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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

President Trump Concedes To Speaker Pelosi On State Of The Union Address; Senate Votes On Dueling Shutdown Bills Today; Michael Cohen Delays Testimony To Congress Over Threats; Republican Sen. Joni Ernst Says She Was Raped And Is A Survivor Of Domestic Violence; U.S. Recognizes Venezuelan Opposition Leader As President. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired January 24, 2019 - 05:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:31:29] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Advantage, Pelosi. The president caves in to the House speaker and calls off the State of the Union hours after he vowed to deliver it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Did he keep -- make a deal to keep his wife out of trouble?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Comments that like have Michael Cohen's family scared for their safety. 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 that you know more about me now than you did a week ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst says she was not ready, but she's confronting painful memories of abuse and rape after they were publicized in divorce papers.

BRIGGS: And, five people are dead after a gunman storms a bank in Florida.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 32 minutes past the hour.

Let's begin with the State of the Union address. The State of the Union address is on hold indefinitely. President Trump blinking in his battle with Nancy Pelosi after a daylong power struggle with the House speaker. The president actually backing away from a fight, tweeting this. "This is her prerogative. I will do the address when the shutdown is over. I am not looking for an alternative venue. I look forward to giving a great State of the Union address in the near future."

BRIGGS: That rather stunning capitulation from the president coming 11 after 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."

But, 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: And it is still shut down. I still make the offer (INAUDIBLE) as the original date was mutually agreed on so that we can open the government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Remember, Pelosi initially claimed security was the reason for delaying the address.

Here's what Mr. Trump had to say about postponing his speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And, Nancy Pelosi -- poor Nancy, as I call her -- she doesn't want to hear the truth and she doesn't want to hear, more importantly, the American people hear the truth. So, we just found out that she's canceled it and I think that's a great blotch on the incredible country that we all love. It's a great, great horrible mark.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: We're told the White House was caught off guard by Pelosi's pushback. CNN has learned the president's team believed the speaker was only suggesting the address be postponed so they decided to call her bluff.

Pelosi then 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."

BRIGGS: All right, let's bring in CNN White House reporter Sarah Westwood, live in Washington this morning.

ROMANS: Good morning.

BRIGGS: Good to see you, Sarah.

We are still stunned about this late-night tweet from the president saying it's her prerogative and also reminding us that he is concerned about history and tradition. Was the president hacked? What happened here, and how has Nancy Pelosi taken control of this ongoing negotiation?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the State of the Union, we know, is one tradition that the president actually likes to observe. From the beginning of his presidency, the two formal addresses to Congress that he's given have provided him with the sort of rare moment of bipartisan praise and some acknowledgment that he does have the ability to be presidential.

So, for that opportunity to be taken away from him at a time when he wants to press the advantage -- what he sees of that shutdown -- that could be really devastating to him.

[05:35:05] And we know that the White House had hoped that Pelosi was, indeed, bluffing. That's why yesterday we saw the president call her bluff.

They had believed that the State of the Union, all along, had not formally been called off. That she was simply suggesting he delay it in order to perhaps put some pressure on him. That's why he then stripped her use of government planes --

ROMANS: Yes.

WESTWOOD: -- to fly to her CODEL.

But by the end of the day, Pelosi does have the advantage in that she controls the House. She's showing no signs of bending and that's why we know the president is, again, considering taking executive action in the face of this intransigence from the Democrats.

ROMANS: There's a bit of a parlor game going on -- who wrote that -- Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Bill Shine -- there's kind of a long list -- because it doesn't seem very Trumpian the way he folded there.

But it looks as though he did fold for the first time, I think, that we've really ever seen, and maybe it's because of some of these poll numbers. The president is a real student of the polls. A CBS News poll -- who is doing a better job at handling the negotiations? Donald Trump, 35 percent; Speaker Pelosi, 47 percent.

There is probably a reason why Nancy Pelosi keeps emerging on top because behind the scenes she does know how to negotiate.

WESTWOOD: That's right. She has a lot more experience in this arena than the president does. Obviously, there was a reason why people described her as one of the most seasoned leaders. She's sort of showing that she knows exactly what she's doing as she tries to navigate these shutdown negotiations.

And when you talk about fracturing on either side of the aisle you do have some frustration among Democrats. Some, a little bit of discomfort with Pelosi. Some refusal to negotiate whatsoever while the government is shut down. You haven't seen though, really, any defections. Pelosi has been able to keep together a very diverse Democratic conference throughout this shutdown situation.

And you do -- you are starting to see a little bit more fracturing on the GOP side. For example, Sen. Cory Gardner saying that he will vote for the Pelosi proposal in the Senate that would reopen the government without funding the wall.

So the question is, really, who can keep together their conferences for the longest amount of time? Right now, the Republicans showing a little more signs of fracturing than the Democrats.

BRIGGS: Yes, Cory Gardner up for reelection in Colorado.

Susan Collins has also hinted that she may vote for that House bill as well.

And the author of the shutdown, Newt Gingrich, '95-'96, telling "USA Today" quote, "You either design a deal that gets you Democrats or you don't. If you're trying to attract people with sugar, you shouldn't pour vinegar on top of it." Some stunning words from the former speaker.

And here's what Ohio Sen. Rob Portman -- about the leverage that the president thinks he has by shutting down the government -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R), OHIO: I never believed that shutting down government provided leverage. One, I think it's a bad idea to shut down government. The taxpayer ends up losing, the families of workers end up losing, the economy ends up getting hit. So, it really doesn't make sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: And we have a scroll of all the impacts of this government shutdown -- some of the things that Rob Portman is talking about. Some of the things he hears from constituents each and every day like the rest of the House and Senate.

Will Senate Republicans begin to break off, and could that -- could that get us to some compromise?

WESTWOOD: Well, Senate Republicans were already prepared to back a bipartisan measure that would have kept the government open while immigration negotiations took place. That was before the shutdown even began. So, we already know that support for temporary funding while negotiations go on exists in the Senate.

Right now, they're not voting for that kind of measure -- again, with pressure from President Trump to try to keep the government shut down until there's wall funding, not reopen it temporarily while negotiations go on. But we know that independently of Trump, support for that kind of

approach does exist in the Senate, so it could just be a matter of time before the Senate decides to proceed with what was plan A -- having the government be open for about a month or two while negotiations took place. That is the approach that Democrats have said they would prefer.

Some of them are not outright dismissing the president's proposal of trading temporary DACA protections for some wall funding, but they're saying they won't even look at that kind of proposal while the government is still shut down.

ROMANS: Dave Briggs, who I call Dave, keeps saying that he keeps going back to Will Hurd, the congressman -- the Republican --

BRIGGS: It's your prerogative.

ROMANS: -- the Republican congressman on the border who has said over and over again that this is a third-century solution to a 21st-century problem, and that the wall is the least effective and most expensive way to do it.

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: So one wonders if that begins to resonate with other Republicans.

BRIGGS: The only Republican who has a district that is on our southern border.

You're surprised -- I'm surprised Democrats don't quote Will Hurd more. Are you, Sarah?

WESTWOOD: Well, I think that Democrats have pointed to the fact that none of the congressmen who represent districts along the border have advocated for a wall. That's something that they use a lot in their messaging.

And they also do still talk about using technology to police the border more effectively.

BRIGGS: Yes.

WESTWOOD: Drones, sensors. That has been part of Democratic messaging.

[05:40:02] But, of course, you do -- one does wonder why don't elevate Congressman Hurd more.

ROMANS: I mean, there are court cases right now -- eminent domain court cases right now --

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: -- regarding wall sections from years ago -- from years and years ago. So, it's not as simple as just boom, building a wall. All right, nice to see you, Sarah Westwood -- thanks.

BRIGGS: You like to call her Sarah, right?

ROMANS: Sarah -- Sarah Westwood, who we call Sarah.

BRIGGS: Thank you, Sarah.

ROMANS: All right.

Former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is postponing his public congressional testimony scheduled for February seventh, citing ongoing threats against his family. A source telling CNN Cohen's wife and father-in-law feel threatened by attacks from the president and his attorney, Rudy Giuliani.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Did he make a deal to keep his wife who supposedly -- maybe I'm wrong but you can check it. Did he keep -- make a deal to keep his wife out of trouble?

He should give information maybe on his father-in-law because that's the one that people want to look at because where does that money -- that's the money in the family.

RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And I'm telling you he come from the Ukraine. The reason that's important is he may have ties to something called organized crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The president was asked about the Cohen postponement Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: -- Michael Cohen. He says he's been threatened by you and Mr. Giuliani. He and his family have been threatened.

TRUMP: No. I would say he's been threatened by the truth. He's only been threatened by the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Democrats say not testifying is not an option for Cohen and they are considering whether to subpoena him.

Cohen reports to prison to begin his 3-year sentence in March.

ROMANS: For the first time, Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is speaking out about painful moments in her past. The highest-ranking woman in Republican Senate leadership, an Army combat veteran, says she was forced out as a survivor of mental and physical abuse following public reports of her divorce -- her divorce papers earlier this week. Ernst told "Bloomberg News," I don't -- "I didn't want to share it with anybody, and in the era of #MeToo survivors, I always believed that every person is different and they will confront their demons when they're ready. And I was not ready."

BRIGGS: Ernst described a violent episode where her then-husband Gail Ernst grabbed her by the throat and pounded her head.

Ernst said she has always -- will work hard to support people who have been in her shoes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERNST: I have 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.

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 that you know more about me now than you did a week ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Ernst denied allegations made by her husband in the divorce papers that she had an affair.

CNN reached out to Gail Ernst for response. We have not heard back.

ROMANS: I think it's just so --

BRIGGS: Your heart breaks.

ROMANS: It's just unfair to be forced out as a survivor when you're not ready. And it's a reminder, I think, that the hashtag #MeToo movement -- as she very eloquently pointed out, not everyone is the same.

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: For every person who is willing to go on Twitter and explain exactly what happened to them, there are many, many more who aren't ready yet and maybe will never be ready. So I think that's just an important reminder for everyone.

BRIGGS: Hopefully, she's getting a lot of support this morning.

Ahead, a major shift in Venezuela. The U.S. recognizes the opposition leader as president as the nation deals with economic turmoil and corruption.

CNN has a report from the crisis in Venezuela, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:47:49] BRIGGS: Five forty-seven eastern time.

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, is now in custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL HOGLUND, POLICE CHIEF, SEBRING, FLORIDA: The subject contacted our consolidated dispatch center and said that he had entered the bank and began shooting. We've suffered a significant loss at the hands of a senseless criminal doing a senseless crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Police spent hour -- spent hours last night at Zephen Xaver's home collecting evidence.

The suspect's father says he is heartbroken for those who died and says his son, quote, "wasn't raised to be like this."

Police still have not released the names of the victims.

BRIGGS: Relations between the U.S. and Venezuela in crisis. Huge crowds of protesters in the streets of Caracas and 10 people dead after opposition leader Juan Guaido swears himself in as the nation's president.

It all started less than 24 hours ago when the Trump administration recognized Guaido as president instead of Nicolas Maduro.

(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)

BRIGGS: Maduro's election last year was condemned around the world as a fraud.

Maduro gave U.S. diplomats 72 hours to leave the country but a senior administration official dismissed that order as quote "meaningless."

ROMANS: Over just a few years, Venezuela has fallen into a deep crisis despite immense oil wealth. Corruption and failed socialist policies have crashed that economy.

Stefano Pozzebon reporting for CNN from Caracas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Yes, Christine and 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 that Venezuelan opposition. With all the implications that support implications in the economic sphere, in the political sphere.

[05:50:08] Let's talk about economics. There is, of course, 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 restoring 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 are, so far, stood firm and say they still recognize Guaido and they're still waiting for democracy to be restored here in Caracas -- Christine, Dave.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIGGS: It should be a pivotal day there today --

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: -- to see what happens.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:55:32] BRIGGS: More than 50 million people are under a flood threat. Heavy rain moving into the Northeast.

Here is meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Dave and Christine, good morning, guys.

Yes, around the Northeast, that's where all the action is at this hour. We do have flooding threat still in place there impacting several million people.

But you notice winter weather advisories in place, blizzard warning in place back around portions of the Upper Midwest. But really, around the east coast, most of what is falling here is rainfall as we're getting a southerly flow in advance of this front.

But back behind us enough cold air in place around portions of the Great Lakes -- in Cleveland, in particular -- to see a few snow showers and even around the Big Bend of Florida enough instability here for stronger thunderstorms to pop up.

But notice the system quickly moves out of here. We get in towards 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 p.m., it's offshore and then conditions quiet down after the couple of inches that we've seen in the rainfall throughout much of this afternoon.

But, the big story here becomes the arctic air that really sets up shop going in towards this weekend. In fact, look at wind chills.

Minneapolis at 10 degrees. Twenty-three below this morning, what it feels like in Fargo. But, Minneapolis, it will feel like 20 below by this afternoon while New York City, right around 50 degrees with much colder air into this weekend.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, thank you so much for that.

To Arizona now where a nurse at that health care facility is now charged with sexual assault. He's accused of impregnating a woman in a vegetative state. She later gave birth.

Thirty-six-year-old Nathan Sutherland was compelled by court order to provide a DNA sample. Police say his DNA matched the baby.

BRIGGS: Investigators are looking into whether he assaulted anyone else.

A coworker at the facility feels betrayed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELEANOR RIGGERS, FORMER CO-WORKER OF NATHAN SUTHERLAND: I cried. I just cried and cried. I cried more for her than for him. I think he's a coward. I think he's the lowest scum imaginable and it just kills me because I considered him a friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The woman's family is aware of the arrest but not commenting.

Hacienda Healthcare said every member of the company is "troubled beyond words to think that a nurse could be capable of seriously harming a patient."

ROMANS: Extreme cold and rugged terrain hampering the search for a missing toddler in North Carolina. Three-year-old Casey Hathaway was playing with relatives at his grandmother's house Tuesday when he vanished.

Choppers, drones, K-9s are assisting with the ground search which is ongoing at this hour.

Community members gathered at the New Haven Church in Craven (ph) to pray for the missing boy.

BRIGGS: General Mills recalling 5-pound bags of Gold Medal unbleached flour over salmonella concerns. The packages affected have a "better if used by" date of April 20, 2020. The recall involves some 100,000 bags of flour. No confirmed illnesses have been reported.

ROMANS: All right, global markets are mostly higher here. You can see that Shanghai and Hong Kong closed up. Kind of a mixed performance, really, in Europe.

Let's take a look at what's happening right now at this hour on Wall Street. I would call this barely higher in the futures market. We'll see what happens when the opening bell rings.

The Dow closed 171 points higher on Wednesday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed up slightly as well.

IBM closed up 8 1/2 percent on a stronger earnings report. It surprised investors with profits that actually grew and said 2019 will be better than feared.

As Netflix gets more expensive, Hulu becomes cheaper. Hulu has dropped the price of its cheapest package by two bucks just a week after competitor Netflix raised prices. Now, Hulu's basic plan, which includes ads, will cost $6.00 a month starting February 26th.

Hulu has spent the last year focusing on its domestic subscription growth. It has added eight million new subscribers this year -- or last year -- bringing its total to 25 million, Dave.

BRIGGS: A night to remember for James Harden. The Houston Rockets star put up 61 points against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Houston needed all of them. They won 114-110.

Harden on a historic tear. He has now scored at least 30 points in 21 straight games. He has done something that Michael Jordan never did and LeBron James has never done. A remarkable tear.

Should I grow the beard the length of James Harden or just --

ROMANS: You can -- you can try.

BRIGGS: -- keep it coiffed?

ROMANS: But, I don't know.

BRIGGS: I need awhile -- it needs some time.

ROMANS: We're going to need some feedback from the bosses on that.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY."

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Thursday, January 24th, and it is a new day.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Indeed. CAMEROTA: It is 6:00 here in New York.

And breaking overnight while you were sleeping, the battle over the State of the Union has taken a dramatic turn. In the ongoing tug-of- war, the president has conceded to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.