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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Washington Bids Farewell To Bush 41; Special Counsel Robert Mueller Files Heavily-Redacted Court Memo; Senators Push For Deal Targeting Saudi Arabia; Marine Corps Planes Crash Off Coast of Japan. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired December 06, 2018 - 05:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:42] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures from Houston where the body of President George H.W. Bush lies in repose right now at the Bush family church.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The best father a son or daughter could have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Raw emotion as America's 43rd president eulogizes his father, with another church service just hours away.

ROMANS: The Trump White House faces more opposition to its Saudi Arabia policy after the murder of a "Washington Post" journalist.

BRIGGS: Plus, a major search operation underway for five U.S. Marines after two military planes crashed off of Japan.

Welcome back to "Blank News" for $600. Yes, we were a "JEOPARDY" clue, but did they get the answer? We'll play that for you in a moment.

I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Would you like a mint?

BRIGGS: I would like a mint, thank you. That is the reverse of George W. Bush and Michelle Obama, and that's how we do it here.

ROMANS: Yes. Nobody cares that we do it, though.

Thirty-one minutes past the hour.

Right now, the body of the 41st President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush, lying in repose at the Bush family church back at home in Houston. These are live pictures of -- people, all night -- all night have been filing by to pay their respects.

Later this morning, a memorial service at the church, St. Martin's Episcopal. It will be President Bush's second memorial, following a service yesterday in Washington.

For more, we turn to CNN's Jessica Dean in Houston for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave and Christine.

We are here at St. Martin's Episcopal Church where President Bush will lie repose until 6:00 this morning. So they're asking people who'd like to come pay their respects to drive to a nearby church there, then walk through security. They board buses and are brought here. But that's been a very important thing for many people in this community to do.

The Bushes attended this church for some 50 years so they are very familiar faces in this place, in this neighborhood. In fact, their home is not too far from here, just over my shoulder. It's a very important place for the Bush family and it's important for this community to pay their respects to President Bush.

Now, at 10:00 a.m. -- again Central time -- that's when this second funeral will take place. We're expecting to hear from President Bush's grandson, George P. Bush, as well as his former Secretary of State and best friend, James Baker.

We'll be following all those developments throughout the morning -- Dave and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIGGS: Jessica, thanks.

As she mentioned there, President Bush and his whole family were a strong presence throughout all of Houston so it's no surprise that thousands of mourners -- regular Houstonians -- lined up, some waiting many hours for a chance to pay their respects.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so happy that I came. I would have spent 10 hours in line waiting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: George Bush was Houston's president. We wanted to come and pay our respects and honor him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Houston was the Bush's home, but Washington, of course, where the late president built his career.

His state funeral yesterday, held at the National Cathedral, filled with heartfelt tributes and emotional farewells.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JON MEACHAM, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR: George Herbert Walker Bush was America's last great soldier-statesman -- a 20th century founding father.

BRIAN MULRONEY, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: I believe it will be said that no occupant of the Oval Office was more courageous, more principled, and more honorable than George Herbert Walker Bush.

SEN. ALAN SIMPSON, FRIEND OF PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: He loved a good joke -- the richer, the better -- and he'd throw his head back and give that great laugh. But he never, ever could remember a punchline, and I mean never.

BUSH: In his inaugural address, the 41st President of the United States said this. "We cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger bank account -- we must hope to give them a sense of what it means to be a loyal friend, a loving parent, a citizen who leaves his home, his neighborhood, and town better than he found it."

So through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you, a great and noble man. The best father a son or daughter could have. And in our grief let us smile knowing that dad is hugging Robin and holding mom's hand again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:08] ROMANS: The hardest speech he ever had to give.

BRIGGS: Incredible, right?

ROMANS: It really was.

BRIGGS: We've never seen a president eulogized his president father and we'll probably never see it again.

Robin mentioned there -- George and Barbara's little daughter who died of leukemia at age three.

This afternoon, President Bush's body will be taken by train to College Station, Texas where he'll be laid to rest at his presidential library.

Stay with CNN all day. We'll have full coverage of President Bush's Texas memorial service and interment.

ROMANS: All of Washington a whirl of speculation this morning. Everyone wants to know what's under the hundreds of black lines redacting key parts of a court filing in the case of one-time national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Special counsel Robert Mueller says Flynn provided substantial help in his Russia investigation but Mueller isn't ready to say, yet, what that help was.

CNN's Sara Murray has more for us from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave and Christine.

The heavily-redacted sentencing memo for Michael Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser, has Washington wondering what special counsel Robert Mueller is holding back. For all of we've learned about Flynn's substantial assistance -- 19 interviews with law enforcement spanning more than a year -- Mueller's filing leaves many questions unanswered.

Flynn offered intel for multiple investigations. He cooperated in the investigation into potential coordination between Russians and senior members of the Trump transition and campaign, offering long-term and firsthand insight. What those insights were, that's still unknown.

Flynn also provided substantial assistance in a criminal investigation. The rest, blacked out.

As for a third investigation, the details of that one are entirely redacted in the filing. Those blacked-out lines causing frenzied speculation as to what or who could still be in the Justice Department's crosshairs.

And we're still waiting on at least two other developments this week. Mueller's team, in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, is expected to file a sentencing memo in the Michael Cohen case and respond to his request for no prison time.

And on Friday, we're expecting an explanation from Mueller on what former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to investigators about, jeopardizing his cooperation agreement.

So still, a very busy week ahead. Back to you, guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIGGS: It sure is. Sara, thanks.

A bipartisan group of senators looking to punish Saudi Arabia for its role in the killing of "Washington Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi. They'll meet today to discuss a deal aimed at suspending arms sales to the Saudis and curtailing U.S. support for the war in Yemen. They're hoping to reach a consensus and bring it to the floor as soon as next Monday.

It comes after senators were briefed by the CIA director on Khashoggi's killing and came away convinced the Saudi crown prince was involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB CORKER (R), TENNESSEE: What I do know is that the CIA director came in with some analysts and gave the most precise presentation I've ever heard in 12 years. And I left there -- as I mentioned, somebody came up today and

corrected me on my comments yesterday when I said if you went before a jury he'd be found guilty in 30 minutes. And one of my colleagues came out and said no, no, no, no -- 20.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Twenty minutes.

A deal targeting the Saudis would also be a rebuke of the president. He has downplayed the Khashoggi murder and cast doubt on the role of the Saudi crown prince.

Let's bring in "Washington Post" congressional reporter Karoun Demirjian, a CNN political analyst. Good to see you, Karoun.

ROMANS: Good morning, Karoun.

BRIGGS: Thank you for being here.

And you write about this in "The Washington Post" and you mention some statements from Lindsey Graham -- strong statements in which he says, "It's up to the United States to firmly stand for who we are and what we believe."

But, Karoun, what can Lindsey Graham and this small group of senators do?

KAROUN DEMIRJIAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Well, what they can do is try to push President Trump to do something.

And probably, this latest venture -- which is basically trying to put out a Senate resolution that says we specifically condemn the crown prince as responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi -- it's basically taking Trump on at the heart of it, right?

There's a lot of dispute, especially within the Republican Party, about what the appropriate response should be to Saudi Arabia given that they are a strategic ally in the region, given that they are purchasing so much of our defense material.

But it seems like there's pretty much unanimity on the fact that he's -- the crown prince is responsible for this murder. And so, they think that they can get enough of a coalition of senators around to deliver an almost unanimous, if not unanimous, message to the president saying condemn this guy.

They can't force his hand, though. Trump can do what he wants and thus far, he's shown he doesn't really want to do this.

And so they're left with the two other options that have been percolating around for a while, which is the bipartisan sanctions/order to curtail and cease all weapons transfers to Saudi Arabia until they get out of Yemen. And then, this Yemen resolution which we think is going to come up on

the floor next week, as well, which would be to invoke the War Powers resolution to pull the United States out of the Saudi-led coalition that's operating militarily in Yemen.

[05:40:03] All of these things are coming at kind of the problem from different angles, hoping to build enough support to actually -- to make a statement. But there's limited time on the congressional clock.

ROMANS: Right.

DEMIRJIAN: Odds of this getting through the House are slim.

And they'd have to have a very, very, very bipartisan resolute -- all but unanimous showing -- to actually be able to push the president's hand at this point because we're talking about over a month that nothing has happened and that the White House has kind of gone with the explanations -- the changing explanations the Saudis have given for what actually happened.

ROMANS: And the White House seems to have decided that the relationship is too important and the arm sales are too important for U.S. jobs to even criticize the crown prince. There's just -- there's just no wiggle room in there. They have -- they have said they're not going to jeopardize that relationship.

What you're hearing from senators and Congress is there's a lot they can do otherwise.

DEMIRJIAN: Right, and I think that the fact that the president has been so stuck on this issue of the American jobs for the sales to Saudi has really started to anger members of the Republican Party, too, who are saying look, you've been inflating the numbers of how much --

ROMANS: Yes.

DEMIRJIAN: -- these arm sales are worth for ages and now we're going to call you on it.

And also, a number of GOP people are saying look, I don't want to leverage American jobs off of endangering our long-term --

ROMANS: Right.

DEMIRJIAN: -- near-term and long-term national security concerns.

So the GOP is not buying that argument from the president but he keeps repeating it, which raises the question of does he fully believe in this? Does his base fully believe in this to that extent or is there something more? And that's why you have Democrats now asking is it personal financial stakes, as well, with the Saudis.

And this is all going to continue into next year, at this point, because even if the president doesn't move by the end of the year, you have Democrats taking over the House next year --

BRIGGS: Yes.

DEMIRJIAN: -- and having the investigative authority to actually say well, why? Why didn't he do this when everybody wanted him to?

BRIGGS: Karoun, you can't help but think those comments about the Saudis buying an apartment -- $40-$50 million -- may come back to haunt him and be investigated --

DEMIRJIAN: Yes.

BRIGGS: -- by those House Democrats.

But speaking of investigations, let's turn to the Russia investigation. Of course, we have this Flynn memo -- "largely- redacted" was the key words -- other than provided substantial assistance.

And then Friday, we get to learn some things about why Manafort violated the deal and in terms of Michael Cohen, what the sentencing recommendations are.

How do you expect this week and what we learn on Friday to change the Russia investigation?

DEMIRJIAN: Well, if we get details -- the question is how many details do we see, right?

BRIGGS: Yes.

DEMIRJIAN: The -- what we saw earlier this week was so heavily- redacted that we're asking more questions than we have answers.

Certainly, it seems like Michael Flynn was cooperating to quite an extent, otherwise you wouldn't expect to see a prosecutor say go easy on this -- he's been so key.

We now know of there being another investigation that we don't even know any of the details about. The imagination can run wild.

I mean, as we know, the general probe into Russian interference has looked at everybody from the president to the president's advisers, to some of the people that were closer to Hillary Clinton.

I mean, it is so broad that at this point, seeing what the redacted parts of the Flynn memo would be is important. Knowing exactly what Manafort lied about might help close some of those gaps. And getting more details about what the -- what the prosecution is going to be recommending for Cohen also -- who has been also cooperating with Mueller's probe might be revelatory.

But it seems like, again, this is something where you've got the different figures -- different, important figures who are having these -- coming to this point of fruition in their cases where we're seeing more information. How does that all start to kind of -- ROMANS: Right.

DEMIRJIAN: -- come together, form -- does the picture come into view from the different angles as we all start to get them into better focus, and does that focus start to implicate people that are even closer to the president?

Those are the big questions, is will we see this get to the president, his inner circle, his inner family circle when we start to see what's behind those blacked-out portions of all these filings.

BRIGGS: Yes. Judge Andrew Napolitano said he expects Don, Jr. to be indicted --

ROMANS: Wow.

BRIGGS: -- as we move forward.

ROMANS: Quickly, I want to talk a little bit about yesterday. It was hard not to see -- to compare and contrast the commanders in chief in that front row at the funeral yesterday of George H.W. Bush, and I'm just wondering your thoughts on what we saw yesterday.

To me, it was -- it was a reminder of -- I don't know -- the things that made the 20th century -- America a leader in the 20th century.

DEMIRJIAN: It was. I mean, look, you can see history there playing out. You have George Herbert Walker Bush, who presided over the end of the Cold War. And, Carter, who was there preceding him. And all of his successors just lined up there paying their respects.

And for the most part, being fairly respectful toward each other as well. I mean, I don't think there was very much interaction between President Trump and his colleagues, but you saw the comradery between the Bush family and between the Obamas, and the Clintons being there and all the vice presidents behind them.

It is looking at history and it's looking at how things have changed, as well.

I mean, there was much discussion during that service about the character of George Herbert Walker Bush, about the humility of the presidency. About things that we talk about but without -- we talk about often as critical points -- criticism points of President Trump. But kind of seeing that all laid out there is giving you a sense of a time that was a different time and wondering what --

[05:45:07] ROMANS: Yes.

DEMIRJIAN: -- the succession since then is going to lead to in the future.

BRIGGS: That's right.

ROMANS: Every vice president --

DEMIRJIAN: Moments like these are cohesive but --

ROMANS: Yes. Every vice president since 1977 was there --

DEMIRJIAN: Yes.

ROMANS: -- except for George Herbert Walker Bush --

DEMIRJIAN: Wow.

ROMANS: -- who was also vice president.

DEMIRJIAN: Also there in a different way.

ROMANS: There in a different way.

BRIGGS: Yes, quite a day. But, we've all changed, not just the presidency.

ROMANS: That's true.

BRIGGS: American society, social media -- we have all changed.

DEMIRJIAN: That's true.

ROMANS: Sixty-two million people voted --

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: -- for a rejection of all of those things from the --

BRIGGS: That's right.

ROMANS: -- 20th century --

BRIGGS: That's right. The American people voted.

ROMANS: -- who think that America has been sold down a river.

BRIGGS: Karoun, thanks for being here. Much appreciate it.

DEMIRJIAN: Thank you.

BRIGGS: Ahead, a search and rescue mission underway off the coast of Japan after two U.S. Marine planes go down. We'll have the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIGGS: A desperate search and rescue operation underway for five Marines still missing after two military aircraft crashed. The crash site, some 200 miles off the coast of Japan. Two Marines were rescued by helicopter, according to Japanese defense officials.

[05:50:06] The two aircraft, a fighter jet and a refueling plane, collided in mid-air. The U.S. military says the planes were conducting regularly scheduled training when the mishap occurred. Wisconsin's Democratic attorney general-elect says a flurry of Republican legislation this week is virtually guaranteed to end up in court. The lame duck session of the GOP-led Legislature passed a range of bills aimed at diminishing the power of the state's incoming governor who happens to be a Democrat.

The measures include reducing early voting days and restricting the governor's influence over a powerful state agency the incoming governor-elect promised to disband. Republicans say the bills just codify reforms eight years in the making.

ROMAN: All right, let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.

Global stock markets are lower after the arrest of the Huawei CFO, Meng Wanzhou. Worries about her arrest in Canada complicate the trade talks between the U.S. and China. She's expected to be extradited to the U.S.

In Asia, markets all closed down -- big losses there. You can see the European markets also opened lower.

And futures on Wall Street suggest more selling when the opening bell rings today after that national day of mourning.

So there was a pause in trading yesterday and it looks like the selling is going to continue this morning.

The president claims farmers will benefit from the U.S. deal with China, but according to a new report by the Nebraska Farm Bureau, farmers have lost upward of $1 billion in revenue from ongoing trade conflicts. Corn, soybeans, and pork have all taken a significant hit.

According to the report, the total loss in Nebraska farm revenue due to the retaliatory tariffs ranges from $695 million to a billion just so far this year.

Farm Bureau is calling for the elimination of the administration's steel and aluminum tariffs because those, the Farm Bureau says, also raise prices for the products they need to operate their farms. So they're getting hit twice by retaliatory tariffs and by higher costs because of the administration's steel and aluminum tariffs.

Burger King wants people to download its app, so it's sending them to McDonald's for access to a one-cent Whopper.

Here's how it works. If you're within 600 feet of a McDonald's, customers can unlock a deal for a penny Whopper using the Burger King app. The app then gives directions to a nearby participating Burger King where customers can pick up the burger.

Now, fast-food chains often do stuff like this, right -- these stunts to get you to pay attention, to buy for your business, to kind of insult each other a little bit.

Burger King recently announced plans to upgrade its stores. They're going to include digital menu boards and self-order kiosks. That's something that its rivals have already put in place.

The one-cent deal runs through December 12th. And guess what? You can only use it one time, Dave Briggs.

BRIGGS: And you probably get a Coke and fries, so they break even.

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: All right.

Ahead, pop superstar Justin Timberlake's singing voice silenced, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:57:12] ROMANS: Justin Timberlake has now postponed all of his December concerts as his bruised vocal cords mend. On Instagram, he says doctors want him to keep resting his voice and asked him to hold off on singing until next month.

BRIGGS: J.T. could them out lip-syncing and dancing. Get better, J.T.

Leave it to the late-night comics to find some humor in the state funeral. Here are your "Late-Night Laughs."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!": Trump has a seat. He shakes hands with Barack and Michelle. Watch the look from Michelle Obama because it is so frosty she may have reversed global warming right there.

Hillary is just staring straight ahead like she's on an elevator with a weirdo.

STEPHEN COLBERT, CBS HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": The priest and the congregation read the Apostles' Creed. See if you can spot the odd person out in this clip.

PRIEST: Who suffered on Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day, he rose again. He ascended into heaven.

(LAUGHTER)

COLBERT: I'm sorry, I zoned out there for a minute. I was thinking about all the evangelicals who voted for me -- OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: He didn't move his lips once.

BRIGGS: I did notice that awkward moment.

ROMANS: All right. The category was "Blank News" and inexplicably, three geniuses competing on "JEOPARDY" drew a blank when it came to naming this network's long-running early morning program -- watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE LEFFLER, CONTESTANT, "JEOPARDY": "Blank News," $600.

ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY": It's on CNN from four to six a.m. Eastern time -- "this START."

It's called "EARLY START."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: They'll never forget it now and I bet they're even watching. Thanks, Alex.

BRIGGS: Alexander and Tiffany are from Norman, Oklahoma and Los Angeles. We're letting them off the hook because it's tough hours for those folks. But it was good to be on "JEOPARDY."

Thanks for joining us, everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. "NEW DAY," with celebrity "JEOPARDY" winner John Berman --

BRIGGS: That's right.

ROMANS: -- starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some smoke is starting to generate on what happened in the team around the president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Paul Manafort is going to get the book thrown at him.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: If there was collusion, it would be hard for me to believe that Flynn didn't know about it. I don't think there's anything there.

MULRONEY: When George Bush was president, every single head of government knew that they were dealing with a gentleman.

MEACHAM: An imperfect man, he left us a more perfect union.

BUSH: And in our grief, let us smile knowing that dad is hugging Robin and holding mom's hand again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Thursday, December sixth, 6:00 here in New York.

Alisyn is off. Erica Hill joins me, which is a good thing because you have x-ray vision and can see --

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: I do.

BERMAN: -- and can see through redaction.

HILL: Yes.

BERMAN: We brought you in here --

HILL: I've been looking through these redactions all morning. I don't know what you've been missing for the last --