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New Day
Kremlin Says Putin will meet with Trump; First Lady Sands by her Decorations; Manafort Pardon; Senate Advances Bill on Yemen; Pompeo Defends Saudis. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired November 29, 2018 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[06:32:55] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, the Kremlin confirms or the Kremlin claims that Vladimir Putin will meet with President Trump on Saturday on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires. This as tensions escalate with Ukraine after the naval clash there.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh live in Ukraine at a military facility near the Sea of Azov.
Nick.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, you join me here on the Sea of Azov, where last Sunday this clash began a week of tension now escalating with this likely meeting, it seems, in Argentina. Oddly, it's the Kremlin confirming that it will happen, speaking on behalf, it seems, of the White House.
Now, Donald Trump has said he was unhappy at Russian aggression in -- in the straits near where I'm standing and might cancel the meeting, but has since gone silent, leaving it, it seems, to Moscow to say whether it will happen or not.
Around me here is a Ukrainian military show of strength. We're seen their attack helicopters fly over us and you may hear distantly in the background the crackle of anti-aircraft gunfire. They're keen to show their readiness for any potential future military action. And we have heard from people along this sea here, on the Kerch Strait. Their general anxiety, frankly, at the Ukrainian government, at the military's readiness to some degree, and also at Russian aggression too. This economy suffered here deeply.
But while Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president, has introduced martial law here. As we drove through the country last night, we didn't see many overt signs of that. And we certainly have heard him call for more support from the European Union. But it really is all eyes again on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. The commander in chief seems to think he has a good one-on-one rapport with the Kremlin heads to perhaps turn his mind, change his hand here. But remember last time in Helsinki what happened then didn't work out quite so well, I think, for those who expected Donald Trump to condemn Russian interference in elections. We'll have to see if the meeting goes ahead in Argentina, you haven't had that confirmed from Washington yet, exactly where that leads.
Back to you.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Nick, we will be talking to various U.S. lawmakers this morning on the program and ask them what they plan, next.
[06:35:01] Thank you very much.
All right, if you thought that Frosty only had to worry about melting, watch this. Some Grinch stabs the inflatable snowman. And, look, it's as if he's melting right there into the parking lot. It's all caught on video. We have to find this Grinch, John.
BERMAN: I want to know the story behind this one.
CAMEROTA: Oh, I've got it for you.
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BERMAN: The Pentagon has identified the three U.S. service members killed in a roadside bomb -- bombing in Afghanistan this week. Army Captain Andrew Ross, Army Sergeant First Class Eric Emond and Air Force Staff Sergeant Dylan Elchin. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack near the city of Gaza. It is the deadliest attack against U.S. service members in Afghanistan this year.
CAMEROTA: CNN has learned the Trump administration is planning to announce a ban on bump stocks in the coming days. The country learned about bump stocks last year when a gunman in Las Vegas rigged his weapon with the device to murder 58 people at an outdoor concert. President Trump promised to ban bump stocks shortly after that massacre. Under the new rule, bump stock owners would be required to destroy or surrender their devices to authorities within 90 days.
[06:40:04] BERMAN: The FDA has narrowed the source of E. Coli contamination from Romaine lettuce to six counties in California. Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Ventura Counties. Officials say Romaine lettuce harvested outside these regions is not related to the multi-state outbreak, but they're advising consumers, if you don't know where your Romaine was grown, don't eat it. If you see something, say something, also.
CAMEROTA: Got it. Got it.
All right, here, John, this is an important story that you've been waiting for. An assault on a snowman in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Someone stabbed, as you'll see here, an inflatable Frosty the Snowman outside a local hotel. Take a look at this surveillance video. Police need your help. You can see Frosty quickly deflating after that heartless Grinch slashed him last week.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They came out and approached -- running up to him and then just stabbed him for no reason. Frosty did nothing to them.
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BERMAN: No reason?
CAMEROTA: No reason, John.
BERMAN: As if there would be a reason to stab Frosty?
CAMEROTA: Maybe Frosty had angered him somehow.
BERMAN: What -- Frosty has done nothing to nobody except spread Christmas and winter joy.
CAMEROTA: I agree with you.
Frosty has made a miraculous recovery, we're happy to report. He's back on his feet greeting hotel guests --
BERMAN: He's taped up.
CAMEROTA: Although he is sporting a nasty scar.
BERMAN: I love the framing of that, he stabbed Frosty for no reason.
CAMEROTA: No apparent reason.
BERMAN: For no reason.
CAMEROTA: For no reason.
But, by the way, we have a shot of the guy driving away. Can't we get his license plate?
I'm going to get Dolly Parton on it. Isn't she from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee?
BERMAN: Is she?
CAMEROTA: I think she's from -- or Pigeon Hollow?
BERMAN: I've been to Dollywood, you know?
CAMEROTA: Yes. That's intriguing.
BERMAN: I -- it was right after college and I couldn't -- we got there and it was like $30 to go in. So I was there my then girlfriend, now wife. And we're like, we drove all the way here but we don't have enough money to go.
CAMEROTA: Can't afford it. Oh -- OK, that's a tragic story and we're going to make amends.
BERMAN: Someday I'll go back to Dollywood.
CAMEROTA: Yes. Fantastic. BERMAN: All right, First Lady Melania Trump standing by her Christmas decorations after lots of social media critics jeered at the red Christmas trees inside the White House. A lot of jeering.
CNN's Jeanne Moos explains.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The president counted down, the first lady pressed the button to light the national Christmas tree.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Three, two, one.
MOOS: A nice, normal green tree. Technically a blue spruce. But when it came to sprucing up the White House, 40 red cranberry-covered trees lining the East Colonnade had some critics seeing red, or at least seeing car wash brushes, or seeing the women from "The Handmaid's Tale with their bonnets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, ACTRESS, "THE HANDMAID'S TALE": Am I correct, girls?
MOOS: You are correct if you thought the red trees would become the butt of jokes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Soaked in blood, soaked in sweet, sweet, blood.
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": Check these out. You know, a lot of people said it looked like Christmas in hell, and then Melania said, exactly.
MOOS: But you know what Melania really said?
MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY: We are into a new first (ph) century and everybody has a different taste. I think they look fantastic. In real life they look even more beautiful.
MOOS: Tweeted one supporter, I think the red trees are as fashion forward as she is. I love them.
MOOS (on camera): Oh, come on, you regular trees are just green with envy.
MOOS (voice over): The first lady's office said the red motif is an extension of the stripes found on the presidential seal and the Be Best ornaments are an extension of Melania's campaign encouraging kids.
The first lady seems to like red, right down to her fingertips. Tweeted someone, the gloves are killing me. Is it cold, or is she trying not to leave fingerprints?
Twitter users needled the red trees by inserting the creepy girls from "The Shining."
But unlike "The Shining," when you peek out through your fingers, the red trees are still there.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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BERMAN: You know, so now I need three more years of therapy because they just showed "The Shining" there.
CAMEROTA: I'm not sure people needed that over their Corn Flakes. We love Jeanne Moos, but the dead twins scene was -- well, OK, I guess we didn't need that in there.
BERMAN: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
CAMEROTA: Red rum (ph).
Angry senators rebuking President Trump with a vote about Saudi Arabia. We'll talk with the senator behind the measure, next.
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[06:48:30] CAMEROTA: President Trump, in a new interview with "The New York Post," is now publicly touting the possibility of pardoning Paul Manafort.
Joining us now to talk about this and so much more is Democratic Senator Chris Murphy. He serves on the Foreign Relations Committee and he sponsored a resolution passed by the Senate to end U.S. support of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabia-led war in Yemen.
Good morning, senator.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: Good morning.
CAMEROTA: OK, do you take the idea that President Trump floated this idea in "The New York Post," that, yes, pardoning Paul Manafort, that's not off the table. Is that for real or is that just to wind up Democrats?
MURPHY: Who knows? I mean I think you have to take him as his word. There's lots of things that he's said over the course of the last two years that we thought were just bluster, that he actually followed through on. And so, ultimately, I assume that he's trying to continue to give reasons to those who might tell a story about the president that could get him in serious trouble, especially with the House Democratic majority, to stop talking. And I think we all have to take seriously the potential that he may pardon Manafort. Now, I think if he was ever to do that, that would be a line that would be too far -- that would be too far for my Republican colleagues in the Senate, but I think you need to take it seriously.
CAMEROTA: You do? You think that, as you sit here today, that the Republicans who have supported the president in the past through all sorts of other convention-breaking moments, that that would be the Rubicon for them? [06:50:02] MURPHY: I mean not -- not every Senate Republican, but I
think there's a significant number of Senate Republicans who would see that as a legitimate constitutional crisis in a way that they have not seen previous transgressions by this president. That's my belief. I understand that I might have the football pulled out from under me when that moment happens, if it happens.
CAMEROTA: OK. Let's talk about what happened in the Senate yesterday.
So you sponsored a couple of really significant things. First, the pulling of U.S. support for the Saudi Arabian-led action in Yemen. You have been, I think, wanting to do this for a long time, but yesterday was the moment.
How do you explain that after three years of you trying to talk about this, what crystalized, even for your Republicans colleagues yesterday?
MURPHY: Well, you know, let's just get the benchmarks down. Since this civil war began in Yemen that the United States is participating in, we're helping the Saudis bomb Yemen, 85,000 children under the age of five have died of starvation and disease. The world's worst ever cholera epidemic has broken out in that country. Three quarters of the population lives only on humanitarian assistance. Why did we get 14 Republicans yesterday?
Well, first, I think they have seen that this administration has no plans to wrap up this war and they have seen that the targeting of civilians by the Saudis has gotten worse and worse. So I think Republicans have paid attention to the worsening humanitarian situation. But, second, Khashoggi clearly plays into their calculous because they have believed the Saudis when they told them that, hey, listen, we're not hitting civilians on purpose in Yemen. It's all a bunch of mistakes. And then when they lied to our face for two weeks about what happened to Jamal Khashoggi, they all of a sudden started to think, well, wait a second, maybe the Saudis aren't telling us the truth about what's happening inside Yemen.
So I think it's the facts on the ground, but it's also the fact that the Senate felt the needed to send a real message to Saudi Arabia that we think it's time to start rethinking the entire nature of our relationship.
CAMEROTA: And is that the back story that led to this moment that we have on tape where Senator Lindsay Graham comes up to you at a moment during this vote and he comes over to you and he shakes his hand. I think we have it in a second you'll see it, hopefully spot shadowed, and he's waving and he's making some gestures. Then he comes over -- oh, yes, he makes his vote and then he comes over and shakes your hand.
Did that moment surprise you?
MURPHY: Well, you know, I've spent a lot of time with Lindsay over the last three years. Senator Graham has been the probably strongest backer of the Saudis, the strongest opponent of the resolutions that I've brought to the floor to try to change our relationship with Saudi Arabia. And I spent a lot of time with him on the floor yesterday. He eventually did change his vote. He initially voted with the administration and then, as you saw there, changed his vote to vote with us.
I think that Senator Graham feels really personally aggrieved by the Saudis, who he has been a primary backer of. And when they lied to us for two to three weeks about what happened to Jamal Khashoggi, when they lied to him, I think it caused him and many other Republicans to question whether the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is being straight with us about a lot of other things. If they are truly purposely targeting civilians, school buses, hospitals inside of Yemen, then the United States can't be involved in that. That's war crimes. And I think a lot of Republicans, including Lindsay Graham, are coming around to that potential reality.
CAMEROTA: As you know, the president and his secretary of state disagree. They do continue to trust the crown prince's story on this. In fact, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, had written this op-ed. The jest of it was, we don't condone Jamal Khashoggi's murder, but the kingdom is a powerful force for Mideast stability. You called that op- ed, quote, bananas, and then the secretary of state, in response, said this yesterday. So listen to this.
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MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: I do believe I've read every piece of intelligence, unless it has come in, in the last few hours. I think I have read it all. There is no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order to murder Jamal Khashoggi. That's all I can say in an unclassified setting.
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CAMEROTA: In case you couldn't hear that bad audio, he said, there is no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order to murder Jamal Khashoggi.
How would you classify that statement?
MURPHY: So, who knows what direct reporting means. Is there a smoking gun? Is there a tape in which Mohammad bin Salman admits that he personally ordered the dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi? No, there probably isn't. But that's not how intelligence works. Intelligence works by picking up all sorts of different pieces of information and assembling a story. And that is why reporting has suggested that the CIA says that they believe that Khashoggi's murder was ordered, directed by Mohammad bin Salman. And so I guess he's technically correct, that there's no direct reporting, but there's all sorts of evidence to tell us that nothing like this would ever happen without Mohammad bin Salman knowing about it and ordering it. That's just how this elite group has worked for the last several years under his direction and control.
[06:55:21] CAMEROTA: Senator Chris Murphy, we're out of time, but rest assured we do have Senator Ron Johnson coming on in the program to talk about the measure that you both co-sponsored about trying to stamp out Russian aggression against Ukraine. So, thank you very much for covering all these topics with us.
MURPHY: Great. Thanks a lot.
CAMEROTA: John.
BERMAN: So, last night, at 11:39 p.m., the president was writing about the Russia investigation. This morning at 6:54 a.m., the president is writing about the Russia investigation. Do you think he's beginning to feel the heat? The very latest, next.
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[06:59:58] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is going public with possibly pardoning Paul Manafort.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To use the pardon power to interfere with a pending investigation, that
