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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Kavanaugh Confirmation Votes Coming Up; Winners Of Nobel Peace Prize Announced; China Accuses Vice President Pence Of Slander. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired October 05, 2018 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:30:40] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAVANAUGH PROTESTERS: Hey, hey, ho, ho, Kavanaugh has got to go.

SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R-UT), MEMBER, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: When you grow up I'll be glad to.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I grow up?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we grow up?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I grow up?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you serious (ph)?

BRETT KAVANAUGH, NOMINEE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: This confirmation process has become a national disgrace.

JOHN PAUL STEVENS, RETIRED SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: His performance during the hearings caused me to change my mind.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "CUOMO PRIME TIME": Judge Brett Kavanaugh just put out an op-ed. "I know that my tone was sharp and I said a few things I should not have said."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All eyes are on three Republican senators, along with red-state Democrat Joe Manchin.

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D), NEW JERSEY): And if that's an investigation, it's a bull**** investigation.

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IA), CHAIRMAN, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: This is almost rock-bottom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Supporters, dissenters, even Brett Kavanaugh himself making a final argument. A seat on the Supreme Court is on the line today.

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. waging a new battle against China. What Beijing says about this reset in relations. ROMANS: And the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize goes to two people for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

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

Straight ahead, Rachael Bade on Kavanaugh; Josh Rogin on China.

ROMANS: Oh, yes, a lot going on this morning.

I'm Christine Romans. It is 31 minutes past the hour this Friday morning.

Let's get started here on EARLY START on this Friday edition with the Kavanaugh nomination.

BRIGGS: We should know later this morning whether or not Brett Kavanaugh has the votes to join the Supreme Court.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has set a key procedural vote for 10:30 a.m. Then, senators still weighing how to play their hands will have to show some cards.

The final case for Kavanaugh coming from Kavanaugh, himself. In a "Wall Street Journal" op-ed, the nominee arguing he is an independent impartial judge and admitting he, quote, "might have been too emotional" before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT KAVANAUGH, NOMINEE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: This whole 2-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Kavanaugh now writes, "At times, my testimony reflected my overwhelming frustration at being wrongly accused. I know that my tone was sharp and I said a few things I should not have said. I believe that an independent and impartial judiciary is essential to our constitutional republic."

That seems unlikely to sway one man who knows the court well, former Justice John Paul Stevens. He says he changed his mind after Kavanaugh's testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: And he has demonstrated a potential bias involving enough potential litigancy (sic) before the court that he would not be able to perform his full responsibilities. And I think there's merit in that criticism. It's not healthy to get a new justice that can only do a part-time job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Appointed by President Ford, a Republican. Overnight, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley's office put out an executive summary of the FBI report, confirming the Bureau interviewed 10 people. Democrats clearly don't believe that went far enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MENENDEZ: And if that's an investigation, it's a bullshit investigation. The reality is that is not a full and thorough investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh's first accuser, calling the investigation "a stain on the process on the FBI and on our American ideal of justice."

ROMANS: The president, last night, made his own final push for Kavanaugh at a rally in Minnesota where he attacked Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Their rage-fueled resistance is starting to backfire at a level that nobody has ever seen before. The people of America are going to reject the Democrat politics of anger and destruction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Republican leaders' margin for winning Kavanaugh's confirmation now shaved from five to four.

North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp against the nominee. She comes out against the nominee in an emotional appearance on Fargo's CNN affiliate. Heitkamp said it is important to tell the victim you believe the victim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HEIDI HEITKAMP (D), NORTH DAKOTA: If this were a political decision for me, I certainly would be deciding this the other way. But, you know, there's an old saying -- history will judge you but most importantly, you'll judge yourself, and that's really what I'm saying. I can't get up in the morning and look at the life experience that I've had and say yes to Judge Kavanaugh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:06] BRIGGS: That decision met with this response by protesters in front of the Supreme Court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp is on the right side of history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Four remaining senators still undecided after getting a look at that FBI report. Closed-door briefings for senators went late into last night but momentum does appear to be shifting toward Kavanaugh. You see the fourth, of course, Joe Manchin -- and Collins, Murkowski, and Flake.

Joining us from Washington, CNN political analyst Rachael Bade, congressional reporter for "Politico."

ROMANS: Good morning.

BRIGGS: Good morning to you, Rachael.

RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, CONGRESSIONAL REPORT, POLITICO: Good morning.

Interesting that a judge, in this case, is making his own final argument. Brett Kavanaugh writing again "The Wall Street Journal" that the Supreme Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution. He says he was too emotional; his tone was sharp.

But I want to ask you after we hear the sound from his hearing, was it what he said or how he said it. Here is Kavanaugh, emotional at that hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAVANAUGH: -- has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.

This is a circus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: We would all, Rachael, be angry if we were accused of something we did not do, in particular, sex assault. But when he says the Supreme Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution, was it how he said it or what he said?

BADE: Yes, it was absolutely both. I mean, his tone in the hearing got criticism from a lot of Republicans as well.

Jeff Flake has said the things he sort of threw back in the face of Democrats, asking Amy Klobuchar have you ever been blackout drunk when she was asking him that.

The things he has said specifically about the Clintons coming after him with these accusations were really beyond the pale, even Republicans said.

So I think it was not just his tone, it was a lot of things he said in that hearing. And that's why he had this "Wall Street Journal" piece that came out yesterday saying listen, I was angry. I stepped over the line a little bit, but I will be more even-keeled and level-headed on the court.

And I think that's just a reminder that it's not just these allegations against him. There's this question of judicial temperament. And so, these moderate Republicans -- these swing votes -- they're going to have look at both, not just the allegations against him and what they found in that FBI report, but also his mannerisms and are they comfortable with that.

ROMANS: You know, you wonder how much everybody on the Hill is trying to -- they're reacting, right? They're reacting to all this and trying to get through this.

Sen. Orrin Hatch was caught in the hallway in an elevator yesterday and I want you to listen to his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why aren't you brave enough to talk to us and exchange with us? Don't you wave your hand at me. I wave my hand at you.

HATCH: When you grow up I'll be glad to.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I grow up?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How dare you talk to women that way? How dare you? How dare you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: So there's a risk here, of course. A little hand wave, when you grow up, is paternalistic and it's condescending to women.

On the other hand, though, there is this talk of a Brett bounce. That conservatives are seeing the protesters and they're seeing what they see is an attack on Judge Kavanaugh, and they're actually energized by this.

BADE: Yes, that's right. I think some Republicans think that this fires up their base. I would say most Republicans, leadership included, that this could help them in the midterm elections.

I think that if he does get confirmed it doesn't help them as much as if he doesn't -- if his vote -- his vote goes down.

Orrin Hatch -- you know, he, in particular, is sort of the same Republican who was on the panel when Anita Hill had her hearings. Hatch has changed his views on a number of things, including gay rights. He's become more open to them from being a very conservative Republican.

But on this issue, in particular, Hatch wants proof -- he wants corroboration. And I think this sort of speaks to what we've seen happen on Capitol

Hill, and that is that it's gone from sort of just being about women coming forward and telling their stories and being heard and listened to and the men sort of being ousted from their careers to now, Republicans want evidence. They want proof.

And so this is sort of a new turn in the #MeToo movement sort of emphasized right there by Orrin Hatch, I'd say.

BRIGGS: And what the president said last night -- "rage-fueled resistance is starting to backfire" -- that's what we're seeing a bit on the right.

We hate to ask a yes or no question but we're short on time. Does he have the votes -- bottom line, yes or no?

BADE: I think so, but this is a rollercoaster. It's so hard to predict. One minute you think yes --

[05:40:03] ROMANS: Yes.

BADE: -- the next minute you think no.

ROMANS: All right, so we'll keep watching.

Thanks so much, Rachael Bade. Nice to see you. We know you'll be working hard today. Thank you.

Also, moments ago, the Nobel committee announced the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, honoring Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.

Now, Mukwege is a gynecologist in Eastern Congo who has treated thousands of women with sexual injuries inflicted by rebel and government troops.

Murad is a Yazidi woman who was held as a sex slave by ISIS, her family murdered. Her lawyer is international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.

BRIGGS: All right.

Beijing backfires at the U.S. -- fires back, I guess, after Mike Pence launches a reset of sorts with Beijing. No one knows the situation better than Josh Rogin. He joins us with the latest, next.

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[05:45:05] ROMANS: The government of China accusing Vice President Mike Pence of slander and unwarranted accusations after he launched a broad attack against Beijing. The vice president, Thursday, accused China of predatory economic practices, military aggression against the U.S., and of trying to undermine President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To put it bluntly, President Trump's leadership is working and China wants a different American president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Let's bring in CNN political analyst Josh Rogin, a columnist for "The Washington Post".

I mean, Josh --

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST: Hi.

ROMANS: -- you and I have covered Chinese relations vis-a-vis trade and defense for a long time, but this is a real reset. This is the first time I've seen an administration that has said we're going to look at economic security, we're going to look at national security, and we're going to call China out and Trump is the guy to do it.

ROGIN: Well, that's exactly right. If you set aside for a moment Pence's claims that the Chinese government is targeting President Trump's political base, which is true by the way, the real importance of the speech is that this is a culmination of almost two years of work inside the Trump administration to reorient the U.S. strategy towards China in a fundamental way.

And what Pence laid out was an argument that the U.S.-China relationship is out of whack and that the U.S. government and past administrations has failed to respond to a comprehensive, well- resourced, and worldwide Chinese communist party strategy of expanding its influence economically, strategically, and militarily, often through illicit means.

And he's promising that the United States will now take a different approach towards China. That's an old and risky endeavor but I assure you it's not a one-off idea. This is a representation of a shift that's been going on inside the Trump administration for a long time that has now spilled out into the open.

And I'm not surprised the Chinese don't like it. They're not supposed to.

BRIGGS: Yes, and this is something that clearly, many Trump administration officials agree on. It sounds like James Mattis will be a part of this, John Bolton.

And at the heart of it, Peter Navarro, Trump trade adviser, who writes in "The New York Times" this morning, "President Trump's maxim that economic security is national security comes with an important corollary -- a strong manufacturing base is critical to both economic prosperity and national defense."

There's a report due today in the midst of all this Kavanaugh madness. How will the administration sell the importance of our relationship with China and this coming confrontation? ROGIN: Right. Well, I've read the report. I got an advance copy. It's pretty stark.

It lays out hundreds of areas where our national security is vulnerable because of risks in our industrial base. In other words, if we can't get rare earth materials because the Chinese own all of them, then we can't build missiles. And if we can't build missiles we could have a problem.

And, you know, this shift towards new strategy in China is not going to happen overnight, OK? The shift -- U.S. foreign is like an aircraft carrier. You don't turn it on a dime. You turn it a little bit and over time it goes in a new direction.

Kavanaugh will come and go. China is here to stay, OK? This is the beginning of a long battle.

You could call it a cold war, you could call it a medium-cool war. Whatever name you want to put on it, this is a global competition for power and influence that many inside the Trump administration, frankly, I believe -- the Chinese have been waging for years now and that the U.S. is now just finally getting engaged in it.

ROMANS: You know, when you look at the Spratly Islands and this close call in the South China Sea, right -- just last Sunday I think -- and when you look at the tariffs and the trade war that is underway, and then you look at this report with 300 and some defense vulnerabilities that are, quite frankly, pretty frightening, it shows the fragility of the defense supply chain.

This is the first time you've seen an administration take it all together at the same time.

ROGIN: Well, that's right. It sort of takes the hawkishness of John Bolton, the strategic positioning of Jim Mattis, the economic nationalism of Peter Navarro, and sort of the values-based human rights advocacy of Mike Pence and puts them all together into one thing. Now, that's a big idea and it's never really been tried before.

But the bottom line here is that the Chinese government has been doing things that challenge the basic fundamental rule of law -- international norms, international institutions, and American leadership and leadership of our allies in places all over the world. And this is our first stab at sort of responding to that.

It's going to be a rollercoaster. It's going to be difficult, it's going to be risky --

ROMANS: Real risky.

ROGIN: -- to make sure there aren't unintended consequences. But this is the relationship and the competition that will define the next generation.

BRIGGS: And it may be the one issue that defines the second half of the first term for the Trump administration.

If you want more context, read Josh's piece in "The Washington Post". He tweeted it out, we tweeted it out.

ROMANS: Thanks, Josh.

BRIGGS: Great stuff, Josh. Thank you.

ROMANS: Nice to see you, Josh. Thank you so much.

ROGIN: Thanks for covering this.

BRIGGS: All right. Hey, how much would you pay for this beauty? It turns a rock used as a doorstep for 30 years is worth some big bucks.

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[05:54:18] ROMANS: I love the new graphic. I just love it.

BRIGGS: I like the music.

ROMANS: I do, too.

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

Bond yields are at multi-year highs. That's hitting global stocks. Europe and Asia, they're both lower right now.

On Wall Street, the Dow lost 200 points. That was the worst drop in almost two months. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 also fell.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury hit a 7-year high, 3.2 percent. Look at that chart. That's the largest daily jump since the 2016 presidential election.

Investors really don't like it when bond yields rise too fast. Yields are rising because data shows the U.S. economy is really strong.

We get another read this morning. The September jobs report is out at 8:30 a.m. eastern. Expect it to be strong again.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk already in trouble with the SEC. Now he's mocking it. He's calling it the "short-seller enrichment commission" on Twitter. Musk frequently criticizes short-sellers or investors that bet against Tesla.

[05:55:09] Last week, Musk settled with the SEC over charges he misled investors. It's a deal he made that billionaire Mark Cuban urged Musk to make with regulators. "The Wall Street Journal" reports that Cuban called Musk and told him to make the deal, warning Musk he'd face a lengthy court battle otherwise.

Cuban, himself, fought with the SEC for five years on charges of insider trading. Cuban was later cleared but it led to -- just marked that whole experience on Cuban. This week marks one year since the #MeToo movement took off and since then workplace sexual harassment claims have spiked. That's from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It says sexual harassment charges increased 12 percent, lawsuits increased 50 percent.

The EEOC says that since workplace harassment started dominating the headlines more people sought help. Hits on its Web site more than doubled in the past year.

BRIGGS: The Florence, South Carolina community gathers to honor an officer killed in the line of duty and six others who were shot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. CECIL BROMELL, MACEDONIA MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: Love is stronger than hate. Say it with me. Love is stronger than hate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Members of that community and police held hands and prayed.

The body of 30-year veteran police sergeant Terrence Carraway escorted back to Florence.

The man suspected of shooting the officers has been identified as 74- year-old Fred Hopkins, one of the owners of the residence where the shooting took place. Hopkins is a disbarred lawyer and was charged with disorderly conduct back in 2014.

ROMANS: Two major meat recalls to tell you about.

A salmonella outbreak triggering warnings for 6 1/2 million pounds of ground beef. Health officials identifying Arizona-based JBS Tolleson as a probable source.

Fifty-seven cases of salmonella have been reported now in 16 states. The recalled products were sold nationwide under brand names, including Walmart.

Also, Johnston County Hams are recalling more than 89,000 pounds of ready-to-eat ham due to possible listeria contamination. So far, there have been four confirmed illnesses in North Carolina and Virginia, including one death.

For more on both of those recalls go to cnn.com.

BRIGGS: I'll take bad debate moderating for $500, Alex. Jeopardy host Alex Trebek apologizing for his performance moderating a gubernatorial debate in Pennsylvania this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX TREBEK, MODERATOR, PENNSYLVANIA GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE: The last time I looked, the approval rating for the Legislature was at 14 percent. The only thing with a lower rating in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the Catholic Church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: That was the low point of the debate where Trebek spoke at length, at times, sharing his own policy opinions. He now says he misunderstood his role.

In a statement he says, "I thought that as a moderator I was to provide a certain lighthearted approach while still being able to challenge the candidates on their record or positions. I didn't realize I was to ask a simple question and then let the gentlemen go at each other."

ROMANS: This plain looking rock has propped open a door in Michigan for the past 30 years, but it is literally out of this world.

A geology professor at Central Michigan University was asked to check it out. He found that this oddly-shaped, 22-pound rock was actually a meteorite worth $100,000. It is the sixth-largest recorded find in Michigan.

The owner says it came to earth in the 1930s.

The Smithsonian and a mineral museum in Maine are considering purchasing the meteorite for display.

BRIGGS: The Dodgers strike first, beating the Braves in game one of the National League Division Series.

Joc Pederson hit a lead-off home run to give the Dodgers an early lead, more than enough for starter Hyun-Jin Ryu. He pitched seven shutout innings. Max Muncy and Enrique Hernandez also homered for the Dodgers in a 6-nothing win.

Also, some drama over there in Milwaukee as the Brewers take game one over the Rockies. Colorado tied the game with two runs in the ninth inning. But in the 10th, Mike Moustakas singles home. MVP favorite Christian Yelich homered earlier in the game.

Brewers win 3-2.

Four games on tap today starting at 2:00 on TBS. You know, that John Berman guy is going to be watching the Red Sox tonight at 7:30 --

ROMANS: I know.

BRIGGS: -- on TBS.

ROMANS: We have a lot of sleepless anchors around here.

All right, 59 minutes past the hour. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Have a great weekend. "NEW DAY" right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: He is an incredible intellect, an incredible person.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: Judges are supposed to put emotions aside. This op-ed in no way cleans up that basic failing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are four members who have not declared how they intend to vote.

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D), NEW YORK: I read the report. It was not intended to find the truth.

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Democrats, you made a mistake. It's going to show up in November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Friday, October fifth, 6:00 here in New York.

Alisyn is off. Erica Hill joins me this morning. Nice to see you.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: It's nice to be with you. A little bit going on today.

BERMAN: A lot going on today.

I'm just going to level with you. We don't know if Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed to the Supreme Court. The first procedural vote is in four hours and we don't --