Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Russia Investigation; Turkey's Failed Coup Anniversary; France- U.S. Relations; Charges in Grisly Pennsylvania Murders; Mayweather versus McGregor. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired July 15, 2017 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): And then there were eight. New details emerge about the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower, attended by Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and then Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

We now know that a Russian American lobbyist was also present.

Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Cyril Vanier. It's 10:00 am in Paris.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Now 4:00 am on the U.S. East Coast. Let's get started.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

HOWELL: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world.

The U.S. president Donald Trump returned to Washington, D.C., Friday after two days in the French capital. He and the first lady both guests of honor at Bastille Day celebrations.

But while he was away, the questions of Russian interference in last year's election, they grew larger and they grew louder. At the center of it all, the controversial meeting that took place in June of last year with the president's oldest son and a Russian lawyer, who supposedly had dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Now exactly what was said, what was discussed in that meeting, that's still not clear. The details there keep changing. But we now know that there were more people in that meeting, in fact twice as many people as previously disclosed, as our Jessica Schneider explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another player has emerged in that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, despite Donald Trump Jr.'s insistence he disclosed everything there was to know about the meeting with the release of several e-mails Tuesday. SEAN HANNITY, FOX HOST: So, as far as you know, as far as this incident is concerned, this is all of it?

DONALD TRUMP JR., SON OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: This is everything. This is everything.

SCHNEIDER: Today, news that Russian American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin also in attendance.

Akhmetshin told the Associated Press he was in the room for the 20-to- 30 minute meeting with Trump's eldest son and Veselnitskaya that also included publicist Rob Goldstone, campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is now a top adviser to the president.

CNN has learned at least two others were in the room, a translator and a representative of the Agalarov family. Akhmetshin is a registered lobbyist for Veselnitskaya's organization that is focused on overturning the American sanctions against human rights abusers in Russia, according to lobbying records.

Akhmetshin's lobbying caught the attention of Senator Chuck Grassley, who described him a Russian immigrant acting as an unregistered agent for Russian interests, apparently with ties to Russian intelligence. That was in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly requesting Akhmetshin's immigration history earlier this year.

Akhmetshin denied to "The Washington Post" that he served as a Russian intelligence agent, saying: "I never worked for the Russian government. I served as a soldier for two years. At no time have I ever worked for the Russian government or any of its agencies. I was not an intelligence officer, never."

The e-mail chain released Tuesday indicating there was another person at the meeting.

The British publicist who arranged it, Rob Goldstone, wrote this to Donald Trump Jr. two days before: "I will send the names of the two people meeting with you for security when I have them later today."

No names producing those names was ever released by Don Jr.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As far as my son is concerned, my son is a wonderful young man. He took a meeting with a Russian lawyer, not a government lawyer, but a Russian lawyer.

It was a short meeting.

SCHNEIDER: President Trump defended his son while speaking in Paris, but continues to insist he didn't know anything about the meeting until several days before Don Jr.'s e-mails were released.

This morning, counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway seemed to suggest that more evidence was needed to prove collusion.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: Well, even the goalposts had been moved. We were promised systemic -- hard evidence of systemic, sustained, furtive collusion.

SCHNEIDER: The scramble to respond to the details trickling out may have exposed some White House aides to special counsel scrutiny. They could be called by Robert Mueller and his team to explain what they learned about this June 2016 Trump Tower meeting.

Sources close to Jared Kushner's legal team say White House aides and Kushner's lawyers began strategizing in late June how to manage any later disclosures of the e-mails Kushner's team discovered from Don Jr.

Top Democrat Nancy Pelosi has now joined the growing chorus of lawmakers pushing for Jared Kushner's security clearance to be revoked.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CALIF.), HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADER: It is absolutely ridiculous he should have that clearance. It is not justified in any way. The president could revoke it in a moment and he should.

SCHNEIDER: No official response from the White House but we do know that top aides are well aware of this changing story of Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting in June 2016 and, of course, they are not happy with shifting details -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:05:00]

VANIER: President Trump's attorney is speaking to CNN about Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with the Russian lawyer. Earlier this week, attorney Jay Sekulow praised the president's son for his transparency for releasing the e-mails on that meeting. CNN's Anderson Cooper asked Sekulow if he still felt that way now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAY SEKULOW, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, yes, because the there was the e-mails that resulted in this meeting. And he put the entire chain of those e-mails out.

And you know, Anderson, I go back to something we've talked about before. And you look at the situation. And as the lawyer here, you look at the situation. I'm saying I understand it's getting a lot of attention, obviously.

But the question is what law has been violated here or might be violated here?

You've had a number of experts on CNN. I was on the other night with Jake Tapper, who did that special and Jonathan Turley was on. I think even Jeff Toobin was on. And everybody agreed that there's not a legal violation with the meeting.

So, I go back to what I said initially. They left -- Donald Trump Jr. puts out the e-mail, the whole chain of e-mail events. And then the question still is the meeting takes place, no exchange of

information, the Russian-American that you talked about, the lobbyist that said that. Natalia, in an interview she gave in Moscow, said it. Donald Trump Jr. has said it.

So, the people that were there said it, but nothing transpired. The president has stated very clearly that he was not aware of the meeting and did not attend the meeting and that has been undisputed. No one has disputed that. So he was not aware of it, did not attend it.

With regard to the e-mail chain itself, I became aware of the e-mail chain about the time probably you did. I actually saw the e-mails.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: So you haven't reviewed other e-mails?

SEKULOW: No, I have not reviewed the e-mails. I've not reviewed any other documents until this issue came out. I saw the document probably when you did.

Here's the thing that's important. Remember this: the president was not aware of the meeting and didn't participate in the meeting. So that is fundamentally the issue that I'm concerned with as one of the president's lawyers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: You were listening to the president's attorney, Jay Sekulow, there, who was speaking with CNN's Anderson Cooper earlier. He also said people kept coming in and out of that meeting and that it was pretty brief.

A former Trump top campaign adviser is saying he never heard anyone in the campaign mention Russia. Michael Caputo testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Friday. The public relations specialist lived in Moscow for several years himself.

He's one of several former Trump campaign aides who are being questioned as part of multiple investigations into alleged Russian meddling in last year's election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CAPUTO, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: I had no contact with Russians and I never heard of anyone in the Trump campaign talking with Russians.

But I never was asked questions about my time in Russia, that I never even spoke to anybody about Russia, I never heard the word Russia and we did not use Russian dressing. There was absolutely no discussion of Russia on the Trump campaign to the day I left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: CNN's Drew Griffin sat down with Caputo before Friday's Capitol Hill hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SR. INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Michael Caputo wrapped up his testimony late Friday afternoon in front of House investigators. He said he denied there was any involvement in Russia while he was part of the Trump campaign.

He is a longtime supporter of Donald Trump but he was no fan of how this campaign was run. He was actually fired from the Trump campaign in June of last year after seven months of infighting with campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.

In his closed door session in Congress, he says that he told House members he saw no collusion with Russia. In fact, no one in his circle even spoke of Russia to him at all. Not even over Russian policy issues because the campaign, he says, was in constant disarray.

Let me ask you some questions you'll probably get in Congress.

Before, during, or after your involvement in the Trump campaign, did you bring any Russians to that campaign? Did you talk about Russia or the possible help the Russian government could give the campaign?

CAPUTO: Never once. Never once.

GRIFFIN: Did you overhear anybody talking about collusion, getting help from the Russians, either through information, through fake news spreading, through tweets.

CAPUTO: No. I heard nothing of the kind. In fact, we were so busy just trying to keep up with the sun rising and setting on that campaign that I can't imagine anyone had the time, nor the wherewithal, to go out there and even do something like this. Anybody who covered the Trump effort knew this was a pell-mell operation from the moment he woke up in the morning until the moment he went to bed.

GRIFFIN: I've heard it described as a (INAUDIBLE) show.

Too harsh?

CAPUTO: Too harsh for family television, yes.

GRIFFIN: This is cable.

CAPUTO: Right. OK. Yes, I think that - I think the Trump campaign was in many ways a (INAUDIBLE) show. There's no question about it. But that was always to be expected. He's not a politician.

[04:10:00]

GRIFFIN: Michael Caputo is important to U.S. congressional investigators because of his longtime ties to Russia and his ties to several other players in the Trump campaign.

He was a protege of Roger Stone, a friend and colleague of Paul Manafort, both of whom are expected to testify in these investigations. He also worked for years in Moscow as a political consultant and a relations expert working for politicians, for major Russian-owned companies, all with ties to the Kremlin.

And as for these recent revelations about Donald Trump Jr. meeting with a woman that he was told was a Russian government attorney, that meeting took place 11 days before Caputo was fired. He was still a communications aide at the time.

He says he never heard about that meeting or the Russian lawyer, before, during or after it took place. He learned about it, he says, just this past week -- Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Drew, thank you.

Now for more on this, let's get some analysis from Inderjeet Parmar, he's a professor of international politics at City University in London, live in our London bureau this hour.

It's good to have you with us. So Donald Trump Jr. said there was nothing more to this. You heard that in the piece that ran previously here on this broadcast. But the drip, drip, drip continues as we now know there are more people in that room, more than had been previously disclosed.

How big of a problem is in this for this White House?

INDERJEET PARMAR, CITY UNIVERSITY LONDON: Well, it does seem to be that this is the first -- this issue -- this is the first hard evidence that has come about, with official meetings or collusion with Russian individuals, with people who are very close to the Trump leadership and the campaign.

I think this is a very, very difficult one. This has now changed the game, I would say. Prior to that, there was always sort of whether somebody did this or did that but there wasn't any evidence.

In those e-mails, it suggests that there was an active attempt to try to get some very, very bad, poor information -- or good information, if you like -- on Hillary Clinton and to use it.

But I would say there is still a big question. There's quite a few linkages still to be made to President Trump -- or candidate Trump at the time.

And the other thing is -- there's two other things, I would say. There was the whole issue on whether it actually had any kind of effect on the actual election outcome as well and there are some people who are saying that the Democratic National Committee had its own equivalent connections with the Ukraine, for example.

HOWELL: And it is very important to point out that there has been no direct connection between any of this and the President of the United States, Donald Trump. But here is the question. What's the likelihood that the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner,

could have his security clearance revoked by the president?

Has it risen to that level of alarm for this White House in your view?

And if he were to have clearance revoked, how might that help or hurt this administration?

PARMAR: I think that would be a very major admission on the part of the administration that something very seriously has gone wrong, that there are linkages to the White House itself.

I would say probably that's unlikely to happen or that's going to happen pretty much at the 11th hour, when everything has gone really bad. So I expect President Trump will cling on.

I don't think he's going to change anything very much at the moment. Revoking Jared Kushner's security clearance would be a very, very major step and I think it would be a huge admission that there are further connections to be investigated, I think.

HOWELL: As for the president's base, many are looking at this, they're saying, look, there's no evidence. There's no there there. They're saying, let's give him some time, let's give Mr. Trump some time.

But at least one conservative is breaking from many of his ideological peers, the conservative commentator, Charles Krauthammer, believes the e-mail chain here, that it is evidence of collision.

I want to read this. This was published in an article that he published. I want to read this quote.

He says, quote, "This is not hearsay, not fake news, not unsourced leaks," he writes. "This is an e-mail chain released by Donald Trump Jr. himself."

How significant is that?

PARMAR: I think it is very significant, although Charles Krauthammer obviously is not a big fan of President Trump or candidate Trump for that matter. He wrote quite a lot of things last summer in criticism of President Trump not being fit for office and so on.

But I think when we look at the effect on the base, I think the base, if you like, is not a homogeneous mass. There are people who do believe it's fake news. But I think there's a lot of other people who are just really genuinely interested in exactly what did happen, that the investigation should continue.

But they are very worried that these investigations are also diverting attention from what many people were basically saying during the election campaign last year, that there are many things which have gone wrong with American politics, that the politics are not reflecting the interests --

[04:15:00]

PARMAR: -- of ordinary people, that ordinary people aren't able to achieve the American dream and that the role of politics and elected representatives ought to be to try do something about that.

And a lot of people then, therefore, think that this is a lot more political theater and this makes them even more fed up with politics. So the level of alienation which reflected the election of Donald Trump and also Bernie Sanders' very strong campaign, I think that level of alienation is continuing.

So I think this is part of the volatility of modern politics. We can see it in America. We see it in Europe. We see it with France and Macron and elsewhere as well, that there's mistrust of government

And I think that is changing the way in which politics itself operates. And I think President Trump's political base is not as secure as he may believe. There are a lot of people who are quite secular about him.

And they're watching these investigations but they're also very much alienated by the whole amount of time which is being spent on this question.

HOWELL: You mentioned that mistrust that plays out in so many different ways; different people see facts in different ways but these new facts continue to emerge.

One other question to the issue of transparency. Donald Trump Jr. releasing this e-mail chain, being praised by some for being transparent by publishing the e-mails.

Or was this just Mr. Trump trying to get ahead of a big story that was coming, like it or not?

PARMAR: I think we know enough about this media-savvy character of the entire Trump camp to know that there must have been a prior strategy about how to release information.

I think there is enough sophistication in the enemies of Donald Trump and his friends and his camp to know that, eventually, some of this sort of stuff would come out and that you just have to try to manage the release of that information and try to get ahead of the game.

And they realize, actually, that there are many contending forces with lots of information. I think there are all kinds of intelligence agencies operating here, too. So I suspect this story, this drip, drip is going to continue from both sides of this particular theater as well.

HOWELL: Inderjeet Parmar, live in our London bureau, thank you for your insight today.

PARMAR: Thank you.

HOWELL: This is CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, Turkey marks one year now since a fail coup attempt. How one mother, though, dared to defy soldiers that were right in front of her. We'll have her story.

Plus, a possible breakthrough for the parents of Charlie Gard, a terminally ill child at the center of a controversial London court case. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[04:20:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

In Tehran, Iranian media is reporting that police have shot and killed a subway attacker. Three people were reportedly injured during this incident. The cell phone video you see here inside a subway station was shot by a eyewitness. We'll bring you more information on this as we continue to dig and get more on it.

The Pentagon confirms a U.S. air raid killed the leader of Afghanistan's ISIS offshoot on Tuesday. The drone strike the ISIS Khorasan headquarters in Kunar province. That's to the east of Kabul.

The Pentagon says the emir of the group, Abu Sayyaf, was killed there. He's the third leader of the group killed by U.S. military in the past year alone.

Turkey also is marking a major anniversary. It's been one year now since the failed coup attempt to topple the president there, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A state of emergency is still in effect in that nation and so is a government crackdown.

There are reports that more than 7,000 police, academics and civil servants have just been dismissed. Here is what President Erdogan said about that purge. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRESIDENT OF TURKEY (through translator): They are asking how many people are dismissed from work, how their needs will be met from now on. Let them work in the private sector.

Why should we care?

Will we think about them?

Let them work in the private sector.

Will the state look after them?

The state looked after them and they betrayed the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: There are events to mark the anniversary planned in the coming hours. A national unity march is set for later in Istanbul, despite that country's political division. Our Gul Tuysuz has more on this report, a mother who defied soldiers when this happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUL TUYSUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Few people knew Sophia Bayat (ph) before this moment. She led a seemingly quiet and simple life. But this conservative mother of two surprised even herself.

During the coup attempt last year when she stood up to tanks and soldiers, she said she made a split-second decision that night when she turned on the TV, that she would go out to confront the soldiers trying to topple the government of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

She says, as a woman, she thought she might be able to stop the soldiers and appeal to their conscience.

"But they only had anger and violence in return," she tells us.

She says when she wouldn't leave, they threatened to shoot her.

"I told them I wasn't afraid of them," she says. "They roughed me up but I kept saying, 'I am not afraid,' and that they could shoot me if they wanted to."

When soldiers begin firing on the crowd, Bayat (ph) says she was shot in the leg while trying to carry away the wounded. A strong supporter of Turkey's president, Bayat (ph) is glad to see those who she believes are responsible for the coup behind bars.

And while many in Turkey are united behind Turkey's president, for others, the post-coup Turkey has become an intolerably oppressive place.

TUYSUZ: Since the coup attempt, the government has declared a state of emergency. More than 100,000 people have been detained or arrested. Tens of thousands of workers, including civil servants, teachers and journalists have been dismissed from their jobs.

Critics of the government say that the post-coup crackdown has turned into a cleansing of all voices of dissent --

[04:25:00]

TUYSUZ: -- with both the coup and the crackdown leaving scars on an already fractured nation -- Gul Tuysuz, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: In China now, the body of Liu Xiaobo has been cremated at a private ceremony. The Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winner had been suffering from cancer and died on Thursday. The Chinese government considered the pro-democracy activist an enemy of the state.

He had been serving an 11-year sentence in prison. And although he was allowed to go to hospital, he remained in custody. Liu was 61 when he died and the international community has largely condemned the way China handled this case.

And a U-turn in the controversial Charlie Gard case in London. The judge has ruled that an American physician can come and examine the terminally ill 11-month old next week. The baby's parents have been fighting to get him experimental treatment in the U.S. for a rare genetic disorder.

The hospital overseeing his care says that prolonging Baby Charlie's life will only cause him pain. And the judge agreed, at least to begin with. He now says he will only be swayed by concrete evidence that the child's condition could, indeed, improve.

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, the number of people at Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer reportedly doubles. We're learning much more about one of them.

Plus, we'll take a closer look at President Trump's two-day visit to Paris for Bastille Day and his budding friendship with France's new leader. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

VANIER: Welcome back, everyone. Great to have you with us again. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And I'm Cyril Vanier live from Paris.

HOWELL: Shaping up to be a beautiful day there in Paris, isn't it, Cyril?

I'm George Howell here at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta with your headlines this hour.

(HEADLINES)

HOWELL: More now on that meeting by Donald Trump Jr. that had a Russian lawyer with him. A Russian American lobbyist says he was also in the room; while he is well known in Washington's diplomatic circle, it's not clear if he has any links to Russian intelligence. Our Jim Sciutto has more details now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort included more people beyond the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, a source familiar with the circumstances tells CNN. Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin told several media outlets that he was also in the meeting. Akhmetshin told reporters for "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post" that he's a veteran of the Soviet army.

In a March letter to the Justice Department, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley described Akhmetshin as, quote, "someone with ties to Russian intelligence, someone alleged to have conducted political disinformation campaigns as part of a pro-Russia lobbying effort."

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CALIF.), MEMBER, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Plainly, this Russian attorney, this other third party, if they were present, they were there to both deliver a message, as well to receive a message and plainly Moscow understood only too well that this is conduct that the Trump campaign would really appreciate.

SCIUTTO: Akhmetshin denied any intelligence links to "The Washington Post," saying , quote, "At no time have I ever worked for the Russian government, or any of its agencies. I was not an intelligence officer, never."

He also told "The Post" he was born in Russia and became a U.S. citizen in 2009. Akhmetshin's lobbying effort, which he did on behalf of the Russian lawyer Veselnitskaya, was aimed at repealing the Magnitsky Act, which sanctions Russians accused of human rights abuses.

A complaint filed against him with the Department of Justice claimed that effort was on behalf of the Kremlin.

He has also been accused, according to court papers filed in New York in 2015, of hacking on behalf of one company into the computer systems of a rival company to steal confidential information in a business dispute.

The company, IMR, withdrew the accusation soon after without providing a reason.

In an earlier related case, he denied a similar accusation, saying in an affidavit, quote, "I am not a computer specialist and I am not capable of hacking."

SCIUTTO: In addition to his lobbying work, Akhmetshin was well known in Washington for being connected to very powerful people in Russia, both in the business world there and in government.

And one more note, though he was born in Russia, then the Soviet Union, he emigrated to the U.S. and is now a U.S. citizen. And as a U.S. citizen, he can be subpoenaed to testify before the investigating committees on the Hill -- Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: So U.S. President Donald Trump is back in the U.S. after being the guest of honor at Bastille Day celebrations right here in Paris. And we brought you all those pictures yesterday. He and the first

lady were invited by France's new president, Emmanuel Macron, and, by all appearances, the two leaders seemed to enjoy each other's company greatly.

The highlight of the two-day visit was Friday's impressive military parade along the Champs-Elysees and this year was the 100th anniversary of the United States entering World War I on the side of France and the Allies, helping them secure defeat of Germany.

About 150 U.S. troops also marched in the parade and U.S. fighter jets participated in what is the crowd favorite here, the flyover.

Joining me here now in Paris to discuss the significance of this trip is political scientist Amy Groene. She's the author of the book that was published in French, actually, "America after Obama."

Look, what did we learn from this latest foreign trip by the U.S. president?

AMY GROENE, POLITICAL SCIENTIST AND AUTHOR: Well, what we learned is that --

[04:35:00]

GROENE: -- there's a lot of opportunity now for Franco-American relations to assume their full place. We saw that the two leaders of state, the two heads of state, have a great personal relationship. They seem to have accentuated the points of convergence between France and the United States with some progress to make on Syria, with some more convergences possible.

But we also saw that there are elements of discord. We didn't see any advance on climate change. Donald Trump was very ambiguous in his statement about the Paris accord.

So what we saw is essentially Franco-American relations are in a good state; there's a lot of opportunity to work together and yet there are elements where the two leaders aren't totally eye to eye.

VANIER: Yes, I wanted to ask you about that, though, the climate change, because Donald Trump did actually, at least verbally, recognize that there could be some change. He hinted maybe there could be changes.

What did your gut tell you?

Do you think that was politeness to the host country?

Or do you think maybe there could be some change there?

GROENE: To me, I'm not sure. I would say that there's some element of politeness; perhaps it's important for both leaders to also highlight the fact that there are differences.

Emmanuel Macron had no interest in showing before the French public, his electors, that he sees perfectly eye to eye with the U.S. president and, of course, Donald Trump can't necessarily retract his position of just a few weeks ago.

So while there may be opportunities for progress to be made, I think that this was just simply maybe a polite overture but also perhaps part of Donald Trump's approach, of saying, look, I'm open to any number of things but I'm not going to engage. I'm not going to let anyone really know what I'm thinking.

And perhaps he was just, you know, pleasing the crowd.

One of the interesting things -- and this is my read; I don't know if you agree -- was we've made a lot about the tensions between Donald Trump and several Western European leaders.

But what this trip showed me, at any rate, is that there actually is a way forward for these leaders to just plainly agree to disagree on a number of things but then actually identify where they can move together.

GROENE: Absolutely. If you look at the French-American relationship with George W. Bush and the opposition of France to the Iraq War in 2003, we see that between these two countries, you know, there's always this formalized friendship, even when there are serious moments of discord.

Emmanuel Macron is positioning himself very well to be the natural sort of spokesperson of Europe for Donald Trump. So when Donald Trump calls Europe, he calls Emmanuel Macron.

Of course, the President of the United States, no matter who it is, still is the leader of the most important -- the most powerful nation in the world. So in that respect, no important problem can be solved without the U.S.

So of course, whether they agree to disagree, the reality is nothing can get done without having the U.S. at least somewhat in the fold.

VANIER: Yes. And that's pretty much what the French president was saying. We've got to work together where we can.

Going into this trip, we were highlighting -- and maybe I'm guilty of this -- we were highlighting the character and personality differences. But 36 hours later, really, we're noticing all the areas of convergence, even personality wise.

GROENE: Right. Look at the two figures. You know, they both had incredibly rapid rises in politics. Emmanuel Macron had more political experience. But no one could have foreseen his election just a year ago.

The same for Donald Trump. They're both two men coming from business backgrounds, who see themselves as having broken the political mainstream system where they are and are looking to change something, to create something fundamentally new. And in that instance, whether you agree with what that something is or if you disagree, the reality is they're both looking to do something quite similar.

They're both obviously very interested in the symbolism. You saw the military parade obviously pleased the U.S. president and the French president, whether he was receiving the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, or Donald Trump, doesn't hesitate to use the strong historical elements of symbolism and the French grandeur to welcome foreign leaders.

VANIER: That was definitely a tool. He almost used it as a diplomatic weapon when he welcomed Donald Trump here in Paris.

Amy Groene, thank you very much for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM, live from Paris.

We're going to take a short break but, when we come back, the murders that have shocked the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. We'll tell you more about those. The latest update on the grisly investigation. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:40:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM.

We're following a story out of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Two cousins there have been charged with the gruesome murders of four men. Their bodies were found buried on a farm belonging to one of the suspects. Our Miguel Marquez has this report for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities here say that everyone involved in the murders of these four individuals are now in custody.

This is a police affidavit that the district attorney here in Bucks County filed today. It reads as an account of the depravity that these two individuals sunk to in the killing of these four young men.

The first killing last Wednesday, it reads, was essentially over a marijuana deal gone bad -- or so it seems. Jimi Patrick was killed on that first day and buried in a six-foot hole on a remote farm here in Bucks County.

Two days later, last Friday, the other three were essentially executed. Mr. Dinardo and his cousin, as he called him, they got together, lured these people out to a remote area of Bucks County and then, under the guise of selling marijuana to them, killed them, first one individual and then two others at a later time, put them all into a metal container that Mr. Dinardo referred to as "a pig roaster," doused it in gasoline, set them on fire and then dug a 12-foot hole with a backhoe and buried it all.

The prosecutors are not are going to seek the death penalty against Cosmo Dinardo, they say, because he helped them in putting this information together and led them to where the bodies are. Here is what the prosecutor who is trying these cases said about that.

GREGG SHORE, FIRST ASSISTANT D.A., BUCKS COUNTY: In my career, something of this magnitude, this is unprecedented for the families who are grieving, the process that they've had to go through this week, simply losing loved one is overwhelming.

What they've had to do sitting through 96 painstaking hours at a site, where, you know, weather conditions were awful at times, to see whether their loved ones were in the ground there, has been an overwhelming experience for the families, certainly, first and foremost, and I think all of us involved.

I mean, our hope is to minimize their pain going forward through a successful prosecution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were the families consulted on the decision not to seek the death penalty for Mr. Dinardo?

SHORE: Yes, they were consulted. They were consulted and were in agreement.

MARQUEZ: So both Cosmo Dinardo and Sean Kratz, who he calls his cousin, they are being held without bail. During today's very brief hearing for both individuals, it was disturbing in that it sounded like they were asking for time off from work. They were --

[04:45:00]

MARQUEZ: -- so straightforward and uninterested in what they were hearing from prosecutors and from the judge. It is a very disturbing case that has shaken this entire community -- Miguel Marquez, CNN, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: It is a disturbing story. Miguel Marquez, thank you so much.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOWELL: A quick programming note to tell you about on Monday, a CNN exclusive with the Duchess of Cornwall. We'll show you the very different sides of Camilla, known as the friendliest member of the royal family. She has a cordial relationship with the press.

And in a rare interview, she talks to CNN's Max Foster about how she's helping victims of domestic violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL: I think we can talk. It was a taboo subject. But I think we can talk about it now. And if I can talk about it and bang the drum a bit, so can a lot of other people. So that's what I'm trying to do to help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Often seen but rarely heard, more of our chat with the Duchess of Cornwall as we follow her on a very busy day of engagements. Again, that's Monday, a CNN exclusive.

A lot of people are following the big fight when it comes to the Mayweather versus McGregor fight. But you might think the promotion for the fight is more important than the fight itself. If you think that, well, you might just be right. We'll have more of that story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:50:00]

(SPORTS)

VANIER: Depending on who you ask, this is either going to be the biggest boxing match in years or it's just a total farce. But whatever you think of the fight, Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor does have at least one thing going for it. It is just dripping with swagger.

If you haven't seen any of the buildup, you're missing out. Nick Glass is following the promotional roadshow. Here is his report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here they are, ladies and gentlemen!

NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They've been jabbering away like parrots all week. A face-off is what they like to call it. And after four different venues, began to seem a little bit repetitious though, sartorially, they did ring the changes a bit.

Mayweather, on the left, got higher heels so he could face off with McGregor eye-to-eye and they traded racial and sexual insults and just a few profanities.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER, BOXER: I don't give a (INAUDIBLE) if it was a octagon. Put me in there and I'm going to kick ass.

CONOR MCGREGOR, MIXED MARTIAL ARTIST AND BOXER: He's in a (INAUDIBLE) track suit. His little legs, his little core, his little head. I'm going to knock him out inside four rounds, mark my words.

GLASS (voice-over): Some of the time you couldn't hear what they were saying precisely, which is probably as well. This is sport as show biz, fighters strutting their stuff, choreographed, if not scripted. Conor McGregor swaggered through it all in his own sort of simian way

or was introduced first. He's never boxed professionally in his life but he knows how to promote himself.

MCGREGOR: How's this suit look?

(APPLAUSE)

MCGREGOR: It says (INAUDIBLE).

GLASS (voice-over): For his first appearance he wore a bespoke suit with a two-word expletive beginning with F and ending with you sewn down the pinstripe.

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, EVP, SHOWTIME SPORTS: This event is sort of like a summer blockbuster movie. This is "Transformers," you know. It is fun, it is -- you know, it is mass market.

GLASS: But is it sport?

Well, I think, you know, when we get into the ring, I think there will be no doubt.

Simply, this is all about the Benjamins, as they say, mainly the money. McGregor seemed like the kid who just won a Willie Wonka golden ticket.

[04:55:00]

MCGREGOR: That's what I like!

All y'all doing is putting money in my account.

Baby, we did it!

GLASS: Do you enjoy the promotional round?

MAYWEATHER: It's grueling. It's rough. Different countries, different cities. It is rough but --

GLASS: Tougher than the fight?

MAYWEATHER: No, no.

GLASS: More competitive than the fight?

MAYWEATHER: No, no.

GLASS: More interesting than the fight?

MAYWEATHER: But this is what I signed up for.

GLASS (voice-over): The bookmakers and most boxing experts make Mayweather a heavy odds-on favorite. The fight is entirely on his terms. In a boxing ring, using 10-ounce boxing gloves rather than the four-ounce more concussive martial arts gloves that McGregor usually fights with.

GLASS: Isn't this fight a foregone conclusion?

GARETH DAVIES, "DAILY TELEGRAPH": On paper, Floyd Mayweather is an alarming favorite. This is one of the greatest mismatches in a big fight we will ever see. Yet, there's this X factor about this Irishman. He's got something about him, where he seems to make the impossible possible.

MAYWEATHER: I'm 40 but I look 20.

MCGREGOR: And you act 10.

MAYWEATHER: Yes.

GLASS (voice-over): If nothing else, McGregor was the clear winner of this week's promotional circus, verbally quicker, wittier and brimming with self-belief. Both men are expecting to make fortunes out of the fight. Mayweather is talking a nice round $300 million for himself.

DAVIES: David fought Goliath, remember, all of those many centuries ago and that would have been on Pay-Per-View as well and would have done big numbers.

GLASS (voice-over): -- Nick Glass, CNN, on the road with Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: That's it for right now. Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Cyril Vanier in Paris.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell in Atlanta. Round two of NEWSROOM right after the bell -- I mean the break.