IPO, but if
history tells us anything, Saudi Arabia has always filled the void during conflict, during the Iran-Iraq War, during Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, many
times in the past, even the Iraq war in 2003 with U.S. invasion, Saudi Arabia was there to fill the void.
The OPEC Secretary-General told me in our exclusive interview yesterday, nothing is safe site in the market, we will step in if necessary. We will
get better indications of that towards June if price of crude continues to rise. Now, for some context here, it took four years to build the oil
market back up from $75 a barrel.
Those in OPEC don't want to see the price shoot up and shoot back down again because demand would drop and the price rises too quickly. They are
very aware of it. Saudi Arabia would probably step in, in fact they put out a statement suggesting they would do so if necessary to mitigate the
risk in their words, Kristie.
LU STOUT: John Defterios live from Bahrain for us, thank you for that. You are watching News Stream. I'm coming to you live from Hong Kong, and
up next, Pyongyang is playing host to the U.S. Secretary of State at the top of the agenda, of course, a historic upcoming meeting between Donald
Trump and Kim Jong-un. And the potential release of three U.S. detainees.
Also ahead, the U.S. Special Counsel questions a Russian oligarch about the money paid to a former Trump attorney, Michael Cohen, after the 2016
election. We've got the latest from Washington, coming up.
[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back, this is News Stream. The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is back in
Pyongyang for a second time in less than six weeks. He is there to discuss the potential upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.
And there is possible word of a diplomatic breakthrough, a South Korean official says Pompeo will bring three detained Americans home with him.
One of them is Kim Sang Duk, also know as Tony Kim. He was working at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology before he was arrested last
year, and his son describes how hard it is to wait for news of his release.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOL KIM, TONY KIM'S SON: As time goes, I think it's slowly (Inaudible). First I feel heavier, and I think maybe now there were kind of close to
maybe the end, where it seems like it's going in the tense direction, I think it gets even more harder, you know, the last few steps for him to be
released seems to be going out slower than maybe the first year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Well, agonizing wait for the families of the three U.S. detainees in North Korea. Now meanwhile, the leaders of Japan, China, and
South Korea, they met in Tokyo on Wednesday, reaffirming their commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Let's go straight to Will Ripley in the Japanese capital. And, Will, a lot to get to, but first, let's talk about Mike Pompeo, he is on this very
delicate diplomatic mission in Pyongyang. Is he going to be able to secure the freedom of these Americans?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we certainly don't know, Kristie, until it actually happens, but all signs are pointing towards having a very
likely possibility.
One, you have the South Korean government saying that they think it's going to happen, you have the official I spoke with last week saying that the
release of these three U.S. citizens was imminent, and that the North Koreans actually decided two months ago they would be set free.
But there were discussions with the U.S. about not tying the release to the actual talks about denuclearization, and then, you know, you have the fact
that Secretary Pompeo brought with him a press pull, where is the last struck to Pyongyang. It was top secret over Easter weekend, not announced
until days after it happened.
So it does seem as if the United States and South Korea are expecting a big moment here as we are potentially now just weeks away from the summit
between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.
LU STOUT: And meanwhile, where you were there in Tokyo, we've got these high-level trilateral talks involving Japan, South Korea, China. Are all
three parties seeing eye to eye on the path forward to peace on the Peninsula?
RIPLEY: So they did put out a joint statement here in Tokyo saying that they are committed to the total denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,
but the approach of Japan and South Korea differs from the approach of China. China would like to see economic relief for North Korea in exchange
for incremental denuclearization over a longer period of time.
[08:20:00] Well, we know that the U.S. and its allies have been calling for a very quick denuclearization. Perhaps a timeframe as short as six months
to a year, something that a lot of analysts believe is unrealistic from the North Korean perspective.
But what all of the sides are agreeing to is that they do want see nuclear weapons off the Peninsula, and they say they are committed to working
together to achieve that end goal.
But of course the real work really does lie ahead at that planned summit with President Trump and Kim Jong-un, and hopefully, when Secretary Pompeo
leaves Pyongyang, he will be able to announce, or President Trump will announce that the date and location for when this is actually going to take
place, and where.
LU STOUT: Absolutely. Will Ripley reporting live from Tokyo. Thank you, Will. Now, within the past few hours, I spoke to South Korea's Deputy
Minister for Foreign Affairs Enna Park. And she told me that she is confident of Mike Pompeo's ability to help broker a watershed peace deal
between Seoul and Pyongyang.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENNA PARK, SOUTH KOREAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: I don't mind if it is a hoax or something else, but what I mind is he is capable or not in making a
deal -- making a deal with North Korea, and I think he is very much experience, and he's a capable man.
LU STOUT: There is a lot of work happening behind-the-scenes ahead with that highly anticipated summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, what
role is South Korea and your team playing behind-the-scenes to prepare Donald Trump for that encounter?
PARK: Well, this summit between Trump -- President Trump and Kim Jong-un is very, very one to move forward. So it should be a success. In other to
make a success, we are in full consultation with the United States, how to prepare for the coming summit. And our role is we tried to be a navigator
to steer to the success.
LU STOUT: So, as a navigator, what kind of pointers are you offering the Trump team?
PARK: Well, we -- we have high expectation on the summit because there is a very unique unprecedented here, the opportunity to produce a
comprehensive deal, a road map towards denuclearization. So, the deal should take into consideration, the need of North Korea. So they have to
make a deal and offer something to Chairman Kim can accept.
LU STOUT: And what will that be regime stability?
PARK: Regime stability, no hostile policy against the North Korea, and creating, and favorable environment for economic development in the time
for denuclearization.
LU STOUT: Where do you think the meeting between Kim and Trump should take place?
PARK: Well, from out point of view Panmunjom (ph), and what is the ideal place is because it's very symbolic and--
LU STOUT: At the DMZ.
PARK: -- in terms -- in terms of accessibility and the logistics upon. But it's up to the United States and the North Korea where they will meet.
LU STOUT: Yes, during those inter-Korean talks, we saw those very emotional scenes of President Moon and Kim Jongg-un hand in hand, embracing
each other, it's going to be a very different encounter, isn't it, when Donald Trump meets Kim Jong-un because of the threats that they have thrown
at each other. Do you fear about what the chemistry is going to be like when these two men finally meet each other?
PARK: Well, it's to be thin, and their trust ability is actually very important part to all the -- our negotiation process. At the inter-Korean
summit, we started to build mutual trust between South and North Korea. And we hope that the up coming summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-
un will contribute to trust building process.
LU STOUT: Foreign Minister Park, thank you so much for joining me.
PARK: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now, legal troubles could be mounting for President Trump's former personal attorney. We are learning new details involving Michael
Cohen's finances, his connections to a company linked for the Russian oligarch. CNN's Abby Phillip has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN has learned that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigations questioned Russian oligarch Viktor
Vekselberg about hundreds of thousands of dollars, his company's U.S. affiliate, Columbus Nova, paid to President Trump's personal attorney,
Michael Cohen, after the 2016 election.
Vekselberg is close to Vladimir Putin and is one of several oligarchs sanctioned by the U.S. government last month. Vekselberg's company, Renova
Group, was also hit with penalties in retaliation for Russia's interference in the election.
STEVEN MNUCHIN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I can't make any comments as it relates to our sanctions or any thoughts on the specifics.
PHILLIP: The New York Times confirming details initially made public by Stormy Daniels's lawyer, Michael Avenatti.
[08:25:05] That these payments amounted to nearly half a million dollars, and were paid by Columbus Nova to Cohen's Shell company, Essential
Consulting, between January and August of 2017.
Columbus Nova is run by Vekselberg's cousin, Andrew Intrater, who sources say has also been questioned by Mueller's team. In a statement, Columbus
Nova's general counsel stating, I can confirm that the company is 100 percent owned and controlled by Americans.
Any suggestion that at any point in time, Viktor Vekselberg, or any of his companies owned, or exercised any control over Columbus Nova is patently
untrue. Avenatti telling CNN he has evidence that Vekselberg was involved before making this unsubstantiated charge.
MICHAEL AVENATTI, ATTORNEY FOR STORMY DANIELS: It appears that this may be your typical pay-to-play type scenario, where you have someone close to a
politician, in this case close to the President of the United States, which is highly unusual, selling access -- potential access to the President of
the United States.
PHILLIP: Cohen did not respond to CNN's request for comment about the payments. A source tells CNN that Mueller also questioned Vekselberg about
his cousin's generous campaign contributions to Mr. Trump, including a $250,000 donation to the President's inauguration fund.
The New York Times reports that both Vekselberg and Intrater attended President Trump's inauguration, where they met with Cohen before setting up
the consulting arrangement.
Financial records reviewed by Avenatti and The New York Times indicate that Cohen's company also received payments from a number of corporations,
including nearly $400,000 from a subsidiary of pharmaceutical company Novartis, $200,000 from AT&T, and $150,000 from Korea Aerospace Industries.
Novartis's chief executive was one of 15 business leaders invited to have dinner with President Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos in
January.
AT&T is currently engaged in a legal battle with the Justice Department over a proposed merger with Time Warner, CNN's parent company.
In a statement, AT&T said, essential Consulting was one of several firms we engaged in 2017 to provide insights into understanding the new
administration.
They did no legal work or lobbying for us, and the contract ended in December 2017. Korean Aerospace Industries is currently working to secure
a defense contract with the U.S. Air Force, and declined to comment to the New York Times.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: So many new threads in the investigation. A big thank you to Abby Phillip for filing that report. Now, the fall out from U.S. President
Donald Trump's call to quit the Iran deal is only just beginning. And the U.K.'s former ambassador to Iran lays out just what the ripple effects
could be in Iran, the Middle East, and North Korea as well.
[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.
In Pyongyang for a second time to discuss details for the upcoming talks between President Trump and Kim Jong-un. A South Korean official said he
expects Pompeo to leave North Korea with three American detainees.
Facebook says it will ban foreign groups from buying adverts related to Ireland's abortion vote later this month. That is in line with Irish law
which prevents foreign groups and citizens donating to Irish campaign groups. Ireland will hold a referendum on whether to legalize abortion on
May the 25th.
Iran's supreme leader is firing back at Donald Trump after the U.S. president withdrew from the nuclear deal. A short time ago, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei tweeted about how American presidents come and go while his nation persists. He said Trump's corpse will also be worm food while Iran stands
strong.
Joining me now for more on the geopolitical fallout from Donald Trump's decision to leave the Iran deal is former British ambassador to Iran,
Richard Dalton. Ambassador Dalton, welcome to the program.
First, let's talk about Europe. You know by leaving the deal, Donald Trump has effectively ignored and alienated his allies. What does Europe need to
do next to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive?
RICHARD DALTON, FORMER BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO IRAN: Yes, they alienated governments but more than that, they will have big impact on public opinion
which already distrusts this administration and regard the United States as no longer a reliable ally in so many respects.
Europeans are right to express that firm attachment to the deal. Statement by Macron, Merkel, and May point the way forward to determine attempt to
preserve the economic benefits for Iran which is entitled to do under the deal and to keep Iran in full observance of the terms of that deal.
In other words, for Iranian government to resist the calls from hardliners to ditch the deal alongside when which United States has ditched it.
LU STOUT: Now, a question about the Middle East. The region was already in high tension before Trump's decision. With the United States out of the
Iran nuclear deal, does that push the region even closer to a much wider all out conflict?
DALTON: Yes, it does. I don't expect either United States and Israel and their allies or Iran to want such a conflict, but the further twist to the
tensions and bad feeling and disagreement that roils the Middle East which President Trump has given does increase the risk of war. The United States
is seeking to dismantle the best defense which Israel had against Iran ever developing a nuclear weapon.
LU STOUT: You are also the former British ambassador to Libya. I have to ask you about Muammar Gaddafi and the United States. I mean, the similar
pledge to Muammar Gaddafi, saying that we are going to ease sanctions, let's have warmer relations between --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- looking forward to meeting. They seemed to be in good health. Also good meeting with Kim Jong-un date and place set. We are
going to have more on this in just moments. But, Allison (ph), this is news. Their families have been waiting for a big development.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. That's great news for the families and of course President Trump delivered a tease there about what else to look for.
So we will follow that.
Meanwhile, Stormy Daniels's attorney, Michael Avenatti, claimed that he has learned of a series of payments to President Trump's personal attorney,
Michael Cohen, after the 2016 election and this includes a half a million dollar payment from the U.S. affiliate of a Russian oligarch's company.
And Michael Avenatti joins us live now. Michael, great to see you.
MICHAEL AVENATTI, ATTORNEY FOR STORMY DANIELS: Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you help connect the dots, if there are any, what is the connection between this Russia oligarch and the payment from Michael
Cohen to Stormy Daniels?
AVENATTI: Michael Cohen in October of 2016 set up a company by the name of Essential Consultants LLC.
[08:35:02] He then set up a bank account at First Republic Bank for the purposes of operating this LLC. In connection with that, he lied to the
bank about a number of things relating to the purpose of that account.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said it was a real estate investment, I believe, a consulting?
AVENATTI: Right. And he also provided other assurances to the bank relating to the type of financial transactions that were going to be
handled in connection with that account which were false and proved to be false ultimately.
He subsequently made the $130,000 payment to my client by wired transfer out of that account. He then proceeded to accept money into that account
from a whole host of corporate interests including an entity with very close ties to this Russian oligarch.
Now that entity is trying to distance himself from the oligarch last night and this morning. That is going to prove to be a bunch of nonsense. They
claim that they have nothing to do with this company by the name of Renova which is a multinational --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me pull it up for everybody just so they can flowchart it themselves. So Viktor Vekselberg owns Renova which had a U.S.
affiliate called Columbus Nova which paid Michael Cohen half a million dollars. So there it is, that connection.
AVENATTI: Right. And Columbus Nova is now trying to -- the U.S. entity is trying to distance themselves from this and claim they have nothing to do
with Renova or the oligarch which is ultimately going to be proven to be false.
And people need to ask themselves. I mean, why is the continued cover up going on here and why is this company being so slick as it relates to
coming clean about what this money was for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your source, that the Russian oligarch paid this, then ultimately ended up in Michael Cohen --
AVENATTI: We are not going to disclose our source this morning but here is what I will say. We have multiple media organizations as of this morning.
CNN, The New York Times, NBC --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): This is CNN Breaking News.
LU STOUT: OK, you're back with CNN "News Stream". More on the breaking news coming to CNN. The three American detainees who have been held by
North Korea, they have been released. Developments coincide with that visit to Pyongyang by Mike Pompeo, the U.S. secretary of state.
For details on this, we are joined by Will Ripley in Tokyo. Will, as expected, freedom for the three Americans. Tell us how we found out. What
more have you learned?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we knew that this was going to be a quick trip by Secretary Pompeo. But this is -- he didn't even
spent a night. He arrived in Pyongyang after taking off from an air base here in Japan. He had a very long day of meetings. He had a lunch where
they toasted with each other. They talked about what great partners the U.S. and North Korea have been in arranging the summit.
And now we have confirmed from a tweet from the U.S. president that the secretary is back on the plane with those three Americans.
Kim Dong-chul, who has been detained since October 2015 along with other two U.S. citizens who were detained in the spring of last year, Tony Kim
and Kim Hak-song, both of them professors at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. Kim Dong-chul was a business who was working back
and forth in a joint industrial district near the border with China.
I actually interviewed Kim Dong-chul back in early 2016, just a few months after his release and it was back then when he on camera gave me a detailed
confession about the espionage that he was later convicted of inside North Korea.
We didn't have any way of knowing at that time whether that confession was made under duress or rather he really did what he said that he did. We
never really did get a clear sense of the charges that the other two men were facing because they actually have never been put on trial.
Sources have told us that Kim Dong-chul has been serving his sentence in a labor camp, working hard labor similar to other U.S. detainees such as
Kenneth Bay (ph), for example, who served a significant amount of time in the labor camp.
The other two may have actually been housed in some sort of a holding facility. Think of it like the equivalent of a jail as opposed to the
prison as they were awaiting a trial which never happened.
But now, the word that the secretary has in fact brought those Americans home, all signs have been pointing to that, Kristie, we know that he
brought a press pool with him. The South Korean government told us today that they expected that the Americans would be released on this trip.
President Trump has been hinting about it repeatedly. And it was just a matter of days ago when I spoke with an official familiar with the
negotiations who told me that the release of those Americans was imminent.
And that in fact, the North Koreans have decided two months ago to release them, that they are going back and forth with the U.S. at that time about
making sure that the release of these U.S. citizens was not in any way tie to the denuclearization talk.
In other words, the United States while they consider this gesture of goodwill ahead of the summit between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, they
didn't want North Korea to think they are going to get any nuclear concessions as a result of it.
But clearly, this is a win for the Trump administration. This is something that they set out to do, and they have now accomplished it. And apparently
now we could just be hours away from learning the date and the location for this historic summit between the president of the United States and the
leader of North Korea.
[08:40:00] The first time in more than six decades of history on the Korean Peninsula that this has ever happened, that a sitting U.S. president
has met with a North Korean leader. Truly extraordinary time, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yeah. And the way that Donald Trump took to Twitter initially a few days ago to tease the upcoming release of these three Americans held in
Pyongyang, and taking to Twitter right now to announce that they are indeed traveling back to United States with Mike Pompeo. Is that something that
goes on well with officials in Japan and Korea?
RIPLEY: Well, I think that they are now accustomed to the style of President Trump. We often get a window into what he is thinking or at least
what he wants to put out publicly, that he is thinking through his Twitter account.
This is 2018, after all, and we have learned to monitor the president's account very closely here in Japan. They certainly do. The South Koreans
do. And I can tell you the North Koreans have learned a whole lot about Twitter over the last year and a half that president has been in office.
I know that there have been times that President Trump has revealed information on Twitter that has made the North Koreans uncomfortable. For
example, the fact that he so quickly agreed to a summit with Kim Jong-un and then he have the South Koreans make this big announcement after kind of
teasing the press about it hours earlier.
You know, that announcement on the steps of the White House certainly took the North Koreans by surprise. One, they didn't think that President Trump
would agree to a summit so quickly. And two, they didn't think it was going to be announced to the whole world before the North Koreans had a chance to
let China know, for example.
That may be one reason why we've now seen Kim Jong-un made two different visits to China just in the last month and a half or so. He just returned
as you know from his second visit with Xi Jinping. He went to the Chinese city of Dalian and they had quite a photo op, a walk along the shore, a
banquet.
This is China certainly trying to make sure that they remain relevant in this process. But the truly unprecedented images still to come, Kristie,
when we see that summit somewhere in the world between President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un.
LU STOUT: That's right because that really was the focus for the U.S. secretary of state for that visit to Pyongyang. Mike Pompeo was there, yes,
to secure the release of these three Americans who are according to Donald Trump's tweet, in the air flying back home to United States with Pompeo.
But it was also to lay the groundwork to prepare for that upcoming historic summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. But still, in that tweet,
Donald Trump is kind of teasing us again, saying that they have reached a conclusion where it is going to be. But we don't know the details just yet,
do we?
RIPLEY: It's been a drama that has been unfolding on social media which I guess we should be used to in this day and age. Initially, we have heard
that Singapore was a front runner, but then President Trump kind of changed the whole narrative when he tweeted that he thought the Demilitarized Zone,
the site of that historic inter-Korean summit between President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Kim Jong-un of North Korea, he thought that might be a
good location.
So then we were hearing that in fact the North Koreans have been convinced that the Demilitarized Zone and the peace -- the truce village, Panmunjom,
that that might be the place where the summit happen.
But then we have been getting hints from administration officials that in fact the United States has convinced their president that the DMZ is not
the right place. Now, they are once again leaning towards Singapore.
So at this point, if we are taking bets, I don't know where to put my money, Kristie. I told you several weeks ago, I thought they might have it
in Stockholm because Sweden has played an integral role in the release of those three detained Americans. I will say that I was probably really far
off on that one.
It seems as if they are leaning towards Singapore now. Hopefully we will know in a few hours whether that is the case. But if you try to guess in
this day and age, I think you're going to end up like all of us just kind of scratching our heads and waiting until the next tweet, frankly.
LU STOUT: Absolutely. Will Ripley reporting live for us in this breaking news story live from Tokyo. Will, thank you so much.
And once again, breaking news coming in via Donald Trump's Twitter account, saying that the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has secured the release
of three U.S. detainees. They are currently up in the air on their way from Pyongyang back home to United States.
Much, much welcome news to their families who have been agonizing just waiting for their return, the return of Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim, and Kim
Hak-song.
We will have more after this short break. Keep it here. You're watching CNN "News Stream."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
END