Return to Transcripts main page
IDESK
Republicans Spar in Debate before Super Tuesday; Voting Underway for new FIFA President; Skepticism Ahead of Syria Cease-Fire; Voting Extended in Pivotal Iran Elections; Greece Recalls Ambassador to Austria; Apple Says Issue a Slippery Slope for Privacy Rights; Hollywood Gears Up for Academy Awards. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired February 26, 2016 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST (voice-over): Ahead at INTERNATIONAL DESK, Rubio and Cruz go after Trump at CNN's Republican debate.
FIFA votes for a new president of world football. And Iran extends voting in its crucial election.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Hello, everyone, welcome, it's a busy hour ahead. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN Center.
We begin with the latest fireworks in the contentious race for the White House. Five Republican candidates met for their final debate before the
big string of contests next week known as Super Tuesday.
But for much of the evening, it seemed only three men were on the stage and they certainly didn't hold back. Insults like "choke artist," "basket
case" and "zealot" were often heard on the debate stage but they were everywhere, everywhere, on Thursday night. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has all
the back-and-forth from Houston, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An all-out war of insults and putdowns breaking out in it the final GOP debate before Super Tuesday.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're the only person on the stage that's ever been fined for hiring people to work on your
projects illegally. You hired some --
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I'm the only one on the stage that's hired people. You haven't hired --
SERFATY (voice-over): Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz worried about Donald Trump's trifecta of wins in the last three Republican contests, unleashing
an onslaught of attacks against the front-runner, from illegal immigration...
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: When I was leading the fight against the Gang of Eight amnesty bill, where was Donald?
He was firing Dennis Rodman on "Celebrity Apprentice."
RUBIO: If he builds the wall the way he built Trump Towers, he will be using illegal immigrant labor to do it.
SERFATY (voice-over): -- to U.S. trade relations with China and Mexico.
RUBIO: The second thing about the trade war I don't understand because your ties and the clothes you make is made in Mexico and in China. So
you're going to be starting a trade war against your own ties and your own suits.
TRUMP: They devalue their currencies to such an extent that our businesses cannot compete with them. Our workers lose their jobs.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: But you wouldn't know anything about it because you're a lousy --
RUBIO: Well, I don't know anything about bankrupting four --
You lied about the Polish workers.
TRUMP: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
RUBIO: You lied to the students of Trump University --
TRUMP: -- 38 years ago.
RUBIO: Oh, you lied 38 years ago. All right. I guess there's a statute of limitation on lies.
SERFATY (voice-over): -- to ObamaCare.
TRUMP: You'll have many different plans. You'll have competition. You'll have so many different plans.
RUBIO: But now he's repeating himself.
TRUMP: No, I'm not repeating -- no, no, no.
I watched him repeat himself five times four weeks ago.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: It was a meltdown.
RUBIO: -- five seconds ago.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: (INAUDIBLE) meltdown on the stage like I've never seen.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's stay focused on the subject.
RUBIO: I said -- well --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's talk -- let's talk about your plan.
RUBIO: -- every night, it says five things. Everyone's dumb. He's going to make America great again. We're going to win, win, win --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Rubio, please.
RUBIO: -- he's winning in the polls and the line's around the street.
Every night. Same thing.
SERFATY (voice-over): -- and Hillary Clinton.
TRUMP: First of all, talking about the polls, I'm beating him awfully badly in the polls.
CRUZ: But you're not beating Hillary. But you're not beating Hillary.
TRUMP: Well, then if I can't -- hey, if I can't beat her, you're really going to get killed, aren't you?
So let me ask you this, because you're really getting beaten badly. I know you're embarrassed, I know you're embarrassed but keep fighting, keep
swinging, man. Swing for the fences.
SERFATY (voice-over): Trump eventually lashing out at both of the freshman senators at the same time.
TRUMP: You are all talk and no action.
What I have seen up here, I mean, first of all, this guy is a choke artist and this guy is a liar. You have a -- you have a combination of factors.
He can't do it for the obvious reason and he can't do it because he know how to tell the truth.
I know politicians, believe it or not, better than you do. And it's not good.
CRUZ: Oh, I believe it. No, no, I believe you know politicians much better than I do because, for 40 years, you have been funding liberal
Democratic politicians and by the way --
TRUMP: I funded --
(CROSSTALK)
CRUZ: Donald, relax.
TRUMP: Go ahead. I'm relaxed. You're the basket case.
Go ahead. Go ahead. Don't get nervous.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Well, immediately after the debate, while still on the stage, front-runner Donald Trump spoke with CNN's Chris Cuomo. Here's what had he
to say about the grilling he took.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: What did you think of that dynamic of having to take both of them on?
Did you feel that -- ?
TRUMP: I thought it was fine. I've -- you know, I have dealt with the toughest people in the world over my lifetime. And I have dealt with much
tougher. I think that it was fine. I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the debating process.
CUOMO: During that debate, as it was going on, Marco Rubio has started on his website selling watches as a pretend gimmick to say that they were
watches that would have been yours, that you would have been selling --
[10:05:00]
CUOMO: -- but they are just donations for him. It was a quick response during the actual debate.
What do you make of the move?
TRUMP: The problem with Marco, he's a choke artist. He chokes. And he did it in front of Chris Christie. I've never seen anything like that.
I was standing right next to him, I look over and I say, you OK?
I mean he was -- it looked like he just came out of a swimming pool. He was soaking wet and he kept repeating himself, repeating himself.
CUOMO: He tried to use that on you tonight.
TRUMP: No, no, but I didn't do any repeating. I'm, I just say, hey, I just say what's needed. I didn't do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: OK. We're going to try and analyze this. It's pretty difficult, Stephen Collinson, our politics senior reporter in Washington, let's just -
- let's put Trump aside if we can for two minutes.
Marco Rubio really seemed punchier, more animated, more confident.
That said, is it just too late for him or for any of the others to mount some sort of comeback?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's the question everyone is asking this morning in Washington, Robyn. This was the most
effective takedown of Trump we have seen so far in this election season.
Rubio was the first person to really forensically go after Donald Trump's record and some skeletons in his closet.
But the fact remains is that Donald Trump is leading 10 of the 11 states that go to vote on Super Tuesday next week. There's not much time to turn
that around. Marco Rubio hasn't even got a win yet in this election season. Donald Trump has got three.
So I think what last night does more than anything is reflect the fact that his growing desperation among Donald Trump's opponents and a realization
that, absent something spectacular, Donald Trump appears to have a grip on the Republican nomination.
I think this is about for Rubio as much as trying to make a splash in his home state of Florida, where Trump leads, that election is later on in
March. If Rubio can't win there, he can't survive and that means he can't become the guy that coalesces opposition to Trump.
So in the short-term, it probably is too late.
The question is did Rubio do enough last night?
Does this performance give him the momentum to take on Trump as we go into the next crucial three weeks of this race -- Robyn.
CURNOW: And you kind of mention it, the skeletons in the closet. And there were quite a few of them. At Trump University, there was called a
fake school, his taxes, hiring illegal immigrants.
They really did come at him with some pretty solid, concrete stuff.
COLLINSON: That's right, the question of the hiring of illegal immigrants appears to paint Trump as something of a hypocrite, given the fact that
he's made illegal immigration the center piece of his campaign. I think the question of whether he releases his tax returns is going to haunt him
because, the longer he doesn't do that, you have the feeling that there's something to hide. And that makes him look like a normal politician. His
whole shtick and his whole appeal has been that he doesn't seem like a normal politician.
The problem is, any number of accusations have been hurled at Donald Trump that would have felled any normal candidate. Nothing has seemed to hurt
him. One of the reasons for that is that people are so frustrated with Washington, so frustrated with politicians, that they just like Donald
Trump because he's different and things like his taxes and his past seem less important.
So it's an open question of whether it really hurts him. At least it gives the candidates now something to chew on and something to go off Donald
Trump on, now that stuff is out there. We're going to see perhaps a little bit more media scrutiny because of that.
CURNOW: So with that in mind then, this was great entertainment. It was feisty. It was like a barroom brawl, I mean, great to watch in terms of
theater.
But is that what the Republican Party wants in terms of its image?
And, more importantly, Democrats watching this, I mean, that works in their favor, this chaos that we saw last night, in many ways.
COLLINSON: Right, the Republican Party certainly didn't want Donald Trump anywhere near its nominating race. After the last election, the defeat in
2012, they had a commission which decided that they need to reach out to minorities, to Hispanic voters, to middle class voters more, stress
economic issues.
And Donald Trump has gone against all of that. And Marco Rubio is seen as a candidate that has that kind of aspirational quality that could engage
those voters. But it's often been seen in past elections that a feisty primary can actually help. It can engage voters. It can engage the party
basis. It can cause registration to go up so those people actually go out and vote in November.
I think where it hurts the Republican Party is if Donald Trump does emerge as the nominee, the questions that Marco Rubio was prosecuting last night,
they are going to be at the center of Hillary Clinton's attacks against Donald Trump, presuming she becomes the Democratic nominee.
So anything that hurts the potential nominee in the long run -- we saw that in 2012 with Mitt Romney -- will help the Democrats eventually. So the
Republicans would like to get this contentious phase over, I think, as soon as possible, whoever emerges as the nominee -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Stephen Collinson, as always, thanks so much for your analysis.
COLLINSON: Thanks, Robyn.
Moving on in a few hours, world football's governing body will have a new president. What a messy year it's been. Voting is underway in Zurich to
select --
[10:10:00]
CURNOW: -- a successor to Sepp Blatter. "WORLD SPORT's" Alex Thomas is in Zurich. He joins me now.
Alex, I hear there have been some developments. The first round of voting is over.
What do we know?
ALEX THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've got no overall winner after the first round of voting for the new FIFA president Robyn. This is going to
be the first time we got a new leader of the governing body of the planet's most popular sport.
For 18 years Sepp Blatter, reigning all this time, is not here in the Hallan (ph) Stadium behind me, where FIFA's Congress is trying to elect a
new president because he's currently suspended from all football. He won't be shaking the hand of the person that replaces him.
Here are the votes for the first round of voting, Gianni Infantino, UEFA's general secretary, general secretary Europe's confederation, the governing
body for football in this continent, polling the most with 88 votes, 3 ahead of Sheikh Salman, the -- so long the bookmaker's favorite, the man
who's a member of Bahrain's ruling royal family; Prince Ali third on 27 votes. Remember, he got 73 when he stood against Blatter here last May.
And as expected the outsider, Jerome Champagne (ph) with only 7 votes. So none of them reached the 138 votes or a two-thirds majority needed for
outright victory, so we're going to a second round of voting, Robyn. All four candidates will go through to round two.
And after that it's the lowest number of votes polled gets thrown out as we go to (INAUDIBLE) rounds. Only a 50 percent majority needed for an
outright winner from round two onward. So 104 votes needed in the next round for someone to win. Look at this, it's unlikely unless Prince Ali
pulls out that we'll get an overall winner in round two, though we're looking for a third round, looking to a third round of voting possibly and
the late finish here in Zurich, we're still hours away from knowing who will take FIFA forward.
CURNOW: Whoever it is, what kind of job do they have on their hands?
And what kind of impact will they make on this reputation that has been so sullied of world football?
THOMAS: Robyn, the FIFA, the new FIFA president will have a gargantuan task on their hands, although it has been made slightly easier by another
vote that was taken earlier on Friday. And some consider it to be as important to the vote for FIFA president. And that was the vote for the
new reform proposals put forward by the reform committees set up last year. And okayed by the FIFA executive committee.
There was a massive round of lobbying from FIFA officials and even the IoC president, Thomas Pack (ph), head of the Olympic movement, he is speaking
to delegates first thing on Friday morning to urge them to reform or die, really. FIFA's whole future at stake because they have to be seen to be
changing to maintain victim status in the eyes of the U.S. Department of Justice, one of two criminal investigations looking into corruption in
football.
If they hadn't voted through the reforms -- and they did with an 89 percent majority -- then FIFA itself would have become a target of that
investigation and its whole future in doubt -- Robyn.
CURNOW: OK. Alex Thomas, we'll keep on checking in with you there in Zurich as soon as we get any more developments on that crucial vote.
Thanks so much.
You're watching CNN. Coming up, airstrikes continue across Syria as the clock ticks down to a partial cease-fire. We'll look at the obstacles and
prospects for success. Join us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:15:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Welcome back, I'm Robyn Curnow. You're watching CNN.
A partial cease-fire in Syria is set to take effect in the coming hours. Most of Syria's opposition groups now say they are on board with a deal
brokered by U.S. and Russia.
In the meantime, Russian and Syrian government warplanes continue to pound different parts of the country. And Russian president Vladimir Putin warns
that keeping the truce will be difficult at best. U.S. President Barack Obama agrees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And none of us are under any illusions. We're all aware of the many potential pitfalls and there are
plenty of reasons for skepticism.
But history would judge us harshly if we did not do our part in at least trying to end this terrible conflict with diplomacy. If implemented -- and
that's a significant if -- the cessation could reduce the violence and get more food and aid to Syrians who are suffering and desperately need it, it
could save lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: The U.S. is already working on a plan B. Barbara Starr has details on that from the Pentagon.
But first, Nick Paton Walsh is in Beirut with more on what to expect in the region in the coming hours.
Hi, there, Nick. There's even skepticism there from the parties that negotiated this deal.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. We're under seven hours now until the guns should fall silent. And on paper, yes, we
look in good shape. The Syrian government with some caveats saying they will go along with it. Russia guaranteed that.
And on the other side, the High Negotiating Committee, who have been negotiating politically for the Syrian opposition, say they have got 97
groups to go along with them. One of them, including, we understand, Jashel Islam (ph), a pretty big player down in the south of Syria around
the capital as well.
We don't know about another big rebel group called Ajnad al-Sham (ph), no word from them or from the HNC about their intent and also interestingly
from a group called the al-Sham near (ph) Front we have just spoken to. They are saying they are still talking about it. That should all be
decided hours ago. For now, everyone should have been on board by noon local time.
So there's some uncertainty here, too. We have also heard from one of the groups who are not involved in the cease-fire deal at all purposefully. So
the face of Al Qaeda in Syria, the Nusra Front, their leader, al-Julani, giving a long audio message in which he basically says don't trust this.
This is a bid by the Americans and the West to lure you, Syrian Sunnis, who they purport to represent, who make up much of the insurgency against
Damascus, a bid to lure you back into regime control.
On top of that, too, another thing here which is quite staggering when you see it visually, this map has been put out by Russian state media, which
says it sources information from the Kremlin and the Russian ministry of defense.
Now it's remarkable because the areas where they believe the cease-fire will actually be implemented are the areas that are bright yellow, circled
by red, a very small amount of the country indeed. Much of the north considered frankly not involved and much of the south as well the same.
So a very complex situation as we edge in the hours towards there. A lot of reasons, frankly, for people to doubt the success despite the fact on
paper everybody is saying, well, this should be going ahead the way we have planned -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Indeed. A lot of questions and a lot of uncertainty.
So, Barbara, if this doesn't pan out, what is plan B for the Pentagon?
STARR: Well, I think it's going to be a very difficult proposition for them. Sources we're talking to in the U.S. military and the Obama
administration say plan B is really a big question mark right now.
What do you do if the cease-fire fails?
There's some pretty expected ideas out there, a lot of talk about, well, could you put more U.S. special forces in to bolster the opposition?
Could you have other allied countries or parts of the U.S. intelligence community very quietly provide more arms, more ammunition?
What could you do to help bolster the opposition?
But what this doesn't do is get to the fundamental question of what do you do to stop Russia from supporting the Assad regime through its very
punishing airstrikes, especially in Northwest Syria, where so many civilians are suffering.
But you have heard now the skepticism from President Obama and Russian president Vladimir Putin. It may be the only two things that -- one thing
that the two of them agree on right now.
[10:20:00]
STARR: Everybody is watching the clock but expectations, really, I think, being lowered by the hour -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Yes. A lot of questions and a lot of answers.
To both of you, thank you, Barbara Starr, Nick Paton Walsh, appreciate it.
You're watching CNN. This is the INTERNATIONAL DESK.
Next, Election Day in Iran extended due to a heavy turnout. Why many believe the results will be a referendum on boosting ties with the West.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Voting has been extended in what are seen as pivotal elections in Iran. Ballots are being cast for parliament and for the assembly of
experts that chooses the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader. Together the elections are seen as a referendum on closer ties with the West. Our Fred
Pleitgen joins us now from Tehran.
Hi, there, Fred, what are people saying to you?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, people are telling us that they believe that these elections are very pivotal for
this nation. There's some people from the reformist camp that we've been speaking to, who say that they hope that the current course of President
Rouhani will continue.
But there's also others who say that they are firmly in the conservative camp. And we have seen that battle unfold over the past couple of days as
this election has drawn closer.
Now you're absolutely right; the voting was supposed to end here in Tehran and across the country about an hour ago. But now it's been extended and
will only end about an hour from now.
We went out today to polling stations across the city. We did find a lot of them almost overrun by voters. Let's have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Many stood in line for hours, waiting to get into the polling stations, looking to cast their ballot in what both supporters
of Iran's moderates and conservatives say is a key election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as the sanctions are lifted, everything is going to be changed. Of course, we cannot expect the whole country to
change this overnight but I believe that we're going to have a very good future.
"I like the conservatives," this man says. "They have proven themselves when they were in power and we really like what they do."
Many of the polling stations are inside mosques, where voters fill out forms to register and then cast their ballots. In many ways this election
is seen as a referendum on President Hassan Rouhani's course of opening Iran up to the West and on the recent nuclear agreement.
One of Rouhani's vice presidents tells me a strong turnout for the Rouhani camp would help them continue their course.
MASOUMAH EBTEKAR, IRANIAN VICE PRESIDENT: It's very important because the parliament has both oversight and legislation authority. So they play an
important role in providing the necessary laws that we need to implement in the executive branch.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But conservative forces around Iran's powerful clergy accuse the moderates of opening the door for what they believe is
dangerous Western and especially U.S. influence in the Islamic Republic.
Iran's supreme leader warned of alleged American infiltration into Iranian affairs when he cast his own ballot.
PLEITGEN: Despite all the controversy and the fierce rhetoric between the political factions, Iran's Supreme Leader has defined these elections as
decisive ones and has called on all Iranians to come out and cast their votes.
[10:25:00]
PLEITGEN (voice-over): And authorities say turnout is high, as many people in this country see the vote they cast this Friday as one that could do a
lot to shape the future of their nation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: And of course now the big question is when are we going to know and when are Iranians going to know who has actually fared the best in
these elections that have been taking place here today?
The latest that we're hearing is that partial results could be announced sometime around noon local Iranian time. However, they say especially the
votes here in the capital because so many people went to the polls could take a little bit longer; the count could go all the way into Sunday.
Certainly it will be very, very interesting to see who has come out on top and what the new makeup of the parliament will be and also, of course, the
assembly of experts as well that is going to vote for the next supreme leader -- Robyn.
CURNOW: And as you say, Fred, this rightly is a question on whether or not the Iranian public supports President Rouhani's opening up engagement with
the West.
Will there be -- is this also a referendum on the nuclear deal specifically?
That's not in danger of being nullified because the supreme leader signed off on that even if the conservatives do well?
PLEITGEN: Yes, you're absolutely right. The nuclear agreement, as it pertains to these elections, is in no way in danger. The hardliners even
have signed onto the nuclear agreement but they say the aftermath now is what worries them at this point in time. And certainly even if the
conservatives spare very strongly in these elections, President Hassan Rouhani still will have a lot of chances to push through some of the
agendas that he has. And so a lot of the reforms will certainly continue.
But you can bet that a lot of European business people are watching very closely what's happening here in Iran. A lot of them want to do business
here. You see them every time you fly into this country, new people wanting to invest here, wanting to get into this market and they want to
know how this country will continue on politically because it obviously means a lot to them as well.
So it could slow down the reform agenda that's going on right now but it certainly won't totally derail it because such a big part of the population
wants economic reforms, wants this country to move forward economically and for themselves to be able to unleash their full economic potential that
they feel that they have, the Iranian population.
CURNOW: Great having you on the ground there, Fred Pleitgen in Tehran. Appreciate it. You've been keeping an eye on how those votes proceed.
You're watching CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow. Much more after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Hi, everyone, I'm Robyn Curnow. Here is a check of the headlines.
(HEADLINES)
CURNOW: And Austria and Greece are going head to head over the refugee crisis. Greece is furious it wasn't invited to a meeting over the crisis
in Vienna this week and recalled its ambassador to Austria on Thursday.
Meanwhile, border closures have trapped tens of thousands of migrants in Greece. Atika Shubert can fill us in on all of these details from Berlin.
Hi, there. Tell us about this spat between Greece and Austria.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, essentially Austria, together with other Balkan nations, has been trying to find ways
to close borders and put a cap on the number of refugees coming in. In fact, Austria has already said it will take only a certain amount of
refugees every day.
And what Macedonia has been doing is basically tightening the restrictions on its border. Now this is the main gateway into Europe for refugees
coming through Turkey, landing in Greece and then trying to move on to places like Germany.
What they have now has said that anybody coming through must have valid photographic ID, especially -- and that they would only be accepting
refugees coming in from Syria and Iraq with that ID.
Afghan refugees, for example, are being turned away. So what we have seen with the tightening of these borders is that a backlog of refugees now in
Macedonia, according to Medecins sans Frontieres, Doctors without Borders, 4,000 are now camped out at the Idomeni border station between Greece and
Macedonia and another several hundred are at the gas station nearby, trying to make their way there.
What Greece is worried about is that, as long as those borders remained closed, it's going to see more and more refugees coming and that tension
building and building. And Greece has warned that it has really only about a week before it reaches crisis point.
CURNOW: And people are taking increasingly desperate measures.
SHUBERT: Well, exactly. In fact, on the cover of "The Daily Mail" today, British newspaper, you can see a photograph of one refugee who apparently,
in a protest, attempted to hang themselves because they weren't being allowed to move into Europe and across those borders.
And so, yes, these are the kinds of desperate measures we are see seeing. And that's not to mention the people who are still continuing to take the
dangerous journey from Turkey into Greece. We know there are thousands still arriving every day and every day, we know that people are dying.
More than 100 people have died so far this year.
CURNOW: Atika Shubert, thanks so much.
Meanwhile here at CNN, we're keeping an eye on a story with Apple and the government, the U.S. government. Apple has officially responded to what it
calls an unprecedented request by the U.S. government.
Now the company's refusing to comply with a court order to help investigate San Bernardino terror attacks by unlocking an iPhone used by one of the
attackers. Apple says it would have to create new code to unlock the phone which would put other phones at risk.
I want to bring in CNN's Laurie Segall who joins us now live from New York.
You've been keeping an eye on it. This is a fascinating debate that goes way beyond one iPhone. You have been speaking to Apple's lawyer.
What are they saying to you?
LAURIE SEGALL, CNNMONEY TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: It's interesting. I spoke to Ted Olson, he's a very high-profile attorney. So you'd better bet
Apple is really kind of trying to push this forward.
He talked to me about the ramifications. He also said something that was interesting. He said he believed that this was -- Apple is being asked to
have an Achilles heel built onto the iPhone and he painted a very scary picture of what would happen if Apple loses the fight with the FBI. Listen
to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED OLSON, ATTORNEY: Where the government is headed, it appears to be limitless. It appears to believe -- the government appears to believe that
it can require with a court order from a magistrate someplace and ask anybody to stop what they are doing, to devote their intellectual property
--
[10:35:00]
OLSON: -- and their services to create something that would invade your privacy and invade your secrecy.
You could put something someplace and the government would say, well, create a system where we can find where you are, find where you've
traveled, listen in on your conversations. There's got to be a stopping point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEGALL: The Department of Justice has said Apple just issued a response to the government and the Department of Justice responded to that, saying the
difference -- and nothing -- and we have always investigated the same way. The difference is Apple is no longer cooperating.
I asked Ted about that and he said that's just not the case.
This is the first time a private company has been asked to build a product using their own engineers, their own intellectual property that they don't
already have. And he said the ramifications of that could be pretty extreme.
And he also talked about how this could stifle innovation in Silicon Valley, lead people to go over to competitors and foreign markets -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Well, he also touches on there -- and it's certainly a way to explain why there's so much concern. This is not just about this one
iPhone now, the technology that is there now. It's also concern over how laws implemented now will affect future technology, future technology that
perhaps will be more invasive, more pervasive in our -- in our lives.
SEGALL: Yes, I think that's an interesting point. I think while you have law enforcement here in the United States, saying this is one phone, you
have Apple pushing back, saying that, if this happens, they need to build a whole hacking team in California, devoted to these types of requests
because they guarantee you there will be so many requests.
They have something there -- they are dubbing this Government OS, not iOS, Gov OS, saying that the government will come to them with all these
different requests. And this is just the beginning.
So while, yes, this particular case is very sensitive, this is the San Bernardino shooter that killed multiple people; there's a lot of sympathy.
He says there might not be that much sympathy for a different case in a different court and we should have Congress and the law decide where we do
draw the line and not these individual courts -- Robyn.
CURNOW: So then the question is where, who draws this line?
Where is this line drawn?
And it seems like, at least from the details in the legal brief, that this could go all the way to the Supreme Court. There are constitutional
questions being put forward here.
SEGALL: Absolutely, there arguing the First and Fifth Amendment. So this is something. And when I spoke to Ted, he said we are prepared to take
this all the way to the Supreme Court. We hope we don't have to. But we are certainly prepared to take this there. And this is a perfect case for
that. It touches on everything that we have spoken about throughout the years, which is privacy, technology, moving very quickly and having policy
play catch-up -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Laurie Segall, thanks so much for your perspective.
Well, the next preparations for the Oscars are getting down to the wire. We'll tell you about the films and the actors dueling for that coveted gold
statuette.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Hollywood's biggest night of the year is on Sunday. The 2016 Oscars, well, film critics predict the race for Best Picture will be very
close and many are hoping one of Hollywood's leading men snags the first Oscar. Stephanie Elam has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A mother and son trapped in captivity, an Irish immigrant finding love and independence, a
frontiersman seeking revenge, "Room," "Brooklyn" and "The Revenant" are just three of the films nominated for Best Picture at the 88th Academy
Awards.
The Leo DiCaprio-led drama is at the top of the heap with 12 nominations.
Other films in the hunt for Best Picture include "The Big Short," "Bridge of Spies," "Mad Max: Fury Road," "The Martian" and "Spotlight" in one of
the tightest races in Oscar history.
MATTHEW BELLONI, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: There are legitimately three, maybe four potential Best Picture winners. So, you know, it's very rare that you
come down to that last envelope and people don't know what's going to happen.
ELAM (voice-over): The Best Actor category is full of A-list talent, like Bryan Cranston for "Trumbo," Matt Damon for "The Martian," Michael
Fassbender for "Steve Jobs" and last year's winner, Eddie Redmayne.
EDDIE REDMAYNE, ACTOR: This, this Oscar, wow!
ELAM (voice-over): This time for "The Danish Girl," but the focus is on DiCaprio and whether this role will get the six-time nominee his first
Oscar win.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's had so many great performances and nominations, this is going to be the year that he'll take it.
ELAM (voice-over): The Best Actress race has previous winners Cate Blanchett for "Carol" and Jennifer Lawrence for "Joy," going up against
Saoirse Ronan for "Brooklyn" and first-time nominees Charlotte Rampling for "45 Years" and Brie Larson for "Room."
BRIE LARSON, ACTRESS: It feels like I'm part of some tribe. It feels so good.
ELAM (voice-over): Having already snagged a Golden Globe and a SAG award for her performance, Larson has the momentum heading into Hollywood's
biggest night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's do this.
ELAM (voice-over): And returning for a second time as host of the Oscars is Chris Rock; known for his in-your-face comedy, many are wondering how
the comedian will deal with the elephant in the room.
BELLONI: The one thing that everyone is expecting is how is he going to handle this all-white nominee issue and is he going to be merciless with
the academy?
ELAM (voice-over): A congratulatory ceremony filled with lots of controversy?
It must be Hollywood -- Stephanie Elam, CNN.
CURNOW: Looking forward to that.
Well, that's all from us here at the INTERNATIONAL DESK. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Robyn Curnow. And we'll be back in about 15
minutes, though.
In the meantime, I'm going to hand you over to "WORLD SPORT." And I'm told there's going to be far more on FIFA's vote for a new president. We'll
have a live report from Zurich coming up.
END