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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Fire And Fury, Part Two; Off The Road With Uber And Lyft; Pompeo Targets Iranian Regime; The North Korea Threat; JPMorgan Chase CEO, Torturing Mexico Is Dead Wrong. Aired 04-04:30a ET

Aired July 23, 2018 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DAVE BRIGGS, EARLY START SHOW CO-HOST: Some tough talk from Iran met with a blunt warning by the United States. President Trump says further threats from Tehran will bring severe consequences and the Secretary of State compares Iran's leadership to the mafia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think they did anything wrong. I think they went to the court. They got the Judge's to approve it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, EARLY START SHOW CO-HOST: Fellow Republicans refuting the president's claim that newly released documents prove his campaign was spied on. The President now taking to Twitter, undoing a week of support for the Intel community.

BRIGGS: And a driver for Uber and Lyft is off the road after live streaming passengers for it turns out. He was not breaking the law. We have what you feel if you were one o of those passengers. Good morning everyone. Welcome to "Early Start." I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: Is there privacy anywhere, any more, I don't think so? I'm Christine Romans. It is Monday, July 23rd. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. Let us begin here with tensions between the United States and Iran escalating dramatically overnight. It all started early Sunday when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani cautioned President Trump about pursuing hostile policies. Rouhani said quote, America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace. And war with Iran is the mother of all wars. Last night, he got a response via tweet, first.

BRIGGS: President Trump warning Rouhani in all caps, never ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences a likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented word of violence and death, be cautious. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is live form London with how all of these unfolded. Good morning, Nick. A lot of people waking up on Monday having no sense of how this started.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, and I think bear in mind all of this plays a very conveniently in to the president into the President who is struggling to perhaps distract people from the consequences of the Helsinki summit with Russian President, Vladimir Putin here. Suddenly we have a whole news here of American foreign policy reignited here.

Now, some of this is linking to the speech by U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. We will get to that in a moment, but we are coming to an area here in Iran where decisions take apart the nuclear deal for the U.S. to withdraw from it has potentially left many European nations who want to do business with Iran, more vulnerable to sanctions and that potentially put pressure on the Iranian oil market, certainly in the months ahead.

They have in turned threatened to potentially disrupt supplies heading to the gulf near Iran there. But the broader point is this is being phrased as a bit to try and putting increased pressure upon the. But the moderate Iranian government, President Hassan Rouhani who was involved in the Twitter war, they had been accused of basically wolf in sheep's clothing, they are basically not being moderate, but being jihadist extremists according to Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo in a recent speech. Here is what he had to say about the government.

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MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The bitter irony of the economic situation in Iran is that the regime uses the same time to line its pockets while its people cry out for jobs and reform and opportunity. The Iranian economy is doing great, but only if you are politically connected member if the elite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PATON WALSH: There have been a lot of protests inside Iran, because of mismanagement, because of the collapse of the local currency there. Mike Pompeo referred to a $95 billion slush fund that was run by the Iranian regime to sort of support various interests. A quick round if you check, we are not suddenly about to see war between the U.S. and Iran escalate. Unless things escalate widely, but it is a very delicate region with the balance between Lebanese's Hezbollah, to the north of Israel, is precarious where Israelis are involved, fundamentally a lot Syria, stirring tensions there. Iran is heavily deeply involved in Syria, too. There is a lot that could go potentially wrong there and a tweet like this, will some say, may be, we find like North Korea their negotiations three months from now. We simply don't know. There is an element to distraction here, but also an element of (inaudible) to. Back to you.

BRIGGS: Indeed. Nick Paton Walsh, your context, the oil markets barely blinking at this, so they are not taking too seriously, but interesting way to start the week. Thank you.

ROMANS: All right. President Trump has now ended up where he started a week ago. Back to questioning whether Russia interfered in the U.S. Elections. He spent much of that time trying to convince everyone he believed the Intel after questioning it as he stood alongside Vladimir Putin. The president again now scoffing at the conclusion of U.S. Intelligence. The conclusion he just said he accepted. A reversal of the reversal, if you will. So, President Obama knew about Russia before the election. Why didn't he do something about it? Why didn't he tell our campaign? Because it is all a big hoax. That is why. And he thought crooked Hillary was going to win.

[04:05:05] BRIGGS: For the record, the Trump campaign was told about Russia's election interference. CNN has reported that the President was personally briefed about it in August of 2016. And even before his tweet last night, GOP leaders were raising concerns.

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REP. TREY GOWDY, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The evidence is overwhelming. The President either needs to rely on the people that he has chosen to advise him or those advisers need to reevaluate whether or not they can serve in these administration, but the disconnect cannot continue.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: He has changed his mind four times this week. You did not collude with the Russians. I have not seen any evidence, but Mr. President, they meddled in the elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Senator Lindsey Graham there calling on the President Trump to impose new heavy-handed sanctions on Russia before Vladimir Putin visits Washington.

BRIGGS: Former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page calling an FBI claimed he was a Kremlin agent, a complete joke. Page responding to the released of (inaudible) documents used to secure a surveillance warrant. Now, the application shows Federal Investigators believe Page was engage in quote clandestine intelligence activities on behalf of Moscow. Page acknowledging on State of the Union, he wasn't in formal adviser to Russia, but he says the foreign agent accusations are ridiculous.

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CARTER PAGE, FORMER TRUMP CAMPIAGN ASSOCIATE: No. I have never been an agent of the foreign power in -- by any stretch of the imagination. You know I may have back in the g20 in St. Petersburg, I might have participated in a few meetings that a lot of people, including people from the Obama administration were sitting in on in Geneva and Paris, et cetera. But I have never been anywhere near what's being described here.

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BRIGGS: This guy. The President using the document to renew his unfounded claim that the Trump campaign were spied on even some of his allies in Congress are casting doubt. CNN's Ryan Nobles with more.

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RYAN NOBLES, WASHINGON CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Dave and Christine, good morning. We did not see President Trump at all this weekend. He was at his golf resort in nearby Bedminster, Jew jersey. He didn't make any public appearances, but his Twitter feed was busy, very critical of the newly released FISA warrant application of related to the surveillance of Carter Page, the former member of his foreign policy team. The President saying this was yet another example of how there was a conspiracy against him to launch these investigation into his campaign's ties to Russia. Well, not everyone agrees with him, including some Republicans. Listen to what Marco Rubio had to say on State of the Union.

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SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA: I don't think they did anything wrong, I think went to the court and they got the Judges to approve it. They had laid out all the information and there were a lot of reasons unrelated to the dossier for why they wanted to look at Carter Page. And Crater Page was not a key member of the Trump campaign, but in the Trump campaign has said that.

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NOBLES: And despite all the president's complains about the FISA law, it is important to keep in mind there has been numerous opportunities for the Congress to kind of rein in the FISA law. Make it more difficult for the Federal government to conduct surveillance on American citizens and every time the Congress has elected not to do that. Including as late as January of this year where they decided to reauthorize the law and it was President Trump who signed that reauthorization into law. The same law that he is now so very critical of. Dave and Christine.

(END VIDEO)

ROMANS: Thank you for that. Breaking overnight. At least 14 people shot in the Greek town neighborhood of central Toronto. Police say, one of the victims has died and another, a young girl in in critical condition. Official say, the shooter is dead. Witnesses transported by bus so investigators could interview them. One witness standing near the scene told CTV, he heard about 20 shots and a sound of a weapon being reloaded repeatedly. We bring in more of the story as it comes in. Of course, the Gun violence is kindly rare in Canada. That is a big story developing there.

All right. Eight minutes past the hour. President Trump amps up trade tensions about closest allies. One of the world's most powerful CEO's thinks that is bad policy.

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JAMIE DIMON, CEO, JP MORGAN CHASE: We want NAFTA done. And you know, to be torturing Mexico in this way in my opinion is dead wrong and it should be fixed.

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ROMANS: My exclusive interview with JPMorgan Chase, CEO Jamie Dimon, that is next. [04:10:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIGGS: It is just under six weeks since President Trump declared North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat. The President has been steadily tweeting about how well talks with Pyongyang are going, but a U.S. official has told CNN the president has privately fumed about the slow pace of denuclearization. For the latest, let us bring in CNN's Will Ripley, live for us in Hong Kong this morning. Will, good morning, to anything, any concrete steps toward denuclearization yet?

WILL RIPLEY, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, the North Koreans say yes. They say they destroyed their (inaudible) nuclear site. International experts has disputed whether it is really destroyed. They are going to be repatriating remains of Americans service members killed in the Korean War in the coming days. At least what they say the remains, that has nothing to do with the denuclearization, but it is something that President Trump ask for in Singapore. And they said have not launched or sort of conducted any nuclear test until late last year, since November.

So North Korea say, they had done enough and now they want the U.S. to pony up in terms of sanctions relief, economic incentives, the kind of things the U.S. says will only going to happen once North Korea has fully denuclearize, given up all of the nuclear weapons. While I was chatting overnight with the North Koreans sources, source very close to North Korea negotiations, saying that is absolutely not going to happen.

That the North Koreans are going to unilaterally give up their nukes until they feel the United States is taking bold steps. Something else they want, is a peace treaty. A formal end of the Korean War. Something that they believe will guarantee the survival of Kim Jong-un government. They say the United States is not acting aggressively enough on getting a peace treaty move forward. And my source even said, that if the peace treaty doesn't happen, the North Koreans could actually walk away from these negotiations. If you think they are worried about maximum pressure and fire and fury.

[04:15:00] Well, keep this in mind, they are now cozying up -- very cozy with China and Russia. Their traditional allies. Things are going so well right now with China and Russia that frankly the North Koreans are not too worried even if President Trump and his administration try to step up the pressure once again. So three words for you Dave, dose of reality.

BRIGGS: Dose of reality. Lindsey Graham said told the president they are playing the same game with you they played with every other President. Will Ripley, live for us in Hong Kong, thank you.

ROMANS: All right. 15 minutes past the hour. President Trump escalating trade threats against America's key allies and one of the world most powerful CEOs thinks that is bad policy. I spoke to the head of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon in an exclusive interview with the banks entrepreneurs' collar event in Chicago. Dimon said, the President is right to target China on trade, but not about much else.

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DIMON: The way to look at trade. The President has raised serious issues that are pre-accurate around China that need to be fixed. We want NAFTA done. I think Mexico is a wonderful neighbor. We want NAFTA done. And you know, to torture Mexico in this way, in my opinion is dead wrong. And it should be fixed. We thought what the President should do is work with Mexico, work with Canada and do TPP. Work with the European allies and Japanese allies and go to China with a common front. Not against them.

CHURCH: Right.

DIMON: This is the way the modern world deal trade particular in I.P., State Enterprises and all this various issues. Now we have kind a little bit of a trade war, trade skirmish or how you would define it, with all our allies and China. So, somehow the President is doing a great job, maybe we would have a great outcome. That would remind folks, the President's team has already said there will be no retaliation. They all have been wrong. If you do another $200 billion of tariffs and this national security about cars, I bet you are getting pretty there close to having reversing some of the benefits we have seen in the economy.

CHURCH: The trade adviser to the President and White House tell me with great confidence, that the economy is so strong, this is exactly the time for them to be addressing these issues with China and with Europe and you know, and bringing back steel jobs. Do you buy that? That it is so strong?

DIMON: I don't buy that, I would be a skeptic. I deserved the argument after the fact. I think you should do the right thing in trade whether the economy is strong or not.

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CHURCH: Dimon also expects a tit-for-tat retaliation from Beijing. Measured but he expects a retaliation. He says the economy is strong right now, very strong and getting stronger which is why the trade issue is confounding. Because he thinks you have a chance of derailing some of his progress they have seen in the economy. As what wages too, because he is wondering what is going on with wages? He thinks wages are already starting to rise. The economy is so strong and you have such a strong job market. Again, a great situation to be in this trade disputes are just stupid.

BRIGGS: Why undermine all that progress.

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: OK. Ahead, the duck boat that sank, killing 17 people last week will be raised to the surface today. What survivors say about life jackets on board and why no one was wearing them?

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BRIGGS: The duck boat that capsized and sank in Missouri last week killing 17 people will be raised from the bottom of Table Rock Lake today. The boat will be turned over to the NTSB for inspection. A source pulls the investigation telling CNN, the 17 who died were not wearing life jackets. According to survivors the captain said there were life jackets above, but passengers would need them. Tina Coleman was one of those survivors, she lost nine members of her own family in the tragedy including her husband, and three children.

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TIA COLEMAN, SURVIVOR: Going home, I already know will be completely difficult. I don't know how I'm going to do it. Since I had a home, it's always filled with little feet and laughter and my husband. I don't know how I'm going to do it. Since I had a home, it is always been filled, it is always been filled with little feet and laughter. And my husband, I don't know how I am going to deal with it.

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ROMANS: Calls for new safety regulations are growing after the accident, but many regulations following a similar incident in Arkansas, in 1999. You see it there, were never implemented. A mechanical inspector who warned the duck boat operator last year will be a guest on the "New Day" in the 6:00 hour.

BRIGGS: Uber and Lyft have suspended a driver following a report he livestreamed his passengers without consent. The St. Louis post- dispatch reports the driver 32 year old, Jason Gargac filmed his passengers and their interactions. The livestreamed occasionally revealed passenger full names and addresses as well as private conversations and intimate moments, but it turn out, this is all completely legal. Missouri is a one-party consent state. Meaning only one person in a conversation needs to be aware of a recording. Still both ride sharing companies deactivated the driver's accounts. CNN's was unable to reach Gargac, but he told the post-dispatch the cameras were there for his own security.

ROMANS: 16 varieties of Ritz crackers and Ritz Bits are being recalled because of a risked of salmonella. The company says the products contained whey powder which has been recalled by the powder supply due to the potential presence of salmonella. No illnesses have been reported so far. To get the latest information about the Ritz recall, go to ritzcrackers.com.

BRIGGS: Italy is celebrating its first ever major champion golfer, Francesco Molinari winning the British open by two strokes. And become the only Italian player to ever win the men's major. He played the final two rounds at Carnoustie Bogey Free to hold off challenges from Justin Rose, Rory McElroy and some guy named Tiger Woods.

[04:25:05] Tiger was in the hunt. And boy it was exciting, he briefly took the lead halfway through the final round in search of his first major in ten years. Went on a double bogey on the eleventh, effectively ended his chances. The good news is, there were signs of the Tiger we all know and remember.

ROMANS: It was fun to watch. BRIGGS: It sure was. He and Spieth had everyone excited, but a good

win for Molinari.

Well, it is not quite Steve Bartman outrage, by a Cubs fan is getting ripped on social media for stealing a ball from a little kid at the Cubs Carnival games Sunday. A Cubs Coach tosses the foul ball over to the young fan in the first row, but the guy sitting behind him, as you can see, gets to the ball first. Grabs it. Oh, man, don't be that guy. Give the Cubs credit though and the team learned of what happened and they gave the kid two replacement balls, including one signed by Cubs star Javier Baez. Again, don't be that guy. If you get a ball -- if you even get a ball from a coach, look around for a kid first and make their day.

ROMANS: Yes. All right. 26 minutes past the hour. Consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered. That warning in all caps from the President to Iran's President. What happens now?

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