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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

President Trump Says He's Not a Russian Agent; Attorney General Nominee Barr Goes Before Senate; Uncertainty for Unpaid Federal Workers; No Committees for Steve King; Storms Batter Already Devastated South California; Brexit Decision Day; Sleep Study Warning; No. 1 Duke Upset By Syracuse in Overtime. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired January 15, 2019 - 05:00   ET

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


CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: It also says the new service will include homegrown original programming and content from outside partners, which is pretty interesting development there.

[05:00:05] Gillette's newest web advertisement, social media advertisement, is not about shaving or beards or personal hygiene.

(GILLETTE'S NEW AD VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The we believe ad posted to its social media accounts over the weekend addresses serious issues like toxic masculinity, sexual harassment, bullying and #metoo.

Gillette plays on its famous tag line and asks, is this the best a man can get? It tweeted isn't it time we stopped excusing bad behavior. Gillette has more videos lined up as part of a larger branding effort which includes donating a million dollars a year for the next three years to organizations like Boys and Girls Club of America.

Some said it was too progressive, I just want to buy a razor. Others saying it is about time.

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Crowded market, a lot of online competitor, so have to do something to stand out. Interesting, compelling message.

EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I never worked for Russia. And you know that answer better than anybody. I never worked for Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The president had his say and today, the nominee for attorney general gets his. William Barr faces Congress after it was revealed he shared criticism of the Mueller probe with the president's lawyers. ROMANS: We'll work for food. Unpaid federal workers with little

recourse as the government shutdown enters day 25.

BRIGGS: No committee assignments for Congressman Steve King in the new Congress. Remarks condoning racism have some prominent Republicans suggesting he'd leave entirely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMPS: We could give you some little quick be salads that the first lady will make along with the second lady. They'll make some salads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Hmm. A thousand fast food burgers for the college football champs. With what about the women making the salads? I don't know. Some people are mad about that.

BRIGGS: I thought it was a pretty cool gesture to buy all that fast food.

ROMANS: I think people were outraged about the salad comments. But I just think it's so interesting to have all that fattening food.

BRIGGS: Makes us hungry. We know that.

ROMANS: All right. Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. It is Tuesday, January 15th, 5:00 a.m. in the east. Day 25 of the government shutdown. We'll get there in a moment.

But we start, though -- it is on record, the president of the United States says he is not a Russian agent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I never worked for Russia. And you know that answer better than anybody. I never worked for Russia. Not only did I never work for Russia, I think it is a disgrace that you even ask that question because it is a whole big fat hoax. It is just a hoax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Now, that that's settled, much scrutiny of the president just keeps intensifying. CNN has now confirmed "Washington Post" reporting after a 2017 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Germany, Mr. Trump confiscated his interpreter's notes and told him not to share anything with anybody.

Senior White House and State Department officials asked for the notes and were denied.

ROMANS: This all happened the same day the "New York Times" called the White House to ask about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump campaign officials and the Russians. The next day the president dictated a misleading statement on the Trump Tower meeting, saying it was about adoption. Coincidentally, the same way he described his earlier meeting with Putin. So, now, Democrats are considering issuing subpoenas to obtain the translator's notes or compel them to testify about what was said in Mr. Trump's meetings with Putin.

BRIGGS: Meantime, the president's legal team has rejected requests from special counsel Robert Mueller for an in-person interview with the president to ask follow up questions. In November, the team provided written answers to a limited number of Mueller's questions focused only on the period before Mr. Trump took office. One source now tells us, quote, Mueller is not satisfied.

ROMANS: All right. Russia expected to be a big topic when President Trump's pick for attorney general appears before the Senate just in a few hours. William Barr will be fielding questions from members of the Judiciary Committee. On the Democratic side, there will be three likely contenders for the White House in 2020, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, California's Kamala Harris, and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

BRIGGS: And some new faces on the Republican side, Lindsey Graham becomes chairman, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa become the first Republican women to serve on the committee. Barr has already provided a review of his testimony, addressing growing concerns he may interfere with the Mueller investigation.

Here is CNN's Jessica Schneider.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESOPNDENT: Christine and Dave, a big day on Capitol Hill that will likely be quite contentious as the president's pick for attorney general faces the Senate Judiciary Committee. Now, we've already gotten a sneak preview of what William Barr will promise, that he will promise two major things. First, that he'll let the Mueller probe go forward and that not interfere, and that second, that he'll be transparent and allow the public and Congress to see what Mueller uncovers.

Barr will also explain why he wrote that 19-page memo to the Justice Department that many have read as Barr concluding that the president cannot obstruct justice by firing the FBI director.

[05:05:09] But Barr will tell senators that he often weighs in on legal issues of public importance and that his ultimate conclusion was not that the president can't obstruct justice, but the question is will that explanation be enough for Democrats?

They are set to drill into Barr about his motivations behind writing that memo. Did he draft it again to the good graces of people surrounding the president, especially, because we now know that Barr sent the memo to several members of the president's legal team? And Democrats will also ask, will it compromise his oversight of the Mueller probe? Christine and Dave?

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROMANS: All right. Jessica, thank you for that.

Desperate times for some of the 800,000 federal workers going without paychecks as we hit day 25 of the government shutdown. Tampa International Airport teaming up with local charities to set up a food bank for struggling government employees, and a South Florida restaurant, Chef Creole, giving free meals to TSA workers at Miami International Airport.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILKINSON SEJOUR, OWNER, CHIEF CREOLE: These people are here every day. It is not like they don't want to work. They want to work, but they're not getting paid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Air travelers are experiencing long lines at airports nationwide. In Atlanta, officials at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport say passengers should arrive three hours before your flight to get through security. Overnight, Southwest Airlines announced its planned expansion to Hawaii is now on hold. The shutdown is preventing full certification from the FAA.

And more fallout, a report from Syracuse University estimates more than 42,000 immigration hearings have been canceled due to the shutdown.

ROMANS: Now, efforts to end the border wall funding impasse are going nowhere. President Trump telling aides and allies, he believes he is winning the battle for public support, despite our polling that suggests the opposite. A source familiar with the president's thinking tells CNN he is not going to budge even one inch. The White House is planning to invite a group of moderate House Democrats who meet with the president. West Wing officials are hoping to peel off some freshmen Democrats in swing districts who might be more willing to bargain over border wall funding.

BRIGGS: A bipartisan group of at least 12 senators met at the Capitol Monday to find a way forward. A source telling CNN it was, quote, rough going. The president rejecting Senator Lindsey Graham's idea to reopen the government for three weeks.

Here is the reaction of Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R), ALASKA: Well, then Mr. President, when are you going to help us open the government?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Murkowski is one of three GOP senators who are publicly calling for the shutdown to end.

ROMANS: All right. House Republicans will deny Iowa Congressman Steve King committee assignments after he made remarks defending racism. King completely silent as he left his office after the announcement by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

King has a long history of outrageous comments relating to race and immigration. He criticized the GOP move saying McCarthy made, quote, a political decision that ignores the truth. He says his quotes were mischaracterized.

You can judge for yourself. He told "The New York Times", here's the quote: White nationalists, white supremacists, Western civilization, how did that language become offensive?

BRIGGS: Earlier Monday, a pair of Senate's most high profile Republican condemned King. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calling King's statements unworthy of his elected position, adding, quote, if he doesn't understand why white supremacy is offensive, he should find another line of work.

Utah's new senator, Mitt Romney, tells CNN, King should step aside.

As for the president's reaction, earlier Monday, he said only this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Mr. President, what about Steve King's remarks on white supremacy?

TRUMP: Who?

REPORTER: Steve King. Congressman Steve King.

TRUMP: I don't -- I haven't been following it. I really haven't been following it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: The house could vote as early as today on a resolution to disapprove of King, not as severe as a censure. The disapproval resolution being proposed by South Carolina James Clyburn, the highest ranking African-American in Congress.

BRIGGS: Controversy surrounding President Trump's pick to fill Brett Kavanaugh's former seat on the D.C. Circuit Court. The progressive advocacy group Alliance for Justice found articles by Naomi Rao putting some of the blame for date rapes on the victims. Her nomination is currently awaiting further consideration in the Senate.

A 1994 article for the "Yale Herald" titled shades of gray, Rao wrote, quote: A man who rapes a drunk girl should be prosecuted. At the same time, a good way to avoid a potential date rape is to stay reasonably sober.

The White House and Justice Department have not returned requests for comments. ROMANS: The Trump administration's efforts to roll back the Obamacare

birth control mandate blocked nationwide now. A federal judge in Pennsylvania blocked the new rules that would keep some women getting birth control free of charge.

[05:10:01] The nationwide injunction comes less than 24 hours after a different federal judge in California issued a more limited ruling preventing the rollback in 13 states and D.C., the White House wanted to roll it back the so-called contraception mandate o allow employers to opt out on religious or moral grounds.

All right. There are big ramifications for the Brexit vote by British lawmakers. How will the U.K. exit the E.U., and will Theresa May keep her job? We're live at 10 Downing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIGGS: Iran has tried and failed to launch a satellite into orbit. According to state-run media, the rocket carrying the satellite did not reach a high enough speed. Officials in Tehran say another satellite is waiting to be launched. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iran to scrap the launch. He said it would defy the U.N. Security Council because the rockets used ballistic missile technology. He threatened new sanctions if the launch did occur.

ROMANS: British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal is widely expected to be rejected today by lawmakers in the House of Commons. And most political observers in the U.K. believe she will lose the vote by a potentially historic margin.

I want to go live to 10 Downing Street and bring in Hadas Gold.

HADAS GOLD, CNN REPORTER: It is. And it is not a question of whether it will be defeated, but now it is a question of by how much. That margin, Christine, will matter because that could determine whether Theresa May just goes back to Brussels and tries to get a few more members to her side or whether she has to be a ban done the current plan and go another route.

Also, we will likely see perhaps even starting tonight after that vote ends around 7:00 p.m. tonight whether Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, will be tabling a no confidence vote and whether that will trigger a general election. That could spell the end of Theresa May's time as prime minister, could change the trajectory of the U.K. and how it exits the European Union. But one thing that's constant is that currently, new deal scenario. And currently that deadline is March 29 at 11:00 p.m., that is when the U.K. is supposed to leave the European Union.

Right now, we could be stepping closer towards a no deal scenario. There is the possibility that the U.K. might get back to Brussels and ask for an extension to try to work things out here and we have seen some assurances from the European Union that they might be open to that. Right now the cabinet is meeting behind me where they are likely discussing what the next steps will be in the event that this vote fails. But this is really a historic moment here, Christine, and I have to

say, it is fascinating to see two of the most politically and economically powerful countries in the world, the U.S. and the United Kingdom, in some of the most historic moments of political crisis we've seen.

ROMANS: And U.K. citizens trying to figure out what they should be buying to make sure that they have the right medicine and food in case the ports are closed, the crash out, the worst case scenario.

All right. Hadas Gold, thank you so much for that.

BRIGGS: Another round of who's government is a bigger mess.

ROMANS: You have restaurants giving free food to American government workers, at the same time, you have British citizens trying to figure out what they should have.

BRIGGS: Democracy at work, folks.

Ahead, historic upset in college basketball. Number one Duke taken down at home by unranked Syracuse. Coy Wire shows us how they did it in the "Bleacher Report", next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:21:52] ROMANS: All right. News flash, you need more sleep. If you are not getting at least six hours of sleep at night, six hours, a new study warns you may be at risk for dangerous health problems. Now, previous research suggested poor sleep was associated only with coronary heart disease.

BRIGGS: Only that.

ROMANS: Right. But this new research from the Center on Aging at Tufts University says that the plaque increase in the body's extremities increases the risk of strokes, digestive problems, poor circulation that leads to numbness and pain, as well as heart disease. Another recent study found people who slept fewer than six hours a night for two weeks, which is basically the condition of David and I all the time, functioned as poorly as people who were deprived of sleep for two nights.

I think a lot of people think that you're high functioning, you know, master of the universe, you go on the treadmill, you go on the plane, you come back and sleep four hours. Turns out it is really bad for you.

BRIGGS: I don't think. I think I'm a disaster because of lack of sleep.

All right. Clemson Tigers celebrate their national championship at the White House with a fast food buffet. Let's ask a former D-1 stud football player what that might be like.

Coy Wire is here with the "Bleacher Report." ROMANS: Is three Burger King hamburgers, is that good for an athlete?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's probably not great for the system, the temple if you will. And I will say training tables, they can be pretty nice at the collegiate level. We're talking steaks and seafood. So, these guys are used to eating well.

And Clemson, they were celebrating their win over Alabama and their second national title in three years. Yesterday, during their trip to the White House, they were treated to, yes, a fast food feast on the president's dime because of the partial government shutdown. We're talking McDonald's, we're talking Burger King, Wendy's, stacks of burgers.

And here is the reasoning for the menu choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So I had a choice. Do we have no food for you because we have a shutdown? Or do we give you some little quick salads that the first lady will make along with the second lady, they will make some salads. And I said you guys aren't into salads. Or do I go out, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, do I go out and send out for about 1,000 hamburgers, Big Macs. Everything that I like, that you like.

And I know no matter what we did, there is nothing that you could have that is better than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right. So social media was buzzing. A lot of people wondered did the players actually like it.

I reached out to one of the team leaders, Patrick Godfrey, and he sent us this video. Listen for yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK GODFREY, CLEMSON OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: President Trump said that fast food would probably be our favorite food. We have a little bit more high taste than that. We're steak and lobster kind of guys here at Clemson. But I got to tell you, the fast food really hit the spot. Really enjoyed it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: So there you go.

ROMANS: Steak and lobster, nothing but the best.

BRIGGS: It is not about the body being a temp spell, but fast food didn't travel that well. That was my problem with it. Pizza does, but you leave a burger sitting for a few minutes --

WIRE: Yes, and you notice the pizza when it was lifted, there wasn't really stringy cheese. [05:25:05] But these guys, they are at a multimillion-dollar

facilities. They get custom made smoothies in their weigh room. So, these guys are used to really good food. But as Pat said, it was a good trip.

Now, college hoops. An absurd three quarter buzzer beater. Did you see this, helping Syracuse take down top ranked Duke? Look at this thing. Dave, you said earlier, that is from the opposite three point line. That is Elijah Hughes.

He had to actually move around the rafter, the scoreboard up there in the middle of the court to be able to get this shot off. Look at that. Everyone in the building knew when that happened it was going to be a special night. They pull off the 95-91 win in overtime and this is at Duke, number one Blue Devils team that never lost at home to an unrated team. They were 90-0.

Yes, jaw dropper indeed. And yesterday I said I'm inviting you down for the Super Bowl to Atlanta. I talked to Claire, you can stay at her house and she'll give you the presidential treatment.

We're going to have Waffle House for breakfast, we're going to have Varsity Burgers for lunch, and if you are good, we're going to have Krispy Kreme for dessert.

BRIGGS: OK, we have to go.

ROMANS: That sounds good.

BRIGGS: Mr. Zucker, you heard the invitation from Coy Wire. We think it's rude now if we don't go.

ROMANS: Coy Wire, thank you so much. Nice to see you.

BRIGGS: Thanks, buddy.

ROMANS: William Barr poised to oversee the Russia probe if appointed. And now it turns out he shared criticism of that probe with the president's own lawyers.

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