Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Hillary Defends Email Use As Secretary of State; Democratic Senator to Vote Against Iran Nuclear Deal; Manhunt for Bangkok Bomber; Explosion at Washington State Motel; Wildfires Ripping Through the West. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired August 19, 2015 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, this following an NBC News report, an NBC report the server may have been attempted to be cleared before it was turned over to the FBI and the bureau is looking to recover that data.
[04:30:05] Clinton now getting testy with reporters over questioning about that server.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My personal e-mails are my personal business, right? So, that's all I can say.
REPORTER: But, to answer the question, did you try to wipe the server? You didn't answer the answer.
CLINTON: I'm not -- you know, I have no idea. That's why we turned it over --
REPORTER: But you said you were in charge of it. You were the official in charge. Did you wipe the server?
CLINTON: Like, with a cloth or something?
REPORTER: I don't know. You know how it works digitally. Did you try to wipe the whole server?
CLINTON: I don't know how it works digitally at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny has more on the controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
Hillary Clinton was defiant on Tuesday night at a campaign stop in Nevada, saying she did not send or receive any e-mail messages that were marked classified. She was there for a town hall meeting, but she took questions from reporters afterward, and the e-mail questions dominated the conversation.
CLINTON: Whether it was a personal account or a government account, I did not send classified material and I did not receive any material that was marked or designated classified, which is the way you know whether something is, what you're seeing now is a disagreement between agencies saying, you know what? They should have, and the other saying no, they shouldn't.
That has nothing to do with me. If it had been a government account and I said, release it, we would be having the same arguments.
ZELENY: Now, of course, she is facing questions from reporters, congressional hearings are just around the corner and even a Justice Department investigation about this ongoing e-mail controversy is still in front of her.
This all goes back to her decision to use a private e-mail server while she was secretary of state. Now, running for president is all about navigating obstacles and she sure have a few in front of them. Of course, she has many advantages. She's the front-running Democratic candidate, some 20 points ahead of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. But she does have obstacles.
Now, whether it's the Black Lives Matter activists that have been following her and other Democratic presidential candidates around, or if she's answering questions for yet another day about the controversy over that private e-mail server that she decided to use as secretary of state, she's defiant, saying that she did nothing wrong. She closed her time in Nevada saying, "I know there is a certain level of anxiety or interest in this, but the facts are the facts."
But, Christine, I can tell you -- those questions will keep on going as she keeps on campaigning. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: So much more about the e-mail controversy than about the domestic agenda. That has to be frustrating for the campaign.
All right. On the Republican side, candidates are converging on New Hampshire today. John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and Bobby Jindal are all scheduled to speak at an education summit.
Donald Trump is heading remain. He'll hold the first town hall event of his campaign. No doubt immigration will come up.
Trump's controversial plan now forcing much of the GOP field to tackle the notoriously sticky subject. Candidates are weighing in both for and against elements of the Trump agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: What about the 14th Amendment to the Constitution which the courts have said automatically grant citizenship to children born in the United States, even if their parents are here illegally?
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think that's going to require a little bit more discussion. The fact is that we have operated under that assumption really since the 1800s. And to change it, it would require some strong will, either on the part of the president.
GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R-WI), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our southern- based border is being penetrated every single day by drug cartels pushing drugs, firearms, human trafficking. No sovereign nation should be in position with that happening. As president, I'm going to secure the border once and for all and I'm going to uphold the laws of the great United States of America.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't agree with that. I certainly that we have to do a better job of preventing -- I'm open to doing things that -- to prevent people who deliberately come to the United States for purposes of taking advantage of the 14th Amendment, but I'm not in favor of repealing it.
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The idea we would go out in cars and hunt people down, it's not doable. And, secondly, I don't think it's right! I don't think it's humane!
JEB BUSH (R), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This constitutionally protected right and I don't support revoking it. There is a way to use leadership to solve abuses for people that are coming into the country, having children so that their children can be citizens. That is a legitimate problem. In a targeted way you can deal with this issue.
But to suggest that people born in this country are not United States citizens and they don't have this in the Constitution, I just reject out of hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Be sure to join us tonight for a CNN special report, "The Donald Trump Interview". The Republican front-runner sits down with Chris Cuomo to discuss his campaign. That's tonight at 9:00, only on CNN.
Now to the Iran nuclear deal. Another top Democrat coming out against the agreement. This time, it's New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee. He says the deal allows Iran to use the money it gains to further destabilize the region.
[04:35:00] So, how could the senator's opposition hurt the president's effort to get lawmakers aboard?
CNN's senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta tells us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine, the list of Democrats coming out against the Iran deal is growing, as expected. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's former chairman, Bob Menendez announced his opposition to the nuclear agreement, joining Senator Chuck Schumer who's also decided against the deal.
Here is what Senator Menendez had to say about his opposition to this deal.
SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (R), NEW JERSEY: I have looked into my own self and my decision to principle may unfortunately lead me to an unpopular course. But if Iran is to acquire an nuclear bomb, it will not have my name on it.
ACOSTA: Now, Menendez is hardly the biggest setback of the week for the White House. That distinction goes to Republican Senator Jeff Flake who likely ended any White House hopes for bipartisan support for the deal.
A White House official did say that the president is engaged on this issue, while he is on vacation here at Martha's Vineyard, adding, quote, "We remain confidently that ultimately a majority of Democrats in both the House and the Senate will support this deal."
That is critical as Republicans face an uphill battle, needing 11 more Democratic senators to defy the president, vote to block the agreement, and then join GOP efforts to override any presidential vetoes. That's not to mention the dozens of Democratic defections Republicans are also seeking in the House, which explains why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was quoted in Kentucky this week as saying, the president has a great likelihood of success -- Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks, Jim.
Bangkok's Erawan Shrine is back open this morning, just two days after that pipe bomb attack. Investigators now hunting for the man believed to be responsible, this man in a yellow shirt. A police spokesman now saying authorities are very sure this man caught on close circuit television is the bomber.
And this morning, Thailand offering a big reward for helping track him down.
CNN's Saima Mohsin is live in Bangkok this morning.
And, Saima, authorities say they are sure, very sure that's the man.
SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christine, they are.
They say they believe the man that left the bomb inside this shrine is that man in the yellow t-shirt but he was crucially not acting alone and they have offered a 1 million baht, and that is more than $30,000 to help find him.
The shrine, Christine, is now open. People have been steadily coming here throughout the day, paying their respects, lighting incense and praying and laying flowers for the dead.
This is the shrine of Brahma. It is a Hindu god but, Christine, people from all walks of life, all religions that come here, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, there's a large Indian community here, and a lot of Chinese tourists come here too.
If you look around, you can see people, local people and foreigners who come here today and come here every day as they always do. If you look beyond the people here, there is a visible police presence. We have been told that every member of the police force who is available has been deployed throughout the city.
This is now very high visibility operation. They want people to feel safe. They want people to feel secure and the fact that Thailand is on guard.
This, Christine, is really at the heart of the city for many reasons. Not just (AUDIO GAP) above us is a sky train, a major arterial way of getting around the city. There's a busy shopping district as well, a lot of international brands here. But also, this place, as I say, it brings together all of the religions and cultures of Thailand in one place.
Of course, the fact that there are so many tourists that come here and so many people that were injured and killed in this bombing, lead the prime minister to say he believed that Thailand's tourism industry and economy is being targeted in this bombing.
A short while ago, after the shrine open, the United States charges d'affaires arrived here. He also laid flowers and paid his respects and said a prayer, Christine, and then made a statement, saying that he hopes the Thai people deal with this with the spirit of togetherness that the country is known for and said that the United States stands side-by-side with Thailand and they condemn this attack.
Christine, the statue of Brahma has been damaged by the shrapnel in that pipe bomb. There is a scar on it, even today. Unimaginable what the carnage was here when people were standing in the way of that bomb -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Saima Mohsin, thank you for that, Saima. Keep us posted if there are any developments this morning.
Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money.
Right now, stocks down. Asian shares mostly lower. Still have big worries about the health of the Chinese economy. European shares are down. The German parliament votes on Greece's latest bailout. U.S. stock futures are slightly lower.
[04:40:00] It's a very big day for the Federal Reserve. The minutes from July's meeting will be released today and it's one of the last chances for any insight into the Fed's plan on interest rates before the September meeting. Many, many market participants expect the fed will raise interest rates next month. Remember that hack of Ashley Madison? The dating site that helps
married people cheat. Overnight, hackers published stolen data from more than a million users of Ashley Madison.
What was published? Customer names, credit card numbers, plus how much they spent on the site. The data is posted on the so-called Dark Web. It's a part of the Internet that can't be searched by Google or other common search engines, but the data is out there. Names, credit card numbers, and how much they spent on a Web site to help them cheat.
Forty-one minutes past the hour.
The little pink pill getting the green light from the Food and Drug Administration. Flibanserin is the first prescription pill to boost libido in women. The drug comes with the FDA's strongest warning. It should not be used by women who drink alcohol. Potential side effects including low blood pressure, fainting.
There are significant boxed warnings on this drug. The drug could be available by October. The FDA had rejected it twice before.
Breaking news this morning: a sudden gas explosion destroys a Motel Six in Washington state. The damage done, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:45:05] ROMANS: Breaking overnight: an explosion at a Motel Six in Washington state leaves one man critically injured. This happened in Bremerton. That's about 15 miles west of Seattle. Workers were already evacuating the building after report of a gas leak when a blast occurred.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I arrived late, booked into the room, watched a little TV, go to a dinner and go to bed, go to dinner, have a dinner, and saw the black smoke and wonder what that is. We come back and it looks like part of the motel has blown up. Shock when we turned up. But last week of our holiday sitting in that room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: It's still unclear if everyone got out of the building before the explosion.
Ex-Subway pitchman Jared Fogle is expected to plead guilty today to child pornography charges. FBI agents raided his Indiana home last month. They seized DVDs and computers in connection with a child porn investigation. Subway suspended its relationship with Jared shortly after that raid. Earlier this year, the former director of Fogle's foundation was arrested and charged with possessing and producing child pornography.
Sandra Bland's suicide in a jail cell last month prompting a new review of jail safety in Texas. The state's lieutenant governor says legislative hearings will begin in September. Texas has had an average of 25 suicides in county jails each year since 2012. Police say Bland hanged herself with a garbage bag in her cell days after her arrest following a traffic stop. Bland's family has filed a wrongful death suit.
Wildfires still ripping through seven states out west. This one, the so-called "Rough Fire", this is burning in Fresno, California. You can see the flames and the smoke just pouring from what is frankly an inferno. So far, this fire alone growing to nearly 21,000 acres. Crews having a tough time gaining an upper hand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are hitting it with everything that we can. We have brought an aircraft. We have brought in hand crews, dozer lines. We are doing everything we can to get this fire out as soon as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Firefighters battling wildfires in Idaho, in Montana, Oregon, Washington. The total acres burned so far this year is more than 7 million acres.
For more, let's get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri -- Pedram.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Christine, the fire threat continues across the western United States. The rainfall is not there the next couple of days. We do know 95 active large fires and considered 300 acres or larger involving burning grass. The temperatures have been tremendously hot. It will cool off.
Unfortunately, when you have a cooling trend of that significance, typically, you're talking about a front coming by the region. Look what happens in the wind department indicated in kind of yellows and red shading. That would be in excess of 40 to 50-mile-per-hour gusts as we head into Thursday and eventually Friday.
So, firefighters will have their hands full. Still a hot day ahead of us. For Wednesday before the cooling trend gets there.
Look at the storm system, massive storm system across northern Michigan. There's an active weather possible, work your way out towards southern area of Texas and some thunderstorms also popping up across north Texas, I should say, in the panhandle region as well. Severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 5:00 a.m. local time across this region of Texas. But again, generally, going to be for a large hail and some dusty winds. High temperatures stretching into the 80s around the Northeast.
Tropical storm Danny also to tell you about developing out there towards a portion of the leeward islands the next couple of days and 50-mile-per-hour winds could become a category two hurricane as we approach this weekend, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, Pedram Javaheri. We will watch it.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in Israeli right now with a new warning about the Iran nuclear deal. We go there live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:52:31] ROMANS: Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is in Israeli today and set to hold a news conference in Jerusalem this morning. Huckabee is expected to focus on the Iran deal. He is a vocal critic of that agreement. Huckabee already weighing on the Israeli-Palestinian as well.
CNN's Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem with more this morning.
Oren, what's going on?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Mike Huckabee is expected to meet later on today with Prime Minister Benjamin, perhaps before that press conference. So, we'll get a bit of an inside into that meeting. But there certainly shouldn't be too much of a surprise as to their thoughts on the Iran deal. Both are very outspoken critics of a deal. Perhaps none more so than Prime Minister Netanyahu, a number of Republican presidential candidates have met with Netanyahu and the Iran deal has played big here.
For example, Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz have met with him, among others. Now, it's Mike Huckabee's turn. Huckabee blasted the deal in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUCKABEE: We violated every single thing that we said was a prerequisite in this, whether it was any time, anywhere inspections, whether it was they couldn't have any enrichment, whether there were unlimited access to the inspections. None of that turned out to be true. We caved in on all of it. We don't even have our hostages back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIEBERMANN: Huckabee also weighed in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying he favors the idea of a greater Israeli. That is of Israeli annexing the West Bank. He even held a fund-raiser in the West Sank settlement of Shiloh.
So, Christine, Huckabee in his visit here making his positions very clear on the conflict and, of course, on the Iran deal.
ROMANS: All right. Oren Lieberman for us in Jerusalem this morning -- thank you so much for that, Oren.
Donald Trump says he will fix immigration, but now, he is contradicting his own big plans? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [04:58:03] ROMANS: Good morning. Almost the top of the hour. I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an early start on your money this morning.
Stocks mostly down around the world. The German parliament right now voting on Greece's latest bailout. Look there, U.S. stock future down too. It's a very big day for the Federal Reserve.
The minutes from July's meeting will be released, one of the last chance for clues into whether the Fed will raise rates at its next meeting in September.
So, higher rates are coming, if not September, then soon. It comes at a time when the housing market is showing signs of strength. Construction of new single family homes soared 12 percent in July to the best level since December of 2007. Remember? That was the beginning of the great recession.
Another gauge, according to Core Logic, all cash sales dropped to 32 percent of home sales in May. That's the lowest since mid-2008. That suggests first time other people are getting into the market and not just investors.
More evidence from Home Depot as well. The home improvement retailer says shoppers are coming in more often and they are spending more. Housing market recovery and low interest rates was good for Home Depot's bottom line.
Now, Donald Trump contradicting his own immigration proposal. He took a shot at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at his immigration plan when he released it on Sunday, criticizing Zuckerberg's call for more H-1B visas as for high skilled foreign workers. But on Tuesday, Trump tweeted this, "I want talented people to come into this country -- to work hard and become citizens. Silicon Valley needs engineers, et cetera."
Interestingly enough, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has also been critical of increasing visas for high-skilled workers.
EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
ROMANS: Hillary Clinton defending her use of the email as secretary of state, pressed if she has wiped her server clean or tried to before handing it over to the FBI. The questions do not end.
President Obama facing new opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran from within his own party.
And happening now, investigators hunting for the man behind a deadly bombing in Bangkok. We are live with how they plan to track him down.
