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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Supreme Court Blocks Louisiana Abortion Law From Taking Effect; Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker Faces Congress Today; Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos Claims He Was Blackmailed By National Enquirer; One-On-One With Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired February 08, 2019 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:13] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The acting A.G. faces Congress today. Matthew Whitaker will field questions about the Russia probe, which he won't oversee for very much longer.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: A salacious story of nude selfies, politics, and extortion. The world's richest man turns the tables on the "National Enquirer," revealing a tabloid plot.
ROMANS: The Supreme Court put the restrictive Louisiana abortion law on hold. John Roberts sides with the liberal wing, once again.
BRIGGS: And finally, some optimism on a deal to fund border security. A key negotiator says he thinks the president would sign it.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.
And, there's that. ("New York Post" headline -- "Bezos Exposes Pecker")
ROMANS: There's that.
BRIGGS: There's that.
ROMANS: It is a supermarket tabloid and the -- and the world's richest man all together.
BRIGGS: It's that mind-blowing emoji.
ROMANS: We're going to get to the Jeff Bezos story in a moment.
But first, the Supreme Court taking a big step on the hottest of hot- button issues. The justices blocking a restrictive Louisiana abortion law from taking effect, at least for now. The decision was split five to four. Chief Justice John Roberts siding with the court's four liberals.
The 2014 law would require doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. Opponents of the law argue it burdens women's access to abortion and could have left the state with only one doctor to provide them.
BRIGGS: The ruling came hours after the National Prayer Breakfast where the president made pro-life remarks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must build a culture that cherishes the dignity and sanctity of innocent human life. All children, born and unborn, are made in the holy image of God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The high court is likely to rule eventually on the merits of the Louisiana law, which has never been enforced. The court found a nearly identical Texas law unconstitutional in 2016.
The topic thrust back into the national conversation last week when Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam seemed to suggest a late-term abortion could happen after birth.
ROMANS: Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker has decided he will testify today before the House Judiciary Committee. The announcement came after days of contentious wrangling as Whitaker threatened not to show up unless the committee promised not to subpoena him.
The face-off, a prime example of Democrats asserting their new control of the House for oversight of the Trump administration.
BRIGGS: Democrats vowing to press Whitaker on two subjects today.
First, his decision not to recuse himself from overseeing Robert Mueller's Russia investigation despite his past public criticism of the probe. And second, his conversation with the president about the Russia investigation. The president recently told the "Daily Caller" there have been no such conversations.
Yesterday, the president was asked whether he thought Whitaker should testify.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He's an outstanding person. I would say if he did testify he'd do very well. He's an outstanding person -- a very, very fine man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: This may be Whitaker's only congressional testimony as head of the Justice Department. William Barr in on track to be confirmed as permanent attorney general next week.
ROMANS: All right. CNN White House reporter Sarah Westwood standing by live in Washington for us this morning. Sarah, so nice to see you this Friday morning.
You know, the subpoena fight is really yesterday's story but Dave and I think it kind of sort of sets up kind of -- kind of the mood for today. You've got a newly-emboldened Democratic majority in the House and an administration that is still -- has this big Russia probe hanging over its head.
Do we expect Matt Whitaker to actually answer any questions? We know he's going to testify, but will he answer questions about his conversations with the president?
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, good morning, Christine.
BRIGGS: Good morning.
WESTWOOD: The Justice Department has already said -- and Dave -- has already said that Whitaker does plan to testify that he did not provide and the White House did not seek any commitments about the Russia investigation. That he wasn't asked to recuse.
But he has said that he's not going to go into the details of the discussions that he's had with President Trump and that was the point of contention between him and the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
And on both sides, this fight was really sort of oversetting the precedent -- setting the tone for what Democratic congressional oversight was going to look like for the next two years or more.
From the administration's perspective, they didn't want to set the precedent of every cabinet member going before Democratically- controlled congressional committees with an anticipatory subpoena hanging over their head. That's not something that they wanted to have happen in the future.
From the Democrats' perspective, they sort of wanted to show -- demonstrate that they're willing to use all the tools at their disposal to exercise the kind of oversight they thought has been lacking in the Republican-controlled House -- to show that they're not going to get stonewalled by this administration.
The two sides seemed to have worked it out so, perhaps, that's the sort of dealmaking and negotiating we might see in these investigations going forward.
[05:35:03] BRIGGS: Well, Stephen Boyd, from the DOJ, said, "We do not believe that the committee may legitimately expect the acting A.G. to discuss his communications with the president." So, expect privilege to be invoked here today.
So, where else might they go? Might it bring in the Southern District? Might it bring in Whitaker's comments about the Mueller probe coming to an end or even his comments as a CNN commentator regarding pulling funding for the probe? What do they hope to gain today?
WESTWOOD: Well certainly, I think Whitaker's past comments that were very critical of the Mueller investigation -- those are going to be a central part of the questions that are asked. And because this is probably the only opportunity that the House
Judiciary Committee could have to question Whitaker because Bill Barr, the president's attorney general nominee, is so close to confirmation right now, they're probably going to try to just get everything out of him that they possibly can when he appears before the committee today. And that's partly why they had that subpoena locked and ready to go if Whitaker declined to answer their questions.
Because this was going to be their only opportunity to question him, they wanted to have that mechanism to compel testimony so he couldn't hide behind privilege for every area of inquiry.
BRIGGS: It's going to get sweaty up in there.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: We know that.
ROMANS: Yes, I think so. I know he's been preparing for it for some time here.
Let's talk a little bit about the shutdown -- seven days to a shutdown. We're told that maybe they're making some progress here. I mean, that's good news.
Richard Shelby, on the Appropriations Committee -- the chairman of the Appropriations Committee -- yesterday, said this about the president and whether he might sign whatever it is they're hammering out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R-AL), CHAIRMAN, SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: And if he -- if we can work within some of the parameters that we've talked about today, which we'll keep to ourselves right now, I think he would sign it. And I think he's, from my perspective, been quite reasonable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And we think those parameters that he's keeping to himself right now are things like more money for more people on the border, more actual barriers on the border, more personnel on the border, and more money.
WESTWOOD: That's right, and there is this growing sense of optimism within the White House that we could be seeing some kind of breakthrough at last on the Conference Committee. And that's a shift in tone because there were White House aides who were insisting that the likelihood is that we're going to see a national emergency declaration at the end of this process because there had been no movement with negotiators on Capitol Hill.
White House aides do acknowledge that President Trump is likely going to have to settle for something less than $5.7 billion -- his appropriations request for the wall.
ROMANS: Yes.
WESTWOOD: Perhaps even less than half of that.
The question is whether Democrats are going to back any kind of border wall funding because any kind of compromise -- it's going to have to contain some kind of funding for the construction of barriers on the border or else President Trump is likely just not going to sign it.
But there's also just a lack of clarity around what President Trump will sign and that's put enormous strain on this process because lawmakers, multiple times since this fight started back in December, have thrown their time and energy behind legislation and --
ROMANS: Yes.
WESTWOOD: -- deals that the president ultimately came out and opposed. And that's made this very difficult.
ROMANS: You mention that national emergency Dave and I keep talking about. If they -- if they set that precedent with a national emergency, why not Democrats having a national emergency over climate change and this Green --
BRIGGS: Or gun violence.
ROMANS: -- the Green New Deal that --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- has got conservatives so upset?
BRIGGS: Well, we'll get into the Green New Deal in just a bit.
Sarah, good to have you here. Thank you.
All right, to the world's richest man now who says he was the target of an extortion attempt. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and owner of "The Washington Post". The alleged blackmailers, the parent company, the "National Enquirer" -- AMI. Its links to the president and its role on the political climate are no secret.
Bezos published the shocking details in a blog post, writing, "I was made an offer I couldn't refuse. Or at least that's what the top people at the National Enquirer thought. I'm glad they thought that because it emboldened them to put it all in writing."
ROMANS: He quotes entire e-mails sent by AMI to his representatives.
AMI is the same company former Trump-fixer Michael Cohen, remember, admitted giving money to for hush payments to women who claimed they've had affairs with Mr. Trump. The so-called catch and kill tactic of the tabloids.
Bezos' blog also makes a cryptic reference to actions AMI has, quote, "taken on behalf of Saudi Arabia."
Oh, it gets real interesting, folks.
Senior media reporter Oliver Darcy has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: It doesn't get much more explosive than this. In a tell-all blog post published Thursday afternoon, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos accused the "National Enquirer" of, in his words, "extortion and blackmail."
This all goes back to when the "Enquirer" published a story revealing that Jeff Bezos had been having an affair. In that story were text messages the "National Enquirer" obtained between Bezos and his mistress. Bezos has since launched an investigation into how those messages were leaked and whether politics may have been a motivating force.
The "National Enquirer" CEO is, of course, David Pecker, a longtime friend of Donald Trump's. And because Bezos owns "The Washington Post" which covers Trump critically at times, the president is no fan of Bezos. Bezos says he's being blackmailed now for investigating whether there were any politics at play.
[05:40:13] According to one of the e-mails Bezos released, the "National Enquirer's" chief content officer, Dylan Howard, threatened that if he did drop his investigation, the magazine might publish more revealing photos of him, among other things.
In another e-mail, a lawyer for the "National Enquirer's" parent company suggested an agreement in which Bezos or his spokesperson would say they have no evidence politics was at play.
Bezos said he would not capitulate to extortion and blackmail. He chose, instead, to publish all the messages online, and they are quite extraordinary.
It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out moving forward. We reached out, of course, to the "National Enquirer" but they have not responded to our request for comment -- Christine, Dave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: The whole -- the whole thing -- Oliver Darcy, thank you -- is just so salacious. It's like a --
BRIGGS: And what is AMI trying to hide?
ROMANS: Well -- and where did they get the pictures in the first place? I still don't where they got the pictures and text messages --
BRIGGS: That is true.
ROMANS: -- in the first place. I know that Jeff Bezos has his security team investigating that.
BRIGGS: The full blog @davebriggstv, @ChristineRomans. ROMANS: Wow.
BRIGGS: You must read the whole thing.
ROMANS: All right, 41 minutes past the hour.
A CNN exclusive now. The former president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai. What does he think of President Trump's peace efforts and why he says elections in Afghanistan should be delayed?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:45:33] ROMANS: Democrats in the House and Senate addressing the climate crisis, among other things, in a resolution laying out their main elements of this new plan that calls for a very big, very expensive 10-year commitment to convert to 100 percent zero-emission energy sources in the U.S.
Sponsors say it could create millions of new green jobs, guarantee health care, fair wages, retirement security, and a lot of other things. Expect this to be a major issue on the 2020 campaign trail.
BRIGGS: Indeed.
Four Democratic candidates -- Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, and Kirsten Gillibrand all support it, but many centrist Democrats are wary of taking on so much so fast.
Before the measure was introduced, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told "Politico", quote, "The green dream, or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is." She later walked that back a bit, saying she welcomes any other climate change proposals.
ROMANS: Today is the deadline for the White House to respond to Congress on the murder of "Washington Post" columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The administration expected to double down on defending Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee pushing for President Trump to determine whether the crown prince, also known as MBS, violated Khashoggi's human rights. A source says the White House will likely reiterate there is no smoking gun.
"The New York Times" also reporting that U.S. intelligence intercepts show MBS told aides he would use a bullet on Khashoggi a year before the journalist was killed.
BRIGGS: Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai telling CNN in an exclusive interview that working alongside Russia, President Trump can be a significant partner in bringing peace to Afghanistan.
Let's go live to Moscow and bring in Oren Liebermann with the exclusive details. Oren, good morning.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai says he welcomes President Donald Trump's efforts to achieve a peace plan through negotiations in Afghanistan.
The U.S. has its own process going on these days, as does Russia, and that's what brought Karzai to Moscow. He said both of these processes are important, specifically because they both include the Taliban both recognize -- which both countries recognize as a terrorist organization.
He says there is Afghan countrymen. He has, in the past, called him his brothers. And he says the way forward here is peace talks.
He says Russia has a proven track record and is a country you can trust.
Again, he says he welcomes Donald Trump's efforts in the peace process but he has also been critical of the military campaign the U.S. has been waging in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIEBERMANN: Does the U.S. presence in Afghanistan now contribute to peace and security?
HAMID KARZAI, FORMER PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: It does not, unfortunately, no. And for that reason was my opposition to the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan unless the United States makes sure that peace is returned to Afghanistan. So, peace is the precondition for that. It does not contribute to peace right now -- no.
LIEBERMANN: And how can you change that? How can you make the American --
KARZAI: By doing exactly what the U.S. is doing now -- by working for peace in Afghanistan. By working with dedication for peace in Afghanistan, which is what it is doing now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIEBERMANN: Both the U.S. and Russia attempts at a peace process and a final settlement in Afghanistan will continue separately. Crucially, they both lack the participation of the Afghan government, which Karzai says will be a necessary step at some point in the future.
Now, Afghanistan has elections coming up in July. Karzai said those should be postponed until the conclusion of the peace process. He says it's impossible to hold elections now.
It would be a sham of an election that only part of the country could participate in, so it wouldn't be fully democratic. And that's an important statement coming from somebody, himself, who was democratically elected.
BRIGGS: And that's an important interview you nailed there. Oren Liebermann live for us in Moscow. Thank you.
ROMANS: In Venezuela, the first shipment of U.S. aid has arrived at the country's border with Colombia. Now, Colombian authorities and groups loyal to self-declared interim President Juan Guaido are working on ways to bring the aid in since the government of embattled President Nicolas Maduro is blocking the bridge on the border.
There's growing desperation for basics -- food and medicine -- as Venezuela's monthly inflation rate now reached 191 percent, according to the National Assembly.
The U.S. State Department has started revoking the visas of Maduro loyalists and urging Maduro to leave Venezuela.
BRIGGS: All right, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:53:51] ROMANS: Apple fixing the FaceTime bug that let people eavesdrop on unanswered video calls. Software updates were rolled out to fix that glitch nine days after videos of the bug were widely shared on social media.
The tech company says it will compensate 14-year-old Grant Thompson and his family for flagging the problem. Good for you.
Meantime, Apple found another security issue while investigating the FaceTime bug. The company did not specify what it was but said the new updates will fix that problem, too.
BRIGGS: OK, good.
The New York City Police Department demanding Google stop allowing users to post DUI checkpoint data on its live traffic and navigation app Waze. Authorities say Google is encouraging reckless driving.
Waze advertises the feature on its Web site, saying get alerted before you approach police. A spokesperson for the app claims it promotes road safety since it's highlighting police presence.
ROMANS: Facing allegations of plagiarism, former "New York Times" executive editor Jill Abramson concedes some of the passages in her new book too closely mirror work that first appeared elsewhere. Abramson, in a statement, vowed to correct errors and attribution in the book "Merchants of Truth".
The plagiarism claims were first leveled by Michael Moynihan, a "Vice News Tonight" correspondent.
[05:55:03] On Thursday, "CNN BUSINESS" discovered two additional examples of plagiarism -- apparent plagiarism in the book.
Abramson is defending the book as a whole. She says all the ideas are original and all the opinions are hers.
BRIGGS: A veterinarian sentenced to six years for using puppies to smuggle heroin. Andres Lopez Elorez was convicted of surgically implanting drugs into the stomachs of animals between 2004 and 2005.
Authorities say Elorez leased a farm in Colombia where he secretly raised the dogs and implanted bags of liquid heroin into nine puppies. Three of the puppies died of a virus contracted after the surgery.
Elorez was a fugitive until he was arrested in Spain in 2015.
ROMANS: A special place in hell for him.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: All right.
Schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul are closed today because of severe weather. Not as cold as last week but minus 35-degree wind chills are expected. In those conditions, frostbite can set in, folks, in just 10 minutes.
Speaking of extreme cold, this is what a frozen cat looks like. Fluffy, here, was found by her owners buried in the snow. She was brought to an animal clinic in Montana unresponsive, but after many hours, she recovered, which brings her down to eight lives. The clinic says Fluffy is now back to her usual finicky self.
Cool cat. That's one cool cat.
BRIGGS: A very cool cat, my friend.
We've heard a lot about potential rule changes in baseball this week, but here's one change you never saw coming. The familiar term "Disabled List" is being changed in "Injury List" according to ESPN. Disability advocates asked Major League Baseball to change the name so people wouldn't confuse disabilities and injuries and further the thinking that a disability means someone can't play a sport.
The new injury designation will be in effect when Major League Baseball season opens March 28th.
ROMANS: All right.
Global stock markets lower right now, worried that the U.S. and China not close to a trade deal.
On Wall Street, you can see futures leaning a little bit lower here, about 74 points for the Dow. That's almost directionless. That percentage change there is not really meaningful.
Investors not happy after White House adviser Larry Kudlow said there is a pretty sizable distance between Beijing and Washington in trade negotiations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 221 points Thursday. The S&P 500 fell close to one percent. The Nasdaq closed down 1.2 percent.
Look at banks here, though. A decade after the financial crisis, no problem. BB&T and SunTrust rose 10 percent and four percent, respectively, after announcing a $66 billion merger forming the sixth- largest U.S. bank.
Sears lives to see another day. A bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of most of Sears' assets to a hedge fund controlled by Sears chairman Eddie Lampert. The decision will keep 425 stores open and save 45,000 jobs.
The 133-year-old retailer was once the largest and most important retailer in the nation.
This new footprint will be much smaller as it comes out of bankruptcy. It has struggled for decades, losing business to online rivals and big-box retailers who offered low prices and a wider selection of products. Sears lost $12 billion since its last profitable year, all the way back in 2010.
All right. If you like ice cream and if you like rum or bourbon, Haagen-Dazs has something new coming to the freezer aisle. Haagen- Dazs is launching a new line of seven alcohol-infused ice cream treats.
The Spirits Collection includes flavors like bourbon vanilla bean truffle and a non-dairy amaretto black cherry almond toffee. Each product contains less than half a percent of alcohol by volume.
The ice cream brand isn't the first to add booze to its products. Ben & Jerry's launched a flavor infused with bourbon in 2017 with the alcohol cooked off during manufacturing. Smaller brands like Tipsy Scoop have been selling alcoholic ice cream for years.
The Spirits Collection will be available nationwide in April. And yes, Dave Briggs, you must be 21 years or older to buy it.
BRIGGS: But no Bloody Mary breakfast variety is disappointing me.
ROMANS: Not yet.
BRIGGS: But I would -- I would try bourbon praline pecan. That one is offered from them. That sounds fantastic.
ROMANS: Two vices in one.
Thanks --
BRIGGS: That's the way we like it.
ROMANS: Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He's an outstanding person and he'd do very well.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: The question is, what is Whitaker hiding? What is he seeking to conceal? VAN JONES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, CNN HOST, "THE VAN JONES SHOW": Whitaker is no shrinking violet. He can defend himself. Let him come and make that point to the American people.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: He feels there was political motivation for what the Enquirer was doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wonder whether Bezos' investigators are getting close to discovering the Trump-Pecker connection.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The techniques they used are nothing short of extortion. This looks like a crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Friday, February eighth, 6:00 here in New York.
Alisyn is off. Erica Hill joins me this morning.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
BERMAN: What a morning --
HILL: Oh my gosh.
BERMAN: -- right? We have breaking news all over the place.
A major Supreme Court ruling, alleged extortion involving one of the world's richest men.
END
