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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Michael Cohen Sentenced to Three Years in Prison; Theresa May Survives No Confidence Vote Amid Brexit Drama; Canadian Citizens Missing in China. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired December 13, 2018 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:33] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The president's longtime personal lawyer is going to prison. And the company that shielded Donald Trump in 2016 is now cooperating with the feds.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Nancy Pelosi strikes a deal. She'll get the speaker's gavel but her time in power is limited.
ROMANS: Another Canadian citizen now missing in China. The U.S., Canada and Beijing all digging in over the latest diplomatic tensions.
BRIGGS: And would you pay an extra tax to text? California could start charging. We'll tell you why.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 31 minutes past the hour this Thursday morning.
We begin here with a three-year prison sentence for President Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen. You don't get much closer to Donald Trump in the inner circle than Michael Cohen. And then another bombshell for an already shaken White House. Federal prosecutors striking a non-prosecution agreement with AMI. That's the parent company of "The National Enquirer." That deal rules out charges against the tabloid publisher.
BRIGGS: In exchange, AMI admits paying $150,000 to silence former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, part of an effort to bury bad press about Donald Trump. Michael Cohen even recorded a conversation he had with then candidate Trump about that payoff.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: And I have spoken to Allen Weisselberg about how to set the whole thing up with funding.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So what do we got to pay?
COHEN: Yes, and it's all the stuff.
(END AUDIO CLIP) ROMANS: Allen Weisselberg you heard mentioned there is the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization. Also at the center, very center of Trump world. He was granted immunity over the summer. Then news of the deal with AMI came moments after Cohen's sentencing for crimes which included arranging those payments and lying to Congress about a Trump Tower project in Moscow during the campaign.
BRIGGS: Cohen adviser Lanny Davis tells Bloomberg Radio Cohen's false testimony was shared with the White House and it's possible President Trump knew Cohen would make false statements under oath.
Not a peep from the president on Wednesday, but behind the scenes, we're told Mr. Trump is seething and assuring associates Cohen is a liar.
Athena Jones has more.
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Dave.
This is the first time a member of the president's inner circle has received a significant prison sentence in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. Federal prosecutors detailed a pattern of deception by Cohen and asked for a substantial sentence. And U.S. District Judge William Pauley agreed, saying Cohen thrived on his access to wealthy and powerful people and he became one himself.
Cohen told the court he took full responsibility for his crimes and speaking about Trump, said time and time again I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds.
In admitting to illegally orchestrating hush payments before the 2016 election to former Playboy model Karen McDougal and to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep them quiet about alleged affairs with Trump, Cohen implicated the president in felonies, saying Trump directed him to make those payments, something federal prosecutors noted in court papers. Now Trump has denied the affairs and denied knowing anything about the payments.
Cohen also admitted to lying to Congress and to special counsel investigators about his contacts with Russia. Cohen has pledged to continue to cooperate with Mueller's investigation -- Dave, Christine.
ROMANS: Athena, thank you for that.
Alleged Russian spy Maria Butina set to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in federal court in Washington today. She's been cooperating with prosecutors offering information on how she was able to infiltrate U.S. political circles, including the National Rifle Association, and about the Russian official who directed her activities. The 30-year-old Russian national initially pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and acting as a foreign agent. The Russians are calling for her swift release.
BRIGGS: Nancy Pelosi striking a deal to reclaim the speaker's gavel when Democrats take control of the House next month. The longtime Democratic leader negotiating an agreement with a group of disgruntled Democrats who lobbied to block her from becoming speaker. The deal would essentially guarantee Pelosi two more years as speaker, but she could serve no more than four on the job.
ROMANS: As part of that agreement, Pelosi is backing a proposal to enact three-term limits for the party's top three leaders.
[04:35:04] Anything beyond that would require approval by two-thirds of the Democratic caucus rather than the current simple majority.
BRIGGS: Lawmakers have agreed on new legislation to revamp the way sexual harassment claims are handled on Capitol Hill. For the first time, lawmakers will be held liable for paying harassment settlements out of their own pockets instead of using taxpayer money.
All settlements will be made public when they are made. Members of Congress will be identified by name if they are personally liable. And all settlements will now be referred to the Ethics Committees for review.
ROMANS: The final bill which has not been made public does not apply to other forms of discrimination like gender discrimination or pregnancy discrimination. The measure reconciles bills already passed by the House and Senate. Those bills would have expired if Congress had not reached agreement before the end of the year.
And many women on Capitol Hill claimed that this was all done in secrecy.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: Funded by taxpayers, there was no accountability. Now that now starts to change.
Bruised but certainly battle tested. British Prime Minister Theresa May has survived a leadership challenge triggered by members of her own party. But her battles are by no means over. Today she tries to convince her European neighbors to reopen the dialogue over the Brexit withdrawal treaty.
CNN's Nic Robertson live from London in front of Parliament for us with the very latest.
So she survives but this process still murky, still just, you know, rife with potential missteps.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Sure. And I think it was a real reality check in that vote yesterday. I mean, what Theresa May recognizes now is that a third of her own MP's, 117, oppose her. So any sense that she can easily get some simple concessions from the European Union that are going to swing that 117 behind her or try and swing some of the opposition party in parliament behind her Brexit deal.
That idea I think has just sort of been driven into the political wilderness for right now. Why? Because the concessions that she needs to get from the European leaders in her first meeting today will be with the Irish prime minister. It's all about the backstop agreement, that arrangement over the Irish, Northern Ireland border. That is something that is -- the concessions that she has far from the European Union on that do not go far enough to placate all those rebel MP's in her own party or all of the opposition in parliament.
So really what has happened here is Theresa May survived yesterday, that vote, but that's all. The reality is that in a few weeks or a month or so's time, there will be a vote in Parliament that she is very, very likely to lose. What will that mean? Will it bring the government down? Will there be a general election? Will it mean that Britain end up leaving the European Union without a deal?
And that seems the sort of most likely political reality at this time. With all the economic consequences for Britain, for Europe and trading partners around the world. That's what that vote really brought into sharp focus yesterday -- Christine.
ROMANS: And Nic, just quickly explain for the American audience what is the sticking point about the Ireland issue? Why that has been such a problem.
ROBERTSON: I wish I could explain it in just a couple of words. The real -- the real difficulty is that is the new land border between the European Union and Britain. That border in the 1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement -- I warned this would be long -- but that was the border in the peace agreement that brought an end to the bloodshed in Northern Ireland that has to remain open. And you cannot have an open border at the same time as you have Britain not part of the European Union, customs union or single market.
It's that sort of square peg in a round hole that's the conundrum. It's hugely detailed, huge complex, and was completely it seems overlooked in planning to have, you know, Britain leave the European Union in the first place.
HARLOW: Sure.
ROBERTSON: And so politically it's so divisive for her to try to fix that. And the EU doesn't have it really in their gift to give her politically what she needs.
ROMANS: Well done, sir. Well done.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Hat's off. That was well done. Thank you.
BRIGGS: Yes. Translation, it's a mess.
Meanwhile, Melania Trump opening up about her life in the White House. She spoke to FOX News while visiting troops on the USS George H.W. Bush. Asked about the hardest part of being first lady, Melania lashed out at the media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: The opportunists who are using my name or my family name to advance themselves, from comedians to journalists.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST, FOX NEWS "THE SEAN HANNITY SHOW": Does it hurt?
M. TRUMP: It doesn't hurt. The problem is they are writing the history and it's not correct. They like to focus on the gossip. And I would like to be they focus on the substance and what we do, not just about nonsense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:40:08] BRIGGS: Mrs. Trump went on to say she is not going to shy away from promoting her objectives and doing what she thinks is right for the country.
ROMANS: A partial government shutdown is potentially days away as congressional Democrats and the president spar over his demand for $5 billion in border funding. During a meeting with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi President Trump said he would be proud to own a shutdown over border security and wall funding, and the president also resurrecting a popular theme from his 2016 campaign that Mexico is going to pay for the wall. But Republican leaders don't think that will happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think that Mexico is actually going to pay for it?
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R), LOUISIANA: No. I think we'll have to pay for it.
RAJU: So the president made that promise in the campaign trail?
KENNEDY: Yes, you have to ask him that one. I just think -- I don't see the Mexican government paying for it.
RAJU: Do you think there's any way that Mexico pays for this wall?
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I'm willing to pay for the wall. I've never said that Mexico would pay for the wall. I've always believed it's in our national security interest to secure our border. And I'm not looking for Mexico to pay for it. So I'm willing to appropriate money to get the border more secure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Big question is, do you get a shutdown over all of this? And what does a government shutdown look like?
Well, the Pentagon is funded. The Health and Human Services and Labor Departments are funded. Who feels the impact of a shutdown? Social Security and Medicare. Checks are sent out but benefit verification as well as the issuance of cards could cease. Environmental and food inspections, national parks. During the 2013 shutdown, the National Park Service turned away millions of visitors to more than 400 parks, national monuments and other sites.
Shutdown could be avoided if lawmakers and the president agree to a short-term funding bill or reach a deal on funding before midnight on December 21st.
BRIGGS: I'm not optimistic. Are you?
ROMANS: I'm not either because all I'm really hearing people talk about in Washington is who is going to get the blame? The politics of it. How do you --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: How do you craft and frame who gets the blame? Not how do you avoid it in the first place.
BRIGGS: Right. And also lessening the impact of this partial shutdown in this case.
Ahead, Canada and the United States tell the president do not leverage the arrest of a Chinese executive to make a trade deal. Now two Canadians appear to be caught in the middle of a diplomatic standoff.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:46:27] ROMANS: A warning from Canada to President Trump. Do not use the arrest of a Chinese executive as a bargaining chip in trade talks with Beijing. Earlier this week, the president said he might intervene in the case of the Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou if it would help the U.S. and China reach a trade agreement. Now two Canadians are detained in China. The timing is highly suspicious.
Will Ripley live from Hong Kong with the latest developments for us.
I was surprised when the president said that he would intervene in this issue with the Huawei CFO is it meant success on a bigger trade deal.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And, you know, given the fact that he denied knowledge of Meng Wenzhou's arrest on the same day that he was sitting across the table of the G20 face to face with the Chinese president Xi Jinping, hammering out this trade truce which they hoped will lead to an eventual resolution of the trade war on the same day a darling of China's tech industry, the daughter of the founder of Huawei and its chief financial officer, arrested in Canada at the instruction of the United States.
Of course, in China they are now saying she is a political pawn. She is basically being used, you know, been kidnapped, essentially, to get -- you know, for the U.S. to gain leverage in the trade war. And when President Trump makes a comment like that, that just reinforces the Chinese narrative that U.S. is playing dirty here. And then nine days after her high profile arrest, after China warned Canada that there would be grave consequences and a heavy price if Meng Wanzhou was not released, she's now out on $7.5 million bail, you have two Canadian citizens who were detained on the same day in China and they're facing the same charges.
Activities that endangered the national security of China, potentially very serious. You have Michael Spavor, a businessman who travels back and forth to North Korea, very famous for bringing Dennis Rodman to North Korea back in 2013. And you have Michael Kovrig, an ex- diplomat, very well known in China, lots of high level political connections. These two Canadians now facing these very serious charges. Is it retaliation? Is it a coincidence? We simply don't know.
But what we do know is that China in the past, when they're angry at a country, they find ways to target companies that are doing business in China. So tech firms like Apple, like Qualcomm certainly have to be a bit nervous right now wondering if there could be any retaliatory efforts aimed at them as a result of all this.
ROMANS: Yes, there's no question in the business travel world, there are a lot of folks who are trying to figure out what is essential travel and could there be any risk at all.
All right, Will Ripley, thank you so much for that.
BRIGGS: Breaking overnight. A deadly train crash in Turkey's capital. At least nine people killed, another 46 injured when a high- speed train derailed and slammed into an overpass near Ankara. Officials say the overpass collapsed on to two of the cars. The train was just starting a trip from the Ankara station to the city of Konya in western Turkey.
ROMANS: All right. After Amazon went for two East Coast cities, Apple is expanding in the south and the west big time. We'll get a check of CNN Business next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:53:01] ROMANS: A North Carolina district attorney says the kidnapping and murder of 13-year-old Hania Aguilar last month could have been prevented if investigators had followed up on DNA evidence from a 2016 rape case. Robeson County D.A. says authorities received notification in 2017 of a DNA match from a rape case linked to Hania's accused killer Michael McLellan. But no one followed up on it. McLellan is charged with first-degree murder in her killing. He also faces charges in the 2016 rape case that matched his DNA.
BRIGGS: Pacific Gas and Electric says damaged power lines and equipment riddled with bullet holes have been found near the site where the Camp Fire may have started in Butte County. Utility officials say inspectors found a flash mark at one of their towers suggesting a power line broke free. And they also discovered a pole and other equipment damaged by bullet holes. Several victims have filed lawsuits blaming PG&E's equipment for the wildfire that killed at least 86 people.
[04:55:01] The Camp, Woolsey and Hill Fires that ravaged California this year caused over $9 billion in insured losses.
ROMANS: There is a major recall of Kotex tampons. Kimberly Clark is recalling regular absorbency U by Kotex Sleek tampons after reports of them unraveling or coming apart upon removal. There have also been reports of infections. The recalled products were manufactured between October 7th 2016 and October 16th, 2018. A full list of the recalled lot numbers can be found on Web site Ubykotex.com.
BRIGGS: California regulators want to tax your text messages. It's a move that could change the way millions of people communicate in the nation's most populated state. The idea is to make connectivity accessible to low-income residents by making up for decreased revenue from a tax on voice calls. The new surcharge proposed by the California Public Utilities Commission would be a monthly fee not per text. The exact structure of the charge would vary between carriers. The commission will vote on the measure January 10th.
ROMANS: A few things pack the emotional punch of a surprise military homecoming especially during the holidays. Heidi Johnson, a mother from Redding, California, pulled it off not once, but twice. Her oldest son Mason, a senior Air Force airman, is home from an overseas deployment for the first time in three years. Watch as he surprises his two younger brothers, Jacoby and Jaelan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mason. Mason.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My heart exploded. Like I felt like half my heart goes to him now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, heck no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, buddy. Come here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's OK, honey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: That family will all be together this Christmas.
BRIGGS: They get Romans every time.
ROMANS: Tissues.
BRIGGS: Pass the Kleenex.
ROMANS: Well, I --
BRIGGS: And here's to our troops.
ROMANS: I'm actually conflicted about this all the time because I feel like for a little kid, you know, do you want to be caught on camera crying? You know, it's such an emotional moment. It should be private but then at the same time, it warms my heart so much that I can't --
BRIGGS: It does warm your heart.
ROMANS: All right. Let's get a check on CNN Business. Global markets higher amid new U.S.-China trade hopes and the British Prime Minister Theresa May surviving that no confidence vote. On Wall Street futures are higher here. They're up a little bit. Stocks jumped Wednesday following the latest twist in the U.S. trade saga with the enthusiasm cooled off toward the end of the session.
The Dow closed up 157 points. The index had been up -- the average rather had been up as much as 458 points earlier in the day. The S&P closed up, the Nasdaq closed up 1 percent. Stocks got a lift after a "Wall Street Journal" report suggested China is looking to soften some of its protectionist stances and would allow more access to the Chinese market for the U.S. and other foreign companies.
Booking a flight on Delta Airlines? You may have to leave your fur babies behind. The airline placing more restrictions on service and emotional support animals on its flights. Delta will ban service and emotional support animals under four months old from all their flights beginning December 18th. They have also announced it is prohibiting emotional support animals on flights that are more than eight hours long. Delta which flies about 250,000 service animals a year says the new regulations are aimed at protecting the rights of their customers.
After Amazon went for two East Coast cities, Apple now expanding in the south and west. In Austin, San Diego, outside Los Angeles and Seattle. The Amazon and Microsoft home base adding jobs across the U.S. Apple announced today a $1 billion investment to build a new campus in North Austin. It also plans to expand in other cities including Pittsburgh, New York, and Boulder over the next three years.
Axios reports Apple is getting some incentives for the Austin expansion in the form of a $25 million grant from the state of Texas. Apple is on track to create 20,000 jobs in the U.S. by the year 2023.
BRIGGS: OK. Three years in prison is no joke for Michael Cohen. So is laughter the best medicine. While you're sleeping, late-night comedians tried to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Former lawyer Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison. Now --
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
COLBERT: Justice? Justice?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
COLBERT: Now a little tip for Mr. Cohen. First day in prison, you walk right up to the biggest guy in the yard, you pay him $130,000.
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": If you're watching from home, you're in for a great show. If you're watching from jail, then you probably work for the president.
SETH MEYERS, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": Forget running for re-election. In two years, Trump might be running from the feds. The FBI is going to bust him to a cabin in Montana and find Trump with a Unabomber beard surrounded by Burger King wrappers.
(LAUGHTER)
MEYERS: Wait, wait. How did you find me? You put your name on the cabin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
