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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Departing for G20 Summit; President Trump Consumed by Russia Probe; Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired November 29, 2018 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:31:19] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: High stakes meetings with Russia and China await as President Trump departs just hours from now for the G20 Summit.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: CNN learning exclusively two critical answers that President Trump gave to Robert Mueller in writing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I changed my mind because I'm pissed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Angry backlash from senators who want to hear firsthand what the CIA director knows about a murdered journalist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: Are there dissenters? Yes, but I expect to have a powerful vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Nancy Pelosi clears the first hurdle to becoming House speaker, but the final vote far from certain.
Welcome back to EARLY START on a Thursday. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 32 minutes past the hour. Let's begin with the president. He will board Air Force One bound for the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires later this morning with the future of global trade and security on the line. The president plans to press Chinese President Xi Jinping to open his markets to U.S. competition or face a deepening trade war. And he's sharpening his tone against Russia over its conflict at sea with Ukraine even threatening to cancel a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Also on the agenda, meetings with South Korean President Moon, Japanese Prime Minister Abe, German Chancellor Merkell, Turkish President Erdogan, Indian Prime Minister Modi and Argentine President Macri. And on Friday in Argentina, the president is expected to sign that revamped NAFTA trade agreement with Mexico and Canada.
BRIGGS: The Russians say the meeting between Presidents Putin and Trump is set for Saturday morning on the G20 sidelines. If it happens, Russia's conflict with Ukraine sure to come up. President Trump has already said he doesn't like Moscow's aggression. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry suggesting the West knew about or even planned the naval confrontation in the Kerch Strait that is escalating tensions between Moscow and Ukraine.
A Russian court in the Crimea ordering two-month detention for all 24 Ukrainian sailors who were now being held pending trial.
Let's bring in Fred Pleitgen live near the Kerch Strait in Russia.
Fred, good morning.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Dave. And we're actually right on the Kerch Strait and those three Ukrainians ships that have been impounded by the Russians still very much so right on the other end of that bridge that you see behind me right there at the Kerch Strait. And you can really see that the Russians aren't giving an inch on this issue.
You've already mentioned the fact that the Russian Foreign Ministry is saying that Western nations may have been involved in planning the incident that took place outside of the strait of Kerch. The Russians of course holding the Ukrainians responsible. The Ukrainians saying absolutely not. It was the Russians that violated international law. In fact the U.S. special representative to Ukraine saying the Russians need to give those ships back immediately.
However, the Russians unfazed and not feeling too much heavy rhetoric from the White House at this point. We asked the spokesperson for Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, whether the Russians believe that that meeting will still happen, they say absolutely. They're saying the meeting is happening, they're planning for it. In fact, Russian president Vladimir Putin came out very late last night here in Russia and he said not only does he believe the meeting will happen, he says he believes that President Trump still, as he calls it, positively inclined towards repairing relations between the United States and Russia despite, of course, the fact those relations have been in some trouble as of late.
So the Russians still very much feel that President Trump is positive towards them, despite the fact that this incident took place. But no doubt that if that meeting takes place, the incident that happened here outside the Sea of Azov will be very high on the agenda there -- Dave.
BRIGGS: Wow. Some interesting optics ahead of the G20. Fred Pleitgen live for us near the Kerch Strait. Thank you.
ROMANS: All right. The drama grows here. Another mixed message in the U.S.-China trade negotiations. The day after White House Economic adviser Larry Kudlow hinted at a possible breakthrough with China, America's top trade negotiator issued a veiled threat against the Chinese government over its auto tariffs days before President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet at the G20. [04:35:17] In a statement released Wednesday the U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Lighthizer said, quote, "As the president repeatedly noted China's aggressive state directed industrial policies are causing severe harm to U.S. workers and manufacturers. As of yet China has not come to the table with proposals for meaningful reform."
Lighthizer called China's policies on auto tariffs egregious, noting China imposed the tariffs 40 percent on U.S. autos. According to Lighthizer that rate is more than double what China imposes on other trading partners. Lighthizer said the president has directed him to examine all available tools to equalize the tariffs to automobiles.
BRIGGS: All right. President Trump has been consumed by the Russia investigation. His intense focus reflected in a newspaper interview Wednesday with "New York Post" where he returned to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe again and again. Refusing to rule out a possible pardon for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Also defending his re-tweet of a meme attacking the Russia probe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in particular. All behind bars there.
CNN's Pamela Brown has more from the White House.
PAMELA BROWN, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave and Christine. In a stunning interview with the "New York Post," President Trump defended retweeting a picture of his opponents behind bars calling for them to face trial for treason. They include Special Counsel Robert Mueller as well as Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
When asked about that, the fact that Rosenstein was also seen behind bars in this picture, the president responded to the reporters in this interview saying that he should have never appointed a special counsel.
Meantime, the president also talked about a potential pardon for Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman, after prosecutors claimed he lied to the FBI. The president for the first time coming out and saying that it's not off the table for a presidential pardon for Manafort. He's also ratcheting up the language against Robert Mueller, taking it a step further now comparing the Mueller probe to McCarthyism.
Also in this interview the president threatened to declassify documents that he claims would be devastating to Democrats. These are documents that he had talked about declassifying this past September but he says in the interview that Emmitt Flood, the White House lawyer, advised that would not be a good idea politically, but now the president is threatening to declassify these documents if the Democrats on the Hill go after him.
Back to you, Dave and Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Pamela, thank you.
President Trump has denied two specific claims Special Counsel Robert Mueller is looking into. CNN has learned exclusively the president told Mueller in writing that Roger Stone never told him about WikiLeaks' plan to release Democratic Party e-mails stolen by Russian hackers and that he was never informed about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his son, campaign officials and a Russian lawyer.
We've also learned the president made it clear he was answering, quote, "to the best of his recollection." The Trump Tower meeting and WikiLeaks are critical to Mueller's mission, determining whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians.
BRIGGS: A bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation blocked once again from reaching the Senate floor. Republican Senator Jeff Flake and Democratic Senators Chris Coons and Cory Booker tried to force a vote by unanimous consent on Wednesday but it was blocked by Republican Mike Lee of Utah. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisting the bill is not needed but Senator Flake doesn't see it that way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: This is a solution in search of a problem. The president is not going to fire Robert Mueller nor do I think he should, nor do I think he should not be allowed to finish.
We have a lot of things to do to try to finish up this year without taking votes on things that are completely irrelevant to outcomes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Senator Flake says he will vote against every pending judicial nominee unless Senator McConnell allows a floor vote on the bill to protect Mueller.
ROMANS: A closed door administration briefing on Capitol Hill backfired Wednesday. The House -- the White House was hoping to stop a resolution to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war against Houthis in Yemen. Instead it sparked a backlash. Senators on both sides furious the White House kept CIA director Gina Haspel from appearing. Senators wanted to question her about the murder of "Washington Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi and about a possible involvement of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, MBS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM: I changed my mind because I'm pissed. The way the administration has handled the Saudi Arabia thing is just not acceptable.
[04:40:03] The briefing today did not help me at all better understand the role MBS played in the killing of Mr. Khashoggi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis, they showed up to tow the administration line on the importance of the U.S.-Saudi relationship. Pompeo noting there is no direct evidence Prince Mohammed ordered the murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES MATTIS, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We have no smoking gun that the crown prince was involved. Not the intelligence community or anyone else. There's just no smoking gun. We have not changed that accountability for the murder is our expectation of everyone involved in the murders. Accountability is our position. That's not changed at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Defense secretary and the secretary of State there. Senate aides say the White House nixed Haspel's appearance because her answers might not align with its White House response to the murder. But Secretary Pompeo had no answer when asked why she was not there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: I was asked to be here. Here I am.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The senators were very frustrated. Normally, in your past role as CIA director, you would be here briefing these senators on an issue this sensitive. Why isn't the CIA director herself here today?
POMPEO: I was asked to be here and I'm here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: In the end, 14 annoyed Republicans crossed the aisle of the Senate vote to advance the Yemen resolution, 63-37.
BRIGGS: Nancy Pelosi taking a giant step toward a historic second turn as House speaker. House Democrats voting Wednesday overwhelmingly 203-32 to support Pelosi's nomination. A small but vocal faction of Democrats tried to derail her bid for speaker, but Pelosi is focusing on the positive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: I'm talking about scores of members of Congress who just gave me a vote or are giving me a vote of confidence. That is where our focus is. Are there dissenters? Yes. But I expect to have a powerful vote as we go forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The make-or-break moment for Pelosi will come in January when the full House holds a final floor vote. Pelosi will need to convince at least half of those 32 Democrats who voted against her in order to be elected speaker. And then, late March, she will be the oldest ever House speaker at 79. She is showing no signs of going away.
ROMANS: No. There's age and there's experience. And she's got a lot of experience. BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: OK. Jeff Sessions with two words to describe his sudden ouster from the Trump administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF SESSIONS, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: Pink slip. As everybody -- a lot of people have gotten pink slips, I guess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Sudden ouster? Not that sudden ouster. For a long time.
BRIGGS: A year in the making.
ROMANS: More now from the former attorney general just ahead.
BRIGGS: Plus John Kerry 2020? The question and his answer next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:47:10] BRIGGS: The Pentagon has identified the three U.S. servicemen killed in Afghanistan earlier this week. They are Army Captain Andrew Patrick Ross, Army Sergeant 1st Class Eric Michael Emond and Air Force Staff Sergeant Dylan Elchin. They were killed Tuesday when their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device near the city of Ghazni.
Sergeant Elchin's mother trying to come to grips with the devastating loss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAWNA DUEZ, MOTHER OF STAFF SERGEANT DYLAN J. ELCHIN: I didn't want him to go. He said, mom, I'll be OK. I said, Dylan, if anything happens to you, I says it's going to destroy me. And he said, mom, I'll be fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.
ROMANS: Police say a body in North Carolina has been initially identified as Hania Aguilar. The 13-year-old was abducted outside her home three weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF MICHAEL MCNEILL, LUMBERTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is the outcome that we all feared. We wanted to bring Hania back home and bring her back home alive to our community. It hurts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Police say the body was found in water on a road several miles from Aguilar's home. Authorities want the public's help to determine when and how the body was left there. Final confirmation will be made using dental records.
BRIGGS: CNN learning the Trump administration plans to announce a ban on bump stocks in the next few days. Bump stocks received national attention last year when that gunman in Las Vegas rigged his weapons with the devices to massacre 58 concertgoers. President Trump promised to ban bump stocks shortly after the tragedy. Under the new rule, bump stock owners would be required to destroy or surrender the devices to authorities within 90 days.
ROMANS: Jeff Sessions taking the high road delivering the key note speech at last night's Annual Chicago Crime Commission Awards Dinner. The former attorney general reflected on his experience as the nation's top law enforcement officer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SESSIONS: Well, a lot has changed since my visit here a few months ago, about a month ago actually. I got a new title. Former. Pink slipped. That's everybody -- a lot of people have gotten pink slips, I guess, but mine is a little more public than most. I got to say. But I really enjoyed the honor and I appreciate the president allowing me to serve almost two years in one of the greatest jobs in the world. I'm satisfied and fulfilled I think with what we were able to accomplish. And I'm excited for those who will continue to lead the great department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Sessions also criticized Chicago's leaders for not adequately supporting the city's police department.
BRIGGS: You can add a familiar name this morning to the list of Democrats mulling a run in 2020. John Kerry. At a Harvard Institute of Politics event the 2004 Democratic nominee said he is thinking about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you a candidate for 2020?
[04:50:02] JOHN KERRY (D), 2004 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm thinking about how the hell to get out from under that question fast.
(LAUGHTER)
KERRY: That's what I'm thinking. I really am. You know, I said I'm not going to eliminate -- I'm not going to -- I'm not taking anything off the table. Am I going to think about it? Yes, I'm going to think about it. I've said that point blank simply because of all the things I've just talked about. If you care about these things, you have to think about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: Kerry says he is open to backing other potential Democratic candidates including former VP Joe Biden and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.
We've talked about age often in politics today. And you look at the ages of them. Biden and Bloomberg, 76. Bernie 77, John Kerry is 74. When you talk about a young Democratic Party, will they go that way with the nominee?
ROMANS: How old is Beto O'Rourke? I mean, he did not win in his Senate seat.
BRIGGS: Right. That's a good question.
ROMANS: But outside of Texas, he was raising money in Brooklyn and in Iowa, in all sorts of places.
BRIGGS: And he, too, won't rule it out.
ROMANS: Yes.
All right. New home sales have suffered the steepest decline in two years. Rising construction costs creating a problem for builders. We're going to get a check on CNN Business next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:55:49] ROMANS: If you don't know where your romaine lettuce was grown, don't eat it. That's what the FDA says as it narrows down the source of e. Coli to six California counties. The counties investigated in a multi-state outbreak are Monterrey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura Counties. Now officials say romaine harvested outside of those six California counties is not implicated in the current outbreak. Romaine lettuce entering the market will now be labeled with the harvest location and date to help you know whether you should be avoiding that lettuce.
BRIGGS: Dozens of prison inmates in Iowa are suing the state claiming they're being denied their constitutional right to pornography. 58 inmates at the Fort Dodge correctional facility filed the suit last month just before a new state law took effect banning pornographic magazines from state prisons. The federal lawsuit makes references to Nazism, tyranny and the bible, and says if female guards can't handle seeing pornographic images, they should find employment elsewhere. The inmates are asking for a reversal of the ban and $25,000 each to be placed in their prison accounts.
No comment from Romans.
ROMANS: I didn't think --
(LAUGHTER)
BRIGGS: I'm expecting something from my Iowa friend.
ROMANS: I didn't realize it was -- about offending the women. It's like, what are you talking about? You're in prison. It's not supposed to be fun. You don't get ice cream every night.
BRIGGS: This is true. OK.
A Florida teenager was trapped inside an abandoned bank vault for more than three hours Wednesday before being rescued. Police and emergency crews tried to free the teen, but the reinforced vault was apparently too much for their equipment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BATTALION CHIEF PAT KELLER, HOLLYWOOD FIRE RESCUE: The vault was approximately 14 by 14 feet and it's about two feet thick concrete walls with a huge steel vault door which is probably about the same thickness, about two feet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Officials eventually contacted the manufacturer. Employees who use the service -- the vault responded and figured out the combination were able to open it. Police say the 17-year-old who had air during the ordeal emerged from the vault safe and sound. Unclear how he became trapped.
ROMANS: That's quite a story.
All right. Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. Global stock markets mixed ahead of this very importantly G20 Summit. In Asia you can see stock markets there mixed. The Nikkei up slightly, Shanghai down. Hang Seng also down just about 1 percent.
Europe opened just a couple of hours ago. The DAX in German up about half a percent. The FTSE in London also higher so is the CAC quarante in Paris. On Wall Street futures are down a little bit after a really big day for the Dow. The Dow rose about 620 points. That's 2.5 percent. In one day that is obviously a big move. That's because the Fed chief, Jerome Powell, suggested the Fed may be close to finishing its rate hikes or at least will do it slowly. The S&P 500 gained 2.3 percent. The Nasdaq closed up nearly 3 percent. Caterpillar and Boeing two of the Dow's most economically sensitive stocks, each rose nearly 5 percent. A big move for those.
New home sales have suffered the steepest decline in two years. According to the Commerce Department, purchases of newly built single family homes fell nearly 9 percent to 544,000 homes in October. That's the lowest level since March 2016. The percent drop was the biggest since December last year. Sales of new U.S. homes declined because of higher mortgage rates and rising construction costs. Those are creating problems for builders.
The deal is done. CVS Health has closed its $70 billion purchase of Aetna. The goal to lower health care costs and improve your consumer experience. CVS Health president and CEO said, "We will transform the consumer health experience and build healthier communities through a new innovated health care model that is local, easier to use, less expensive, and puts consumers at the center of their care." CVS says several new pilot stores will open in the first half of the first quarter next year.
BRIGGS: All right. EARLY START continues right now.
ROMANS: High stakes meetings with Russia and China await as President Trump departs just hours from now for the G20 Summit.
BRIGGS: The president floating the idea of a pardon for his jailed former campaign chair Paul Manafort.
(END)
