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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Giuliani Won't Rule Out Campaign Collusion; Government Shutdown Effects Mount; Four Americans Dead in Syria ISIS Attack; MSU President Out after Remark About Nassar Victims. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired January 17, 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: Is the president's lawyer admitting that members of the campaign colluded with Russia?

[05:00:04] An astonishing shift in strategy that would insulate Donald Trump from his entire campaign.

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Coast to coast, the pain is growing from the government shutdown. Workers, contractors and their families struggling. Now, a power play by the House speaker would cancel State of the Union Address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Could set in motion enthusiasm by the enemy we're fighting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The president proclaimed ISIS in Syria was defeated. But now, four Americans are dead after a terror attack there.

BRIGGS: And the president at Michigan State has resigned. John Engler recently said some of Larry Nassar's sexual abuse victims were enjoying the spotlight.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.

The Chris Cuomo look, is it like that?

ROMANS: He didn't move his head. It is all in the eyebrows.

I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I don't have them.

ROMANS: It's Thursday, January 17th.

BRIGGS: That's why I'm on at 4:00 a.m.

ROMANS: It's 5:00 a.m. in the East. Day 27 of the government shutdown.

Collusion evolution authored by Rudy Giuliani. President Trump's lawyer deploying a new strategy that would insulate the president from possible crimes by other campaign officials. Last night, Giuliani told CNN's Chris Cuomo he's not ruling out the possibility other members of the campaign colluded with Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, LAWYER FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST, "CUOMO PRIME TIME": Yes, you have.

GIULIANI: I have not. I said the president of the United States. There is not a single bit of evidence that the president of the United States committed the only crime you could commit here, conspired with the Russians to hack the DNC.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: So, Giuliani claims he never said the campaign didn't collude with Russians. A couple problems though. One, his client has said otherwise repeatedly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian people.

There was no collusion whatsoever. There never has been. The last thing I want is help from Russia on a campaign.

There has been no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Second problem, Giuliani himself has unambiguously denied the top campaign officials colluded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it still the position of you and your client that there was no collusion with the Russians whatsoever on behalf of the Trump campaign?

GIULIANI: Correct. When I say the Trump campaign, I mean the upper levels of the Trump campaign. I have no reason to believe anybody else did. Only ones I checked with are obviously the top four or five people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right. So, Giuliani says he checks with the top people. You have to assume that would include campaign chairman Paul Manafort. And remember, we just learned last week that Manafort gave secret polling data to an associate Konstantin Kilimnik, an associate who is believe to have ties to Russian intelligence. BRIGGS: Facebook announcing it has discovered new Russian accounts

conducting misleading operations on Facebook and Instagram. In a blog post, the social network said, quote, it removed multiple pages, groups and accounts. Facebook said there were two operations, one active in several countries, the other specific to Ukraine. And it said the two operations used similar tactics, creating networks of accounts to mislead others about who they were and what they were doing.

ROMANS: All right. Day 27 of the government shutdown, longest in history. No off-ramp here. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is hitting the president where it hurts him the most, trying to take away his TV air time. A White House official tells CNN at this point, the president still plans to deliver his State of the Union Address as scheduled January 29th, even though Pelosi sent a letter to Mr. Trump asking him to move the date or deliver the speech in writing, she says, because of security concerns caused by the shutdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Hundreds of people working on the logistics and security of it, most of those people are either furloughed or victims of the shutdown, the president's shutdown. But that isn't the point. The point is security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Make no mistake, it is ultimately Speaker Pelosi's decision whether President Trump delivers the address to a joint session. As usual, and Senate must pass resolutions to green light the State of the Union. Neither has done so and Pelosi controls whether the House will pass one at all.

ROMANS: That has House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy all fired up. He's calling on Pelosi to, quote, act like a speaker and claims that the request is motivated by pure politics.

The DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says this: The Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service are fully prepared to support and secure the State of the Union.

BRIGGS: Nationwide more people are feeling the real life effects of the government shutdown. Growing concern in particular for overworked and unpaid federal airport employees.

[05:05:01] CNN's Ed Lavandera has more on the steep price Americans are paying for government dysfunction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Washington, federal workers wait in line for food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I saw there was a free hot meal for people who have been affected by the shutdown, I decided to come down and get -- you know, take advantage of that. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for being here.

LAVANDERA: Celebrity chef Jose Andres's foundation is feeding thousands of federal workers going without pay.

Coast to coast, unpaid federal employees are turning to charities for help. But the effects could be even more widespread. CNN has learned an estimated 2 million contractors could be losing their paychecks as well. And they would not be eligible for government back pay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be no back pay for this. This is unpaid time off for me.

LAVANDERA: And there is also growing concerns for air travel.

TSA agents are protesting at airports across the country. The TSA is reporting skyrocketing absences, 6.1 percent yesterday, compared with 3.7 percent the same day last year.

ALANA BILLINGSLEY, FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Right now, I'm mostly concerned about security. After September 11th, flight attendants cannot be expected to be the first point of security every day.

LAVANDERA: The air traffic controllers union is worried about unpaid overworked employees staffing control towers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would say it is less safe today than a month ago. Absolutely.

LAVANDERA: And then there is the Coast Guard, the first branch of the military to miss a paycheck during a shutdown.

AMANDA GIBBS, MARRIED TO COAST GUARD MEMBER: It's been pretty shaking and somber. We're living on our savings account right now.

LAVANDERA: Every American will feel the economic impact now projected by the White House to be worse than expected.

Some analysts estimate a $1.2 billion loss each of the first three weeks the government was closed and if it continues, growth could slow to zero. As the shutdown stretches on, more people are being called back to work without pay. Public health and environmental cleanup is threatened as well.

JEANNE SCHULTZE, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES LOCAL 1003: Sites are not being cleaned up. Inspections are not being conducted. Permits are not being issued. We're not outreaching to the community. We're not processing grants for contracts. So, it has a spillover effect.

LAVANDERA: In the meantime, some workers say they are looking for new jobs in the private sector and hoping for some compromise.

SELINA MINGO, U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE: I don't understand why we as government workers are being penalized for a wall that we have nothing to do with. LAVANDERA (on camera): What we are hearing repeatedly from government

employees who are having to work without pay here is that it is the uncertainty of what is going to happen that is really starting to take its toll on a lot of these workers. Many of them say they don't know how long this government shutdown is going to last, and they fear at this point that it could last months -- Dave and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Ed Lavandera for us in Dallas, thanks, Ed.

The shutdown comes at a time when consumers and businesses were already beginning to worry about a downturn on the horizon, if not the U.S. and around the world. Now, a survey by the National Association of Realtors found that 25 percent of realtors said the government shutdown had dissuaded their clients from buying homes. The shutdown also putting some key economic reports on hold, that creates more uncertainty for investors and farmers.

Farmers normally look to a world crop report, an export report, to help determine what to plant in this spring. But the Department of Agricultural shutdown, that crucial report was not published last week. And with the Commerce Department unfounded, critical data on retail sales was not published, leaving many of us in the dark on how Americans spent their money during the holiday season.

Again, all these are important data points. If the shutdown lasts through the end of the month, it is unlikely the government will publish its next report on GDP, Gross Domestic Product, one of the broadest measures of economic activity, closely watched by investors, closely watched by the president of the United States.

BRIGGS: U.S. officials tell CNN there are no plan to reverse President Trump's decision to withdraw troops from Syria. That word following an attack that left four Americans dead. ISIS has claimed responsibility. Remember, it was just a few weeks ago the president justified his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have won against ISIS. We've beaten them and we've beaten them badly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch ally of President Trump, has been harshly critical of the decision in Syria. He says he is concerned the president's statements about Syria have emboldened ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: My concern by the statements made by President Trump is that it sets in motion enthusiasm by the enemy we're fighting. You make people who are trying to help wonder about us. And as they get bolder, the people we're trying to help are going to get more uncertain. I saw this in Iraq. And I'm now seeing it in Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:10:02] BRIGGS: Now, it was just ten days ago, Graham applauded the president for, quote, slowing things down in a smart way.

Quick warning now, some of the video you're about to see may be disturbing.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins us live from Istanbul with the very latest -- Jomana.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave, it was a horrific attack in downtown Manbij, this town in northern Syria -- the blast killing at least 90 people, including civilians, Kurdish fighters and U.S. troops, according to the Department of Defense, two service members were killed.

BRIGGS: We're having difficulty there with Jomana Karedsheh's signal. We'll check back with her in the next half hour for the latest on those devastating attacks.

ROMANS: And those four Americans were targeted, it was a military convoy. It was targeted. Nineteen dead all together, it was this convoy of military folks headed to a restaurant. It looks like a target specifically of U.S. military.

BRIGGS: And some have said further proof that we need to get out quicker, others say this is proof that we need to bear down.

ROMANS: So, for example, the president is hearing from Senator Rand Paul who doesn't call himself an isolationist. He calls himself a noninterventionist and he wants the U.S. out of Syria. Others saying by saying we're leaving, it makes it more vulnerable, and emboldens ISIS.

All right. Eleven minutes past the hour.

A leading advocacy group with the LGBT community angry with Karen Pence. The second lady is back in the classroom at a school that does not allow gay children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:16:03] ROMANS: All right. Racist comments by Congressman Steve King will not be subject to a censure vote on the House floor. Two resolutions to censure the Republican, the Iowa Republican are being referred to the House Ethics Committee instead. Democratic leaders are concerned about setting a precedent for censuring members over offensive speech.

On Tuesday, the House voted on a resolution of disapproval of white nationalism and white supremacy. That we have to do such a thing is unbelievable. It followed recent comments by King who questioned why the terms were even considered offensive. Democrat Bobby Rush was the only House member to vote against the

resolution because it didn't go far enough. He says it condemns bigotry, but ignored the bigot in the House of Representatives.

BRIGGS: One of the country's biggest LGBT group is condemning Karen Pence for returning to her post as a teacher at a school that bans gay students. As CNN first reported on Tuesday, the vice president's wife is teaching art at Emanuel Christian School in northern Virginia. She previously taught there for 12 years.

Here is what the group GLAAD says about that. It is disturbing Second Lady Karen Pence would put her stamp of approval on an institution that actively targets LGBTQ students. A spokesman for Mrs. Pence tells CNN that it is absurd that her decision to teach art and the school's religious beliefs are under attack. She would not say whether the second lady agrees with the school's anti-gay policy.

ROMANS: All right. A true basketball rarity, one player outscoring an entire team. Andy Scholes has more in the "Bleacher Report". That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:01] BRIGGS: Michigan State president John Engler resigning after he claimed Larry Nassar's sexual abuse victims, Larry Nassar's victims were, quote, enjoying the spotlight. Engler's remarks came last week in an interview with "The Detroit News". The former three term Michigan governor told the newspaper are survivors who haven't been in the spotlight have been able to deal with this better than the ones who have been in the spotlight who are still enjoying that moment at times, you know, the awards and risk nation.

More than 150 victims testified about the abuse they suffered at the hands of Nassar and the toll it took on their lives. Rachael Denhollander was the first victim to accuse Nassar publicly, she responded to the suggestion that she is somehow enjoying this moment by tweeting this: You mean like having to change the day I grocery shop so my three kids don't see photo of their mom demonstrating what was done to her body? Tell me more about how enjoyable this spotlight is.

BRIGGS: Let's talk a little sports now.

New York Knicks Center Enes Kanter's relationship with his home country of Turkey has gone from bad to worse. The governor there now requesting his extradition, calling him a terrorist.

Andy Scholes here with the "Bleacher Report."

Good morning, my friend.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Dave. You know, the Knicks, they play in London today, but they're going to do so without Enes Kanter. The 26-year-old did not make the trip because he said he feared that he could be kidnapped or even assassinated by members of the Turkish government. Now, Kanter has been an outspoken critic of President Erdogan. And in Wednesday, a Turkish news agency says that Turkey has put in an extradition request and requested an Interpol red notice for the arrest of Kanter, stating that he is suspected of being part of a terror organization.

Now, Kanter immediately responded to this news on Twitter saying Turkish government cannot present any single piece of evidence of my wrongdoing. I don't even have a parking ticket in the U.S. I've always been a law abiding resident.

Kanter then actually poked fun of the news tweeting: The only thing I terrorize is the rim. The Knicks, they play the Wizards today at 3:00 Eastern.

All right. The Rockets' James Harden with another record-setting night. The Beard pouring in 58 points against the Nets. It was his second straight game where he scored more than 57 points.

But the rockets, they blew this one. They were up six points with under 30 seconds to go. Spencer Dinwiddie hitting three three- pointers in that span to send the game to overtime.

And in the extra period, it would be Dinwiddie again making the big play. He gets the basket plus the foul. The Nets stunned the Rockets in overtime, 145-142.

And, hey, maybe it was the shoes. Dinwiddie was wearing these custom Beyonce themed sneakers paying tribute to the Houston native. Maybe keep those because that was quite the clutch performance for Dinwiddie.

All right. And James Harden not the only player with an impressive scoring performance last night.

[05:25:01] UConn's Megan Walker singlehandedly outscored Tulane last night. Walker ended up with a career-high 34 points. Tulane scored just 33.

Shocking it is, it's not the first time this has happened, but Walker is the first player since 2002 to underscore the opponent in a league game.

All right. Chiefs and Patriots will square up on Sunday in the AFC Championship game. This one going to one of the coldest games in NFL history, expected to be in the single digits around kickoff. And Patriots head coach Bill Belichick gave a great answer when asked if the cold temps would affect his team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BELICHICK, PATRIOTS HEAD COACH: We're preparing for the Chiefs. Whatever it is, it is.

TOM BRADY, PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK: It will be colder Sunday than any point this year, so have a little mental toughness, a little physical toughness. And just deal with it best you can.

BELICHICK: Playing in the championship game, schedule to everyone. We'll be there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Love Bill Belichick. We'll be there.

And, Dave, you know, good sign for the Patriots, Tom Brady 5-1 in games that were played in sub 20 degree temperatures. So, we'll wait and see if he can continue that success on Sunday against the Chiefs.

BRIGGS: I recall covering a playoff game in Gillette Stadium, 10 below wind chill in 2004 and Brady was pretty good.

Patrick Mahomes, he's from Tyler, Texas, that is who we have to watch in this game, not Brady.

Thank you, my friend.

SCHOLES: All right.

BRIGGS: Romans, over to you.

ROMANS: All right. Twenty-six minutes past the hour.

Two years of collusion denials and now the president's own attorney can't say if the campaign colluded with Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIULIANI: I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign.

CUOMO: Yes, you have.

GIULIANI: I have not. I said the president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Chris Cuomo's eyebrows.

A new defense tactic to insulate the president, will it work?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)