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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Spat of the Union; Cohen Delays Testimony Over Threats; Senator Ernst: "Forced Out as a Survivor"; Five Killed in Florida Bank Attack; U.S. Recognizes Venezuelan Opposition Leader as President; James Harden Scores Career-High 61 Points. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired January 24, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:03]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Hulu has spent the last year focusing on its domestic subscription growth. It says it added 8 million new subscribers in 2018, bringing the total to 25 million. Have you ever used it?
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: I have not. You?
ROMANS: I watched the "Maiden's Tale" one season on it, and it was worth the 7 bucks.
BRIGGS: All right. EARLY START continues right now on Day 34 of the government shutdown.
(MUSIC)
BRIGGS: Advantage Pelosi. The president caves to the House speaker and calls off the State of Union hours after vowing to deliver it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Did he make a deal to keep his wife out of trouble?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Comments like that have Michael Cohen's family scared for their safety? And now, Cohen delaying his testimony to Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JONI ERNST (R), IOWA: I'm still the same person as I was a week ago. The only difference is you know more about me now than you did a week ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she was not ready she is confronting painful memories of abuse and rape after they were publicized in divorce papers.
ROMANS: And five people are dead after a gunman storms a bank in Florida.
One minute past the hour, everybody. Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It's Thursday.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Good to see you.
It is almost Friday as we like to say. January 24, 5:00 a.m. in the East.
And we start with the state of the disunion. The State of the Union Address, well, it is on hold indefinitely. President Trump blinking in his high stakes battle with Nancy Pelosi after a day long power struggle with the House speaker.
The president actually backing away from a fight tweeting: This is her prerogative. I will do the address when the shutdown is over. I'm not looking for an alternative venue. I look forward to giving a great State of the Union Address in the near future.
ROMANS: That capitulation from the president coming 11 hours after he firmly vowed to somehow deliver the address from the House as planned, writing it would be so very sad for our country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location.
Pelosi did not budge, refusing even to consider allowing a vote to let the president speak.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The government is still shutdown. I still make the offer, let's work together on mutually agreeable date, as the original date was, mutually agreeable, so that we can welcome him properly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: You might recall Pelosi initially claimed security was the reason for delaying the president's address. Here's what Mr. Trump had to say about postponing his speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Nancy Pelosi, or Nancy as I call her, she doesn't want to hear the truth. And she doesn't want more importantly the American people hear the truth. So we just found out that she has canceled it and I think that is a great blotch on the incredible country that we all love. It is a great, great horrible mark.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The White House appear the caught off guard by Pelosi's pushback. CNN learned the president's team believed the speaker was only suggesting the address would be postponed so they decided to call her bluff. Pelosi pressing her advantage late last night, tweeting: Mr. President, I hope by saying near future, you mean you will support the House-passed package to end the shutdown.
ROMANS: Day 34 of that partial government shutdown dawns this morning and there are signs the administration is bracing for the shutdown to go on for who knows how long.
"The Washington Post" reporting that White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has asked agency heads to list vital programs that would be jeopardized if the government remains closed into March or April.
"The Post" also reporting that House Democrats are prepared to back increased spending on border security, but not a wall. That is if the president agrees to reopen the government first.
BRIGGS: The Senate is set to vote today on dueling bills that would do just that. One bill backed by Republicans would fund the president's border wall. The Democrats' proposal has no money for the border wall. Neither bill is expected to pass, but there are signs of fracture within the GOP.
At least one senator, Cory Gardner of Colorado, is expected to vote for the Democrats' clean bill that does not include border wall funding. Ohio Senator Rob Portman also has concerns about the president's strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R), OHIO: I never believe that shutting down government provided leverage. One, I think that it is a bad idea to shut down government. The taxpayer ends up losing. Families of workers end up losing. The economy ends up getting hit. So, it really doesn't make sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Eight hundred thousand federal employees, the end of the workweek means a second paycheck missed. By the end of the week, workers will be owed about $6 billion. For context, that is more than the president's demands to pay for the border wall. All five former homeland security secretaries including newly departed White House chief of staff John Kelly have co-signed a letter to the president and Congress that says: We write to you today with a simple message, fund the critical mission of DHS.
[05:05:01] In addition to Kelly, two of those former secretaries served in the Obama era and two others from the Bush era.
BRIGGS: One critical component of DHS is the TSA. The shutdown is taking an enormous toll on its agents. In Minneapolis/St. Paul, for example, they have been forced support each other with this makeshift food bank at the airport. And air traffic controllers are facing serious challenges as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERT NAVARRO, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: It does affect your sleep at night. How can you be well rested when you don't know when the next time that you will get paid? Pretend like your last paycheck was in December and you do not know when you will get paid again.
PAUL RINALDI, PRESIDENT, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION: The biggest toll I have right now is the human toll. The fatigue in my work environment right now where I'm seeing routine mistakes are actually happening because they are thinking about which credit cards can I consolidate up for zero interest, who is giving you a break on your phone bill, or which company is helping you out so you can skip your mortgage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Eighty-seven accidents have not been investigated by the NTSB since the shutdown started, that includes plane, car and train accidents. And some of the nearly 6,000 Secret Service staffers coping without paychecks are carrying these special challenge coins. They originated in the military for special recognition.
Don't worry you'll get back pay is printed on one side. The other side, United States Secret Service Essential Personnel. As if it is a combat mission that they are all brothers and sisters in arms enduring and surviving.
One of the president's top economic advisers says the economy could show no growth in the first quarter if the shutdown drags on. That's exactly right -- the United States economy will stall because of the government shutdown.
Here's White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett talking to Poppy Harlow yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOIR: Could we get zero growth?
KEVIN HASSETT, CHAIRMAN, COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: Yes, we could.
HARLOW: We could, OK. Wow.
HASSETT: If it extended for the whole quarter and given the fact that the first quarter tends to be low because of residual seasonality, then you could end up with a number close zero. But then again, the second quarter number would be humongous if the president reopened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Hassett also said that he thought chances of the U.S. entering recession in 2020 are, quote, close to zero, even though some economists predict a downturn by next year. I mean, it's been ten years of expansion. But Hassett pointed to continued strong jobs gains as a healthy sign for this economy.
Meanwhile, Boeing is urging Washington to reach a deal to reopen the government, warning a prolonged shutdown could hurt its business and the aviation industry. Boeing and other defense officials scheduled to report their earnings next week. BRIGGS: Former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen postponing his
public congressional testimony scheduled for February 7th, citing ongoing threats against his family. A source telling CNN, Cohen's wife and father-in-law feel threatened by attacks from President Trump and his attorney Rudy Giuliani.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Do you make a deal to keep his wife who supposedly -- maybe I'm wrong -- but you can check it. Did he make a deal to keep his wife out of trouble?
He should give information maybe on his father-in-law because that is the one that people want to look at because where does that money -- that is the money in the family.
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: I'm telling you, it come from the Ukraine. The reason that is important, he may have ties to something called organized crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The president was asked about the postponement Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Michael Cohen (INAUDIBLE) he says that he has been threatened by you and Mr. Giuliani, he and his family have been threatened.
TRUMP: Well, I would say he's been threatened by the truth. He's only been threatened by the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And Democrats meantime say not testifying is not an option for Cohen and they are considering whether to subpoena him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D-MD), HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: We will get the testimony as sure as night becomes day and day becomes night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROAMNS: Cohen reports to prison to begin his three-year sentence in March.
BRIGGS: The first time Republican Senator Joni Ernst is speaking out about pain testimony moments she endured in the past. The highest ranking woman in Republican leadership and Army combat veteran says she was, quote, forced out as a survivor of mental and physical abuse, following public reports of her divorce papers earlier this week.
Ernst told "Bloomberg News", I didn't want to share it with anybody, and in the era of #metoo survivors, I've always believed that every person is different and they will confront their demons when they are ready. And I was not ready.
ROMANS: Ernst described a violent episode where her then husband Gail Ernst grabbed her by the throat and pounded her head. She also told "Bloomberg News" she was raped during her time as a student at Iowa State University. Ernst said she always has and will work hard to support people who have been in her shoes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERNST: I've always been a strong proponent of working for those survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Understanding now that people will view my work in those areas, not as a senator that is working to support them, but now as somebody who has been in that situation that will be supporting them.
[05:10:10] But what I want to remind everybody is that I'm still the same person as I was a week ago. The only difference is you know more about me now than you did a week ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Ernst denied allegations made by her husband in the divorce affidavit that she had an affair. CNN has attempted to reach out to Gail Ernst for response. We have not heard back.
BRIGGS: Another day, another Democrat entering the 2020 field. The latest certainly different than the rest though. He is gay, 37-year- old, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Mayor Pete as some called him also served in the Navy during the war in Afghanistan. He says his message is one of generational change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE BUTTEGIEG, MAYOR OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA: It is time for a new generation of leadership in our country. And that we can't nibble around the edges of a broken system, that there is no going back, that there is no again in the real world. And that we can't rewind to 1950 or for that matter to 2010.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Buttigieg has little name recognition and could struggle to get noticed in this already crowded Democratic field, but he had strong words to a radio interview. He said: I have more years of experience in government than the president, more years of executive experience than the vice president, and twice as much military experience as both of them combined. Boy, a resume.
ROMANS: And he will have a generational message, too, you know? I mean, a lot of the things that younger people disagree with in the United States were brought by the baby boomer generation.
BRIGGS: Right, and he is a Harvard educated Rhodes scholar to add to that resume.
All right. Ahead, a major shift in Venezuela, the U.S. recognizes the opposition leader as president, as the nation deals with economic corruption. CNN has a report from Caracas, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:16:11] ROMANS: A mass shooting inside a bank in Sebring, Florida, leaving five people dead. Police say a gunman barricaded himself inside the SunTrust bank branch Wednesday and opened fire.
The suspect identified as 21-year-old Sebring resident Zephen Xaver. He is now in custody. Police say he contacted authorities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARL HOGLUND, SEBRING POLICE CHIEF: The suspect contacted our dispatch center and said he had entered the bank and began shooting. We've suffered a significant loss at the hands of a senseless criminal during a senseless crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Police still not releasing the names of the victims. The suspect's father says he is heartbroken for those who died and says his son, quote, wasn't raised to be like this.
Zephen Xaver had worked as a correctional officer trainee for two months before resigning two weeks ago.
ROMANS: Relations between U.S. and Venezuela building toward a flash point. The Trump administration recognizing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nation's president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, freedom broke out in Venezuela with the recognition of the new interim president. Maduro is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow. The U.S. move a major blow to Nicolas Maduro. His election last year was condemned as a fraudulent power grab. Over just a few years, Venezuela has fallen into a a deep crisis, despite immense oil wealth, corruption and failed economist policies that have crashed the economy. There is hyper inflation, widespread hunger and disease.
BRIGGS: Huge protests as you can see. Yesterday, though they left ten people dead. Maduro gave U.S. diplomats 72 hours to leave the country, but a senior administration official dismissed that order as, quote, meaningless.
Stefano Pozzebon reporting for CNN from Caracas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Yes, Christine, Dave, historic moments we have witnessed here in Caracas yesterday when Juan Guaido swore himself in as the new president of Venezuela in order to call for free and fair elections as soon as possible. And right now, there are two people claiming to be the president of Venezuela and the White House, the United States, are throwing their support behind Juan Guaido, behind the opposition, with all the implications that that support mean, implications in the economic sphere, in the political sphere.
Let's talk economics. There is a lot of trade especially oil trade going on between Caracas and Washington. President Trump has said that all options are on the table when it comes to restore the Venezuelan democracy. Nicolas Maduro has reacted to the support by the United States to Guaido by cutting down and breaking all political and diplomatic relationships with Washington. And the United States so far stood firm and say they still recognize Guaido and are still waiting for democracy to be restored here in Caracas -- Christine, Dave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Thank you for that.
Certainly, we'll keep an eye on that story.
BRIGGS: What a mess. All right. The Beard, no, not this beard, the other one, blowing up Madison Square Garden. It's James Harden.
And Coy Wire has more on the record setting night in the "Bleacher Report." Clean shaven Coy Wire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:23:55] BRIGGS: Houston Rockets star James Harden won't stop scoring. The reigning MVP put up a career-high at the Mecca basketball, Madison Square Garden.
Coy Wire has the details in the "Bleacher Report".
And, Coy, it's not often that we say he is doing something that Michael Jordan and LeBron James never have done, never did.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's incredible, the run that he is on. I know that is why you're growing out your beard. James Harden says he was waiting for his garden moment, talking about that iconic arena there in New York City.
Well, he got it last night, dropping a franchise record 61 points on the Knicks. That ties Kobe Bryant's record for most points scored by a visitor at that venue. And the Rockets, they needed every one of them. New York had a chance with seconds on the clock, but who stole the ball and then who dunked it, throwing down the hammer, Harden himself sealing the win on his 61st point of the game.
Houston wins 114-110, he ended upper scoring two more points than the Knicks entire starting five. Think about that.
After the game, Harden talked about how special it was to do this at Madison Square Garden. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[05:25:02] JAMES HARDEN, ROCKETS GUARD: This is a historic building in the sport that we have. Obviously, the fans are one of the best that we have in this league. So, it's pretty cool to come out here and just put on a show for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: All right. Be warned, this next video is tough to watch. A gruesome injury last night, Indiana's all-star Victor Oladipo to the court there while facing the Raptors. The team fears he won't play again this season. He was taken off on a stretcher. He will have MRI later today.
Oladipo is known to be the most positive player on the team. He is always lifting up his teammates, but now his teammates say they are going to have to lift him up.
All right. Switching gears here to football's best practicing in Orlando for this week's pro-bowl, and check out Jets player Jamal Adams lowering the boom on Pat Patriot, New England's mascot. The only patriot in attendance until of course they're playing in the Super Bowl. He nearly took the head off that poor mascot there.
The skills challenge is later tonight featuring events like Dodge Ball and the 40 yard splash. The game is this weekend.
Finally, fans in town on Super Bowl Sunday, hoping to get their fast food fix of Chick-fil-A will be out of luck. The restaurant has a stand inside Mercedes-Benz stadium, but even that one will not be serving food. They're maintaining their policy of being closed on Sundays.
The company says they want to stay true to their values of their founder who is a devout Southern Baptist. He set that policy back in 1946. $2600 given right now on stub hub, so you can't get a $3 chicken sandwich, but you can get $2 hot dogs and $5 beers.
BRIGGS: I can't solve the shutdown, but maybe I solve this. Maybe pre-heat a bunch of Chick-fil-A sandwiches and waffle fries late Saturday night, somebody else sells them Sunday. You can't deprive the Super Bowl's fans Chick-fil-A's, Coy.
WIRE: I like that, a nice little side business someone can take up.
BRIGGS: Let's try them, man.
All right. Coy Wire, we'll enjoy the Super Bowl down there in Atlanta.
Romans, over to you.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Dave.
The government shutdown impact growing by the day. 800,000 federal employees will miss another paycheck tomorrow. A long list of the fallout. The president will miss a big day himself, the State of the Union is off.
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