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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

What Does Mueller Know?; Trump Spilling His Guts; Hyde-Smith Wins Senate Runoff in Mississippi; Stunt Gone Wrong; Ukraine Declares Martial Law Along Russia Border. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired November 28, 2018 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:13] DAVID BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Does Robert Mueller know about Trump associate Roger Stone? New court documents just obtained by CNN.

And President Trump says he has a high level of intelligence, and still his gut instincts are better than anyone's brain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CINDY HYDE-SMITH (R), MISSSISSIPPI: We can go forward, and we're not looking back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: A Republican win in last night's Senate runoff with the balance of power in the House continues to turn blue.

Plus, how a party stunt gone wrong sparked an $8 million disaster.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs. Christine Romans getting a late start. She'll be along shortly.

It's Wednesday, November 28th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the east.

An extraordinary interview with the "Washington Post" coming up in a bit.

We start, though, with the latest in the Russia investigation. A much clearer picture this morning what Robert Mueller may know about Trump confidante Roger Stone's effort to get documents from WikiLeaks.

CNN obtained court documents apparently written by Mueller's office. They cite emails between stone and his associate, right-wing author Jerome Corsi, during the 2016 campaign. In them, Stone pushes Corsi to get in team coverage with WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange, and Corsi reports back Assange has document dumps that will damage Hillary Clinton in the works.

Sara Murray with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christina and Dave. Jerome Corsi's legal troubles could be giving us a glimpse into

special counsel Robert Mueller's potential collusion case. Corsi, who's an associate of Roger Stone, shared a pile of draft documents with CNN that allegedly show Stone pushing Corsi to try to obtain documents from WikiLeaks that could be helpful to the Trump campaign. This was in the summer of 2016.

Now, the documents included draft court filing that provides insight into what Mueller may know about Stone's efforts to obtain information from WikiLeaks in 2016. Now, Corsi says that summer wasn't the only time that Stone told him to go to WikiLeaks and try to get the goods. He claims he spoke to Stone on October 7th, in the hours before the now-infamous "Access Hollywood" tape became public.

Stone wanted him to try to mitigate the fallout with some help from WikiLeaks.

JEROME CORSI, CONSERVATIVE AUTHOR: We get to October 7, which was a very, very busy day from here in New York. And Roger calls me three times. We had three -- three times we have a discussion.

Now, my recollection is that Roger is saying, you know, Billy Budd is going to be dropped and Assange better get going. Why don't you get to your buddy Assange and tell him to start? Well, I didn't have any contact with Assange. But Roger going back to July and August may have, you know, may have led him on.

MURRAY: Stone denies Corsi's version of events, telling CNN, it is pure, unadulterated B.S.

Now, Corsi still insists he never had any contact with Assange, and Stone still says he never had any advanced knowledge of WikiLeaks document dumps.

So, far neither men is facing charges. Corsi says he won't sign on to a plea agreement the special counsel has offered him. They want him to plead guilty to perjury but he says he never knowingly lied to investigators.

As for what's next, Corsi says he doesn't know, but he knows the special counsel's office is none too happy that he's gone on this publicity tour.

Back to you, guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFETH: All right, Sara. Thanks.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort denies ever meeting WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange. Contrary to a report in "The Guardian" that says the two met several times secretly inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. One of those alleged meetings taking place in 2016, around the time Manafort took the helm of the Trump campaign. Manafort denying the report, writing: This story is totally false and

deliberately libelous. I have never met Julian Assange or anyone connected to him. I have never been contacted by anyone connected to WikiLeaks either directly or indirectly. I have never reached out to Assange or WikiLeaks on any matter. We are considering all legal options against "The Guardian" who proceeded with the story even after being notified by my reps that it was false.

Democrats are warning President Trump that even dangling a pardon for Paul Manafort could lead to a charge of obstruction of justice. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says she's confident the president was involved in no wrongdoing and was not part of any campaign collusion. She was asked whether a pardon for Manafort is on the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Given that the president said this morning that Robert Mueller is ruining people's lives, is he considering a pardon for Paul Manafort or for others who are prosecuted and have been prosecuted?

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I'm not aware of any conversations for anyone's pardon involving this process at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:05:06] BRIGGS: But Rudy Giuliani is not ruling anything out. He tells CNN the president has been upset for weeks about what he considers the un-American, horrible treatment of Manafort.

President Trump explaining why he's so skeptical of his own administration's report on the dire consequences of climate change. He tells the "Washington Post": One of the problems that a lot of people like myself, we have very high levels of intelligence, but we're not necessarily such believers. You look at our air and our water, and it's right now at a record clean, unquote.

For the record, the Yale environmental performance index ranks the U.S. 83rd in the world in air pollution, 29th in water and sanitation.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insists the federal government's climate change study produced by more than 300 scientists and experts is not based in fact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: It's not data driven. We'd like to see something that is more data driven, that's based on modeling which is extremely hard to do when you're talking about the climate. Again, our focus is making sure we have the safest, cleanest air and water. The president's going to do exactly that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: When asked about the wildfires in California, the president claimed the problems could be solved by raking the floors of the forest.

The president blaming drops in the stock market and plant closings at General Motors on the Federal Reserve. Mr. Trump says he is not even a little bit happy with pick for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. He tells the "Washington Post," quote, so I'm doing deals and I'm not being accommodated by the Fed. I'm not happy with the Fed. They're making a mistake because I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else's brain can ever tell me.

All right. A check on CNN Business now. President Trump threatening to cut all General Motors' subsidies after the automaker announced thousands of job cuts and the shuttering of five facilities in North America. The president tweeted Tuesday: Very disappointed with General Motors and their CEO Mary Barra for closing plants in Ohio, Michigan, and Maryland. We are now looking at cutting all GM subsidies including for electric cars.

The person familiar with the matter telling CNN that GM is unaware of any significant federal subsidies it is receiving beyond a $7,500 plug-in tax credit which goes to the consumer not GM. After the president's threat, GM released a statement saying it remains committed to, quote, maintaining a strong manufacturing presence in the U.S., pointing to more than $22 billion in investments in domestic operations since 2009.

GM also said the restructuring announced on Monday is aimed at supporting future growth such as driverless and electric vehicles and long-term success.

Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith will keep her Senate seat, holding off a Democratic challenge in Mississippi. CNN projects Hyde-Smith will defeat Democrat Mike Espy in the Senate runoff election. The race drew national attention, centered largely on Hyde-Smith's comments evoking the state's dark history of racism and slavery. She acknowledged it was a difficult campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HYDE-SMITH: You can get brutalized. You can get beat up. That's kind of part of this business. We're putting it behind. We can go forward, and we're not looking back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Hyde-Smith will now finish out the final two years of Thad Cochran's term. He retired from the Senate earlier this year. She'll have to run again in 2020 for a full six-year Senate term.

Mississippi's race is the latest Senate contest to be decided in the 2018 midterm. So, come January, the Senate balance of power will look like this -- 53 Republicans, 47 Democrats, giving the GOP a net gain of two seats in the Senate.

Meantime, the Democratic majority in the next House continues to grow. The party picked up another seat with Torres Small beating Republican Yvette Herrell in New Mexico second congressional district. That makes a net gain of 35 seats for the Democrats.

Can they reach 40? Just one House race left to call in California's 21st congressional district. Democrat D.J. Cox has pulled ahead of Republican Congressman David Valadao by just over 400 votes in the latest tally. CNN and other news organizations called the race for Valadao on election night. CNN withdrew the projection as the count continued to tighten.

So, at the moment, the balance of power in the House looks like this. Democrats 234, 200 seats, one undecided and about the blue wave, wow, Democrats made big gains in the 2018 midterms, picking up 39 seats in the House. In governors races, Democrats had a net gain of seven, while Republicans lost six. State legislators, Democrats gained at least 332 seats.

[04:10:05] BRIGGS: Later today, Democrats meet behind closed doors to decide whether Nancy Pelosi will be the next House speaker. There is tension and opposition within the Democratic Caucus, but the minority leader is widely expected to win the vote. A public vote on the House floor on January 3rd remains filled with uncertainty and intrigue.

Pelosi writing a letter to fellow Democrats asking for their support. She write, quote: History is in a hurry, and we need accelerate the pace of change in Congress. The public has entrusted us to save our democracy.

Tensions continue to climb between Russia and Ukraine as martial law kicks in this morning. We're live in Kiev, next.

And why a key Trump figure is about to receive Mexico's highest honor.

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BRIGGS: Senate aides telling CNN the White House does not want CIA Director Gina Haspel to testify today's classified briefing for the entire Senate on the murder of "Washington Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

[04:15:11] Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Jim Mattis will be at the closed door briefing.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Senate aides say Haspel may be able to shed some light on the contents of that audio recording of Khashoggi's killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, but aides say the West Wing is keeping Haspel under wraps for fear she might share details that don't align with its response to Khashoggi's murder.

The White House denies claims that it's preventing Haspel from testifying. Ahead of today's hearing, "The Wall Street Journal" published a remarkable op-ed by the secretary of state. In it, Pompeo makes the case for a hard-eyed, practical approach to Saudi Arabia. He says degrading ties between the kingdom and U.S. would harm national security and, quote, do nothing to punish Riyadh in a better direction at home.

BRIGGS: President Trump tells the "Washington Post" he's waiting for a full report on Russia's most recent confrontation with Ukraine. He says depending on what it says, he may skip his meeting with Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit this week.

Just a few hours ago, martial law went into effect in ten Ukrainian border provinces. Tension is climbing in the region after Russia seized three Ukraine navy ships in the strait on Sunday. This morning, more than a dozen Ukrainian sailors are still being held by Russia.

Senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh joining us now live from Ukraine.

Nick, good morning. Where are we headed here?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dave, remarkable that two days in, Donald Trump is still waiting for a full report or was at least last night into what exactly happened. His criticism muted, I think, it's fair to say. He said he's not happy, he doesn't like aggression, he said he might skip the meeting.

But cast your mind back to the Obama administration. The idea of meeting Vladimir Putin one on one in a chummy discussion after the invasion of Crimea back in 2014 would have been unheard of. And that I think has got many in Ukraine rattled.

This is a morning where three hours ago, martial law came into effect in ten regions. We don't really have any palpable signs of what that means so far. But bear in mind, this is a country that's been at war for four years. The conflict has raged on unseen, sadly, people dying every week.

And people are looking to see what this new legal infrastructure that the Ukrainian president put into play, actually changes? Does it mean as he suggested last night that Russian citizens may find it hard or impossible to get in to Ukraine? We simply don't know.

But the global outrage at Russian moves in the Kerch Strait on Sunday against those Ukrainian vessels which has led now to a dozen sailors being sentenced to two years in Russian jails and potentially another dozen getting a similar fate today or tomorrow, has certainly escalated this long rumbling conflict, and the broader issue now is, is there going to be adequate international condemnation that makes Moscow feel that they have to check their ambitions, or do they see Donald Trump's slight equivocation here, lack of clarity about his response, as emboldening, as perhaps a green light or indication they can get away with more? Dave?

BRIGGS: All right. Nick Paton Walsh live for us in Ukraine this morning -- thank you.

A government watchdog says the Department of Health and Human services is not conducting required FBI background checks on hundreds of staff members at a migrant children's facility in Texas. According to the HHS inspector general, instead of FBI fingerprint checks, the department is relying on less comprehensive background checks done by private contractors. The report also says there are not enough staff clinicians at the facility to provide adequate mental health care for the unaccompanied children being kept there.

ROMANS: On Friday, Mexico's president will bestow his country's highest honor for foreigners on Jared Kushner. The Order of the Aztec will be presented at the G20 Summit to the president's son-in-law for his role in coordinating U.S.-Mexico relations and for helping to renegotiate the NAFTA free trade agreement. The new trade deal involving the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, will be signed during this week's summit in Argentina.

BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, an Arizona man wanted his party to be a real blast. He got that and more. The shooting stunt that ignited a disaster, next.

ROMANS: And a teen table tennis player's impossible paddle move. You got to see it to believe it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:23:54] ROMANS: All right. A video released by the U.S. Forest Service shows a gender reveal party that went horribly wrong, sparking a huge wildfire in southern Arizona.

In the video from last April, a target containing explosive Tannerite is hit by a high-powered rifle, exploding in blue powder to reveal Dennis Dickey and his wife were having a son. The blast ignited a fire that grew to some 47,000 acres, causing $8 million worth of damage. Dickey pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge. He was ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution up front and 500 bucks a month for the next 20 years.

BRIGGS: Wow, try and top that.

Well, the creator of the megahit Nickelodeon cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants has died.

Steven Hillenburg was 57 and suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease. He combined his life of drawing and marine biology to create the animated series about the lives of SpongeBob and his undersea friends in Bikini Bottom.

[04:25:06] It first aired on Nickelodeon in 1999 and went on to win multiple Emmy and Annie Awards. Hillenburg also wrote, directed, and produced two animated features. More recently "SpongeBob" became a Broadway musical.

ROMANS: All right. Not often we show highlights of table tennis here on EARLY START, but you have to see this shot by 15-year-old Norwegian player Christopher Chen. Leading 10-4 in the first set, Chen fell to the ground trying to return a drop shot by the seat of his pants, look at that, he blinded stuck his paddle in the air and pulled off some what are calling the block of the decade.

And Chen actually lost a point when his opponent returned that miracle shot. But the youngster is still the talk of the internet. Whoa!

BRIGGS: I'm watching it again to try to figure out if that was a setup. I mean, it almost looked like the guy had to be aiming for that paddle.

All right. Well done. Beautiful shot.

Ahead, new information about Robert Mueller's Russia case. Just ahead, what draft documents obtained by CNN say about Roger Stone and WikiLeaks.

ROMANS: And what President Trump tells the "Washington Post" about guts, brains, and his high level of intelligence.

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