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CNN NEWSROOM

Trump Addresses United Nations Tuesday; ESPN Host Calls President A "White Supremicist"; Inside Look At Battle For Former ISIS Stronghold; Declassified: A Spy's Motivation. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired September 16, 2017 - 12:00   ET

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


[12:00:00]

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The good news is that fortunately they did not have heavy damage here. They got serious problems, don't get me wrong, which is why you have this. This is a distribution point that the National Guard has set up.

It's for residents to drive up and they're basically handed two cases of water and I think they're also getting MREs. And this has been supplying a lot of people with just that, food and water for a couple of days.

However, there are signs that life is starting to get a little bit better and for that you just sort of swing and look in this direction. That's the public's grocery store. It is open. You can see there are people lined up to get in.

I'm not sure exactly whether it's a full stock shelf you're going to find when you get in there but that's not the point. The point is you see that place open. It's an indication that life is slowly coming back, but that's the big thing.

Tomorrow, when people come down to the Southern Keys, there are a lot of people who are going to find massive amounts of devastation. You have to drive through it to get to Key West. There are still problems with sewage, still problems with water.

There's still electricity that's out in most areas. Communication can be tricky. On top of that, you're not going to have air conditioning. They just keep reiterating, plan to camp outside. Inside your home, it's going to be 89 degrees at nighttime.

They're telling people it is really not a good idea to come back, but if you must, plan to live like they did about 200 years ago. That's the serious warning. And fuel is also going to be something else in short supply a long with food, water.

And this is going to stress the relief effort because now civilians are going to be using up all the resources that now first responders have been using -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: So Martin, yes, it's going to be so uncomfortable. It continues to be very uncomfortable, but really the motivation for some people to go back to their homes is they are concerned about looters. So how do officials, you know, convey a message to those residents whose sole motivation is to see what's left of their homes, to make sure nothing is taken?

SAVIDGE: I think it's the way they hope it's going to work is that yes, they know. They've been bombarded. Government officials have just been lambasted by residents who want to come back. They understand the emotional part.

Many of the first responders here lost their homes as well. What they're trying to say to people is maybe you want to come down, take a look at it and then maybe consider going back up to Miami or some place to live with relatives for a while.

As for that looting issue, the sheriff says he is going to flood this area. He already has a very heavy National Guard and police presence. Tomorrow he says it will look like an armed camp.

WHITFIELD: All right. Martin Savidge in Key West, thanks so much. We'll check back with you.

All right. So, investigators now want to know who knew what and when as they investigate eight deaths at a Florida nursing home after Hurricane Irma. A criminal investigation is now open and big questions linger. Who knew about these conditions that had so deteriorated so terribly and were the proper channels notified?

CNN's Miguel Marquez has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The video only 34 seconds long but speaks volumes about what was happening inside the rehabilitation center at Hollywood Hills. In the hallway, a woman sits on a gurney, entirely naked.

The person who shot the video says the same woman was clothed in a gown when she saw her on Monday. But had grown so uncomfortably hot by Tuesday, she stripped off all of her clothing, seeking relief from the heat.

The woman who shot the video did not want to appear on camera. But wanted others to see the conditions at the facility after Hurricane Irma knocked out its air conditioning.

In the video, her 89-year-old parents, Gabriel and Livia Jeraldo. Both were hospitalized after being evacuated from the facility Wednesday. Livia has since been discharged. Gabriel remains in the hospital with a urinary tract infection. His daughter says he got because he was dehydrated.

The person who shot the video says she was at the facility Monday and the air conditioner was already off. The video was shot Tuesday night, just hours before the center was evacuated.

It shows her father, who suffered from Alzheimer's with a fan next to his bed. Her mother in a second bed. Their second-floor window open and the curtains lifted up to allow as much air in as possible.

In the hallway, a large fan is seen and effort to keep air moving in the facility. A spokesperson for the rehabilitation center says they contacted Florida Power and Light and state emergency officials immediately after losing air conditioning.

The spokesperson says the facility had adequate staffing and followed protocol throughout the crisis. The spokesperson also said water and ice were provided for residents and that disrobing residents is not protocol for staying cool.

[12:05:05] Florida's agency for Health Care Administration, that regulates the facility, told CNN at no time did the facility report that conditions had become dangerous or the health and safety of their patients was at risk. Miguel Marquez, CNN, Hollywood, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And as millions in the Caribbean and Florida are still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, another storm is brewing in the Atlantic, Hurricane Jose, and it could threaten the northeast next week.

Let's go now to Allison Chinchar live in the CNN Weather Center for the very latest. What are the probabilities to this storm?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right. So, let's take a look at the current statistics that we have for Jose. Right now, winds about 80 miles per hour, gusting up to 100 miles per hour. Movement to the northwest about 9 miles per hour.

That track does start to take it a little bit more west and then it finally starts to make its way up to the north. We don't expect it to intensify much more than it is now because it's going to be entering much cooler water. That's really going to limit how much more it can intensify.

In fact, by the time we get to Tuesday, Wednesday, even Thursday, it's possible it may be back down to a tropical storm. This is good news because that's about the same time line we would expect it could potentially impact states like New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, even Connecticut.

Now, they are on the western fringe of the cone of uncertainty, but they're still in the cone of uncertainty. Regardless of whether this storm actually makes landfall in the U.S., we're still going to have impacts.

In fact, some of those impacts are going to stretch from Maine all the way down to Florida in the form of rip currents. Basically, as that storm moves to the north, it's pushing all of that water up against the eastern edge of the coastline and that can, in turn, cause some pretty strong and very dangerous rip currents out there.

So that's going to be a threat for at least the next three to four days. Now, another thing, if Jose wasn't enough, we've got two more storms to begin watching. Newly named Tropical Storm Lee just off the Coast of Africa and potential Tropical Cyclone 15.

Now, this is the one in the short term as opposed to Lee that has a little bit more concern. This is the one as we take out the next four or five days, notice, it crosses right back over, Fred, unfortunately, the lesser Antilles Islands.

In fact, they've already issued tropical storm watches for some of these islands. Who, if you'll recall, were just hit by Irma about a week to two weeks ago, not giving them much recovery time at all before the next system might arrive.

WHITFIELD: Wow, a lot of repetition that's potentially dangerous. All right, thank you so much, Allison Chinchar.

All right. St. Louis police are preparing for more possible unrest today. Protests overnight ended with at least 23 arrests and 10 law enforcement officers injured. Demonstrators marched through the city, protesting the acquittal of ex-Police Officer Jason Stokely in the 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith.

Although the protest was largely peaceful, there were instances of unrest. Some protesters clashed with police. Others vandalized property, including throwing a rock through the mayor's resident window and hitting officers with water bottles.

CNN correspondent, Dan Simon is in St. Louis for us now. So, what more do we know about the events that might be planned?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Fredricka. We'll have to see how the day shapes up, but it's fully anticipated that there will be more protests this afternoon going into this evening.

We just learned because of the heavy police presence that's expected to accompany these protesters, that U2, which scheduled a concert here tonight, had to cancel their event. We just got a statement in from their band and their touring company.

It says, "We have been informed by the St. Louis Police Department that they're not in a position to provide the standard protection for our audience as would be expected for an event of this size. We've also been informed that local crowd security personnel would not be at full capacity.

In light of this information, we cannot in good conscience risk our fans' safety by proceeding with tonight's concert. As much as we regret having to cancel, we feel it is the only acceptable course of action in the current environment."

That current environment, Fredricka, of course, is the possibility of unrest. We saw it happen last night. Police had to use their pepper spray and unleash tear gas on the crowd when many protesters got unruly.

We saw them surround the mayor's resident. About a dozen or so protesters took some giant rocks, smashed some windows. That's really when the police came in and ultimately, they were able to disperse the crowd, but it happened late, around midnight or so.

In the meantime, we're now hearing from the officer himself, former Police Officer Jason Stockley, who is speaking out in particular, he's reacting to that explosive allegation that in the midst of this chase, that he's seen on dash cam video say, quote, I'm going to kill that expletive. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:10:05] JASON STOCKLEY, FORMER OFFICER ACQUITTED IN 2011 SHOOTING DEATH: I do not remember stating that I was -- that we or I are going to kill this (inaudible) don't you know it.

The first time that I heard that was when I met with the FBI and I gave them the same answer that I'm giving you now, which is I don't recall saying it, but I never denied it. I can tell you with absolute certainty that there was no plan to murder Anthony Smith during a high-speed vehicle pursuit.

It's just not the case and I wish that I could tell you exactly what that was and what it meant whether it was just heat of the moment or whether it was part of a larger conversation. I really don't -- I just don't remember.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: So, Fredricka, we'll have to see when and where the protesters show up tonight. But I can tell you that authorities are very much prepared for this. The governor has the National Guard on standby -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dan Simon in St. Louis, thank you.

All right. An 18-year-old who just started college is dead. Investigators want to know if fraternity hazing played a role. A live report next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:25]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Baton Rouge police are looking into the potential hazing death of an LSU freshman. The 18-year-old Maxwell Groover was pledging at the Phi Delta Fatah Fraternity when he died. A preliminary autopsy showed Groover had a high blood alcohol level and marijuana in his system.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is following the story for us. So, Polo, what is the university's response?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the president of the university specifically saying that they are treating this as a possible hazing incident, but he also warns that there are still many unknowns here.

For example, the cause of death of this young man still has not been released by investigators, though, they do know that some preliminary findings do show he did have high amounts of alcohol in his blood as well as THC, a chemical commonly found in marijuana.

So, as this investigation presses on, officials there at LSU are certainly taking action. They have suspended all Greek activities for now as this investigation continues. Also, the fraternity that this young man was pledging is launching an investigation of their own.

Even has suspended, or at least was suspended by LSU and their national chapter as this investigation continues. What's important to point out here is the fraternity did not have any actual events scheduled this past Thursday, which was when Maxwell Groover passed away.

So that really is the key question here is potentially what this young man may have been doing leading up to this incident and most importantly is this fraternity and some of the members of that organization to blame.

But really this is obviously a tragedy for this young man who was just starting a college career. Instead, his family now planning a funeral as this investigation presses on -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: My gosh, that is devastating. All right. Thank you so much, Polo.

An arrest and evacuations in England as police investigate the terror a tack on a train in the London underground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:21:48]

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. British police are searching a house west of London and have evacuated surrounding homes in connection with Friday's booming of a subway train.

The search follows what they describe as a significant arrest of an 18-year-old man in connection with the attack. Thirty people were injured when a bomb detonated on a rush hour train.

ISIS is claiming responsibility for the blast, but authorities are downplaying that claim, saying there is no evidence of its involvement so far.

CNN's Nima Elbagir is following the story for us from London. So, Nima, what more do we know about the search that is being conducted?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We understand, Fred, now that they have now pushed out that search radius to houses in the Grayson neighborhood. A CNN journalist on the scene says that cordon now extends a half a mile down the road.

Police say that is purely a precaution. They're concerned that there might be some kind of inflammatory material in there and definitely locals at the scene say they haven't heard any kind of explosions or detonations, whether precautionary or otherwise.

But it is very tense down there. This is being carried out by armed police and of course it is in relation to the arrest that was made down at the Dover Ports. The worry that authorities had that the significant arrest, as you rightly called it, that it could have almost not happened.

That this individual was attempting to slip across over to the European mainland, to slip across to France, and this is still very much an ongoing operation. The home secretary and others refusing to answer, as indeed President Trump tweeted yesterday, this individual who carried out this attack, was known to police.

But either way, whether he was known, that's not particularly good news for authorities because the concern is going to be how did he slip through their net. And if he wasn't known, then that's even more worrying, Fred, because for months now they've been warning about this shift, this almost jihadi franchising.

Where ISIS inspires, where ISIS claims responsibility for attacks that ping up by people who were in no way under surveillance or on any of these networks, and acts alone amateurly as we saw yesterday -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nima Elbagir, thank you so much in London.

All right. President Trump will address the United Nations General Assembly this week. Earlier this week, North Korea fired another missile over Japan. This time, the president had earlier promised fire and fury if the North kept up its provocative actions, and U.N. ambassador says you'll see that in his speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: To start off with the speech that the president gives, I think you can see it for yourself. I personally think he slaps the right people. He hugs the right people. He comes out with U.S. being very strong in the end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. We're joined now by Rebecca Berg, CNN political analyst and national political reporter at "Real Clear Politics." Good to see you.

REBECCA BERG, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So Rebecca, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. says that the message she's seen, the speech of President Trump, and says it's going to be very strong. Is this a message that will be directed likely at North Korea or a message to allies to, you know, calm or allay any fears?

BERG: I think ideally, President Trump would be sending both messages at the same time, a message of strength and resolve against North Korea and a message of wanting to work with our partners in the international community. But it's going to be quite a balancing act for Trump and it will be really interesting to see how he does execute this speech because he's been very critical of the United Nations as a body in the past.

So, there's a question of whether he will use this venue to launch some of those criticisms again. He's described it as a club where people just get together and talk about things. Something that doesn't really get anything done.

And so a question I have is whether he will come to the United Nations with a more conciliatory tone, trying to get our international partners to work with us against North Korea, against Iran, some of these rogue states or whether he will want to slap the United Nations as a body and it's not entirely clear. We'll have to wait and see.

WHITFIELD: Also joining us, Rebecca, Patrick Healy, CNN political analyst and "New York Times" editor. So, Patrick, how do you think Donald Trump will be interacting with world leaders while at the Security Council?

PATRICK HEALY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, Fred, as we know, Donald Trump loves being on the world stage, he loves being in the spotlight. He's someone who sees politics as fundamentally a relationship business. He sees himself as someone who is a negotiator who is a deal maker, if you put him in rooms with world leaders, he's persuasive.

The thing we don't know really is what some of his red lines are to come with regard to North Korea. It's something that Ambassador Haley and the U.N. have been focusing so much on with regard to sanctions. But what we don't know what President Trump is really willing to say is acceptable or not acceptable.

WHITFIELD: Is it needed? Is it needed that he would state that this go-round?

HEALY: I think certainly for his base, they keep seeing North Korea launch these missiles over Japan, they keep seeing this sort of behavior that multilateral sanctions around solving. It's something that is a point of frustration.

And President Trump himself has, you know, he's ratcheted up the rhetoric so much with regard to North Korea. I think there is going to be sort of curiosity about what he's able to do, what he's able to say there.

WHITFIELD: So, White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was also at that presser, at the White House yesterday, along with the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and this is McMaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

H.R. MCMASTER, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The president's Tuesday morning speech to the General Assembly will emphasize the need for states to promote peace and prosperity while upholding sovereignty and accountability as indispensable foundations of international order. He will urge all states to come together to address grave dangers that threaten us all. If nations meet these challenges, immense opportunity lies before us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Patrick, what does McMaster mean about upholding sovereignty and accountability there?

HEALY: Sovereignty is a really key word here. We usually talk -- the American president usually talks about peace and prosperity. Sovereignty is a word you more often hear from Russia and from China is a signal to other countries that is basically don't meddle in our business, don't put pressure on us with regard to human rights with our own internal affairs.

I think what president trump is signaling is that he's going to sort of continue to protect the sovereignty of the United States in terms of border security, in terms of the wall that he wants to build.

But also, basically saying that in the interest of American sovereignty, he has the running room to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, to renegotiate or even withdraw from NAFTA to keep his options open on Iran.

So, he's really sort of signaling I think that kind of America first, you know, protect the sovereignty that we're really used to hearing more from nations who aren't our allies.

WHITFIELD: Rebecca, do you see this president going there in some of these directions, taking this opportunity before the Security Council, not just about North Korea but, you know, the Paris Accord, Iran, immigration, travel ban?

BERG: Absolutely, he might not explicitly cite those things, Fred, might not explicitly vouch his support for those actions, but this is a president who has made the foundation of his, first, his candidacy, now his presidency, this America first idea, as Patrick said.

And so, he really does have to walk a tight rope here because he wants the cooperation of the international community taking on a state like North Korea, for example, but he also does want to please his base, reaffirm that America first idea and sovereignty, and that's a very difficult thing to do. Both of those things at the same time. And so this will be a challenging environment and a challenging speech for the President.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And Patrick, while Nikki Haley said, you know, she read the speech, presumably there would be some modifications along the way. I mean it wouldn't be complete, right?

PATRICK HEALY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. Well Fred, this is -- this is going to be a really interesting appearance because as we know President Trump loves going off the teleprompter, he loves making his asides. He feels like that's when, frankly, he's most effective in really hammering home the points that he wants to make. So I think Ambassador Haley and her kind of diplomatic way is sort of saying, yes, this is a speech, but we may hear other things, because this is a President who likes to say his own words.

WHITFIELD: Yes, maybe saw the skeletal version. OK, Patrick Healy, Rebecca Berg, thanks so much, good to see you both.

BERG: Thank you.

HEALY: Thanks Fred.

WHITFIELD: So as the White House gears up for the U.N. General Assembly, be sure to watch "State of the Union" with Jake Tapper tomorrow morning. He'll talk with U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Senator Diane Feinstein.

All right. Straight ahead, the ball field turns political. It's the White House versus ESPN. Brian Stelter joining us for an instant replay and review when the CNN NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:35:45] WHITFIELD: All right, sports network ESPN is finding itself in the middle of a heated political battle with the President of the United States. It all started when host Jemele Hill shared her thoughts about the President in a series of tweets, saying "Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself with other white supremacists.

Well, Trump fired back at the network saying this, tweeting, ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics and bad programming. People are dumping it in record numbers. Apologize for untruth.

Well, his White House staff isn't holding back either. Questioning if Hill should be fired.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you or the President saying that she should be fired?

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: That's not a decision that I'm going to make. That's something for ESPN to decide. Again, I was asked about that. I think it is a fireable offense based on the standard that ESPN has set themselves by saying that people go too far and make political comments have been suspended from their own network. I think that that is a consistency they should probably focus on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN Senior Media Correspondent Brian Stelter is back with us now to break all this down. So Brian, you know, what if ESPN saying how are they responding to this thus far?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, number one, they're not apologizing to President Trump. His tweet had apologized for untruth and they're not doing that. But they are trying to move past this, Fred.

They say that Jemel Hill did violate the social media guidelines the network has. Lots of Media Company, lots of companies of all stripes have guidelines about what their employees, especially really high profile employees, can say even on Twitter or Facebook.

Let say Jemele violated those guidelines. So here's part of the memo from the head of ESPN John Skipper. He's trying to say we are not a political organization. ESPN is about sports. He says where sports and politics intersect, no one is told what view they must express.

So that's a memo from John Skipper, the head of ESPN. He's trying to move on from this. But clearly this is a fight President Trump wants to have. I think he's interested in having his base see that he's fighting again with a media company, in this case, ESPN.

And perhaps it's a distraction from issues like DACA, about the deal that he's working on with Democrats for the Dreamers. I think, you know, what we see from President Trump sometimes is the desire to go and have these kinds of battles with media companies or figures in the media like Jemele Hill. It's in some ways fodder for his base.

WHITFIELD: All right, Brian Stelter, thanks so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, CNN goes flying with the Russian military over Syria. A bird's-eye view of the fight against ISIS next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Now for this week's Start Small, Think Big

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE

SCOTT AUGUSTINE, OWNER YONAH COFFEE: Tell me I can't and I show you I will. Hi, I'm Scott Agustine with Yonah Coffee. Yonah Coffee, it's grown in the North Georgia Mountains.

These are brand-new leaves.

Growing coffee in Georgia it's just not simple. We have no other choice but to keep them in buckets. These plants can survive very well during three seasons but they've got to go indoors in greenhouses for the winter. You've got to trick em. You've got to produce what they think is the rainy season.

We ship 10 pounds out of just recently to Japan. We ship it out to Seattle and Alaska. We open up our first retail location and now we have our second one. And between those retail locations and our mobile food truck, that's how we really introduce folks so they can take Georgia grown coffee home.

People come in and we give them a choice not only from different coffees around the world but we give them a choice of trying something that's grown right here where they live. That's the success for Yonah.

[12:39:37] Right there is in that cup. Tasting coffee that we were told can't be done. We're doing it. And I'm drinking it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A critical battle is under way in Syria. And it's the Russians who are leading the fight that could spell the end of ISIS in southeastern Syria.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen takes us to the front lines of this pivotal battle and what is at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Take off towards one of the most brutal battlefields in Syria protected by heavily armed gunships. The Russian army is taking us to the former ISIS stronghold Deir Ezzor.

(on camera): Even though the Syrian and Russian army managed to push ISIS back, there still are a lot of ISIS fighters here in this area, that's why taking the helicopter is the safest way to get to Deir Ezzor.

[12:45:09] (voice-over): After landing in this dusty desert town close to the Iraqi border, the Russian army takes us to the city center. ISIS ruled most of Deir Ezzor for more than three years and besieged government-held parts of the town. Now, commerce is returning here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): You know Russia is a friend. A very, very good friend. We like Russia. We respect and appreciate them. What Russia did for us is so great. Their efforts are too great to describe.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Syrian army and its Russian backers are continuing their offensive against is in southeast Syria. Trying to win back the remaing parts of this key town which remain scarred by the fighting.

(on camera): This area here used to be right on the front line between Syrian government forces and ISIS. And the entire area that you see behind me here, all these sand berms just a few days ago, those were ISIS fighting positions.

(voice-over): The Russian military says it believes a victory in Deir Ezzor would put them close to ousting ISIS from all of southeastern Syria.

MAJ. GEN. IGOR KONASHENKOV (through translator): Our forces have already pushed ISIS about five to six kilometers away from the city on the left side of the Euphrates but the most important thing is the blockade on the city has been lifted and the people are receiving humanitarian aid.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But gains are quickly reversed in the eastern Syrian desert and Russia warns while the forces they support have been moving forward fast, tough battles still lie ahead.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Dier Ezzoer, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A top intelligence analyst arrested for spying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ana Montes, did it for ideological reasons. She did not do it for money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What prompted this woman to risk her career and her freedom? The story straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:51:15] WHITFIELD: Multiple rallies are popping up around Washington today. And organizers have won describe itself as presenting the mother of all rallies. It's a group made up of patriots for patriots they call themselves. They're backed by pro- Trump supporters who are starting to gather on the national mall right now.

CNN's Washington correspondent Ryan Nobles is there. And so, Ryan, what are you seeing? What does the crowd look like?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON: Well, Fredricka, this has been a very peaceful and positive crowd up until this point here. These are all folks that support Donald Trump and his presidency. You can see they're gathered right now on the national mall.

They've been very specific in their goal here. This is not about causing trouble or raising havoc. In fact, they said at the very start of the speakers today that if you can't shake the hand of the person next to you, then you should go away.

As a result, everyone here has been very kind to each other. As I said before, very peaceful. But there is a very large police presence here on the mall and all across downtown Washington because in addition to this rally there's a number of other rallies that are taking place in the city today.

And some of those rallies may have different perspectives and different view points and police and law enforcement here want to make sure no trouble erupts.

In fact, let takes a place a couple hours down, closers to Lincoln memorial from where we are right now is a rally that's being put together by supporters and followers of the rock band The Insane Clown Posse. These are folks known as Jaggalos. They dress with clown faces and support this band.

They're protesting the fact they've been designated as a gang by members of the U.S. government and they want to push back against that. Now, they don't have anything to do with this really here and they don't necessarily have different ideology.

But when you have a variety of different people from different perspectives, police just want to make sure nothing erupts into any kind of trouble. So as a result, many of the streets here in downtown Washington have been closed off. There's a large police presence. Park police, metro police, National Guard members as well.

But Fredricka at this point they've had no reason to come in and intervene. This has been a peaceful protest. It's going to continue for the next few hours. And we'll keep an eye on the progress, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ryan Noble, thank you so much in Washington D.C.

Right so tonight's episode of declassified, the untold story of one of the most damaging spies in recent history. How an American working for the U.S. Defense Department was caught spying for Cuba.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ETHAN ANDREAS, SPECIAL AGENT, OFFICE OF COUNTERINTELLIGENCE, NSA: The Cubans have a long history of successfully penetrating different aspects of the United States government. Ana Montes is probably one of the more well-known cases.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ana Montes did it for ideological reasons. She did not do it for money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Montes now faces 25 years imprisonment to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. This plea should send a loud and clear message to anyone committed acts of espionage in this country.

ROBERT DAVID BOOTH, SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT, DIPLOMATIC SECURITY SERVICE (RET.): For years the Intelligence Committee has been monitoring transmissions being sent by the Cubans up the East Coast of the United States.

MATTHEW S. RADER, SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT, FBI: Most of their broadcasts to their agents are in voice transmission, numbers that are read out.

BOOTH: These transmissions led to the arrest of Ana Montes in 2001. And the Intelligence Community was quite proud of Ana Montes arrest but unfortunately, following her arrest they were horrified to learn the transmissions had not ceased.

This led the Intelligence Community conclude that the Cubans had another high-value asset working inside the United States and, therefore, a new Unsub investigation commenced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:55:10] WHITFIELD: All right, joining us right now is Robert David Booth who was in that clip. He is a retired Supervisory Special Agent with The Diplomatic Security Service. Good to see you, Robert. Ana Montes, she was caught shortly after September 11th. Do you remember exactly what tipped off investigators and her involvement with Cuba?

BOOTH: I don't have real specifics on that one. All I know is that at a certain point, the Intelligence Community had been able to gather information that eventually led them to conclude that the leak was coming out of the Defense Intelligence Agency and then they went forward with their investigation.

WHITFIELD: And so Cuba and the United States were discussing the possible exchange of prisoners, including Ana Montes. This issue is one that is I guess disputed, being disputed. What is the natural thinking behind whether that release should happen?

BOOTH: I don't think the Intelligence Community would be pleased to allow convicted spies to go. I don't know what the Cuban government offer in return. And so as my knowledge that Ana Montes nor Mr. Myers were in consideration for an exchange.

WHITFIELD: What are you hoping people are going to learn from this episode of declassified?

BOOTH: It's an unfortunate truth that American citizens will become traitors. And they'll do it for a number of reasons. The one that always surprises us is that they'll do it for ideological reasons. Not for money. In the case of Ana Montes and in the case of Kendall Myers, they did not receive a penny of compensation for their spying activities.

WHITFIELD: All right, Robert Booth, thank you so much for your time. Be sure to watch of course Declassified tonight on CNN 9:00 Eastern Time.

Here's another preview of declassified.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREAS: The Cubans have a long history of successfully penetrating different aspects of the United States government. Ana Montes is probably one of the more well-known cases.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ana Montes did it for ideological reasons. She did not do it for money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Montes now faces 25 years imprisonment to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. This plea should send a loud and clear message to anyone committed acts of espionage in this country.

BOOTH: For years the Intelligence Committee has been monitoring transmissions being sent by the Cubans up the East Coast of the United States. RADER: Most of their broadcasts to their agents are in voice transmission, numbers that are read out.

BOOTH: These transmissions led to the arrest of Ana Montes in 2001. And the Intelligence Community was quite proud of Ana Montes arrest but unfortunately, following her arrest they were horrified to learn the transmissions had not ceased.

This led the Intelligence Community conclude that the Cubans had another high-value asset working inside the United States and, therefore, a new Unsub investigation commenced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, hello again, everyone and thank you so much for being with me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

President Trump is spending the weekend in New Jersey at his gulf club likely preparing for his first big speech before the United Nations General Assembly. The President is expected to stress the importance of strong relations between allies and according to National Security Adviser, H.R. McMaster, better action against common enemies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

H.R. MCMASTER, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The President's Tuesday morning speech to the general assembly will emphasize the need for states to promote peace and prosperity while upholding sovereignty and accountability, as indispensable foundations of international order. He will urge all states to come together to address grave dangers that threaten us all. If nations meet these challenges, immense opportunity lies before us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so what does that mean? Sovereignty and accountability.

Let's ask John Faso, a Republican congressman from New York, good to see you, Congressman. What's your interpretation of what we might hear from the President in that speech?

REP. JOHN FASO (R), NEW YORK: Well, I think the President is very concerned about North Korea as our allies in that part of Asia, Korea and Japan. I think that he's sending a message we have to work cooperatively to deal with these type of threats.

[13:00:04] Whether its ISIS and the worldwide terror network or its rogue state like North Korea. And I'm hopeful that we can maintain a level of good cooperation with our allies and international --