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NEWS STREAM

John Brennan Hits Back At Trump; Vatican Silent Over Pennsylvania Sexual Abuse Report; Bridge Operator Asking For Compensation; China And U.S. Back On The Negotiation Table; Turkey Ready To Talk To U.S. But There Should Be No Threats; Middle Class In Iran Impacted By Sanctions; World Headlines; Trump White House; Questions Swirl Around Russian Journalists' Deaths in Africa; Former Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee Dead At 93. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 16, 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] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream."

Brennan hits back. The former CIA director responds after President Trump revokes his security access.

Survivors speak out. We hear from some of the many victim of sexual abuse at Pennsylvania churches, but still no response from the Vatican.

And operators of a bridge that collapsed in Italy are asking for compensation even while rescuers are still looking for survivors.

And we start with the former CIA chief's blistering response to President Trump's decision to revoke his security clearance. John Brennan in a "New

York Times" op-ed just out says it is all about the Russia investigation.

He writes this, "Mr. Trump clearly has become more desperate to protect himself and those close to him which is why he made the politically

motivated decision to revoke my security clearance in an attempt to scare into silence others who might dare to challenge him.

Now more than ever it is critically important that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, and his team of investigators be allowed to complete their

work without interference from Mr. Trump or anyone else so that all Americans can get the answers they so rightly deserve."

CNN White House correspondent Abby Phillip joins me now live with more on the story. And Abby, a day after the president revoked his security

clearance, Brennan is speaking out through this "New York Times" op-ed and he is going after the president hard.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kristie. It seems very much that the president's actions didn't have the intended

effect but it really has already roiled Washington as many wonder whether this was a decision made because of national security concerns or because

the president was interested in political retribution.

Meanwhile, President Trump today is going to have a cabinet meeting and sources tell CNN he didn't even notify his director of National

Intelligence, Dan Coats, that he was about to make this big decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIP (voice-over): President Trump drawing a direct connection between special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and his decision to

revoke the security clearance of a vocal critic, former CIA director John Brennan.

The president telling the "Wall Street Journal" in an impromptu interview, "I call it the rigged witch hunt. It's a sham and these people let it. So I

think it's something that had to be done." Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announcing the president's unprecedented decision in the White House

briefing room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Any benefits that senior officials might glean from consultations with Mr. Brennan are now

outweighed by the risk posed by his erratic conduct and behavior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice-over): The White House citing Brennan's wild outbursts on the internet and television as reason to revoke this clearance. Brennan has

been critical of Mr. Trump accusing the president of treason after his summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BRENNAN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: What Mr. Trump did yesterday was to betray the women and men of the FBI, the CIA, NSA and others and to betray

the American public. And that's why I use the term that this is nothing short of treasonous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice-over): But the White House is unable to cite any evidence that Brennan, a 25-year CIA veteran serving under presidents from both

parties, misused his intelligence access.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BRENNAN: I do believe that Mr. Trump decided to take this action as he's done with others to try to intimidate and suppress any criticism of him or

his administration. This is not going to deter me at all. I'm going to continue to speak out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice-over): The White House says it's evaluating the clearances of nine other intelligence officials. Mr. Trump telling the "Wall Street

Journal," "I don't trust many of those people on that list. I think they're very duplicitous. I think they're not good people."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HAYDEN, FORMER CIA & NSA DIRECTOR: The White House just messaged the entire American intelligence community, if you stand up and say things

that upset the president or with which he disagrees, he will punish you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice-over): President Trump denying the action as politically motivated insisting he would put a Republican on the list, too, if I

thought they were incompetent or crazy. Democrats now raising concerns the president could use this power against the special counsel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MRK WARNER (D), VIRGINIA: To have either their clearances revoked or in the process of being revoked, to me smacks of nixonian type of

practices. I worry whether this precedence is going to somehow lead to the president trying to take away Mueller and his whole team's security

clearances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:05:08] PHILLIP: And there was one other development yesterday that led people to question the timing of this announcement. When the White House

sent out the explanation for why the president was revoking Brennan's clearance it was dated July 26th. That was three weeks ago and a few days

after President Trump first raised this issue. We asked the White House about that. They said it was a cut and paste error but it certainly seems

they've been holding on to this for quite some time, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And also, why Trump made this move against Brennan. You know, critics are saying this is political payback. This is a way to silence his

critics. Is it also an attempt by the White House to turn the page on a pretty -- on a very negative news cycle?

PHILLIP: It certainly seems that way. This week, the White House has been dealing with a lot of other issues, but most prominently, a former staffer,

Omarosa Manigault-Newman and her tell-all book, which was released on Tuesday. Newman alleged in her book that President Trump has said --

potentially said the "N" word on a secret tape that had yet to be released.

The White House was struggling to deal with that issue, and in a surprise announcement, announced they were having a press briefing for the second

day in a row. That really lead to a lot of questions about what they were planning to announce and this was that announcement.

It certainly has changed the subject, but I think a lot of people are also saying it raises some serious questions about the president's use of this

power which we all know that he certainly does have. It's just that this is an unprecedented move. No president has ever used it in this way before.

LU STOUT: Yeah, absolutely. Abby Phillip, live for us from the White House, thank you.

The Vatican is under fire for its silence in response to an explosive report, a report that details decades of sexual abuse by priests in the USA

to Pennsylvania and the subsequent cover-up. The pressure is mounting on Pope Francis to address the crisis.

On Wednesday, the press office in Rome said it had no comment at this time, while the public, catholic leaders and crucially victims are demanding

answers from the pontiff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAUN DOUGHERTY, ABUSE SURVIVOR: When you embezzle from the church as a priest you go to jail. When you rape a child as a priest you get

transferred to a whole new flock of kids. So, it's a business. So, maybe that will do it.

Money has been their presser their whole time in my opinion. So, this right now is a public relations problem for his business, and he is the CEO of

that business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: The bonds of trust has have been broken. Victims are demanding answers. Let's get the very latest now. Let's head straight to Rome. CNN

contributor Barbie Nadeau is standing by, and Barbie, the pressure is mounting for Pope Francis to respond and still, no comment?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's right. We've been pressing the Vatican since this broke, talking to them again today and the response is

always the same. No comment at this moment. We don't know if that could change in the coming hours or days, but it's not going to be so much of

what the pope says. Offering his prayers to the victims is just not going to cut it this time.

I think people want, the victims want, those who support the victims want action. Now, we've seen this pope in the past accept resignations from

complicit bishops. We saw that in Chile and we've seen that elsewhere, but we haven't seen this pope demand those resignations from those involved in

the cover-up. And I think this time, with the magnitude of this grand jury report, the victims are going to want more than just prayers, Kristie.

LU STOUT: So how are victims and members of the church interpreting this? I mean, this report is just the latest report that details decades of child

sexual abuse. This has been leading global headlines for over a day now and still no comment from the Vatican. So, how are church leaders outside the

Vatican, how are the faithful interpreting this silence?

NADEAU: Well, it is sort of business as usual. The Vatican takes its own time when it comes to these scandals and other situations like this. We've

seen that in the past. They have on their new service website pointed to the comments coming out of the United States Conference of American

Bishops, in which they express sorrow and their shame and their prayers for the victims.

But they have not taken responsibility for the crimes, and so often we hear the victims saying, this is not a sin. It's a crime, and we hear the church

continually referring to it in the United States and elsewhere as sins and omissions made by the clergy.

And you know, it is just a matter of semantics at some level, but for the victims it's more than that. For them to have justice, they need the church

here in Rome as the leader to actually admit what went wrong and admit that it's a crime.

LU STOUT: And what is the pontiff's track record in terms of dealing with this issue?

[08:10:03] As you mentioned, it's not just in the U.S. It's happened outside the U.S. It's not just Pennsylvania, it's happening all over the

world. This (inaudible) scandal has been a global the leader to actually admit what went wrong and admit that it's a crime.

And wrap is the pontiff's track record in terms of dealing with this issue? You mentioned, it's not just in the U.S. It's happened outside the U.S.

Notust Pennsylvania, it's happening all over the world. This (inaudible) scandal has been a global crisis for the church. How has Pope Francis been

dealing with all these abuse allegations since he became pontiff?

NADEAU: Well, you know, he can't be held responsible for 70 years of abuses done by the clergy in the church. He's only been in the job for five

years, but most people will agree that he has sort of a blind spot on this. He has misstepped in the past especially in the church in Chile. He

actually called some of the accusers, blamed them of blasphemy for speaking out against a bishop who was thought to be complicit in the cover-up.

SO, he has made some missteps. I don't think there's any argument with that. There's still time to turn it around. This would be a great moment

for the pope to actually do something proactive. And I think that most people around the pope right now are hoping that he does just that. This is

probably seen as an opportunity, whether or not he takes that opportunity to be proactive instead of reactive.

It's just going to take another matter of hours or days until he speaks. He doesn't have any public engagements coming up. He'll be giving the blessing

out of his window here in Rome in St. Peters Square on Sunday, but before that, it would have to come from his offices not from his own mouth,

Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, his schedule seems to be clear yet still no comment from the Vatican on the back of this deeply disturbing and explosive report.

Barbie Nadeau, reporting live for us. Thank you very much indeed for that.

And staying in Italy, the government is taking aim at the company tied to the bridge that collapsed in Genoa. The Italian interior minister slamming

the "audacity of the British operator for talking about money as rescue and recovery efforts go on." At least 39 people died when the bridge gave way

during a violent storm on Tuesday.

Let's go now to Genoa. That's where we find CNN's Ian Lee. And Ian, we know rescue crews, they have been working tirelessly overnight and for days now.

What is the latest there at the scene?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kristie. We've been watching them during this rescue operation. We just spoke a little while ago with

the chief of police just to get an update on what is going on behind me here. One of the things they're trying to do is cut at this concrete to try

to lift it out of the way to look for people who could still be trapped in the rubble.

They definitely believe there is still people trapped under there and don't know if they're alive or dead. And so there is that sense of urgency,

Kristie, to try to get that rubble away as quickly as possible. They are bringing in dogs as well to try to see if they can find any of these

people.

But obviously, as time progresses, the chances of finding anyone under there is slim so that's why you do have that sense of urgency, but also

there is quite a bit of anger about the fact that this happened, and people here in this neighborhood, they also want answers. Also people wondering if

they'll be able to return home, because I think you know, it's important to note, Kristie, that bridge is still unstable. There is a lot of concern

that other parts could fall down.

LU STOUT: Yes, a sense of urgency there. At the scene of this disaster, what about at the side of at least new government? I mean, that bridge

collapsed behind you is arguably the first real crisis for the government of Giuseppe Conte. So how has he and his government been managing this

national tragedy?

LEE: Well, there's been a lot of finger pointing to say who is responsible for this. And a lot of fingers are pointing at Autostrade per I'Italia.

That is the company that was hired -- that was contracted to maintain this bridge and, in fact, they were doing maintenance work on it at time that it

was being worked on. And now there are a lot of calls for these officials within that company to resign.

There's calls for this contract to be rescinded and that's where we're getting Autostrade saying that, well, if this contract is rescinded before

the cause of the crash is known, then they want to be compensated, but the government hit back really quickly saying, you know, talking about

compensation at this time when they're still pulling bodies out of that rubble, that's vulgar.

And so, they say now is not the time, but we did speak with the chief of police and this is important. They say right now they have two things. One,

is to figure out what actually did bring down that bridge, but the other then they say, once that's known, then they'll figure out who is

responsible.

LU STOUT: Yeah, absolutely. And more the reaction there in Genoa to this disaster and the fact that such an important vital structure would just

crumble apart during a rainstorm no less is -- is there a sense of sorrow still or has sorrow given way to anger?

LEE: I think you just have a mix of both emotions, really. There is a lot of sorrow, because they're still expecting to pull bodies out of this

rubble, and so there is this community still in mourning.

[08:15:07] But there is that a lot of anger, you know, when you go down to the center where people who have been evacuated -- hundreds of people

evacuated from their homes around this bridge -- there is anger because they say we saw this a long time ago for years they said. They complained

about the structure of this bridge. And now we're hearing that potentially some of those buildings near the bridge could be torn down, because that

bridge is unsafe.

This bridge is not going to be able to be repaired. That's what we're hearing right now. So there is a lot of anger right there especially people

saying, well, they may not ever be able to get to go home. So they may have to find new accommodations. So you do have those mix of emotions, Kristie.

LU STOUT: There is anger. There is sorrow in Genoa. Ian Lee, reporting live for us from the scene of that terrible disaster. Ian, thank for your

reporting.

You're watching "News Stream." And coming up right here on the program, as Iran is slammed by re-imposed sanctions, CNN is in Tehran as ordinary

people there pay the price.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live in Hong Kong. Welcome back. You're watching "News Stream."

After several rounds of failed negotiations to resolve the trade war, Beijing says talks with the U.S. are back on. The Chinese Commerce Ministry

says a delegation will travel to the U.S. later this month. It will be headed by Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen, who will be talking with

U.S. Treasury Department's Under Secretary for International Affairs David Malpass. Now, the last round of talks took place in Beijing in early June.

It is uncertain how much progress they'll be able to make this time around.

Now, in another Washington spats over trade, Turkey is telling the U.S. it is ready to talk but no threats are allowed. A diplomatic row has lead the

countries to place sanctions and tariffs back and forth on one another's products.

President Erdogan had been blaming the U.S. for its country's economic problems, and the Turkish lira right now is around two percent higher

against the dollar. It rose 20 percent since Tuesday, but it is still down over 40 percent over the last year for reasons far beyond the recent spat

with the U.S.

Now, joining me now, we got CNN Money's John Defterios. Of course he joins us live from Istanbul as he continues to work the story. And John, as the

U.S. continues to hit Turkey's economy, we learned that Turkey is finding support elsewhere namely Qatar. How much of a cushion can Qatar provide?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, let's jus say, Kristie, it was the right level of cash injection at the right time for Turkey. As

you're suggesting here, we still have the spat between the U.S. and Turkey, but the panic over the lira has subsided quite a bit.

[08:20:05] In fact, so much so, that the president, President Erdogan's communications chief sent out a tweet saying that we've been able to ward

off the economic coup attempt against Turkey. An interesting choice of words because two summers ago, remember, the political coup attempt against

President Erdogan and he fought back.

He wants to change the narrative to show that he's the victim of Donald Trump and he's doing everything to try to ward off the selling of the lira.

They had the psychological level of six to the dollar. It is now trading below that level with the recovery that we've seen so far.

In fact, as we speak, in 40 minutes' time, the finance minister and the president's son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, is going to be holding a

teleconference with some 3,800 investors. Now, we spoke to his senior official within the office suggesting that they'll have callers in from

Hong Kong, Europe and the United States.

Questions put forward in advance because of the scale of the teleconference -- not open to the media. But the idea is to lay out their 100-day plan.

They didn't want to panic. They clearly didn't want to go the International Monetary Fund because the United States is the chief shareholder of the

IMF.

But to show we do have a plan, even an emergency measure to stop short selling of the lira. It has worked. Now, there is a danger for the

president, of course, that he's spent all his ammunition and the trade spat with the United States is not over. That is the risk right now, but going

in to the long eid holiday next week, he wanted to remove that fear that the lira was still plummeting for his people.

LU STOUT: I'm sorry, I mean, on one hand, he's got the support of Qatar, the value of the lira has rallied a little bit in the last day or so. On

the other hand, that trade spat with the U.S. is ongoing. The lira has dropped im value some 40 percent this year and yet Erdogan manages to

maintain some level of popularity, why is that?

DEFTERIOS: Well, he looks like a friend to the Turkish people. And I think in odd way, Kristie, it's a great question you put forward here, Donald

Trump has actually helped President Erdogan, as you were suggesting, the currency down 40 percent year-to-date, which is a currency crisis. It fell

another 20 percent because of the efforts by Donald Trump, but he goes out now and says I have friends.

Qatar injected some cash. I have a plan. I put in emergency measures, and like the coup attempt two years ago, I'm fighting on your behalf. So, even

though he's had prolific spending, he's gotten them into a currency cries, in this essence, the Trump tweet and the attack helped him rally the

troops, get some focus and at least stabilize the currency. Now, this 100- day plan, does it work or not is the big question. It doesn't solve the long-term issues for Turkey. That is for certain.

LU STOUT: John Defterios, live for us from Istanbul. Many thanks indeed for that.

Now, U.S. President Donald Trump and his sanctions on Iran, they kicked into place last week with more to come later this year. And the sanctions,

they are slamming the automobile sector among other industries. But as CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports from Tehran, U.S. sanctions are also hitting

another target. Middle-class Iranians and they are now feeling the impact of Trump's political maneuvers in a very real way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONALL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tehran stood proud for centuries, but now life here changes by the week.

Everyone loves a Toyota, until it breaks down. Yet, renewed American sanctions on cars and their parts, kicking in a week ago, being that few

can afford repairs. The spares are drying out, so they sit here for months.

(on-camera): Three times as expensive. So this is just -- just in the last few months, this is now three times as expensive as it used to be?

(voice-over): These would normally be full, owner (inaudible) says. You never think that a spark plug would become such valued currency.

Donald Trump thinks he is pushing the Iranian people to rise up against their government. Do you think that's likely to happen because of what's

happening here?

No, he says, because the hungrier the people get the more they're going to hate him. If Trump acted properly people might even have liked him.

Behind every car is a family and (inaudible) is at the heart of the matter. He can't afford the parts to repair his taxi, but that hasn't stopped the

monthly repayments on it. And that led to stark changes at home for the (inaudible) family. (Inaudible), 7 and daughter (inaudible), 13. As the

local currency also plunges in value, their fancy refrigerator in their plush, but tiny two-room apartment is suddenly emptier.

The price of an egg has doubled, he says. Just like the price of fresh fruits and vegetables. Milk is about 40% more expensive. These are the

middle class that Barack Obama wanted to win over by lifting sanctions under the nuclear deal, but on to whom Donald Trump wants to pile pressure

hoping to force political change.

[08:25:09] Yet instead, it's (inaudible) English lessons that may go first and perhaps (inaudible) guitar tutor and then perhaps even the family home

will go on the market. The U.S. says Iran's government not its people are the target, but it's far more personal and painful here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Prices are rising. It is hurting middle class Iranians. We have Nick Paton Walsh joining us now live from the capital of Iran in Tehran.

And Nick, is the economic hardship that is certainly being felt there in Iran especially among the middle class, is it stirring up any frustration

or anger directed against the regime?

WALSH: There's no doubt that there have been pockets of sporadic protests in Iran, certainly over the last eight months. Much of which focused on the

poor state of the economy and even the government itself has reappointed, shuffled around officials in reflection of how, I mean, a need to show that

they understand the economy hasn't been managed as well as it could have been.

But they do have a very strong external series of pressures and that is a long forecasted, long telegraphed Trump ambition to tear the nuclear deal

apart and renew the sanctions that were in place before that deal was signed by Barack Obama and his European allies and Russia back in 2015.

That has slowly turned the screws on the economy. And no matter how it's being mismanaged internally, it's that external pressure that is behind

some say the slide of the local currency.

You got to spend three times as many Iranians rials now as you did back in August of last year to buy just one dollar and that impacts pretty much

everything. And also, too, as you saw in that report, important things like foreign car parts, they're incredibly expensive, the ones that remain in

the country. No more can get brought in. That slowly puts the pressure on different aspects of life generally across Iran.

The Trump gamble is that Iranians will only blame their government for that particular mess. As you saw there, quite a lot of them see, frankly,

through that and know that it's American pressure fermenting the trouble, but the risk still it's hard to ignore here. A growing economic crisis and

people do want answers and some sense of fix. The worst sanctions though will come in early November against the oil industry and that could see a

serious crunch.

LU STOUT: Nick Paton Walsh, reporting live from Tehran for us. Thank you very much indeed for that.

You're watching "News Stream." And monsoon rains, they are pounding southern India leaving floodwaters in their wake. Now, dozens are dead,

tens of thousands on the move. We will have a weather update next.

And three Russian journalists murdered while on assignment in the Central African Republic. Why the exiled billionaire funding their work is

disputing the claim that robbery was the motive.

[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.

Former CIA Director John Brennan has written a blistering response to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to revoke his security clearance. In The

New York Times op-ed just out, Brennan says Mr. Trump's claims of no collusion in Russian election interference are "hogwash." The president

blamed Brennan and others for starting the Russia probe in a Wall Street Journal interview that was posted online Wednesday night.

We are following developments on an attack in Kabul. The Afghan Interior Ministry says security forces killed two gunmen who attacked a training

center for the country's intelligence agency. Authorities believe another attacker is still inside the building.

A judge in Malaysia has ruled that two women charged with murdering the half brother of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un will remain in custody and

stand trial. Kim Jong-nam died last year after VX nerve agent was smeared on his face at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. If convicted, the

women could face the death penalty.

At least 80 people have been killed in flooding in India's Kerala State. Heavy monsoon rain is submerging entire villages and forcing tens of

thousands to seek shelter in relief camps. Dams in the area are reaching capacity, forcing the release water of water into some areas. And officials

say more heavy rain is expected over the next four days.

For more, let's go straight to Chad Myers. He is standing by at the World Weather Center. Chad, the state of Kerala is battling this increasingly

deadly floods. What more have you learned about this disaster?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST AND SCIENCE REPORTER: Well, we're not going to get any better weather for today and into tomorrow. It still going to

continue to rain here. And for that matter, monsoon doesn't even end until October or November.

But take a look at this. Kochi picked up 204 millimeters in just 48 hours, but entire -- almost an entire months' worth of rain fell just 15

kilometers up the road there, 330 millimeters of rainfall in just two days. So we are still in this red alert.

So a warning going on for today all the way up and down the west coast there. The southern west coast of India. Here is what the rainfall is going

to look like for the next 48 hours. Just monsoonal area. Let's see these streamlines. We call them wind lines.

They are just blowing humidity off of the ocean and into this area and up the hill. A little bit of a mountain range right through here. When the air

goes up the hill it cools off. Cool air can't hold as much humidity and so, therefore, it rains. It's going to rain hard for the next few days. Many

spots here well over another 150 to 200 millimeters of rain. Kristie?

LU STOUT: More rain and sadly more misery in India's Kerala State. Chat Myers on the story for us, thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

LU STOUT: Back to our top story now and the reaction to U.S President Donald Trump's decision to revoke the security clearance of former CIA

Director John Brennan. James Clapper is among nine other former intelligence officials who face getting their security clearances revoked.

He joins us on the line from Washington right now. James Clapper, welcome to the program. Thank you for joining us. First, your thoughts on why the

president did this. Why did Mr. Trump make this move against Brennan? Why is he targeting you? What message does all of this send?

JAMES CLAPPER, FORMER UNITED STATES DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE (via telephone): Well, I think a fairly obvious explanation and the president

in his Wall Street Journal interview was very open about it. And this was all about retaliation, political retaliation for -- for those of us that

have criticized the president, most prominently John Brennan.

I think it sends a very, very chilling message to people in the intelligence community, particularly those who participated in the original

intelligence community assessment, which was the catalyst for a whole sequence of events, not the least of which of course is the Mueller

investigation.

LU STOUT: Yeah.

CLAPPER (via telephone): So, apparently the president decided that anyone who touched that or caused it is by definition qualified for the enemies

list. I think the larger issue though is, at least for me, is not so much in John's case the loss of his eligibility or the threat of loss of

eligibility. That really is a lesser issue. The bigger issue is what I think is a broad-gauged attack on First Amendment rights. So, it's very

disturbing.

LU STOUT: And what does this mean for the Mueller investigation and the Russia probe?

[08:34:58] You know that John Brennan, he wrote in that op-ed, he said, "Now more than ever, it is critically important that the special counsel

and his team be allowed to complete the work without interference."

But, James, you said this is a president who retaliate, this is a president who is challenging the First Amendment. Do you fear that this is a

president who will interfere in this ongoing Russia probe?

CLAPPER (via telephone): Well, I wonder about that. I raised that point yesterday about, what if the president, having discovered this new-found

weapon of his, decides to revoke the eligibility of the special prosecutor Mueller himself and his team? Which would, of course, profoundly interfere

with and inhibit the completion of the investigation.

And as John said in his op-ed piece in The New York Times, it is absolutely crucial that Mueller and his team be allowed to complete the investigation

in due course without interference from anyone.

LU STOUT: James Clapper, we thank you for calling in. We thank you for sharing your thoughts on this matter. James Clapper joining us on the line

there.

Now, another story that we're following very closely, regard to three Russian journalists, when they landed in the Central African Republic last

month. They were investigating the work of private military contractors with ties to the Kremlin. Instead, they ended up dead. CNN chief

international correspondent Clarissa Ward filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Russian mercenaries are making their presence felt in the Central African Republic. Seen here stopped at a

rebel checkpoint with truckloads of military equipment. The rebels appear caught off guard.

Uniforms, magazines, you said you had civilian equipment, this man says.

Nearly 200 Russians and planeload of weapons have arrived in this resource- rich but unstable African nation since January.

Officially, they are security consultants invited with U.N. approval to help train government forces. Unofficially, they're believed to be

connected to a shadowy Kremlin-backed private security empire called "Wagner" that is active in Eastern Ukraine, Syria, and Sudan.

MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, EXILED RUSSIAN BUSINESSMAN (through translator): They train the local government troops. They also hold negotiations with

militants. And they are also involved in the work of some structures obtaining diamonds and gold in the country. What else they do there,

broader format, we still have to learn.

WARD: Exiled Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky had the investigation control center, which helped three Russian journalists travel to CAR to

unravel the mystery. They never made it home.

Just days after they arrived in the country, Alexander Rastorguev, Orkhan Dzhemal, and Kirill Radchenko were found shot dead. The journalists left

the capital Bangui that morning and were expected to overnight in Sibut on the way to Bambari.

Instead, they abruptly deviated off course, heading in to a no man's land. The Kremlin had said it believes they were killed by bandits in a robbery

gone wrong, but Khodorkovsky says there are holes in the story.

KHODORKOVSKY (through translator): They are starting to move at night when it's forbidden and they are moving in a direction which was not planned

from the beginning, but instead towards a more dangerous route, and they do not inform their colleagues in Moscow. This situation is very mysterious.

WARD: What is known is that the journalists were pursuing a story that reaches deep into Kremlin circles. The U.S Treasury says Wagner is headed

by a man called Dmitry Utkin, who has been sanctioned. Utkin has links to this man, Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as Putin's chef for his close

relationship with the president. He has also been sanctioned by the U.S. for running Russian troll factories.

Do you have any reason to believe that these men were killed because of the work they were doing?

KHODORKOVSKY (through translator): Yes. I think exactly that. Because if they had been murdered for armed robbery, this doesn't happen in the

Central African Republic. European journalists are not killed in circumstances like these.

Also some people who we know in Russia were approached by people connected with Russian mercenaries and said that they warned the journalists not to

go there to keep themselves well away from the area. They killed them. We don't have 100 percent certainty that this is what happened, but the

version remains on the table.

WARD: Khodorkovsky has sent a team to CAR to investigate the killings. So has the Russian government.

[08:39:57] For the friends and families left behind, there are still more questions than answers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WARD: Kristie, we have tried to reach out repeatedly to Wagner. But, essentially, it's impossible. They don't have an e-mail address. They don't

have a phone number. It's almost as though officially they don't really exist.

We also reached out to the main company that is owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin. They told us they don't know anything about this Wagner. What we do know is

that another Russian journalist who was looking into Wagner earlier this year, Kristie, mysteriously fell to his death.

LU STOUT: Yeah, it raises a lot of questions about the dangers that critics or Russian journalists may face. It also raises questions about

what Russia is doing in Africa. What is known about Russia and this growing interest not just in the CAR but across the continent of Africa?

WARD: Well, a lot of analysts who have been watching this situation closely and trying to get an understanding of what it's going on say that

this is really about strategic depth for Russia. This is about a continent that has largely been abandoned by Russia since the collapse of the Soviet

Union.

Now possibly seeing President Putin wanting to re-enter that arena, it is traditionally been the domain of the U.S. and, of course, the CAR was a

French colony, a very strong French presence there, but there a lot of natural resources, gold, diamonds, many economic and geopolitical strategic

incentives for Russia to potentially to have more of a foothold there, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. Clarissa Ward reporting live for us in London, thank you.

Now, some breaking news coming to us here at CNN. The former Indian prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has died at the age of 93. That is

according to a statement by the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences.

He was admitted to hospital on June the 11th. He was in stable condition, but his health deteriorated in the last 36 hours while he was on life

support. Vajpayee first served as prime minister for less than three weeks in 1996. And then again twice from 1998 to 2004.

During his tenure, India conducted nuclear testing, setting off an arms race on the subcontinent. He was the first leader from the Hindu

nationalist BJP to lead the country. Vajpayee was a lifelong bachelor as well as an acclaimed poet and speaker.

And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere. "World Sport" with Christina Macfarlane is next.

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