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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Administration Meets Divided Government; Florida Lawmaker Angers Parkland Dads At Gun Violence Hearing; Venezuela Blocks Bridge, Halting Humanitarian Aid; Former New York Times Editor Accused Of Plagiarism. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired February 07, 2019 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:31:19] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: The American people have a right to know -- indeed, have a need to know that their president is acting on their behalf.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's called presidential harassment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that unity didn't last long. Democrats defy the president with aggressive new investigations after the president warned against it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL), MEMBER, HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: We have an immigration system that allows people to come here violently. We engage in --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A congressman uses a gun violence hearing to push for a border wall. Parents of Parkland shooting victims were not having it.

BRIGGS: The loyalty of the Venezuelan military is at stake. A tense exchange between John Bolton and Nicolas Maduro as desperate citizens search for supplies throughout the Venezuelan border.

ROMANS: And a former top editor of "The New York Times" accused of plagiarism. Jill Abramson now says she will review passages from her new book.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. Good morning. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. We'll also have the latest on the debacle for Virginia Democrats. But we start with House Democrats now starting to flex their new power in earnest. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff announcing an aggressive investigation into whether President Trump's business and financial interests are driving his decisions.

The probe will go beyond contacts between Trump's team and Russia. It will include whether foreign interests hold any kind of leverage over the president or anyone in his orbit, whether any of those people is at risk of manipulation from abroad, and whether anyone has tried to obstruct current investigations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHIFF: The American people have a right to know -- indeed, have a need to know that their president is acting on their behalf and not for some pecuniary or other reason that pertains to any credible allegations of leverage by the Russians or the Saudis or anyone else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The president dismissed the new investigations, saying Schiff had no basis for it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He's just a political hack who's trying to build a name for himself. It's called presidential harassment and it's unfortunate. And it really does hurt our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The move came less than 24 hours after President Trump warned in his State of the Union address against Democratic probes.

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TRUMP: If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn't work that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Only about 18 months ago the president gave a similar signal against investigating his finances.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SCHMIDT, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: If Mueller was looking at your finances and your family finances, unrelated to Russia, is that a red line?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Would that be a breach of what his actual charge is?

TRUMP: I would say yeah. I would say yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: Federal prosecutors in Manhattan may pose a bigger threat to the president than special counsel Robert Mueller. The Southern District of New York is specifically looking at Mr. Trump's finances and it's already enlisted cooperating witnesses like his former lawyer Michael Cohen and Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg.

Democrats circling the president in other ways. House hearings scheduled today on Mr. Trump's tax returns, on family separations at the border, and a session set for tomorrow to question acting Attorney General Mathew Whitaker.

Let's bring in CNN POLITICS digital director Zach Wolf, live in D.C. this morning.

ROMANS: Good morning, Zach.

BRIGGS: Good to see you, sir.

ZACHARY WOLF, DIGITAL DIRECTOR, CNN POLITICS: Good morning.

BRIGGS: So, the president said there cannot be legislation and investigation. Here's what his vice president told CBS yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't object to oversight. That's the proper role of committees in the Congress. But when it takes on a partisan tint -- when it -- when it seems more intent on becoming a forum for invective against the president and against the administration, the American people expect better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:02] BRIGGS: Are they against oversight or did the Democrats just call Trump's bluff?

WOLF: I think they're clearly against oversight of themselves. That's essentially what he's saying there because Democrats came into power, they took control of the House, and that is like the main thing they can do with that new power is oversight.

What we've seen so far is essentially, up until Democrats took control, was a House essentially protecting the president from Democrats. And now, Democrats have control. They can subpoena people, they can -- you know, there are a number of committees that can -- that can do investigations. You just went through a couple of them there.

I don't think we've seen the tip of the iceberg --

ROMANS: Yes.

WOLF: -- with a lot of this stuff yet. And we haven't seen any of the hearings that will actually happen. It's going to be an incredible thing, I think, that we're about to witness. ROMANS: One wonders if Nancy Pelosi and leadership are conscious of not overplaying their hands, you know, to feed into the president's storyline of presidential harassment.

WOLF: I think Pelosi, in particular, might be conscious of that. You have a lot of Democrats, for instance, who want to impeach the president. They've tried to walk people back from that. But oversight is not quite far and I don't think it's the kind of thing you can control because you're never really sure what you're doing -- how that's going to play, essentially, in Peoria or wherever.

BRIGGS: Yes. Certainly, some have learned from what happened with Clinton and Republicans going too far and actually helping Bill Clinton.

I want to ask you about this debacle for Democrats in Virginia. "The Washington Post" says Ralph Northam must resign. The "New York Post" says "Virginia is for Losers" --"Lovers" being their original slogan.

So, you've got Ralph Northam under fire for the blackface photo in the med school yearbook. The number two, his lieutenant governor -- sexual assault allegations, and that woman has made a very graphic statement. And the number three, the attorney general admitted he, too, wore blackface as a 19-year-old.

Who can survive all of this?

WOLF: I'm not sure, honestly. These things keep coming in -- every single one. As a Virginia resident myself -- you know, full disclosure -- it's pretty shocking when you put all these things together and nobody's really sure what's going to happen, I think. That's what's sort of incredible here.

Usually, it's one politician under fire. Now we have three for very -- you know, for different reasons. And it -- obviously, and the fourth person in line for the governorship --

ROMANS: Right.

WOLF: -- is a Republican. So one of those three people -- Democrats -- will have to make them survive unless they want to hand over the governor's mansion, and they're not going to do that.

ROMANS: You know what's so interesting to me is that the series --

BRIGGS: No, not a chance.

ROMANS: -- the series of events that started unfolding all of this were those unartful comments the governor made about late-term abortion, right, that really raised this scrutiny from conservative bloggers and conservative outlets who really started scrubbing his past. Am I right?

And I also think it's fascinating for the party. Socialism and late- term abortion -- two things the president talked about --

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: -- in the State of the Union -- I think are going to be real lightning rods in the next few years.

WOLF: Right, and those will be, I think, things that Trump, in particular, comes back to. You know, he essentially accused the governor of murder at his State of the Union address, which was a pretty remarkable thing.

And it wasn't just bloggers, it was an old classmate of his, I think, who was turned off by those comments.

ROMANS: Was it?

WOLF: Yes, I believe so. We'll have to check that.

But, you know --

ROMANS: But it was the abortion comments that sort of began the whole series of events.

WOLF: Sure -- precisely, precisely -- and it's just kind of created this house of cards. And it was the prospect of the lieutenant governor maybe becoming governor that led to the woman coming forward --

ROMANS: Just amazing.

WOLF: -- with the allegation against him. So all of these things have been cascading and nobody knows where it's going to go.

BRIGGS: And to your point, I think abortion and socialism -- two things that really resonate. The president really hit on something in the State of the Union regarding that.

But let's talk about this shutdown. Another deadline coming next Friday. Mick Mulvaney will have all the 17 lawmaker group.

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: They'll meet at Camp David over the weekend. Are we nearing a deal, and what will the president sign?

WOLF: Here are the things I will say to you.

If they aren't yelling at each other, that's a good sign. If they're talking to each other, that's a good sign. If they're -- if they're behind closed doors and we don't know what's going on, that's probably a good sign to reach some sort of compromise.

Now, the other thing I would say is Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump aren't really involved with these -- or at least we're told they're not really involved with these talks right now. It's when those two people start getting involved that everything could, I think, fall apart, particularly with Trump because we still have to figure out how exactly somebody's going to retreat from those positions they had -- wall, no barrier.

So, how they kind of fit the -- square that hole is still, I think, very much up in the air, but it's a good sign that they're talking to each other.

BRIGGS: The ridiculous part of this is it really will come down to semantics and how they word that agreement. Will it have wall in it or not?

ROMANS: Right.

BRIGGS: How do you please your bases? That's where we are in 2019.

[05:40:01] WOLF: Right.

BRIGGS: Zach Wolf, good to have you here this morning. Thank you, sir.

WOLF: Thanks.

ROMANS: All right.

Tension at a congressional hearing on preventing gun violence. Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida used that hearing to actively campaign for the president's border wall and it didn't go over well with some in attendance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GAETZ: HR8 would not have stopped many of the circumstances I raised. But a wall -- a barrier on the southern border may have.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

GAETZ: And that's we're fighting for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman.

MANUEL OLIVER, FATHER OF CHILD KILLED IN PARKLAND MASSACRE: No one should forget.

GAETZ: But we have an immigration system that allows people to come here violently. We engage --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be no comments or demonstrations, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Gaetz's comments angering the fathers of two victims of the Parkland School massacre, Manuel Oliver and Fred Guttenberg.

BRIGGS: At one point, Rhode Island Democrat David Cicillini posed this question. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DAVID CICILLINE (D), RHODE ISLAND: Is there any committee rule that prevents a member of Congress from reciting false statements in a committee hearing that are unsupported by the evidence -- that are unsupported by the evidence, or are members of Congress entitled to just make things up?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The House Judiciary Committee has been hearing testimony on a bipartisan measure that would require background checks for all gun sales and most gun transfers.

You may have to change what sunscreen you use if you visit a major beach town in Florida. That's coming up on EARLY START.

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[05:45:45] ROMANS: All right.

The U.S. trade deficit shrinking for the first time since President Trump began putting tariffs on Chinese goods.

The Commerce Department shows the trade gap shrank to $49.3 billion in November. That's down from $55.7 billion in October. It had been going up for five months in a row. A worsening deficit for five months in a row now shrinking.

The president's tariffs on Chinese goods began in July as duties on foreign steel and aluminum started in March.

A lower deficit -- that's good news for the president, but this isn't. Farm bankruptcies are on the rise. "The Wall Street Journal" reporting bankruptcies in three regions covering major farm states last year rose to the highest level in at least a decade.

The president's trade negotiators are going to head to Beijing next week to continue their trade talks as the clock runs down ahead of the March first deadline. U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer and the Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel for round three of negotiations after last week's critical trade talks.

Now, President Trump has threatened to jack up existing tariffs on Chinese goods if the two sides can't reach a permanent truce in a trade war.

BRIGGS: As the political crisis in Venezuela escalates, U.S. national security adviser John Bolton and embattled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro clashing, with Bolton tweeting, "The U.S. will consider sanctions off-ramps for any Venezuelan senior military officer that recognizes Juan Guaido as president."

Maduro hitting back, saying his military is loyal and would never defect.

For Venezuelans trying desperately to survive, things are going from bad to worse.

CNN's Isa Soares with more from neighboring Colombia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, I'm standing on the Simon Bolivar Bridge. It's the main pedestrian bridge between Colombia and Venezuela. As you can see behind me, it says Bienvenido Colombia -- welcome to Colombia.

Just in front of me -- directly in front of me are about two -- less than two minutes' walk is really Venezuela. And what we have been seeing is an influx of people coming here every single day. They come with trolleys, they come with prams, pushchairs -- anything stuffed with money. Money that's worth nothing because of hyperinflation.

And they come here and they buy, really, groceries. They buy flour, they buy eggs, milk, toilet paper -- anything -- the basic staples that you need for every day. And they do this every couple of days because it's so expensive, first of all, to get food on the other side, but also to actually -- to actually find food in the first place.

Meanwhile, 15 minutes or so away from here in the bridge that's called Tienditas -- a bridge that is brand new but has never been opened -- the government of Venezuela has blocked that bridge. Has blocked their side of the bridge -- one oil tanker, two blue containers. And they're doing that to stop any eventual humanitarian aid to come -- coming through there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Food, chicken, and flour -- and flour, too.

SOARES: So, some of the basic staples. And, of course, worth remembering, once they get to the other side they still have a long journey to go.

(Foreign language spoken)

SOARES: Just food. That's all I have, he says.

And when I ask everyone walking down this corridor back to Venezuela who they blame, so many have told me time and time again there's only one man and that is Nicolas Maduro. The man, we've said in the -- in the last couple of days, has said this is not a humanitarian crisis. This is not economic -- this is an economic crisis. We are not a country of beggars.

But look at these people. Just look around. People are in need of food -- eggs. So many people desperately trying to make ends meet.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIGGS: Isa Soares, thank you. That Milwaukee police officer killed in the line of duty on Wednesday has now been identified. The officer, 35-year-old Matthew Rittner, was fatally shot while executing a search warrant for illegal firearm sales and drugs. The suspect is now in custody.

Officials say Rittner, a husband and father, was a 17-year veteran of the Milwaukee Police Department. He is the city's third police officer killed in the line of duty in just the past eight months.

ROMANS: A scary moment caught on video in Missouri. A school bus overturning in Kansas City as it was dropping students off. A school district spokeswoman said it may be due to freezing rain and icy roads.

[05:50:07] First responders rescued the three students and the driver on the bus. No major injuries. And one of those students was in a wheelchair and had to be removed from the bus with a gurney.

BRIGGS: A truck driver is facing drug trafficking charges even though the company that bought the cannabis he was carrying says it's perfectly legal. So, the driver was stopped by an Idaho state trooper for a routine inspection en route from Oregon to Colorado, where marijuana is legal in both of those states.

Seven thousand pounds of cannabis was on board. State officials say field tests showed the plants were positive for THC. That's, of course, the substance in marijuana that helps people get high.

ROMANS: The Colorado company that bought the cargo in Oregon says it is legal hemp. But because of mandatory minimum drug sentences in Idaho, where marijuana is illegal, the driver faces five years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

The driver spent four days in jail and was released after posting $100,000 bond.

You know, that just -- and there's also a federal prohibition still on marijuana. So you've got crossing state lines --

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: -- from one state where it's legal -- purchased -- sent to another state where it's legal, with a state where it's illegal in between.

BRIGGS: You're always going to have this issue with federal versus state --

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: -- and it's not going to be solved anytime soon.

ROMANS: No.

BRIGGS: We'll be right back.

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[05:55:45] ROMANS: Officials in Key West, Florida moving to ban the sale of some popular sunscreens to protect the coral reef. The City Commission voted to ban those containing oxybenzone or octinoxate. These are chemicals shown to damage coral reefs.

Up to 70 percent of sunscreens on the U.S. market contain oxybenzone, including products from Neutrogena, Coppertone, and Aveeno.

The ban will not take effect until January 2021. Now, the city can't keep visitors from bringing banned sunscreens to its beaches. It can only discourage them.

BRIGGS: A stunning revelation in the case of a serial killer in Toronto. When police moved in to arrest Bruce McArthur last year, they found a man tied to his bed, alive.

Searching McArthur's hard drive for evidence, police found eight folders labeled with the names and photos of McArthur's victims. A ninth empty folder was labeled with the name of the man tied to the bed.

The details revealed as McArthur was sentenced for luring the men to his home, then strangling, dismembering, and burying them.

ROMANS: Late last night, former "The New York Times" executive editor Jill Abramson tweeted she is reviewing passages in her new book after being accused of plagiarism. Just hours earlier, Abramson rejected a claim she lifted parts of her new book "Merchants of Truth" from other works.

Those allegations made earlier Wednesday by "Vice News Tonight" correspondent Michael Moynihan. Now, he tweeted out several examples where Abramson's language was a close match to phrasing that first appeared elsewhere.

Moynihan says he stumbled on the issue while fact-checking her book which profiles four outlets -- "Vice", "BuzzFeed", the "Times", and "The Washington Post".

BRIGGS: Ozzy Osbourne waking up in a California hospital this morning. The 70-year-old rocker was admitted with complications from the flu. His wife, Sharon Osbourne, saying doctors felt it was the best way to get Ozzy on a quicker road to recovery.

Last week, Ozzy Osbourne postponed the European leg of his tour with Judas Priest due to illness.

ROMANS: All right, let's talk about markets. Global stock markets, right now, mixed amid news of more trade talks between the U.S. and China.

On Wall Street, futures coming off of a little bit of a down day with a little bit of a negative search for direction here. The Dow closed narrowly lower yesterday, down 21 points. The S&P 500 fell slightly, snapping a 5-day winning streak. The Nasdaq fell a bit, as well. Snapchat had a big day, up 22 percent. The rise came a day after it reported the number of daily users on Snapchat was holding steady at 186 million.

General Motors has found new jobs for some of the workers at its soon- to-close auto plants. The automaker said nearly 950 workers in Lordstown, Ohio and the Hamtramck plant in Detroit have accepted jobs at other plants. Most will take jobs in the Flint, Michigan assembly plant and the Spring Hill, Tennessee plant.

In November, GM announced 14,000 workers will either lose their jobs or be reassigned to other plants. At the same time, it announced plans to close four U.S. plants and a fifth in Canada.

Fortnite crushing the competition. Shares of video game-makers Electronic Arts and Take Two Interactive -- their shares tanked more than 13 percent after reporting weaker sales and profits because of competition from Fortnite.

It's become a cultural phenomenon. You know, oh my gosh, the skins, the dances. It's free to play but it makes money on endgame purchases.

Take Two CEO dismissed Fortnite's dominance, highlighting the success of its own game, Red Dead Redemption II. He says that's a sign the industry can handle more than just one hit.

BRIGGS: Of course, we were Netflix last month, saying they're more concerned about Fortnite --

ROMANS: That's right.

BRIGGS: -- than their streaming rivals.

ROMANS: Yes, it's more than just games. Fortnite is one of the games, mark my words. All right --

BRIGGS: Global domination.

ROMANS: Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Get better.

ROMANS: I know -- this voice.

BRIGGS: "NEW DAY" starts right now. We'll see you tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHIFF: The American people have a right to know that their president is acting on their behalf.

TRUMP: It's called presidential harassment and it's unfortunate. He's just a political hack.

REP. JERROLD NADLER (D-NY), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: We can't allow the administration to stonewall us. We came in and we mean business.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're having a moment of reckoning. This is going to be really painful to both parties.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Democratic Party has to be able to speak with moral clarity on all these issues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The question is not whether these people can't move on from their past. The question is whether or not they should be in a position of public trust.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

END