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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Secretary Mike Pompeo Warns Saudi Crown Prince His Future as King at Stake Over Khashoggi Case; Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired October 18, 2018 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:05] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: All smiles face-to-face but Mike Pompeo's blunt message to the Saudi crown prince, his future as king is at stake. Pompeo will brief the president this morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The former president of USA Gymnastics arrested on charges he tried to conceal evidence in the Larry Nassar investigation.
BRIGGS: Anybody want to win the lotto? No Powerball Jackpot winner. 1.3 billion bucks in lotto money now up for grabs.
ROMANS: And it's never good when an umpire is trending on Twitter. Major controversies. The Red Sox steal one from the Astros.
BRIGGS: Oh, Joe West, the umpire trending on Twitter.
ROMANS: All right. Welcome back to EARLY START.
BRIGGS: (INAUDIBLE).
ROMANS: I know, me too. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. 4:30 Eastern Time.
We start with ongoing controversy surrounding the disappearance of that "Washington Post" journalist. President Trump meeting this morning with Mike Pompeo this morning. He'll get a briefing on the secretary of state's diplomatic swing through the Saudi and Turkish capitals. A trip focused on the disappearance and presumed murder of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
CNN has learned that beneath the surface of Pompeo's upbeat and smiley photo-op with the Saudi crown prince was a blunt no-nonsense meeting. A source tells us Pompeo warned Prince Mohammed bin Salman known as MBS his future as king depends on his handling of this Khashoggi's killing. The source says Pompeo told the prince he must own the situation and that every fact is going to get out.
ROMANS: The "New York Times" and the "Washington Post" both reporting this morning on mounting evidence that connects Crown Prince Mohammed to the killing including his ties to several members of the team, the kill team, if you will, that flew from Riyadh to Istanbul just as Khashoggi disappeared.
The "Post" also reports the White House and the Saudi royal family are searching for an explanation for his death that does not implicate Prince Mohammed. Trying to construct a narrative. The president says he's waiting for answers, but he also seemed to cast doubt on intel that could implicate the Saudis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not giving cover at all. With that being said, Saudi Arabia has been a very important ally of ours in the Middle East. I want to find out what happened, where is the fault, and we will probably know that by the end of the week.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You asked for this audio and video intelligence that the Turks supposedly have.
TRUMP: We have asked for it if it exists. We have asked for it, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes, but you haven't gotten it.
TRUMP: We've asked for it if it exists.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you surprised that they haven't turned it over?
TRUMP: No. I'm not sure yet that it exists. It probably does, possibly does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker says the administration has, quote, "clamped down on intelligence about this case," saying, quote, "I suppose they don't want us to see the intel."
BRIGGS: How about that. Turkey's justice minister says the Khashoggi investigation will be done soon. This morning Turkish investigators in Hazmat suits have finished searching the consul-general's residence. No word so far on what if anything was found there. Earlier this week forensic technicians went over the consulate. CNN reported they discovered a fresh coat of paint had been applied everywhere before they arrived.
Outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, former FBI supervisory special agent Josh Campbell joining us live. He's a CNN law enforcement analyst.
Josh, great to have you.
ROMANS: Hi, Josh.
BRIGGS: Talk to us about this growing mountain of evidence. If this were an FBI investigation, would it be over?
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, it's a good question. There's a lot of information that's been collected thus far. I think there's still a ways to go. We did have that reporting here in Turkish media. The prosecutor saying that the report is close to being wrapped up. They also mentioned, though, that, you know, the Saudi officials are calling on them to issue an arrest warrant for the alleged perpetrators, and if they can't find them then to actually go through Interpol channels.
So, although there is evidence being collected here, there's still obviously subjects at large that were responsible. When we talk about some of the mounting evidence, let's talk for a minute about what we've seen in different reporting. Obviously the facility behind me, this is the alleged scene of the crime. And we saw reporting earlier CNN has learned that there was an allegedly audiovisual recording inside the consulate of the moment and, you know, the timeframe where the journalist allegedly met his demise.
That's something that Turkish authorities have not yet made public. Again it's just reporting indications and reflections of what's in it. That's obviously an interesting piece of information. We're also learning information that CNN is obtaining. We've got seven passport photos of the alleged hit team, these 15 members which came from Saudi Arabia to conduct the operation again, the location right here behind us.
Seven of those individuals with Saudi connections. One of the individuals we're learning that was involved in this alleged hit team was the alleged organizer, the mastermind, is an intelligence officer, a diplomat in Saudi with close ties to the crown prince. So again as additional information seemed to come in, all signs seemed to point to Saudi Arabia. Again it's yet to be determined whether or not the full comprehensive investigation happening in Riyadh, whether those results will be shared here with authorities in Turkey. But again the investigation continues.
[04:35:07] ROMANS: And you know, the president was asked point blank, you know, why not get the FBI involved in all of this. Listen to what he said in the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why not send the FBI in to figure all this out?
TRUMP: Well, he wasn't a citizen of this country for one thing. And we're going to determine that. And you don't know whether or not we have, do you?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Well, I --
TRUMP: No. But do you know whether or not we've sent the FBI?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you sent the FBI?
TRUMP: I'm not going to tell you.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Well, Mr. President --
TRUMP: Why would I tell you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: That moment, David and I are sort of confounded by that moment because --
BRIGGS: And by the reaction of the laughter in the room.
ROMANS: Just sort of playing games about what the U.S. role is here. What did you make of that?
CAMPBELL: Yes, I'm with you. That was one of the most bizarre exchanges I've heard pertaining to a murder investigation, pertaining to someone who here allegedly was killed and butchered. So again I don't think it's a laughing matter to the point about the FBI involvement. Thus far there does not appear to be the U.S. nexus when it comes down to, you know, obviously not a U.S. citizen. This happened on foreign soil. These are two, you know, foreign countries that are obviously battling out the information here, to try to determine what exactly happened.
That said, there have been instances in the past where the FBI has been tapped to serve the role as the, you know, honest broker when you have a major dispute. Again it all comes down to what interests America has in this and you know if the president indeed was, you know, wanting investigators to serve that role. He could direct the FBI to get involved and obviously they would require permission to come on the ground and -- to be able to conduct an investigation.
ROMANS: Right.
CAMPBELL: But again the president could direct them to actually come over. That hasn't happened yet. Again, you know, we've been talking to sources. So far no indication the FBI is involved.
ROMANS: If ever you needed an honest broker, I mean, I would say this is exactly that situation.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: You're asking Crown Prince MBS -- to decide whether Crown Prince MBS orchestrated the murder of someone on foreign soil. I mean, that sounds like you need someone else in there.
BRIGGS: Awful lot at stake. Josh Campbell, great to have you on this morning. Appreciate it.
ROMANS: Thanks, Josh. Nice to see you.
Jamal Khashoggi's final column published by "The Washington Post." It was submitted by his assistant just one day after he went missing. Fittingly it was about the value of a free press and it called out the Egyptian government's seizure of an entire print run of a newspaper.
The column reads in part, "These actions no longer carry the consequence of a backlash from the international community. Instead, these actions may trigger condemnation quickly followed by silence. As a result, Arab governments have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate."
BRIGGS: Khashoggi says a platform is needed for Arab voices. He calls for the creation of an independent international forum, isolated from the influence of nationalist governments.
ROMANS: It has been a quiet period for the special counsel's Russia investigation publicly but behind the scenes Robert Mueller's team has been very busy debriefing Paul Manafort. Sources tell CNN the former Trump campaign chairman and his lawyers visited Mueller's office -- Washington office at least nine times in the last four weeks with prosecutors also interviewing other witnesses, gathering a grand jury weekly and working in some kind of secret court action. We're told White House insiders expect more criminal indictments.
BRIGGS: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein publicly defending the Mueller probe. In a rare interview with the "Wall Street Journal" he calls the inquiry appropriate and independent, and says the public will have confidence that the cases we brought were warranted.
One other potential problem for the president, his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, meeting Wednesday with officials investigating Mr. Trump's family business and charitable organizations.
ROMANS: Don McGahn has worked his last day as White House counsel. A source tells CNN he had a 20-minute farewell meeting with President Trump on Wednesday and his departure was positive. We're told Chief of Staff John Kelly was hoping he would stay on through the end of the year. But McGahn felt it was time to move on after guiding Brett Kavanaugh through the confirmation process.
His departure expedited after President Trump announced Patrick Cipollone will be replacing him. That's seen as a sign the White House is preparing for post-election legal battles with Democrats over Robert Mueller's investigation and a set of potential new oversight investigations.
BRIGGS: Arrests of family members along the U.S.-Mexico border set a record in September. "The Washington Post" reports nearly 17,000 family members were picked up citing unpublished Border Patrol numbers from the Department of Homeland Security. That marks an 80 percent increase since July. But families made up just 4 percent of the total Border Patrol arrests. The total number about 400,000 is up from the same time last year, but nowhere near the peak of the early 2000s. The spike in family crossings follow the president's decision to end his family separation policy in July.
ROMANS: New this morning U.S. Marshalls arresting the former president of USA Gymnastics on charges he tampered with evidence in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse case. The Walker County, Texas, district attorney says Steve Penny ordered documents related to Nassar removed from USA Gymnastics Training Center at the Karolyi Ranch. According to an indictment, the documents were delivered to Penny at USAG headquarters in Indianapolis and have not been seen since. [04:40:08] The Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Penny in
Tennessee. He is now awaiting extradition back to Texas.
BRIGGS: More than $1.3 billion in lottery jackpot money is now up for grabs. There were no winners in Wednesday's $378 million Powerball Jackpot drawing. The winning numbers 3, 57, 64, 68 and 69, 15 your Powerball. The estimated jackpot for Saturday's drawing $430 million. The big one Friday. Megamillions has climbed to $900 million with a lump sum option of $513 million.
ROMANS: That's a lot of money.
BRIGGS: You don't play, you do recommend the lump sum?
ROMANS: I don't play. But if you win, the lump sum is better.
BRIGGS: OK.
ROMANS: All right. The White House pulling out of a 144-year-old deal to keep shipping rates low from China. The latest move in the economic war with Beijing. How it changes what you pay, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:45:17] ROMANS: President Trump opening the next front in his economic battle with China. International shipping. The U.S. will pull out of the 144-year-old postal treaty. It lets developing countries like China ship to the U.S. at a steep discount. It was intended to help all developing nations, but China makes up 60 percent of the shipments.
U.S. companies say that puts them at a disadvantage. And the White House agrees. It's calling the current system a major economy discretion. For example, it costs less to mail a package from Beijing to New York than from San Francisco to New York. Think about that. That let's Chinese companies flood the market with goods like clothing, toys, and electronics.
This is the administration latest blow against China including tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods. The U.S. accuses Beijing of unfair trade practices and manipulating its currency. However, the U.S. once again did not label China a currency manipulator officially. In the past six months, the yuan has dropped 9 percent against the U.S. dollar. Yet in the Treasury's latest currency report, it found limited, quote, "limited" signs China was devaluing its currency.
BRIGGS: About 1500 people near an underground gas line in California being urged to evacuate as a grass fire threatened the pipeline. The fire caused by a fallen power line in Bay Point 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. Chevron which owns the line immediately shut it down and dispatched a field team to investigate. Emergency officials say anyone requiring assistance to evacuate should call 911.
ROMANS: Residents of hurricane ravaged Mexico Beach returning home for the first time since the storm hit. They were only allowed to stay for a short time. Most of them already knew what they would encounter before they arrived. Devastation. Still the scope of the devastation left them stunned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHELLY BREEDLOVE, MEXICO BEACH RESIDENT: Almost an unreal feeling. Almost like you're in a dream. Like it's not really real, but you know it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A task force that led the search for survivors has finished its job after one week. The death toll from Hurricane Michael climbing now to 32 in four states, 22 of those fatalities in Florida.
BRIGGS: An Arizona man rescued after being trapped in a mine shaft 100 feet deep since Monday. Authorities say 62-year-old John Waddell went 48 hours without food or water, broke multiple bones. He was found by a friend who got worried when he failed to return home the next day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY SHRADER, FRIEND OF MAN RESCUED: He had called me Monday and told me he was coming to the mine and we always had a deal well, if he's not back by Tuesday, since he didn't come home yesterday, I was bound and determined I had to come down today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Waddell was air-lifted from the mine with non-life threatening injuries.
ROMANS: All right. First Lady Melania Trump stopped by Philadelphia, at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. The event there focused on neonatal abstinence syndrome which opioid addicted mothers passed symptoms on to their newborns. Fighting opioid addiction is part of the first lady's "Be Best" initiative. She said it is our responsibility to protect our most valuable and vulnerable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIE TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: There are few things harder to bear than seeing a newborn suffer, and I'm anxious to do all that I can to help shine a light on this epidemic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Mrs. Trump arrived about an hour behind schedule. Her plane, you know, you have heard, was forced to turn around after its initial departure due to a mechanical issue. Smoke in the cockpit.
HARLOW: Yes.
ROMANS: Scary but everybody is fine.
BRIGGS: OK. Ahead, a Virginia company forced to throw out 50,000 tons of meat. What one employee did that might make you cringe and made that necessary.
ROMANS: And should your child be an expert on police encounters to graduate high school? It's now the law in one state.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:53:37] ROMANS: A guilty plea from one of the priests accused of sexually abusing children in that Pennsylvania grand jury report. David Poulson served as a priest in Pennsylvania's Erie diocese for four decades until this year. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children, both of those are third-degree felonies. His victims were 8 and 15 years old. Poulson was arrested and charged in May based on the recommendation from the grand jury.
BRIGGS: A worker at Smithfield Foods in Virginia has been suspended pending outcome of an investigation after he's caught on video urinating on the production line. The grainy video shows the employee relieving himself then putting his gloves back on and continuing to work. In a statement, Smithfield Foods confirms what it called an isolated incident and said more than 50,000 pounds of products were disposed of.
ROMANS: English, math and history are no longer the only classes required for Texas high schoolers to graduate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Passenger, put your hands on the dash. Passenger, passenger, put your hands on the dashboard.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma'am, put your hands on the dash, please. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Driver, put your hands on the steering wheel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A new state law requires students from 9th to 12th grade to take a class and view a 16-minute video on how to deal with law enforcement during a traffic stop. The idea is to ease tensions between police and students and keep unarmed citizens from being shot by officers. The video includes a reenactment of students being pulled over followed by officers answering their questions about how to behave.
[04:55:07] BRIGGS: Fall is here. The coldest air mass of the season moving into the northeast.
Here's meteorologist Derek Van Dam.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Dave and Christine. Bundle up heading out the door this morning. Some of the coldest air of the season has reached the Great Lakes, the Ohio River Valley and parts of New England. In fact the National Weather Service has put over 40 million Americans under a freeze warning. A frost advisory or freeze watch. It is extremely cold outside so be prepared. Check out these temperatures.
Upper 30s for Chicago. When you factor in the wind, it feels like the middle 30s. Even colder yet in Detroit. Temperatures along the East Coast feel like they're in the middle 40s. So we'll get a brief reprieve in the cold weather, but not until the end of the weekend before another Alberta clipper starts to drop south across the Great Lakes and New England and that's going to bring us a good chance of cold weather once again.
I mean, just check out the four-day forecast for New York City. 47 today. We'll end the weekend in the upper 40s as well. Similar conditions for the nation's capital.
Now our flood threat continues across the central and western sections of Texas. Including Austin, we have a flood watch with another one to two inches of additional rainfall expected on top of an already wet environment. Back to you.
BRIGGS: All right. Thanks, buddy. Some controversy following game four of the American League Championship series. Check this and you be the judge. Houston's Jose Altuve long drive to right field. Boston's Mookie Betts leaps to make the grab, but a fan hits his glove. The umpires eventually ruling Altuve out because of fan interference. The call was upheld on review even though the ball appeared to be heading over the wall.
That debate will continue for days, weeks, perhaps months. Fast forward to the ninth. Boston leading 8-6. Astros load the bases against Craig Kimbrel. Alex Bregman line drive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he makes the catch. Oh, what a play. Game saver.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Andrew Benintendi with the clear catch of the year. And what a gutsy play just to dive for that ball. Boston leads the series 3-1. The Sox can close out the Astros tonight in Houston.
What a play.
The Dodgers now one win away from their second straight World Series. Clayton Kershaw, the big lefty, dominant in game five of the NLCS. Scattering three hits over seven innings. Dodgers beat the Brewers 5- 2. Game six tomorrow night in Milwaukee.
ROMANS: All right. That's your sports. Here's your money. Let's get a check on CNN Business. Global stocks mixed today. And U.S. futures they're lower right now. A little bit. Wall Street fell after the Fed hinted more interest rate hikes are on the way. Investors, you know, they're rattled by higher rates because that eats into their corporate profits. Right? But the U.S. economy is hot. And the Fed chair Jerome Powell and company think higher rates are necessary to keep it from overheating.
This is despite multiple complaints from President Trump of course. The Fed is an independent agency so overt White House criticism is pretty rare unless you're the Trump White House, I guess. The Fed has hiked the interest rates three this time and likely will raise them again in December.
EBay accusing Amazon of trying to poach sellers and that it used eBay's own internal messaging system to do it. EBay filed a lawsuit against Amazon claiming it tried to lure away high value merchants. EBay says a high number of Amazon sales reps hid their identities to send messages to sellers on eBay represents. EBay says its rival is unwilling to fairly compete for third party business. Amazon declined to comment.
Some Facebook investors think the company would be better off without Mark Zuckerberg as chairman. A few public funds sent a proposal to Facebook's board. They want to remove Mark Zuckerberg as chairman. Leave him as CEO but they don't think he should have both of those jobs. However, the proposal has little chance of passing. Zuckerberg holds majority voting power. Ahead Facebook --
BRIGGS: Good note.
ROMANS: But this plea follows a string of scandals and controversies for Facebook including a recent hack of 30 million users. Facebook leaked info like phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Now "The Wall Street Journal" says Facebook thinks spammers not a nation state were responsible. They wanted to make money through deceptive advertising.
BRIGGS: Trust in Facebook at an all-time low.
EARLY START continues right now with the latest on the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.
All smiles face-to-face, but Mike Pompeo's blunt message to the Saudi crown prince. His future as king is at stake. Pompeo will brief the president this morning.
ROMANS: The former president of USA Gymnastics arrested on charges he tried to conceal evidence in the Larry Nassar investigation.
BRIGGS: Anybody who want to win the lottery? No Powerball Jackpot winner of $1.3 billion in lottery money now up for grabs.
ROMANS: And it's never a good thing when an umpire is trending on Twitter. A major controversy as the Red Sox steal one from the Astros.
Would he have caught it? I don't know.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I have watched that play a dozen times and I cannot decide. He was interfered with but by rule not clear.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Dave Briggs here. It's Thursday, October 18th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.
