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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Countdown Begins To Final Vote On Brett Kavanaugh; U.S. Prepares Show Of Force Against China; Seven Officers Shot In Florence, South Carolina; Yankees Win American League Wild Card; Will Face Red Sox. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired October 04, 2018 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:55] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I'm filing cloture on Judge Kavanaugh's nomination this evening so the process can move forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Could the Senate vote on Brett Kavanaugh as soon as Saturday? The FBI report on his conduct will be in the hands of senators at 8:00 a.m. this morning.

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Growing concern of China's military aggression at sea. The U.S. readies a show of force. The vice president will declare even Russia's actions pale in comparison Beijing.

ROMANS: One officer is dead, six others recovering after coming under fire in South Carolina.

BRIGGS: And there goes that ball. Here come the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers headed for a showdown with the Red Sox after disposing of the Oakland A's. A busy day on the diamond in Major League Baseball today.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 31 minutes past the hour.

And let's begin here. Breaking overnight, Senate Republican leaders starting the clock toward a final vote on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filing a motion to end debate. That procedural move will come to a vote this week with a final vote on the nomination as soon as Saturday.

BRIGGS: The timing driven by the FBI's renewed background investigation on Kavanaugh. Senators will be able to start reading investigation summaries starting at 8:00 a.m. The White House has the report already and "The Wall Street Journal"

reports the White House finds no corroboration of sexual misconduct allegations against their nominee.

ROMANS: That, of course, doesn't address whether Kavanaugh misled senators about his drinking habits. And, "The Washington Post" reports the White House privately restricted the FBI from looking into Kavanaugh's youthful drinking and whether he lied to Congress about it, all while the president was publicly saying the FBI could follow any leads it saw fit.

BRIGGS: The FBI wrapped up its investigation Wednesday having interviewed about 10 people in total. Now the focus moves to undecided senators and what they make of the FBI report.

ROMANS: One of Judge Kavanaugh's freshman roommates at Yale claims that he lied under oath when he downplayed his youthful drinking. Several senators have said they would oppose Kavanaugh if he lied to the Judiciary Committee.

Here's what James Roche told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES ROCHE, CLASSMATE OF BRETT KAVANAUGH AT YALE UNIVERSITY: People from that environment, they were people who were -- who were loud drunks, who were sloppy drunks, who were belligerent drunks.

But even -- but even by those standards, my memory of Brett was that he was -- he was on the far edge of this. He was notably heavier in his drinking than other people.

That was an awful long time ago and I can't say he was drunk on this date or not. But I can tell you that my recollection of my experience with him was that he was drunk frequently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: In an earlier op-ed for "Slate," Roach wrote this.

"In his words and his behavior, Judge Kavanaugh has shown contempt for the truth, for the process, for the rule of law, and for accountability. His willingness to lie to avoid embarrassment throws doubt on his denials about the larger questions of sexual assault."

Roche has said he's not been contacted by the FBI but is willing to tell agents what he knows.

ROMANS: All right. We've also just learned the Senate Judiciary Committee has the FBI report. So what happens today?

Let's bring in "Washington Examiner" commentary writer Philip Wegmann. Good morning.

And I guess --

BRIGGS: Good morning.

PHILIP WEGMANN, COMMENTARY WRITER, WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Good morning.

ROMANS: -- the big question is what changes now that this is going to move forward with the FBI investigation complete, in the Senate's hand? Senators will be in to see it in just a few hours.

What changes for Susan Collins, Jeff Flake, Lisa Murkowski if, in fact, that the "The Wall Street Journal" reports the White House thinks there's nothing that corroborates sexual misconduct in it?

And "The Washington Post" reports that it was limited -- very limited in its scope what the -- what the - what the FBI could ask about.

What changes for these senators?

WEGMANN: What changes? I think absolutely nothing at all unless we find some sort of bombshell in this new FBI investigation.

And let's take a moment there. We keep calling it an FBI investigation, but the truth here is that this is essentially another background check --

ROMANS: Yes.

ROMANS: -- for Brett Kavanaugh -- you know, the seventh that he's taken.

And my expectation here is that Democrats are going to continue their line of attack from before where they say that this investigation didn't have enough time, the scope was too limited.

[05:35:02] But then you're going to see Republicans -- and I think you're going to see Collins and Flake, in particular -- my expectation is that they will use this as cover, as will perhaps some of those red-state Democrats, to perhaps go ahead and vote for Kavanaugh in the same way that they did vote for Gorsuch.

But again, I mean, like we are dealing with the same news cycle. We are dealing with the same questions that we were dealing with a week ago. And until one of those senators leaks that FBI report, I don't think a lot has changed.

BRIGGS: Until, which is probably three-four hours. That is one certainty. We don't have mutually agreed upon facts in 2018 --

ROMANS: That's true.

BRIGGS: -- so there will be separate leaks and two different interpretations of it.

ROMANS: It could be a Rorschach test. Those FBI report could actually be a Rorschach test.

BRIGGS: That is very true.

So we look like we're headed for a full vote by Saturday. It seems like you're leaning yes.

I still contend this is probably a 53. I think you include those Democrats like Manchin, like Heitkamp -- perhaps even Donnelly.

You think it gets through -- bottom line?

WEGMANN: Look, it's very interesting that you mentioned Donnelly a second ago because what we saw last week is that Donnelly -- he said that he was not going to vote for the nominee, not because he found anything telling in Kavanaugh's character but, instead, he said that he couldn't vote for the nominee because there wasn't an FBI investigation.

BRIGGS: Right.

WEGMANN: Now he's backtracked a little bit. He was talking to "The Washington Post" and one of his aides said well, it's not just the fact that there hasn't been an FBI investigation. The reason why Donnelly's concerned about this nomination is because of the judge's temperament and because of some of his answers.

Now that there is this FBI investigation out there and assuming that it doesn't turn up anything that we don't already know, I think that a lot of these red-state Democrats are going to be very hard-pressed --

ROMANS: Yes.

WEGMANN: -- not to vote for Kavanaugh.

BRIGGS: That's a tough vote. There are some very tough reelections --

WEGMANN: Yes.

BRIGGS: -- for those Democrats. That is a tough no vote there.

ROMANS: Yes.

Let's talk a little bit about the temperament because there's a thousand law professors who signed on to say that Kavanaugh does not have the temperament for this job.

"The New York Times," in an op-ed, writes this. "At the Senate hearings on September 27th, Judge Brett Kavanaugh displayed a lack of judicial temperament that would be disqualifying for any court, and certainly for elevation to the highest court of this land."

Do you suppose -- say he is confirmed. Do those temperament questions still hang over him like an asterisk?

WEGMANN: No, not at all.

I mean, let's be honest here. We have heard from the beginning that judges are supposed to be umpires and that's a great analogy. It makes sense to all of us, right? But the thing is, when an umpire is behind the plate they need to be dispassionate. If you attack the umpire -- if you jump him in the parking lot while

he's trying to get to his car at the end of a game, he's not going to be dispassionate. You're not going to punch him in the nose. He's not going to pull out his rule book and say wait a minute, that's not fair.

I mean, I think that what we saw is two very different Kavanaughs. During the initial confirmation hearing he was very by-the-book. During the second hearing where he was defending himself and his family against these allegations -- yes, of course, he was heated.

And I think that sometimes his anger -- well, a lot of conservatives would say that it was righteous. Sometimes he became irrationally irate and I think we saw that in his back-and-forth with Klobuchar.

ROMANS: Revenge.

BRIGGS: Phil, you're aware that it wasn't the anger, it wasn't the passion, it was the specific words -- apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election. He also talked about revenge on behalf of the Clintons.

WEGMANN: Clearly --

BRIGGS: That is what judicial temperament --

WEGMANN: Exactly.

BRIGGS: If you're calling balls and strikes, that is not --

WEGMANN: Wait a minute, though. We're dealing with an individual who was sitting in front of the nation who has to deal with the fact that he has been accused not just --

BRIGGS: I agree with you. I'd be angry, too.

WEGMANN: -- not just of sexual assault but also to be a serial rapist.

BRIGGS: Sure.

WEGMANN: That is -- I mean, I've never been in that position. I don't think any of us, hopefully, ever will be.

I think that Kavanaugh -- he is --

BRIGGS: That's why I'm -- that's why I'm agreeing that anger is understandable in that.

WEGMANN: Yes.

BRIGGS: We all agree about that if you're falsely accused of sexual assault you're going to be furious, you're going to be irate.

But look, as we go forward it will be interesting to see -- because I believe he is confirmed -- that all his decisions are viewed through this 2018 political spectrum.

WEGMANN: Yes.

BRIGGS: But I want to play something quickly that Ben Sasse, very conservative Republican senator, said about the president in the midst of all of this -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BEN SASSE (R), NEBRASKA: We all know that the president cannot lead us through this time. We know that he's dispositionally unable to restrain his impulse to divide us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: OK. He's going to vote yes on Kavanaugh.

Where are we headed with that pending -- perhaps a confrontation there?

WEGMANN: I think what we know is that the senators are going to realize that when Kavanaugh is trying to defend himself from allegations of sexual harassment and assault he's going to be very heated. But it's going to be very different when he's on the bench dealing with the other justices, answering questions about the Commerce Clause.

Again, though, I think that what we're seeing when it comes to -- comes to the way that senators are approaching this, they see this as transactional. They know that --

[05:40:02] BRIGGS: It is about the president. Ben Sasse --

WEGMANN: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

BRIGGS: -- is talking about the President of the United States, Phil.

WEGMANN: Yes, yes, yes -- and then --

BRIGGS: He's not talking about a justice.

WEGMANN: And what they are seeing here is that they like the justice. They don't necessarily like the president who nominated him. And I think at the end of the day, they are going to be looking at the qualifications of the judge, not necessarily the president.

ROMANS: I think they're also worried about midterms and the president and his "He Too" movement that he has begun -- whether that's going to hurt them with women.

BRIGGS: Oh, I hadn't heard that -- "He Too" movement.

ROMANS: I just made it up right now.

BRIGGS: Well done.

ROMANS: Well, the president made it up at a rally in Mississippi.

All right. Phil Wegmann --

BRIGGS: Co-opted.

ROMANS: -- nice to see you. Thank you.

WEGMANN: Thank you, guys.

BRIGGS: All right.

A classified proposal has been drawn up by the U.S. Navy to respond to China's military aggression. Defense officials describe it as a global show of force.

On Sunday, a Chinese warship came within 45 yards of the USS Decatur, challenging the American ship's presence in the South China Sea. That near-collision, one of many troubling developments with China.

Will Ripley with more on all of this, live from Hong Kong. Will, where are we headed here?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, don't you remember Dave? Weren't Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, and President Trump like great friends --

BRIGGS: Yes.

RIPLEY: -- not too long ago? What happened to that?

Well, apparently the friendship has taken a turn because the vice president is expected to give, really, a blistering speech in the coming hours that has the potential to rile Beijing on many fronts.

So let's talk about, first of all, this potential global show of force that the Navy is proposing. No final decision yet, but if it happens next month you're talking about U.S. warships and planes sailing past these disputed islands -- the Spratly Islands -- where there was this confrontation over the weekend between a Chinese destroyer and the USS Decatur.

But the frequency that the Navy is talking about doing it, the intensity the likes of which we haven't seen before and frankly, we don't know how Beijing is going to respond. Couple that potential plan and the vice president saying that the U.S. will not be intimidated by these -- what, reckless harassment? That's what he's expected to say in his speech.

But then he's going to shift gears and talk about allegations of Chinese election meddling and he's going to make a pretty big statement about China, saying what the Russians are doing pales in comparison to what China is doing across this country.

So, President Trump talked about Chinese election meddling at the United Nations Security Council. They're angry about the ad that was taken out in the "Des Moines Register." They're angry about Chinese tariffs targeting red states and voters

that could potentially be swayed against President Trump.

Apparently, the vice president is going to lay out the Trump administration's feeling that China has this detailed plan to try to sway the midterm elections in the United States.

And keep in mind, Beijing already thinks that the Trump administration is trying to contain the rise of China with this trade war and now, potentially, these increased confrontations on the South China Sea.

A far cry from this friendship between Xi and Trump that we talked about not too long ago, Dave.

BRIGGS: Yes. The president, not long ago, saying he's very thankful for Xi's comments on trade. "We will make great progress together." A far, far cry from where we are today.

Thank you, Will.

ROMANS: All right.

A reprieve for hundreds of thousands of immigrants fearing deportation. A federal judge has blocked, for now, the Trump administration's plan to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Sudan, El Salvador, Haiti, and Nicaragua.

TPS protects people admitted to the U.S. from countries hit by dire conditions like natural disasters or war. The Trump administration ended TPS for many migrants, saying the dire circumstances have passed. There's nothing temporary about Temporary Protected Status. That's what the White House says.

The Justice Department says the judge's decision usurps the role of the Executive Branch.

All right. Harvard's diving coach put on leave after claims emerge of sexual misconduct.

BRIGGS: And police say a Michigan cheerleader took the high road, if you will, in a bid to become homecoming queen.

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[05:47:52] ROMANS: All right.

Facebook heads to Capitol Hill this week, working with lawmakers as it faces the possibility of more regulation. Facebook confirmed to CNN it sent representatives to D.C. It's briefing Congressional staff about its latest huge data breach.

Last week, Facebook announced its biggest security breach ever, exposing the data of 50 million users through a security flaw. Facebook patched the flaw but has not exactly said what info was exposed. It says it is keeping lawmakers in the loop, which is notable because Facebook has been trying to work more with Washington. It sent its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to testify, remember, in April.

Facebook likely trying to get ahead of new regulations. It already faces intense scrutiny for things like allowing election meddling and privacy concerns.

BRIGGS: Seven sheriff's deputies and police officers shot, one fatally, trying to serve a search warrant at a home in Florence, South Carolina. The suspect in custody has not been identified.

Officials say he barricaded himself in the home with children, prompting a 2-hour standoff. Officials say they did not realize just how much firepower the suspect had.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNY BOONE, SHERIFF, FLORENCE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA: Fire was being shot all over. The way the suspect was positioned, his view of fire was several hundred yards, so he had an advantage. And the officers couldn't get to the ones that's down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The Florence officer who was killed identified as 30-year department veteran Terrence Carraway.

President Trump tweeting his "thoughts and prayers to law enforcement in Florence."

ROMANS: A Navy veteran in custody this morning. William Clyde Allen III arrested in Utah in connection with suspicious letters sent to President Trump and top Pentagon officials. Allen was an enlisted sailor in the Navy from 1998 to 2002.

The envelopes initially thought to contain the nerve agent ricin. A preliminary investigation found, though, that the substance was actually a crude castor bean precursor.

CNN still trying to reach Allen or his attorney.

BRIGGS: Recalled eggs from Gravel Ridge Farms in Cullman, Alabama linked to 38 cases of salmonella in seven states. The cage-free large eggs were sold in grocery stores in Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama, and were recalled last month.

[05:50:08] Salmonella cases now being reported by the FDA in Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, and Montana. Ten people have been hospitalized.

The 'best buy' date on the eggs was yesterday. For more information, go to cnn.com.

ROMANS: All right.

Honda is pumping nearly $3 billion into fellow car company GM. We'll tell you why in "CNN Business," next.

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ROMANS: Let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.

Right now, global stocks pulling back a bit after the Dow hit another record high. Bank stocks driven higher because of higher bond yields. Strong economic data sent 10-year Treasury yields to the highest level in seven years.

Oil prices hit a 4-year high, then edged back a bit. Global oil closed about $86 a barrel yesterday, the highest since 2014.

Oil prices have surged lately as investors get ready for U.S. sanctions on Iran. World supply is tight and that will only make it tighter. Iran is the fourth-largest producer of oil.

[05:55:03] Those sanctions begin November fourth.

eBay is accusing Amazon of trying to poach sellers, claiming it used eBay's own internal messaging system to do so. "The Wall Street Journal" reports eBay sent Amazon a cease and desist letter to stop the recruiting, claiming 50 Amazon sales reps sent thousands of messages to sellers on eBay's platform.

eBay demands Amazon end its unlawful activity and says it will take the appropriate steps to protect itself. Amazon says it's looking into the allegations.

All right.

Honda is pumping nearly $3 billion into GM, teaming up to create a new generation of driverless cars. Honda will put $750 million immediately into GM's self-driving unit, investing another $2 billion over the next 12 years. The goal here, to build a driverless car that can be mass-produced and sold worldwide.

Passenger car sales are on the decline, falling seven percent in September, so companies are betting self-driving cars are the future of the industry. Right now, the tech only brings enormous cost and risk with no vehicles ready for the market, hence that GM-Honda tie- up.

All right, for the latest on tech, media, and finance, go to the new "CNN Business" featuring exclusive interviews with newsmakers and in- depth coverage of the companies and innovations driving business forward. Cnn.com/business launches later today.

BRIGGS: Very cool.

Harvard's head diving coach placed on leave amid sexual misconduct claims by athletes he coached a few years ago. The class-action suit accuses 31-year-old Chris Heaton of soliciting nude pictures from female athletes at an Indiana diving school and sending explicit pictures to them. The suit claims athletes began complaining about Heaton's conduct in 2015. Harvard says it was unaware of the complaints when Heaton was hired in August.

Heaton has yet to comment.

ROMANS: All right.

A water park in Waco, Texas shut down after a visitor died from a so- called brain-eating amoeba. The victim, identified as 29-year-old Fabrizio Stabile of New Jersey, visited the BSR Cable Park before developing symptoms last month.

The amoeba that killed him is found in warm bodies of fresh water, like lakes and hot springs. Lab results on samples taken across the facility are pending.

The owners of the park are cooperating with investigators.

BRIGGS: Evacuations underway in southern Arizona where floodwaters could overtop a dam. The reason, unusually heavy rains from Tropical Storm Rosa. The flooding threatening the integrity of the Menagers Dam near the town of Ali Chuk on tribal land less than a mile from the Mexican border.

A flash flood warning is in effect for the town until early today.

ROMANS: A Michigan cheerleader's dream of becoming homecoming queen has gone to pot. Police say she distributed, at school, brownies laced with weed to sway classmates to vote for her. Hartford police say the school was alerted by an anonymous tip.

The students involved could face felony charges for distributing marijuana in a drug-free zone.

BRIGGS: Buckle up for another installment of baseball's best rivalry. The New York Yankees advancing to the American League Division Series against the Red Sox with a 7-2 wild card win over Oakland last night.

That was Aaron Judge in a 427-foot home run in the first inning. And the Bronx Bombers blew the game open in the sixth. Luke Voit ripped a 2-run triple off the right field fence he thought was gone, part of a 4-run rally.

The Yankee offense finished off the A's in the eighth -- gone. Giancarlo Stanton's monster shot into the second deck in left field.

Game one of the ALDS tomorrow night at Fenway Park on TBS.

ROMANS: But are those like team-issued goggles?

BRIGGS: I believe those are Yankee-issued goggles. I think that celebration has just kind of jumped the shark a little bit, right?

ROMANS: They make it like -- they make it like -- well, I wouldn't want to jinx it. BRIGGS: They used to be spontaneous --

ROMANS: I wouldn't want to jinx it, you know?

BRIGGS: Yes, a spontaneous thing.

ROMANS: All right, thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. "NEW DAY" starts right now. We'll see you tomorrow.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Thursday, October fourth, 6:00 here in New York.

And we do start with breaking news because moments ago, the FBI's report on Brett Kavanaugh is now in the hands of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And two hours from now, senators will begin reading this highly-anticipated report and its findings.

The White House confirming overnight it also has received this report.

"The Wall Street Journal" reports that administration officials say there is no corroboration of Christine Blasey Ford's allegations in it.

So one major question this morning is how thorough was the FBI's probe?

"The Washington Post" reports the scope was significantly curtailed by the White House despite President Trump publicly claiming otherwise. The paper says FBI agents were prevented from looking into Kavanaugh's past alcohol use and whether he lied to Congress about his drinking habits.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And before the report even arrived on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell started the clock on the confirmation vote. A key procedural vote will happen Friday; a final vote on Saturday.

This, even as new people are coming forward saying they never heard from the FBI -- people who believe they have crucial information about Brett Kavanaugh.