- Welcome folks to this specialedition of the 700 Club.

It was once the richestnation in South America,

but today Venezuela stands on the brink

of absolute disasteras people are starving,

disease is spreading,

and millions have fledthat troubled nation.

- Hyperinflation is ravaging the economy

and global officials warnit's about to get worse.

Dale Hurd explains the cause behind

this catastrophe and howit might be turned around.

- Life for most people inVenezuela is already terrible,

so it might be hard to believe

it's about to get even worse.

But experts say it is.

One million percent, that's the

inflation rate theInternational Monetary Fund

predicts Venezuela will hit this year.

One of the world's leading experts

on hyperinflation calls thatprediction only a guess.

But Steve Hanke at theJohns Hopkins University

and a former economic advisor to past

Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera,

says the true inflationrate is bad enough.

- The inflation rate is 25,650% today.

The IMF is forecasting.

I don't forecast, I measure,

because you can measure it,

but you can't forecast the course

or duration of a hyperinflation.

- [Dale] Most of the nation is starving,

society has broken down.

Disease is spreading.

Between four and five million Venezuelans

have left the country since 1999.

One of the biggest population

moves in Latin American history.

Even socialist President Nicolas Maduro

admitted failure at arecent party Congress,

where for good measure the power went out.

Hanke and Latin American policy analyst

Juan Carlos Hidalgo both say Venezuela's

problems go back even farther

than Maduro's predecessor socialist

President Hugo Chavez.

- Chavez was a consequence of the

mismanagement of Venezuela's economy.

Back in the 1980s and the 1990s,

however Chavez aggravated these problems,

Maduro only came to increase the

effect of these policies.

He's a communist apparatchik.

He was trained in Cuba.

But he's only continuingthe policies that were,

that began to be implementedwith Hugo Chavez.

- And the tragedy is that with

so much oil wealth Venezuela's

future could have been so much brighter.

If it hadn't chosen socialism.

But while it might look like there's

no hope for Venezuela,

Hanke says the hyperinflationcould stop today.

By adopting the dollar.

- Dollarize the economy officially,

it would stop within a fewminutes it would be over.

The thing would turn around on a dime.

- [Dale] But it's notclear if President Maduro

would ever allow Venezuelato adopt the dollar.

Dale Hurd, CBN News.

- The latest thing is there's this

subsidiary in America called Citgo,

you've probably seensome of their stations.

You've seen Citgo, it's a wholly

owned subsidiary of Venezuela.

And the courts are now saying there

are lawsuits against you and

the creditors owe money andthey can take over Citgo.

Of course Venezuela should cause

that's a big source of money.

But you remember a few years ago

there was a, really a incorrect story.

I mean I said something,

you know just a spur of the moment thing

about they should assassinate Chavez.

There was headlines all over the people,

aren't you a monster and so forth.

Well the truth is if they'd done

that they'd of been awhole lot better off.

This Maduro is a former,

what is he a cab driver or something?

He doesn't know anything about economics.

And they had one of the biggest

oil deposits in the world,

and they had a thriving oil industry.

Everything was wonderful,

the economy in Venezuela was great

and then they had destroyed it.

Folks that is legacy of socialism,

don't ever let somebodytell you socialism is good.

We have candidates running for president

who claim they are socialists.

You wanna be the American United States

like Venezuela don't listen to them.

They are telling lies.

Well in other news Rudy Giuliani

says Robert Mueller should respond

to President Trump's legal team

this week about terms for answering

questions in the Russian probe.

Efrem Graham has more on our top

stories from CBN News, here's Efrem.

- That pressure is growing for

Special Counsel Robert Mueller to wrap

his investigation into Russiancollusion by September 1st.

Our Amber Strong takes a look at

the President's legal strategy

and his team's call for a quick

end to the Russian probe.

- Over the weekend the President

taking aim once again atAttorney General Jeff Sessions

over the ongoing Russia investigation.

I have never seen anythingso rigged in my life.

Our AG is scared stiffand missing in action,

the President tweeted from his golf club

in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway

says the President is frustrated,

with what he sees as alopsided investigation.

- The groveling of his tweets John

are that he wants to make sure

we're investigating all sides of the

quote so called Russian collusion.

- [Amber] Senator LindseyGraham also backing

the President and calling for an

investigation into the investigation.

- When it came to the Trump campaign,

it was corrupt, it was biased,

and I think unethical.

Mr. Ohr should not of had any role

in investigating the Trump campaign

because his wife worked at Fusion GPS.

- [Amber] Graham is citing a conflict

of interest from Bruce Ohr,

a high ranking Justice Department official

who had connections to the research

firm Fusion GPS that helped compile

the dossier that helped leadto the Russia investigation.

Meanwhile Trump's legal team is putting

pressure on the Special Counsel

to wrap up his investigationbefore the midterms.

- There is a Justice Department practice,

and he's bound by it,

that to the best you can you shouldn't

be carrying these things onright before an election.

- [Amber] Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani

also says the President did not

instruct former FBIDirector James Comey to take

it easy on National SecurityAdvisor Michael Flynn.

An apparent about-facefrom his earlier remarks,

something Giuliani denies.

- So you're saying that President Trump

and James Comey neverdiscussed Michael Flynn?

- That, that is what he will testify

to if he's asked that question.

- Now that 2017 Comey conversation

is an important factorinto the Special Counsel's

investigation as to whether or not

the President obstructed justice.

Regardless, Rudy Giuliani says

President Trump won't be taking any

questions when it comes to fired

FBI Director James Comey.

Amber Strong CBN News, Washington.

- September 1st fast approaching, Pat.

- I wanna say it again,

any counsel that would put his client

into a situation with a vicious prosecutor

and a biased prosecutorial team,

they're setting him up for perjury,

and nobody would put his client

into a perjury trap,

you just don't do that.

And I don't know that Mueller has

the power to require the President

to answer questions.

They've offered toanswer written questions,

but all they've got to do is say well

Mr. Trump what was in your mind

when so and so went on when you did this,

what were you thinking?

And he says well Iwasn't thinking anything.

Oh well and then they'll bring,

they'll playback something where he says

well I was thinking this and then

they'll say he's perjured himself.

I mean it'll be a terrible thing

that that's the only waythey can win in this thing.

And it's so terrible that they talk

about obstruction of justice,

the President cannot obstruct justice

by speaking to the members of his staff

and telling them what to do.

He has authority under the Constitution

to do certain things.

That's what a president does,

we want the president to lead the country.

And this witch hunt thing has got to stop.

He should never, you know,

that man in the Justice Department

should never have appointed a special

prosecutor to begin with.

It was suggested I think the wise thing

is that they should havehad a special commission

to study the question of whether

there was Russianinvolvement in our election,

and then make a recommendations.

But not have an adversarial proceeding

with a prosecutor bringing the charge.

And the Special Prosecutor has got

enough damage in his life,

he shouldn't be allowed to do it.

So, I hope Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow

will stand firm on this one,

and if they have to takeit to the Supreme Court

by all means do it but you know,

the Special Prosecutor ought to back off.

He's wasted enough money and you know,

the thing for example he has a mandate

to investigate Russian collusion.

So what is he doing bringing a tax

case against Paul Manafort?

Why is he bringing a case for bank fraud

or tax fraud against the person

that has nothing to dowith that Russian probe?

But he's doing it sohe's going a free hole

already from the mandate he's been given.

Okay Efram what else we got?

- Pat former presidential advisor

Omarosa Manigault-Newman is under fire

for secretly recordingWhite House conversations.

One of those included her firing

by Chief of Staff by John Kelley

in the high security situation room

where cell phones and other recording

devices are not allowed.

Security experts denounced the recordings

as quote a serious breachof ethics and security.

Manigault-Newman said she viewed

the conversation with Kelley as a threat

and defended her decisionto covertly record it.

She also claims to have heard

a tape of President Trumpusing a racist slur.

Trump labeled Manigault-Newmana quote lowlife.

Democrats say Republicans are rushing

Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation

hearings for the U.S. Supreme Court.

The hearings are set for September 4th

and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell

said he hopes to confirm Kavanaugh

before the Court starts its new

session on the first of October.

Democrats say they want more time

to review documents from Kavanaugh's time

in the George W. Bush administration.

Senate Judiciary ChairmanChuck Grassley said

there will be time to study the documents,

but it is first timefor the American people

to hear from Judge Kavanaugh.

The Kavanaugh confirmation could

have an impact on severalmidterm elections.

In Missouri where President Trump

won with 56% of the vote in 2016,

Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill

faces a challenge fromAttorney General Josh Hawley.

As Abigail Robertson reports,

the race is one of the most closely

watched contests in the nation.

- The Missouri Senate race is one

of the toughest to win in 2018,

and voters are focused on a major

issue that could spell trouble for

Democratic incumbentSenator Clair McCaskill.

(clapping)

Confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

- I think if she votesagainst the Trump nominee,

I think it'll be enough that if

the Republicans get organized and get

back together they can defeat her.

- [Abigail] President Trump won Missouri

by almost 20 points in 2016.

Congresswoman Ann Wagner says many

in her state supported Trump because

of the President's potential impact

on the court system.

- It's huge, you know there are a lot

of voters that I had talked to

especially in my districtduring the last election,

some of them voted for Donald Trump,

specifically because of the court.

Not just the Supreme Court,

but what he would be able to do

to impact the Federal bench also.

- [Abigail] McCaskill hasn't publicly

announced her stance on Kavanaugh

and plans to meet with him in August.

While she voted against JusticeNeil Gorsuch's confirmation,

she tells CBN News she's voted in favor

of 68% of the President's picks,

and tries to work with her Republican

colleagues in Washington.

- That's what people really want,

they want to quit yelling at each other

and they wanna start working together.

And I've got a lot of proof points

that's exactly the kindof senator I've been

and I'm hopeful that will be enough.

- [Abigail] Her Republican opponent,

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley,

a former clerk for ChiefJustice John Roberts,

says he thinks the mostimportant vote are Senator Cas,

is for Supreme Court justice.

- Senator McCaskill needs to be

leading her party on this issue.

She should be out there challenging

Democrats to support Kavanaugh

and she should pledge tosupport him right now.

- [Abigail] One priority facing Hawley

is trying to repair and unite a state

Republican party that's struggled

since the May resignationof Governor Eric Greitens

over reports of affairs and misconduct.

Hawley and McCaskill will face off

in a series of debatesbefore the November election,

and both parties see this as a critical

Senate seat to win in 2018.

Reporting from St. Louis,Abigail Robertson, CBN News.

- A closely watched race indeed, Pat.

- You know Kavanaugh issuch a superb candidate,

and for several Democrats to elect

Claire McCaskill to voteagainst him would be,

it would set them up for clearly

a challenge in the election.

He should be confirmed overwhelmingly,

he's a wonderful candidate,

and yes they are sort of rushing it along,

but his record is out there,

they can see what he is.

He's a superb judge,

and as was Neil Gorsuch whowas just absolutely fantastic.

But when he's in that means that

the balance on the Supreme Court

is coming more and more conservative.

More, hey if you can use the term

to the intention of the framers

of the Constitution rather than

the sliding scale of how to do it

according to the currenttrends of sociology,

that is not the way our intention was,

I mean our Constitutionwas supposed to be.

It's supposed to be a fixed document,

and that's what Antonin Scalia

emphasized and I think Gorsuch

and Robertson and Thomasand these other guys

that are putting together the coalition

with another conservative on,

they will have a coalition that

will be pretty tough and then the next,

Trump is gonna have the opportunity

to maybe name even one or two more

on the court before he's finished,

and he will, that'll be nothing

but a lasting legacy.

Setting up the Supreme Court cause

they have a lifetime tenure and he's

putting in young men in their late,

their 40s or actually early 50s.

And they will be around for 20, 30 years,

it's gonna be a major, major win for him.