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Actor Jussie Smollett Faces Felony Charge For Allegedly Filing False Police Report; Coast Guard Lieutenant Arrested On Terror Charges; Mueller Report May Be Delivered As Soon As Next Week; First Vatican Summit On Child Sex Abuse. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired February 21, 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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[05:30:38] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSSIE SMOLLETT, ACTOR: Who the (bleep) could make something like this up?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Chicago police say you did. Jussie Smollett is accused of staging a racially-motivated attack.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, a domestic terrorist on active military duty -- a Coast Guard officer with a political and media hit list had 15 guns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
ROMANS: The Mueller report could be in the Attorney General's hands by next week. What Bill Barr does with it is the next big question.
SANCHEZ: And a flood threat for tens of millions in the south. A major system has stalled. Another winter punch ready to hit Vegas and then move east.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez in for Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: Nice to have you here today while Dave's on vacation. I'm Christine Romans. It's 31 minutes past the hour.
You know, that hashtag #JusticeForJussie has an entirely different meaning this morning. On the front page of the "Post", you can see they're calling him a liar. They're saying -- the police are saying that "EMPIRE" actor Jussie Smollett facing a felony charge of allegedly filing a false police report.
SANCHEZ: Yes. He claimed that two men attacked him last month. Chicago police were hoping that Smollett would turn himself in overnight. It does not appear that that happened and right now, they don't know where he is.
A class four felony -- the charge that Smollett faces -- carries a prison sentence of one to three years.
The actor, himself, has insisted passionately that he did not stage any attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMOLLETT: Who the (bleep) could make something like this up or add something to it or whatever it may be? I can't -- I can't even -- I'm an advocate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now, assuming he turns himself in today, a ballot hearing for Smollett could be wrapped up before the end of the day.
CNN's Nick Watt is outside Chicago police headquarters with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Boris and Christine, Jussie Smollett has gone from victim to suspect, and he now faces a felony charge -- a class four felony -- disorderly conduct for filing a false police report.
The "EMPIRE" actor, of course, claimed he was attacked in the early hours of January 29th on a cold, frigid morning here in Chicago, by two men who threw racial and homophobic epithets at him, hung a noose around his neck, and poured an unknown chemical on him.
Now, two men were arrested last week. They were questioned by police, then they were released on Friday night. Law enforcement sources told us Saturday that they believe Jussie Smollett had paid these two men. That Jussie Smollett had staged this attack on him.
Now, police tell us that they were expecting Smollett to show up at a meeting with them and his lawyers Wednesday. When Smollett didn't show up they decided to go the grand jury route. A grand jury was convened. Those two brothers -- those two one-time suspects testified that Smollett had paid them to stage the attack.
Smollett's lawyers released a statement to us last night and they say that "Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked."
This story is far from over. In fact, the fallout from this story is really only just beginning -- Christine and Boris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Nick, thank you for that.
A spokesperson for 20th Century Fox, which produces "EMPIRE", said the studio has no comment at this time.
ROMANS: A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant under arrest this morning as a suspected domestic terrorist. Authorities say 49-year-old Christopher Paul Hasson, of Silver Spring, Maryland, is a white supremacist who had a hit list that included several high-profile Democrats -- among them, presidential candidates.
Prosecutors filing as evidence a draft e-mail in which they say Hasson wrote, "I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth."
Ryan Browne at the Pentagon with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN BROWNE, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Good morning, Christine and Boris.
The Department of Justice charging an active duty Coast Guard officer with gun and drug charges, and for being an alleged domestic terrorist who was plotting attacks on senior Democratic officials and senior members of the media, both from MSNBC and CNN.
Now, he's also charged with adhering to a manifesto of a Norwegian terrorist, Anders Breivik, who in 2011 killed some 77 people in a series of domestic terror attacks. Now, as part of that manifesto, he is being charged with using drugs as part of an effort to bolster his ability to carry out these attacks.
[05:35:05] Now, some 15 weapons and 1,000 rounds of ammunition were discovered in his home, according to the official charge documents provided by the Department of Justice.
And again, he was posted here in Washington, D.C. at the Coast Guard headquarters. It remains unclear how someone could have such high- level access with all these links to domestic terrorist groups, to white supremacists organizations, and in possession of so many weapons and so much ammunition.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: All right, Ryan. Thank you for that.
The completion of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation could be announced as early as next week. Sources familiar with Justice Department plans tell us that soon after that, Attorney General Bill Barr will submit a confidential summary of that report to Congress. But that does not mean we'll get to see Mueller's report quickly or potentially, ever.
ROMANS: Right now, the scope and contours of what the attorney general will send to Capitol Hill are unclear. Barr was noncommittal at his confirmation hearing last month.
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WILLIAM BARR, THEN-ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: I am going to try to get the information out there consistent with these regulations. And to the extent I have discretion, I will exercise that discretion to do that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The special counsel regulations instruct Mueller to submit a confidential report to the A.G., but they don't require that it be shared with Congress or the public.
Yesterday, the president said he's leaving the entire matter up to Barr.
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KAITLIN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Should the Mueller report be released while you're abroad next week?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That'll be totally up to the new attorney general. That'll be totally up to him -- the new attorney -- the new attorney general, yes. Now, I guess from what I understand, that will be totally up to the attorney general.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Of course, depending on what is or is not released, months of wrangling between Congress and the Justice Department may follow.
The precise timing of Barr's announcement is subject to change, too. Late next week, President Trump holds a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. CNN is told that Justice officials don't want to interfere with White House diplomatic efforts.
But don't forget this. Twelve Russians were indicted last year while the president met with Queen Elizabeth and just days before his Helsinki summit with Vladimir Putin.
ROMANS: All right. "CNN POLITICS" reporter Jeremy Herb joins us now live from Washington. Good morning, nice to see you.
JEREMY HERB, REPORTER, CNN POLITICS: Good morning.
SANCHEZ: Good morning.
ROMANS: So, we know it's clear that this is wrapping up and when you look at the movement of lawyers and the boxes of documents, and how people are being reassigned to new jobs -- I mean, it's clear this thing is wrapping up.
What does the fight with Congress look like once there is a conclusion here that goes to Bill Barr's desk?
HERB: Yes, you know, this could get messy and it could -- it could be a very intense fight.
So, after Robert Mueller submits his confidential report to the Justice Department -- to the attorney general -- it really will be up to Bill Barr to decide what does he want to give -- what does he feel he is legally able and should give to Congress. Now, Barr said in his confirmation hearings he wanted to be as transparent as possible, but that was within -- it was very lawyerly kind of legalese that he said within the regulations of the Justice Department. So we don't yet know what he's going to send.
Could it be a single page just saying these are the prosecution decisions that Robert Mueller made and these are the ones he didn't make, or is it more detailed in terms of what Robert Mueller found that didn't quite add up to a prosecution but still could be potentially damaging to the president and his allies, and others. All of those are questions we don't have the answers to yet.
SANCHEZ: All right. Jeremy, I did want to bring up some poll numbers because if there's one issue the American people are united on it appears to be that they want to see this report.
Eighty-seven percent of people were asked -- said yes when they were asked if Mueller's report should be made public. But look at the breakdown by party. Ninety-two percent of Democrats; 80 percent of Republicans.
You don't see --
ROMANS: That's the most bipartisanship --
SANCHEZ: Right.
ROMANS: -- I've seen in a long time.
SANCHEZ: You don't see that on a lot of issues.
I think it's a valid question to ask if the president has been honest in saying that there was no collusion with Russia -- that he knows of no collusion -- then why wouldn't he want the full report released to essentially show everyone there's nothing to hide?
HERB: Yes, and you know, that's the view we've heard from both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. They think that this report needs to be out there. Keep in mind, this has been the subject of intense interest, I guess is the best way to put it, for the last two years now, almost.
And we have -- you know, Chuck Grassley, the chairman -- the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation with Democrats to make that full report public. The legislation didn't go anywhere but I think that underscores a sentiment that Republicans and Democrats alike, and potentially the White House, depending on what, of course, is in Mueller's report, will want to see the report released.
If it doesn't happen, I think we can expect a major court battle where Democrats are likely to subpoena to get evidence from the report -- to get the report itself if they aren't able to see it. And it's hard to say they're going to be satisfied with just a summary from Barr of what Mueller found.
SANCHEZ: All right.
Another fascinating aspect of this is that next week the president's former fixer, Michael Cohen --
ROMANS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: -- is going to be testifying while the president is overseas. There's the Trump-Kim summit on the 28th. Cohen testifying before the House Oversight Committee that Wednesday.
[05:40:07] I'm curious how you think some of the Republicans on that committee are going to approach Cohen. Obviously, you have Jim Jordan there, Mark Meadows -- people who have attacked the Mueller probe.
How do you think they're going to go after Cohen?
HERB: Yes, it's going to be a feisty hearing, to say the least.
Elijah Cummings, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, released a memo last night that outlined the scope of the questions for Cohen at this hearing.
He's also expected to testify before both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees next week on Russia. This hearing -- the public hearing -- will not be focused on that and will instead focus on the payments to women and Trump finances, generally.
But I don't expect Republicans are going to adhere to the scope that Mr. Cummings laid out.
ROMANS: Yes.
HERB: Jim Jordan has made clear he -- you know, he's questioning the reason for this whole hearing in the first place. And I think we're going to see Republicans really go after the credibility of Cohen --
ROMANS: Yes.
HERB: -- who, don't forget, was convicted of lying to Congress in his testimony back in 2017.
ROMANS: Yes, and he will -- I mean, he goes to prison in, what, a couple of months?
SANCHEZ: Right.
ROMANS: And he's had -- he's had 60 days.
But a reminder. You've got the Cohen affair, you've got the Mueller probe wrapping up, but there are investigation after investigation into Trumpworld -- the Trump Organization, Trump Foundation, the Trump campaign, the Trump transition, Trump inauguration, the Trump administration.
One wonders how much of a -- I don't know -- a certainty and an ending comes next week -- SANCHEZ: Right.
ROMANS: -- and much more there is to come, Jeremy.
HERB: Yes. It is important to note that the end of the Mueller investigation is not the end of the investigations into Trump and the various Trump entities.
Mueller has farmed out a lot of the initial investigations he undertook to other attorney's offices. The investigation into Cohen, who came out of the Southern District of New York. And now there are other investigations like the one into the Trump Inaugural Committee.
So this certainly does not mark the end of the investigations into Trump even if Mueller is, in fact, wrapping up next week.
ROMANS: Jeremy Herb, "CNN POLITICS" reporter, nice to see you this morning. Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Good to see you. Good morning, Jeremy.
HERB: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: A climate change skeptic will lead a White House panel to examine climate change. "The Washington Post" reports the proposed commission will be led by William Happer. He's on the National Security Council.
ROMANS: Happer believes carbon emissions linked to climate change should be viewed as an asset rather than a pollutant, and that's not all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM HAPPER, TRUMP NOMINEE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE PANEL: The demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler. Carbon dioxide is actually a benefit to the world, and so were the Jews.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The White House is not commenting on "The Washington Post" report.
Just a few weeks ago, of course, Dan Coats, the DNI, said that, indeed, climate change is a national security threat and the government agencies are treating it as such.
SANCHEZ: Yes, and that may have been one of those statements that upset the president.
ROMANS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Of course, we heard sourcing earlier this week that indicated the president may ultimately fire his director of National Intelligence. Moving on, 200 leaders from the Catholic Church gathering at the Vatican this morning, the first conference of its kind to confront the sex abuse scandals rocking the church. We go live to Rome, next.
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[05:47:20] SANCHEZ: A first for the Catholic Church. Some 200 church leaders from around the world are gathering at the Vatican to confront the scourge of clergy who sexually abuse children. And already, Pope Francis had some very strong words.
Let's go live to Rome and bring in CNN's Rosa Flores. Good morning, Rosa. What has the Pope said so far today?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, you know, Pope Francis really setting the tone for this meeting with very strong words, saying we need to be concrete with our measures.
Saying, in part, quote, "Listen to the cry of the small who are asking for justice. The holy people of God are looking at us and expect us not" -- "and expect of us," excuse me, "not a simple condemnation but concrete and effective measures to put into place."
Now, he also gave bishops homework. He passed out a list of guidelines, telling the bishops that those were best practices coming from them and coming from around the world. Giving them homework to make sure that they were paying attention during this critical meeting.
For survivors, this is a time for change -- a time for decision- making. Survivors are asking for zero tolerance, not just for abusers but also for those who cover up abuse. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER ISELY, FOUNDING MEMBER, ECA (ENDING CLERGY ABUSE): And we made our demands because we think that's the demands of not just survivors, but people everywhere for zero tolerance. That we end this summit and this universal church law -- that the Pope writes it into universal church law.
Zero tolerance for the cover-up of sex crimes -- they could do it right now. They've got the evidence on many bishops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: Now, Pope Francis starting this meeting with very strong words, saying that they need to be concrete. And his lead investigator supporting this tone, saying that we mean business and listing that bishops have to follow civil authorities. They have to report these instances.
And, Boris, again, the Pope saying we need to be concrete and his lead investigator saying we mean business. It's about time -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Yes. This could be a pivotal moment for the church on a very delicate issue.
Rosa Flores, from the Vatican -- thank you.
ROMANS: All right, to markets now.
Global stock markets mixed with trade talks going on in Washington, D.C. You can see mixed across the board. Frankfurt up just a little bit in European trade.
On Wall Street, just a touch higher. Futures leaning higher here. You know, U.S. stocks initially fell and then rebounded Wednesday after release of the minutes from the Fed's January meeting.
[05:50:03] Now, the Dow jumped 63 points or two-tenths of a percent. The S&P 500 closed up just a tiny bit. The Nasdaq closed up as well. That's enough -- not very much, but enough to be its eighth-straight gain -- the longest winning streak since August.
Some big-name advertisers are pulling their ads from YouTube. Nestle, McDonald's, the maker of Fortnite and others have pulled ads from YouTube after blogger Matt Watson raised concerns about comments on videos. Watson said pedophiles were using the platform to trade information and comments about -- and draw attention to clips of young girls.
As online anger built over this issue, YouTube said it "took immediate action by deleting accounts and channels, reporting illegal activity to authorities, and disabling comments on tens of millions of videos that includes -- that include, rather -- minors."
Lyft plans to file its initial public offering in March, possibly beating rival Uber to that milestone. "The Wall Street Journal" reports Lyft may make the filing public as early as next week. Lyft was most recently valued at $15 billion and is reportedly seeking a valuation of around that price when it goes public.
Lyft's co-founder, John Zimmer, said he believes going public brings a certain amount of proper accountability.
Would you spend $2K on 5G? Samsung hopes so. The Galaxy Fold can open up into a 7.3-inch tablet and will cost up to $2,000.
Samsung also unveiling updated versions of its best-selling Galaxy S smartphone. The S10 5G model will be the first mainstream device to run on lightning-fast 5G wireless networks later this year. Now, that move could give Samsung a significant head start in early 5G markets.
SANCHEZ: It looks fancy and futuristic.
Stay with us. We'll be right back.
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[05:56:02] SANCHEZ: The eastern U.S. is cleaning up and trying to dry off this morning after a big winter storm rolled through. Major flooding in Giles County, Tennessee -- that's just south of
Pulaski. The front stalled over the south, bringing in all this high water. And that flooding threat will not abate.
Another winter storm taking shape out west and it is headed this way.
Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Boris and Christine, good morning, guys.
Yes, the Northeast here watching the snow showers around Boston -- a wintry mix just south of town. And go to the north there, it's all about the snow.
And, of course, it was a winter wonderland across Central Park as well in the past 24 or so hours. But you cross over into the airports, it was an entirely different story. Major disruptions as far as cancellations and delays across portions of the country.
And a lot of this activity now going to begin to improve quickly, at least for the Northeast. In fact, by 11:00 a.m., noon, much of the showers exit the picture.
And then, you draw the attention back down toward the south because the southern fringe of all of this, that's where the frontal boundary has stalled and that's where not only thunderstorms are prevalent this morning. As much as 1,000 strikes since midnight across portions of the south.
But extensive flood watches and warnings and a lot of river flooding taking place in northern Alabama and northern Mississippi and western Tennessee. And frankly, with that front that's really not moving much, notice the rainfall amounts are going to be significant, four to six inches around Memphis. Two to three inches around Nashville over the next 24 or so hours.
And then back towards the west, another system right on its heels here is bringing in additional rainfall and additional storms going in towards this weekend for much of the country -- guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Pedram. Thank you so much for that.
A troubling new report reveals NATO forces could be manipulated by bogus social media accounts. Troop positions, names, and phone numbers were all easily accessed from fake Facebook and Instagram accounts during a NATO military exercise.
Researchers say the experiment shows an adversary can collect a significant amount of personal data on soldiers in the field. That data can be used to target messages that influence troops. SANCHEZ: Schools in Oakland, California will be open today, but some 3,000 teachers will be marked absent. They are not showing up for work. They're set to go on strike this morning, demanding smaller classes and more support for some 36,000 students.
They also want a 12 percent pay raise to offset the high cost of living in that city. The district, so far, has offered seven percent.
In West Virginia, teachers and school service personnel there will work -- will return to work this morning, I should say. It comes after state lawmakers killed an education bill that would have moved public money to private education.
ROMANS: A safety reminder for those of you going to great heights to capture the perfect selfie.
Tristan Bailey and his friends climbed a bridge to snap a selfie with the Dallas skyline in the background, but Bailey slipped. He plummeted more than four stories to the ground. The teenager's body hit the ground so hard it left this imprint.
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TRISTAN BAILEY, FELL 50 FEET FROM BRIDGE TAKING SELFIE: I broke my pelvis, I had a rib fracture, a punctured lung, I broke my face a whole bunch and I lacerated my spleen.
DR. J. DARRYL AMOS, CHIEF OF TRAUMA, METHODIST HEALTH SYSTEM: It's amazing that he didn't snap his neck. It's amazing that he is not a paraplegic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Doctors who treated Bailey say they see a growing number of people with selfie-related injuries.
SANCHEZ: Yes, you've got to protect yourself.
ROMANS: I didn't know that you needed to have a public warning about standing on the edge of a bridge.
SANCHEZ: Yes, yes, yes.
ROMANS: All right, thanks for joining us this morning. I'm Christine Romans.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Boris Sanchez in for Dave Briggs. "NEW DAY" starts right now.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jussie Smollett should come clear. The truth will set him free.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've known him for eight years. I've never known him to lie. BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, ANCHOR, "RELIABLE SOURCES": This turns out to be a modern-day lie if the police are right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taxpayers funded this investigation. They can't just not give us information.
TRUMP: That'll be totally up to the new attorney general.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think there's anything Trump would be looking forward to here.
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Thursday, February 21st, 6:00 here in New York.
And we have a ton of breaking news this morning.
In just hours, a bail hearing is set for "EMPIRE" actor Jussie Smollett.
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